Birthday profile

Herbert Kohler Jr.

Herbert Kohler Jr., American businessman (died 2022)

Born
February 20, 1939
Died
September 3, 2022
Zodiac sign
Pisces
Birth year
1939

About Herbert Kohler Jr.

Herbert Vollrath Kohler Jr. (February 20, 1939 – September 3, 2022) was an American billionaire businessman, a member of the Kohler family of Wisconsin, and the executive chairman of the Kohler Company, a manufacturing and hospitality company in Kohler, Wisconsin, best known for its plumbing products, golf courses, and resorts, with the latter two fields of business directly entered into under his chairmanship. Before his death, Forbes estimated the net worth of him and his family at US$8.8 billion. == Early life and education == Kohler was born February 20, 1939, to Ruth DeYoung Kohler and Herbert Vollrath Kohler Sr., who ran the Kohler Company from 1937 until his death. He is related to other former company presidents, including Walter J. Kohler Sr. and Walter J. Kohler Jr. He graduated from The Choate School in 1957 and chaired the school's board of trustees from 2005 to 2010. He graduated in 1965 from Yale University with a degree in Industrial Administration and went to work for the company. In June 1972, he was elected chairman of the board and chief executive officer at the age of 33. == Business career == As a teenager, Kohler worked as a laborer or technician for every division of Kohler Co., which specialised in manufacturing plumbing products.

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

Career and life highlights

The world when Herbert Kohler Jr. was born

Herbert Kohler Jr. was born in 1939. 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 1939

  • #1 song"Over the Rainbow" – Judy Garland
  • Top movieGone with the Wind
  • Best-selling bookThe Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentLou Gehrig delivers his "Luckiest Man" farewell speech
  • Top headlineGermany invades Poland — World War II begins
  • Technology milestoneFirst regular television broadcasts in the US (NBC)
  • Defining fadThe Wizard of Oz mania
  • Notable inventionNylon stockings
  • World population2.30 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population130.9M

1939 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Herbert Kohler Jr.'s birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19392026
Gas$0.19$3.45/gal
Average home$5,200$435,000
Average income$2,900$67,500
Minimum wage$0.30$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population130.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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