James West (inventor)

James West, American inventor and acoustician

Find birthday twins Open interactive profile

Born: February 10, 1931
Age in 2026: 95
Zodiac sign: Aquarius
Birth year: 1931

About James West (inventor)

James Edward Maceo West is an American inventor and acoustician. He holds over 250 foreign and U.S. patents for the production and design of microphones and techniques for creating polymer foil electrets. Along with Gerhard Sessler, West invented the foil electret microphone in 1962 while developing instruments for human hearing research. The Acoustical Society of America, of which he was president from 1998 to 1999, awarded him with a fellowship in 1985, their Silver Medal in 1995, and their Gold Medal in 2006.

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

James West (inventor) timeline

1962Along with Gerhard Sessler, West invented the foil electret microphone in 1962 while developing instruments for human hearing research.
1998The Acoustical Society of America, of which he was president from 1998 to 1999, awarded him with a fellowship in 1985, their Silver Medal in 1995, and their Gold Medal in 2006.

The world when James West (inventor) was born

James West (inventor) was born in 1931. 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 1931

#1 song"Stardust" – Artie Shaw
Top movieFrankenstein
Best-selling bookThe Good Earth – Pearl S. Buck

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentKnute Rockne dies in plane crash
Top headlineAl Capone convicted of tax evasion
Technology milestoneEmpire State Building completed
Defining fadJigsaw puzzles
Notable inventionElectric razor
World population2.10 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderHerbert Hoover
Sports championSt. Louis Cardinals (World Series)
U.S. population124.0M

1931 versus 2026

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

Measure	1931	2026
Gas	$0.17	$3.45/gal
Average home	$5,500	$435,000
Average income	$3,000	$67,500
Movie ticket	$0.25	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.02	$0.73
Population	124.0M	341 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. 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.