Portrait of Benjamin List

Birthday profile

Benjamin List

German chemist (1968-)

Born
January 11, 1968
Age in 2026
58
Zodiac sign
Capricorn
Birth year
1968

About Benjamin List

Benjamin List (German pronunciation: [ˈbɛnjamiːn ˈlɪst]; born 11 January 1968) is a German chemist who is one of the directors of the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research and professor of organic chemistry at the University of Cologne. He co-developed organocatalysis, a method of accelerating chemical reactions and making them more efficient. He shared the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with David MacMillan "for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis". In particular, while still an assistant professor he discovered the possibility of using the amino acid proline as an efficient chiral catalyst.

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

The world when Benjamin List was born

Benjamin List was born in 1968. 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 1968

  • #1 song"Hey Jude" – The Beatles
  • Top movie2001: A Space Odyssey
  • Top TV showRowan & Martin's Laugh-In
  • Best-selling bookAirport – Arthur Hailey

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentBob Beamon shatters long jump record at Mexico City Olympics
  • Top headlineMLK and RFK assassinated
  • Technology milestoneDouglas Engelbart demonstrates the computer mouse
  • Defining fadTie-dye everything
  • Notable inventionComputer mouse (Douglas Engelbart)
  • World population3.55 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderLyndon B. Johnson
  • Sports championDetroit Tigers (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population200.7M

1968 versus 2026

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

Measure19682026
Gas$0.34$3.45/gal
Average home$15,600$435,000
Average income$10,300$67,500
Minimum wage$1.60$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$1.31$11.95
Postage stamp$0.06$0.73
Population200.7M341 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.