Home / Birthday profiles / Boyd Wagner
Portrait of Boyd Wagner

Birthday profile

Boyd Wagner

Boyd Wagner, American colonel and pilot (died 1942)

Find birthday twinsOpen interactive profile
Born
October 26, 1916
Died
November 29, 1942
Zodiac sign
Scorpio
Birth year
1916

About Boyd Wagner

Lieutenant Colonel Boyd David "Buzz" Wagner was an American aviator and the first United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighter ace of World War II. Lieutenant Colonel Boyd David "Buzz" Wagner (October 26, 1916 – November 29, 1942) was an American aviator and the first United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighter ace of World War II. Wagner was a first lieutenant commanding the 17th Pursuit Squadron stationed at Nichols Field on December 8, 1941, when the first Japanese air attacks struck the Philippines. Once in position behind the Zero, Wagner was able to shoot it down, becoming the first USAAF ace of World War II and earning a Distinguished Service Cross. At least one source states that Wagner's first five kills were not Zeros, but were IJAAF Nakajima Ki-27 "Nate" fighter planes.

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

Boyd Wagner timeline

  1. Lieutenant Colonel Boyd David "Buzz" Wagner (October 26, 1916 – November 29, 1942) was an American aviator and the first United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighter ace of World War II.
  2. Wagner was a first lieutenant commanding the 17th Pursuit Squadron stationed at Nichols Field on December 8, 1941, when the first Japanese air attacks struck the Philippines.

The world when Boyd Wagner was born

Boyd Wagner was born in 1916. 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 1916

  • Best-selling book"Seventeen" – Booth Tarkington

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentGeorgia Tech defeats Cumberland 222-0, most lopsided football game ever
  • Top headlineBattle of the Somme — 1 million casualties
  • Technology milestoneTanks first used in warfare
  • Notable inventionMilitary tanks
  • World population~1.76B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWoodrow Wilson
  • U.S. population99.6M

1916 versus 2026

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

Measure19162026
Population99.6M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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