Portrait of Gustavo Díaz-Ordaz

Birthday profile

Gustavo Díaz-Ordaz

56th President of Mexico

Born
March 12, 1911
Died
July 15, 1979
Zodiac sign
Pisces
Birth year
1911

About Gustavo Díaz-Ordaz

Gustavo Díaz Ordaz Bolaños (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡusˈtaβo ˈði.as oɾˈðas]; 12 March 1911 – 15 July 1979) was a Mexican politician and member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He served as the President of Mexico from 1964 to 1970. Previously, he served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies for Puebla's 1st district, a senator of the Congress of the Union for Puebla, and Secretary of the Interior. Díaz Ordaz was born in San Andrés Chalchicomula, and obtained a law degree from the University of Puebla in 1937 where he later became its vice-rector. He represented Puebla's 1st district in the Chamber of Deputies from 1943 to 1946. Subsequently, he represented the same state in the Chamber of Senators from 1946 to 1952 becoming closely acquainted with then-senator Adolfo López Mateos. Díaz Ordaz was a CIA asset, known by the cryptonym, LITEMPO-2. Díaz Ordaz joined the campaign of Adolfo Ruiz Cortines for the 1952 election and subsequently worked for the Secretariat of the Interior under Ángel Carvajal Bernal. He became the secretary following López Mateos' victory in the 1958 election, and exercised de facto executive power during the absences of the president, particularly during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1963, the PRI announced him as the presidential candidate for the 1964 election, he received 88.81% of the popular vote. His administration is mostly remembered for the student protests that took place in 1968, and their subsequent repression by the Army and State forces during the Tlatelolco massacre, in which hundreds of unarmed protesters were killed. His presidency also took place during a period of high economic growth known as the Mexican Miracle, as well as hosting both the 1968 Summer Olympics and 1970 FIFA World Cup, the first country to have organized both showpiece events two years apart. After passing on the presidency to his own Secretary of the Interior Luis Echeverría, Díaz Ordaz retired from public life. He was briefly the Ambassador to Spain in 1977, a position he resigned from after strong protests and criticism by the media. He died of colorectal cancer on 15 July 1979 at the age of 68. Despite high economic growth during his presidency, Díaz Ordaz is considered one of the most unpopular and controversial modern Mexican presidents, largely for the Tlatelolco massacre and other repressive acts, which would continue into the presidencies of his successors.

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

Career and life highlights

Gustavo Díaz-Ordaz timeline

  1. Born: March 12, 1911
  2. Died: July 15, 1979

The world when Gustavo Díaz-Ordaz was born

Gustavo Díaz-Ordaz was born in 1911. 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 1911

  • Best-selling book"The Broad Highway" – Jeffery Farnol

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst Indianapolis 500 race
  • Top headlineTriangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 workers
  • Technology milestoneFirst transcontinental airplane flight (49 days)
  • World population~1.71B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWilliam Howard Taft
  • U.S. population93.4M

1911 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Gustavo Díaz-Ordaz's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19112026
Population93.4M341 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. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

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