Portrait of Stéphane Hessel

Birthday profile

Stéphane Hessel

Stéphane Hessel, German-French activist and diplomat (died 2013)

Born
October 20, 1917
Died
February 27, 2013
Zodiac sign
Libra
Birth year
1917

About Stéphane Hessel

Stéphane Frédéric Hessel was a French diplomat, ambassador, writer, concentration camp survivor, Resistance member and BCRA agent. Born German, he became a naturalised French citizen in 1939. He became an observer of the editing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. In 2011 he was named by Foreign Policy magazine in its list of top global thinkers. In later years his activism focused on economic inequalities, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and protection for the post–World War II social vision. His short book Time for Outrage! sold 4.5 million copies worldwide. Hessel and his book were linked and cited as an inspiration for the Spanish Indignados, the Arab Spring, the American Occupy Wall Street movement and other political movements. Stéphane Frédéric Hessel (born Stefan Friedrich Kaspar Hessel; 20 October 1917 – 26 February 2013) was a French diplomat, ambassador, writer, concentration camp survivor, Resistance member and BCRA agent.

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

Stéphane Hessel timeline

  1. Stéphane Frédéric Hessel (born Stefan Friedrich Kaspar Hessel; 20 October 1917 – 26 February 2013) was a French diplomat, ambassador, writer, concentration camp survivor, Resistance member and BCRA agent.
  2. Born German, he became a naturalised French citizen in 1939.
  3. He became an observer of the editing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.

The world when Stéphane Hessel was born

Stéphane Hessel was born in 1917. 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 1917

  • Best-selling book"Mr. Britling Sees It Through" – H.G. Wells

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentProfessional sports curtailed as America enters World War I
  • Top headlineUS enters World War I
  • Technology milestoneFirst practical military use of sonar
  • World population~1.77B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWoodrow Wilson
  • U.S. population100.8M

1917 versus 2026

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

Measure19172026
Gas$0.25$3.45/gal
Population100.8M341 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.

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