Portrait of Stan Laurel

Birthday profile

Stan Laurel

Stan Laurel, English actor and comedian (died 1965)

Born
June 16, 1890
Died
February 23, 1965
Zodiac sign
Gemini
Birth year
1890

About Stan Laurel

Stan Laurel ( LORR-əl; born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English actor, comedian, director and writer who was in the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 short films, feature films and cameo roles. Laurel began his career in music hall, where he developed a number of his standard comic devices, including the bowler hat, and developed his skills in pantomime and music-hall sketches. He was a member of "Fred Karno's London Comedians", where he was Charlie Chaplin's understudy. He and Chaplin arrived in the United States on the same ship from the United Kingdom with the Karno troupe. Laurel began his film career in 1917 and made his final appearance in 1951. He appeared with his comic partner Oliver Hardy in the film short The Lucky Dog in 1921, although they did not become an official team until late 1927. He then appeared exclusively with Hardy until retiring after his comedy partner's death in 1957. In April 1961, at the 33rd Academy Awards, Laurel was given an Academy Honorary Award for his pioneering work in comedy, and he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard. Laurel and Hardy were ranked top among best double acts and seventh overall in a 2005 UK poll to find the Comedians' Comedian. In 2019, Laurel topped a list of the greatest British comedians compiled by a panel on the television channel Gold. In 2009, a bronze statue of the duo was unveiled in Laurel's hometown of Ulverston. Consequently, Laurel, who was too young to travel, lived in Ulverston with his grandparents, George and Sarah Metcalfe, for the first seven years of his life. Laurel had his first taste of the theatre in Ulverston.

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

The world when Stan Laurel was born

Stan Laurel was born in 1890. 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.

Headlines and milestones

  • Top headlineWounded Knee Massacre — last major conflict with Native Americans
  • Technology milestoneElectric chair used for first execution
  • Notable inventionElectric chair
  • World population~1.5B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderBenjamin Harrison
  • U.S. population63.0M

1890 versus 2026

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

Measure18902026
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population63.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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