Portrait of Karen Muir

Birthday profile

Karen Muir

Karen Muir, South African swimmer and physician (died 2013)

Born
September 16, 1952
Died
April 1, 2013
Zodiac sign
Virgo
Birth year
1952

About Karen Muir

Karen Muir was a South African competitive swimmer. Born and raised in Kimberley, she attended the Diamantveld High School, where she matriculated in 1970. On 10 August 1965, aged twelve years,Karen Muir became the youngest person to break a sporting world record in any discipline when she swam the 110 yards backstroke in 1m 08.7s at the ASA National Junior Championships in Blackpool, England. She also won 22 South African Championships and three US National Championships. Over the following five years Muir would go on to set fifteen world records in the backstroke at 100 metres, 200 metres, 110 yards, and 220 yards.

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

The world when Karen Muir was born

Karen Muir was born in 1952. 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 1952

  • #1 song"You Belong to Me" – Jo Stafford
  • Top movieThe Greatest Show on Earth
  • Top TV showI Love Lucy
  • Best-selling bookThe Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentRocky Marciano becomes heavyweight champion
  • Top headlineDwight Eisenhower elected president
  • Technology milestoneFirst hydrogen bomb tested
  • Defining fadMr. Potato Head
  • Notable inventionMr. Potato Head (first toy advertised on TV)
  • World population2.63 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonMinneapolis Lakers (NBA)
  • U.S. population156.4M

1952 versus 2026

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

Measure19522026
Gas$0.27$3.45/gal
Average home$9,100$435,000
Average income$5,700$67,500
Minimum wage$0.75$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.60$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population156.4M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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