Birthday profile

Eric Baker (activist)

Eric Baker, English activist, co-founded Amnesty International (died 1976)

Born
September 22, 1920
Died
July 11, 1976
Zodiac sign
Virgo
Birth year
1920

About Eric Baker (activist)

Eric Baker (22 September 1920 – 11 July 1976) was a British activist and one of the founders of the human rights group Amnesty International, and the second Secretary-General of the organization. He was also a founder of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). Baker was a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and served as head of the Quaker Peace and Social Witness, an organization of Quakers in Britain working to promote and practise the Quaker testimonies of peace, equality, simplicity and truth. His resting place is the Quaker Meeting House in Maldon, Essex, England where he attended Meeting For Worship on a Sunday. The Meeting is still active today. == Life and career == A pacifist, Baker was registered as a conscientious objector during World War II. His description of justifying this to his tribunal remains in the current (Fifth) edition of British Yearly Meeting's Quaker Faith and Practice. During the war, Baker worked on the "Famine Relief" campaign, raising funds to send food to the war-torn European continent, educate the British public, and pressure the government. From 1946 to 1948 he was appointed as a joint secretary of the Quaker Centre in Delhi, India, with his wife Joyce. Baker was general secretary of the National Peace Council from 1954 to 1959. In this role he wrote an article entitled 'Psychological warfare a challenge to democracy', and a policy statement on a 'Campaign to secure international agreement on the prohibition of nuclear weapons', in December 1959.

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

The world when Eric Baker (activist) was born

Eric Baker (activist) was born in 1920. 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 1920

  • #1 song"Swanee" – Al Jolson
  • Top movieThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
  • Best-selling bookThe Age of Innocence – Edith Wharton

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentBabe Ruth sold to the New York Yankees
  • Top headlineWomen win the right to vote with the 19th Amendment
  • Technology milestoneFirst commercial radio broadcasts
  • Defining fadFlappers and the Jazz Age
  • Notable inventionBand-Aid adhesive bandages
  • World population1.86 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWoodrow Wilson
  • Sports championCleveland Indians (World Series)
  • U.S. population106.0M

1920 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Eric Baker (activist)'s birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19202026
Gas$0.30$3.45/gal
Average home$6,296$435,000
Average income$3,269$67,500
Movie ticket$0.15$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population106.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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