Birthday profile

Hilary Smart

Hilary Smart, American sailor (died 2000)

Born
July 29, 1925
Died
January 8, 2000
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1925

About Hilary Smart

Hilary Hurlburt Smart (July 29, 1925 – January 8, 2000) was an American sailor and Olympic champion. He competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, where he received a gold medal in the star class with the boat Hilarius, together with his father, Paul Smart. He often described his Olympic victory by speaking about "the unbelievable feeling of watching the torch come in at the Olympic Stadium. It made me feel proud and responsible to think that my dad and I were the only Americans in our specialty since each country was allowed just a single two-man boat." Smart was a graduate of The Choate School and a 1947 graduate of Harvard College. While a student at Harvard he was a member of the Varsity Club, the Delphic Club, the Crimson Key Society (a founder), and the Hasty Pudding Club. After he competed at the Olympics, Smart continued sailing in star class for almost fifty years, qualifying twice for the world championships. He then became vice president of national sales at Libbey-Owens-Ford and became the president of Airwick Professional Products. He died at his home in Weston, Massachusetts, in 2000 of natural causes at the age of 74. While attending the university, Smart co-founded the Crimson Key Society, and graduated in 1947. In the first race, the Smarts finished in fourth place, managing a time of 1:58.52. He won an intercollegiate star class championship in 1946, while an undergraduate at Harvard University.

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

Hilary Smart timeline

  1. He won an intercollegiate star class championship in 1946, while an undergraduate at Harvard University.
  2. While attending the university, Smart co-founded the Crimson Key Society, and graduated in 1947.
  3. He competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, where he received a gold medal in the star class with the boat Hilarius, together with his father, Paul Smart.

The world when Hilary Smart was born

Hilary Smart was born in 1925. 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 1925

  • #1 song"Sweet Georgia Brown"
  • Top movieThe Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin)
  • Best-selling bookThe Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentRed Grange signs with the Chicago Bears
  • Top headlineThe Scopes Trial captivates America
  • Technology milestoneTelevision demonstrated by John Logie Baird
  • Defining fadCharleston dance craze
  • Notable inventionMasking tape
  • World population1.98 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderCalvin Coolidge
  • Sports championPittsburgh Pirates (World Series)
  • U.S. population115.8M

1925 versus 2026

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

Measure19252026
Gas$0.22$3.45/gal
Average home$5,900$435,000
Average income$3,600$67,500
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population115.8M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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