Portrait of Manute Bol

Birthday profile

Manute Bol

Manute Bol, Sudanese-American basketball player and activist (died 2010)

Born
October 16, 1962
Died
June 19, 2010
Zodiac sign
Libra
Birth year
1962

About Manute Bol

Manute Bol ( mə-NOOT BOHL; d. June 19, 2010) was a South Sudanese-American professional basketball player and political activist. Listed at 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) or 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) tall, Bol was one of the two tallest players in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After he played college basketball for the Bridgeport Purple Knights, Bol was selected by the Washington Bullets in the 1985 NBA draft. Bol played for the Bullets and three other teams over the course of his NBA career, which lasted from 1985 to 1995. A center, Bol is considered among the best shot-blockers in the history of the sport and is the only NBA player to retire with more career blocked shots than points scored. As of March 2026, he ranked second in NBA history in blocked shots per game and 17th in total blocked shots. Bol was notable for his efforts to promote human rights in his native Sudan and aid for Sudanese refugees. According to Cleveland State University basketball coach Kevin Mackey, Bol could not provide a record of his birth date.

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

The world when Manute Bol was born

Manute Bol was born in 1962. 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 1962

  • #1 song"I Can't Stop Loving You" – Ray Charles
  • Top movieLawrence of Arabia
  • Top TV showThe Beverly Hillbillies
  • Best-selling bookA Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentWilt Chamberlain scores 100 points in a single NBA game
  • Top headlineCuban Missile Crisis — world comes closest to nuclear war
  • Technology milestoneJohn Glenn orbits the Earth
  • Defining fadJames Bond mania (Dr. No released)
  • Notable inventionLED (light-emitting diode)
  • World population3.14 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderJohn F. Kennedy
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population186.5M

1962 versus 2026

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

Measure19622026
Gas$0.31$3.45/gal
Average home$12,800$435,000
Average income$7,900$67,500
Minimum wage$1.15$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.70$11.95
Postage stamp$0.04$0.73
Population186.5M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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