Portrait of Ovadia Yosef

Birthday profile

Ovadia Yosef

Ovadia Yosef, Iraqi-Israeli rabbi and scholar (died 2013)

Born
September 24, 1920
Died
October 7, 2013
Zodiac sign
Libra
Birth year
1920

About Ovadia Yosef

Ovadia Yosef, also known as Maran, was an Iraqi-born Talmudic scholar, hakham, posek, and the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1972 to 1983. Also known as Gadol Yisrael, Yosef is regarded as one of the most influential Sephardic religious authorities of all time. He was also a founder and longtime spiritual leader of Israel's religious Shas party. Yosef's responsa were highly regarded in Haredi circles, particularly among Mizrahi communities, which considered him "the most important living halakhic authority". Yosef composed his first sefer, together with two friends, called Machberet Ha'atakat Hidot. A number of notable rabbis, among them Yitzhak Nissim, rebuked him over the years for his positions, even burning his first halakha sefer, Hazon Ovadia. In 1951–1952 he published his first halakha sefer, Hazon Ovadia, on the laws of Passover.

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

The world when Ovadia Yosef was born

Ovadia Yosef was born in 1920. 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 1920

  • #1 song"Swanee" – Al Jolson
  • Top movieThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
  • Best-selling bookThe Age of Innocence – Edith Wharton

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentBabe Ruth sold to the New York Yankees
  • Top headlineWomen win the right to vote with the 19th Amendment
  • Technology milestoneFirst commercial radio broadcasts
  • Defining fadFlappers and the Jazz Age
  • Notable inventionBand-Aid adhesive bandages
  • World population1.86 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWoodrow Wilson
  • Sports championCleveland Indians (World Series)
  • U.S. population106.0M

1920 versus 2026

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

Measure19202026
Gas$0.30$3.45/gal
Average home$6,296$435,000
Average income$3,269$67,500
Movie ticket$0.15$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population106.0M341 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, 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.