Portrait of Randy Pausch

Birthday profile

Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch, American author and academic (died 2008)

Born
October 23, 1960
Died
July 25, 2008
Zodiac sign
Scorpio
Birth year
1960

About Randy Pausch

Randolph Frederick Pausch () (October 23, 1960 – July 25, 2008) was an American educator, a professor of computer science, human–computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pausch learned he had pancreatic cancer in September 2006. In August 2007, he was given a terminal diagnosis: "three to six months of good health left". He gave an upbeat lecture titled, "The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" on September 18, 2007 at Carnegie Mellon, which became a popular YouTube video and led to other media appearances. He co-authored a book of the same name, The Last Lecture, which became a New York Times best-seller. Pausch's academic lectures reached a global audience only after his diagnosis with a terminal illness in 2006. Pausch died of complications from pancreatic cancer on July 25, 2008, aged 47. In 1997, Pausch became Associate Professor of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University.

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

The world when Randy Pausch was born

Randy Pausch was born in 1960. 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 1960

  • #1 song"The Twist" – Chubby Checker
  • Top movieThe Apartment
  • Top TV showGunsmoke
  • Best-selling bookTo Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentCassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) wins Olympic gold in boxing
  • Top headlineJFK elected as youngest US president
  • Technology milestoneFirst working laser demonstrated
  • Defining fadThe Twist dance craze
  • Notable inventionLaser
  • World population3.03 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championPittsburgh Pirates (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population180.7M

1960 versus 2026

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

Measure19602026
Gas$0.31$3.45/gal
Average home$12,700$435,000
Average income$7,400$67,500
Minimum wage$1.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.69$11.95
Postage stamp$0.04$0.73
Population180.7M341 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.