Laurel Clark

NASA astronaut, medical doctor, United States Navy Captain, and Space Shuttle mission specialist (1961-2003)

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Born: March 10, 1961
Died: February 1, 2003
Zodiac sign: Pisces
Birth year: 1961

About Laurel Clark

Laurel Blair Clark (née Salton; March 10, 1961 – February 1, 2003) was an American NASA astronaut, medical doctor, United States Navy captain, and Space Shuttle mission specialist. She died along with her six fellow crew members in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Clark was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Her squadron won the Marine Attack Squadron of the Year award for its successful deployment. Clark also recorded inside the cockpit during Columbia's descent into the Earth's atmosphere on a small digital camera.

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

The world when Laurel Clark was born

Laurel Clark was born in 1961. 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 1961

#1 song"Tossin' and Turnin'" – Bobby Lewis
Top movieWest Side Story
Top TV showGunsmoke
Best-selling bookCatch-22 – Joseph Heller

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentRoger Maris hits 61 home runs, breaking Babe Ruth's record
Top headlineYuri Gagarin becomes the first person in space
Technology milestoneYuri Gagarin becomes first human in space
Defining fadSurfing culture
Notable inventionValium
World population3.08 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderJohn F. Kennedy
Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
U.S. population183.7M

1961 versus 2026

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

Measure	1961	2026
Gas	$0.31	$3.45/gal
Average home	$12,500	$435,000
Average income	$7,600	$67,500
Minimum wage	$1.15	$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket	$0.69	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.04	$0.73
Population	183.7M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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