Portrait of Cormac Murphy-O'Connor

Birthday profile

Cormac Murphy-O'Connor

Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, English cardinal (died 2017)

Born
August 24, 1932
Died
September 1, 2017
Zodiac sign
Virgo
Birth year
1932

About Cormac Murphy-O'Connor

Cormac Murphy-O'Connor (24 August 1932 – 1 September 2017) was a British Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Westminster from 2000 to 2009. He was also president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. He was made a cardinal in 2001. By virtue of his position as Archbishop of Westminster, Murphy-O'Connor was sometimes referred to as the Catholic Primate of England and Wales. However, the title of primate has never been used by the de facto leaders of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. == Early life == Cormac Murphy-O'Connor was born on 24 August 1932 in Reading, Berkshire, the fifth son of George Murphy-O'Connor, a G.P., and Ellen (née Cuddigan; died 1971), who emigrated from County Cork in Ireland before the First World War and married in 1921. The Murphy-O'Connor family was middle class, with the men becoming doctors or priests, and one in each generation taking over the family business as wine merchants 'to the clergy and gentry of Southern Ireland'. A forebear, Daniel Murphy, became the first Archbishop of Hobart, Tasmania, in 1888, having served as a bishop there since 1865. Two of his uncles, one aunt, two cousins and two of his brothers, Brian (1930–2012) and Patrick, were also ordained or members of religious orders. His youngest brother, John, was a regular officer in the Royal Artillery who died of renal cell carcinoma; he had two other siblings, James (a doctor and rugby player) and Catherine.

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

Career and life highlights

Cormac Murphy-O'Connor timeline

  1. A forebear, Daniel Murphy, became the first Archbishop of Hobart, Tasmania, in 1888, having served as a bishop there since 1865.
  2. In 1966, Murphy-O'Connor became the private secretary to Bishop Derek Worlock of Portsmouth.
  3. In 2000 he was awarded the Lambeth degree of Doctor of Divinity by the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, in recognition of his work for Christian unity.

The world when Cormac Murphy-O'Connor was born

Cormac Murphy-O'Connor was born in 1932. 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 1932

  • #1 song"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"
  • Top movieGrand Hotel
  • Best-selling bookBrave New World – Aldous Huxley

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentBabe Ruth's "called shot" in the World Series
  • Top headlineFDR elected in a landslide during the Great Depression
  • Technology milestoneAmelia Earhart becomes first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic
  • Defining fadMonopoly board game (unofficial versions)
  • Notable inventionPolaroid filters
  • World population2.14 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHerbert Hoover
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population124.8M

1932 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Cormac Murphy-O'Connor's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19322026
Gas$0.18$3.45/gal
Average home$5,000$435,000
Average income$2,600$67,500
Movie ticket$0.20$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population124.8M341 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, 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.