Howard Rheingold

Howard Rheingold, American author and critic

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Born: July 7, 1947
Age in 2026: 79
Zodiac sign: Cancer
Birth year: 1947

About Howard Rheingold

Howard Rheingold is an American critic, writer, and teacher, known for his specialties on the cultural, social and political implications of modern communication media such as the Internet, mobile telephony and virtual communities. Rheingold left HotWired and soon founded Electric Minds in 1996 to chronicle and promote the growth of community online. In 2008, Rheingold became the first research fellow at the Institute for the Future, with which he had long been affiliated.

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

Howard Rheingold timeline

1996Rheingold left HotWired and soon founded Electric Minds in 1996 to chronicle and promote the growth of community online.
2008In 2008, Rheingold became the first research fellow at the Institute for the Future, with which he had long been affiliated.

The world when Howard Rheingold was born

Howard Rheingold was born in 1947. 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 1947

#1 song"Near You" – Francis Craig
Top movieMiracle on 34th Street
Top TV showHowdy Doody
Best-selling bookThe Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentJackie Robinson breaks baseball's color barrier
Top headlineJackie Robinson breaks Major League Baseball's color barrier
Technology milestoneTransistor invented at Bell Labs
Defining fadFlying saucer mania
Notable inventionPolaroid instant camera
World population2.47 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
Also wonPhiladelphia Warriors (BAA)
U.S. population144.1M

1947 versus 2026

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

Measure	1947	2026
Gas	$0.23	$3.45/gal
Average home	$7,800	$435,000
Average income	$4,700	$67,500
Minimum wage	$0.40	$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket	$0.40	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.03	$0.73
Population	144.1M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 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.