Portrait of James Foley (journalist)

Birthday profile

James Foley (journalist)

James Foley, American photographer and journalist (died 2014)

Born
October 18, 1973
Died
August 19, 2014
Zodiac sign
Libra
Birth year
1973

About James Foley (journalist)

James Wright Foley (October 18, 1973 – c. August 19, 2014) was an American journalist and video reporter. While working as a freelance war correspondent during the Syrian Civil War, he was abducted on November 22, 2012, in north-western Syria. He was murdered by beheading in August 2014 purportedly as a response to American airstrikes in Iraq, thus becoming the first American citizen to be murdered by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Before becoming a journalist, Foley was an instructor for Teach For America. By spring 2008, in Iraq, he became an embedded journalist with an Indiana National Guard unit, writing a story for In These Times about condolence payments paid to Iraqis. In 2008, he became an embedded journalist with USAID-funded development projects in Iraq. He was an embedded journalist with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan and in January 2011 he began writing for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes from his post there. Later in 2011 he reported for GlobalPost in Libya. There, he was captured by Gaddafi loyalist forces and held for 44 days. The next year, Foley was captured in Syria while he was working for Agence France-Presse and GlobalPost.

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

Career and life highlights

The world when James Foley (journalist) was born

James Foley (journalist) was born in 1973. 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 1973

  • #1 song"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" – Tony Orlando & Dawn
  • Top movieThe Sting
  • Top TV showAll in the Family
  • Best-selling bookGravity's Rainbow – Thomas Pynchon

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentSecretariat wins the Triple Crown with a record Belmont Stakes
  • Top headlineOPEC oil embargo triggers global energy crisis
  • Technology milestoneFirst mobile phone call (Martin Cooper, Motorola)
  • Defining fadPlatform shoes
  • Notable inventionMobile phone (Motorola prototype)
  • World population3.93 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderRichard Nixon
  • Sports championOakland Athletics (World Series)
  • Also wonNew York Knicks (NBA)
  • U.S. population211.9M

1973 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in James Foley (journalist)'s birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19732026
Gas$0.39$3.45/gal
Average home$22,100$435,000
Average income$13,500$67,500
Minimum wage$1.60$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$1.77$11.95
Postage stamp$0.08$0.73
Population211.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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