Portrait of Michael J. McGivney

Birthday profile

Michael J. McGivney

Michael J. McGivney, American priest and founder of the Knights of Columbus (died 1890)

Born
August 12, 1852
Died
August 14, 1890
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1852

About Michael J. McGivney

Michael Joseph McGivney (August 12, 1852 – August 14, 1890) was an American Catholic priest based in New Haven, Connecticut. He founded the Knights of Columbus at a local parish to serve as a mutual aid and insurance organization, particularly for immigrants and their families. It developed through the 20th century as the world's largest Catholic fraternal organization. The cause for his canonization started in the Archdiocese of Hartford in 1996; in March 2008, Pope Benedict XVI declared McGivney "Venerable" in recognition of his "heroic virtue". On May 27, 2020, Pope Francis announced that McGivney had been approved for beatification, which officially occurred on October 31, 2020. In 1989, the York Catholic District School Board in Ontario, Canada, founded a school named Father Michael McGivney Catholic Academy in his honor. McGivney was also known for his tireless work among his parishioners.

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

The world when Michael J. McGivney was born

Michael J. McGivney was born in 1852. 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 1852

  • Best-selling bookUncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Headlines and milestones

  • Top headlineNapoleon III becomes Emperor of France
  • Technology milestoneFirst public flushing toilet opens in London
  • World population~1.32B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderMillard Fillmore
  • U.S. population24.4M

1852 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Michael J. McGivney's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure18522026
Population24.4M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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