Home / Birthday profiles / Roger Williams (pianist)
Portrait of Roger Williams (pianist)

Birthday profile

Roger Williams (pianist)

Roger Williams, American pianist (died 2011)

Find birthday twinsOpen interactive profile
Born
October 1, 1924
Died
October 8, 2011
Zodiac sign
Libra
Birth year
1924

About Roger Williams (pianist)

Roger Williams was an American popular music pianist. Described by the Los Angeles Times as "one of the most popular instrumentalists of the mid-20th century", and "the rare instrumental pop artist to strike a lasting commercial chord," Williams had 22 hit singles – including the chart-topping "Autumn Leaves" in 1955 and "Born Free" in 1966 – and 38 hit albums between 1955 and 1972. While still in the Navy he won the middleweight boxing championship at his base in Idaho and earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Idaho State College (now Idaho State University) in 1950. During 1951-1952 Weertz won two talent contests: "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" and Dennis James' Chance of a Lifetime television program.

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

Roger Williams (pianist) timeline

  1. While still in the Navy he won the middleweight boxing championship at his base in Idaho and earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Idaho State College (now Idaho State University) in 1950.
  2. During 1951-1952 Weertz won two talent contests: "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" and Dennis James' Chance of a Lifetime television program.

The world when Roger Williams (pianist) was born

Roger Williams (pianist) was born in 1924. 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 1924

  • #1 song"It Had to Be You" – Isham Jones
  • Top movieThe Thief of Bagdad (Douglas Fairbanks)
  • Best-selling bookSo Big – Edna Ferber

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst Winter Olympics held in Chamonix, France
  • Top headlineCalvin Coolidge elected president in a landslide
  • Technology milestoneIBM founded
  • Defining fadMah-jongg craze sweeps America
  • Notable inventionSpiral-bound notebook
  • World population1.95 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderCalvin Coolidge
  • Sports championWashington Senators (World Series)
  • U.S. population114.1M

1924 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Roger Williams (pianist)'s birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19242026
Gas$0.21$3.45/gal
Average home$5,800$435,000
Average income$3,520$67,500
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population114.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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