Portrait of Ingemar Johansson

Birthday profile

Ingemar Johansson

Ingemar Johansson, Swedish boxer (died 2009)

Born
September 22, 1932
Died
January 30, 2009
Zodiac sign
Virgo
Birth year
1932

About Ingemar Johansson

Jens Ingemar "Ingo" Johansson (Swedish: [ˈɪ̌ŋː(ɛ)mar ˈjûːanˌsɔn]; 22 September 1932 – 30 January 2009) was a Swedish professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1963. He held the world heavyweight title from 1959 to 1960 and was the fifth heavyweight champion born outside the United States. Johansson won the title by defeating Floyd Patterson via third-round stoppage, after flooring him seven times in that round. For this achievement, Johansson was awarded the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year—the only non-American in its entire 27-year first run—and was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year and Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. Johansson also held the EBU European Heavyweight Champion title twice, from 1956 to 1958 and from 1962 to 1963. As an amateur he won a silver medal in the heavyweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He affectionately named his right fist "toonder and lightning" for its concussive power (it was also called "Ingo's bingo" and the "Hammer of Thor"), and in 2003 he was ranked at No. 99 on The Ring magazine's list of the 100 greatest punchers of all time.

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

Ingemar Johansson timeline

  1. As an amateur he won a silver medal in the heavyweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics.
  2. He held the world heavyweight title from 1959 to 1960 and was the fifth heavyweight champion born outside the United States.

The world when Ingemar Johansson was born

Ingemar Johansson was born in 1932. 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 1932

  • #1 song"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"
  • Top movieGrand Hotel
  • Best-selling bookBrave New World – Aldous Huxley

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentBabe Ruth's "called shot" in the World Series
  • Top headlineFDR elected in a landslide during the Great Depression
  • Technology milestoneAmelia Earhart becomes first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic
  • Defining fadMonopoly board game (unofficial versions)
  • Notable inventionPolaroid filters
  • World population2.14 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHerbert Hoover
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population124.8M

1932 versus 2026

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

Measure19322026
Gas$0.18$3.45/gal
Average home$5,000$435,000
Average income$2,600$67,500
Movie ticket$0.20$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population124.8M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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