Portrait of Binyavanga Wainaina

Birthday profile

Binyavanga Wainaina

Kenyan writer (1971–2019)

Born
January 18, 1971
Died
May 21, 2019
Zodiac sign
Capricorn
Birth year
1971

About Binyavanga Wainaina

Kenneth Binyavanga Wainaina was a Kenyan author, journalist and 2002 winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing. In 2003, he became the founding editor of Kwani? literary magazine, launched in Kenya, East Africa. In April 2014, Time magazine included Wainaina in its annual Time 100 as one of the "Most Influential People in the World". Wainaina was the founding editor of Kwani?, a literary magazine created in Kenya for emerging writers, driven by an artistic revolution that started in 2002. In July 2002, he won the Caine Prize for his short story "Discovering Home" (the judges being Ahdaf Soueif, Margaret Busby, Jason Cowley and Abdulrazak Gurnah).

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

Binyavanga Wainaina timeline

  1. Wainaina was the founding editor of Kwani?, a literary magazine created in Kenya for emerging writers, driven by an artistic revolution that started in 2002.
  2. In July 2002, he won the Caine Prize for his short story "Discovering Home" (the judges being Ahdaf Soueif, Margaret Busby, Jason Cowley and Abdulrazak Gurnah).
  3. In 2003, he became the founding editor of Kwani? literary magazine, launched in Kenya, East Africa.
  4. In April 2014, Time magazine included Wainaina in its annual Time 100 as one of the "Most Influential People in the World".

The world when Binyavanga Wainaina was born

Binyavanga Wainaina was born in 1971. 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 1971

  • #1 song"Joy to the World" – Three Dog Night
  • Top movieThe French Connection
  • Top TV showAll in the Family
  • Best-selling bookThe Exorcist – William Peter Blatty

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentMuhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier "Fight of the Century"
  • Top headlinePentagon Papers published
  • Technology milestoneFirst email sent by Ray Tomlinson
  • Defining fadHot pants
  • Notable inventionEmail (Ray Tomlinson)
  • World population3.78 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderRichard Nixon
  • Sports championPittsburgh Pirates (World Series)
  • Also wonMilwaukee Bucks (NBA)
  • U.S. population207.7M

1971 versus 2026

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

Measure19712026
Gas$0.36$3.45/gal
Average home$18,100$435,000
Average income$11,800$67,500
Minimum wage$1.60$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$1.65$11.95
Postage stamp$0.08$0.73
Population207.7M341 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. 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.