Portrait of Carlos the Jackal

Birthday profile

Carlos the Jackal

Carlos the Jackal, Venezuelan terrorist

Born
October 12, 1949
Age in 2026
77
Zodiac sign
Libra
Birth year
1949

About Carlos the Jackal

Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (Spanish: [iˈlitʃ raˈmiɾes ˈsantʃes]; born 12 October 1949), also known as Carlos the Jackal (Spanish: Carlos el Chacal) or simply Carlos, is a Venezuelan convict who conducted a series of assassinations and terrorist bombings from 1973 to 1985. A committed Marxist–Leninist, he was one of the most notorious political terrorists of his era, protected and supported by the Stasi and the KGB. After several bungled bombings, Carlos led the 1975 raid on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) headquarters in Vienna, during which three people were killed. He and five others demanded a plane and flew with a number of hostages to Libya. After his wife Magdalena Kopp was arrested and imprisoned, Carlos detonated a series of bombs, killing 11 people and injuring more than 100, demanding the French release his wife. For many years he was among the most-wanted international fugitives. He was ultimately captured by extrajudicial means in Sudan and transferred to France, where he was convicted of multiple crimes, and is currently serving three life sentences. In his first trial, he was convicted of the 1975 murder of an informant for the French government and two French counterintelligence agents. While in prison, he was further convicted of attacks in France that killed 11 and injured 150 people and sentenced to an additional life term in 2011, and then to a third life term in 2017. Romanian authorities denied ever sponsoring Carlos, and no relevant documents had been discovered in Romanian archives as of 2021. Carlos had left his first wife, who had taken their daughter with her to Venezuela.

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

Carlos the Jackal timeline

  1. After several bungled bombings, Carlos led the 1975 raid on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) headquarters in Vienna, during which three people were killed.
  2. Romanian authorities denied ever sponsoring Carlos, and no relevant documents had been discovered in Romanian archives as of 2021.

The world when Carlos the Jackal was born

Carlos the Jackal was born in 1949. 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 1949

  • #1 song"Riders in the Sky" – Vaughn Monroe
  • Top movieAll the King's Men
  • Top TV showTexaco Star Theater
  • Best-selling bookThe Egyptian - Mika Waltari

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentJoe Louis retires from boxing as undefeated heavyweight champion
  • Top headlineNATO established
  • Technology milestoneFirst stored-program computer runs its first program
  • Defining fadSilly Putty
  • Notable inventionSilly Putty
  • World population2.52 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonMinneapolis Lakers (BAA)
  • U.S. population149.2M

1949 versus 2026

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

Measure19492026
Gas$0.27$3.45/gal
Average home$8,400$435,000
Average income$5,000$67,500
Minimum wage$0.40$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.46$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population149.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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