Portrait of Jerry Falwell

Birthday profile

Jerry Falwell

Jerry Falwell, American minister and television host (died 2007)

Born
August 11, 1933
Died
May 15, 2007
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1933

About Jerry Falwell

Jerry Laymon Falwell (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelist, and politically conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia. He founded Lynchburg Christian Academy, later renamed Liberty Christian Academy, in 1967, founded Liberty University in 1971, and co-founded the Moral Majority in 1979. == Early life and education == Falwell and his twin brother Gene were born in the Fairview Heights area of Lynchburg, Virginia, on August 11, 1933, the sons of Helen Virginia (née Beasley) and Carey Hezekiah Falwell. His father was an entrepreneur and one-time bootlegger who was agnostic. His father shot and killed his brother Garland and died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1948 at the age of 55. His paternal grandfather was a staunch atheist. Jerry Falwell was a member of a group in Fairview Heights known to the police as "the Wall Gang" because they sat on a low concrete wall at the Pickeral Café. Falwell met Macel Pate on his first visit to Park Avenue Baptist Church in 1949; Macel was a pianist there. They married on April 12, 1958.

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

Career and life highlights

Jerry Falwell timeline

  1. Falwell met Macel Pate on his first visit to Park Avenue Baptist Church in 1949; Macel was a pianist there.
  2. In 1956, aged 22, Falwell founded the Thomas Road Baptist Church.
  3. Liberty Christian Academy (LCA, founded as Lynchburg Christian Academy) is a Christian school in Lynchburg that the Lynchburg News in 1966 called "a private school for white students".
  4. He founded Lynchburg Christian Academy, later renamed Liberty Christian Academy, in 1967, founded Liberty University in 1971, and co-founded the Moral Majority in 1979.

The world when Jerry Falwell was born

Jerry Falwell was born in 1933. 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 1933

  • #1 song"Stormy Weather" – Ethel Waters
  • Top movieKing Kong
  • Best-selling bookLost Horizon – James Hilton

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst MLB All-Star Game played at Comiskey Park
  • Top headlineAdolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
  • Technology milestoneFM radio patented by Edwin Armstrong
  • Defining fadChain letters
  • Notable inventionFM radio
  • World population2.17 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championNew York Giants (World Series)
  • U.S. population125.6M

1933 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Jerry Falwell's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19332026
Gas$0.18$3.45/gal
Average home$4,800$435,000
Average income$2,300$67,500
Minimum wage$0.25$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.20$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population125.6M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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