Portrait of Lawrence Lessig

Birthday profile

Lawrence Lessig

Lawrence Lessig, American lawyer, academic, and author, founded the Creative Commons

Born
June 3, 1961
Age in 2026
65
Zodiac sign
Gemini
Birth year
1961

About Lawrence Lessig

Lester Lawrence "Larry" Lessig III is an American legal scholar and political activist. He is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the former director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. He is the founder of Creative Commons and Equal Citizens. Lessig was a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for president of the United States in the 2016 U.S. presidential election but withdrew before the primaries. In October 2014, Killswitch, a film featuring Lawrence Lessig, as well as Aaron Swartz, Tim Wu, and Edward Snowden received its World Premiere at the Woodstock Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Editing. In 2001, he founded Creative Commons, a nonprofit organization devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon and to share legally. Prior to his most recent appointment at Harvard, he was a professor of law at Stanford Law School, where he founded the Stanford Center for Internet and Society, and at the University of Chicago.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Lawrence Lessig timeline

  1. In 2001, he founded Creative Commons, a nonprofit organization devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon and to share legally.
  2. In October 2014, Killswitch, a film featuring Lawrence Lessig, as well as Aaron Swartz, Tim Wu, and Edward Snowden received its World Premiere at the Woodstock Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Editing.
  3. Lessig was a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for president of the United States in the 2016 U.S. presidential election but withdrew before the primaries.

The world when Lawrence Lessig was born

Lawrence Lessig was born in 1961. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1961

  • #1 song"Tossin' and Turnin'" – Bobby Lewis
  • Top movieWest Side Story
  • Top TV showGunsmoke
  • Best-selling bookCatch-22 – Joseph Heller

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentRoger Maris hits 61 home runs, breaking Babe Ruth's record
  • Top headlineYuri Gagarin becomes the first person in space
  • Technology milestoneYuri Gagarin becomes first human in space
  • Defining fadSurfing culture
  • Notable inventionValium
  • World population3.08 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderJohn F. Kennedy
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population183.7M

1961 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Lawrence Lessig's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19612026
Gas$0.31$3.45/gal
Average home$12,500$435,000
Average income$7,600$67,500
Minimum wage$1.15$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.69$11.95
Postage stamp$0.04$0.73
Population183.7M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Library of Congress. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.