Togo D. West Jr.

Togo D. West Jr., American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 3rd United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (died 2018)

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Born: June 21, 1942
Died: March 8, 2018
Zodiac sign: Cancer
Birth year: 1942

About Togo D. West Jr.

Togo Dennis West Jr. was an American attorney and Army officer who served as the third secretary of veterans affairs in the administration of President Bill Clinton from 1998 until his resignation in 2000. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the second African American to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs. West previously served as the 16th secretary of the army from 1993 to 1998, as General Counsel of the Department of Defense from 1980 to 1981, and as General Counsel of the Navy from 1977 to 1979.

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

The world when Togo D. West Jr. was born

Togo D. West Jr. was born in 1942. 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 1942

#1 song"White Christmas" – Bing Crosby
Top movieCasablanca
Best-selling bookThe Song of Bernadette – Franz Werfel

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentFirst Negro League World Series
Top headlineBattle of Midway becomes turning point of WWII in the Pacific
Technology milestoneEnrico Fermi achieves first nuclear chain reaction
Defining fadRationing and war bonds
Notable inventionNapalm
World population2.35 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
Sports championSt. Louis Cardinals (World Series)
U.S. population134.9M

1942 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Togo D. West Jr.'s birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure	1942	2026
Gas	$0.20	$3.45/gal
Average home	$5,600	$435,000
Average income	$3,800	$67,500
Minimum wage	$0.30	$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket	$0.27	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.03	$0.73
Population	134.9M	341 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.