Baby boomer
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A baby boomer is someone born in a period of increased birth rates, such as those during the economic prosperity following World War II. In the United States, demographers have put the generation's birth years at 1946 to 1964, despite the fact that the U.S. birth rate (per 1,000 population) actually began to decline after 1957. William Strauss and Neil Howe, in their book Generations include those conceived by soldiers on leave during the war, putting the generation's birth years at 1943 to 1960. Howe and Strauss argue that persons born between 1961 and 1964 have political and cultural patterns very different from those born between 1955 and 1960 and fit into what those writers term the Thirteenth Generation or Generation X (also known as the Cold War generation) born between 1961 and 1981. However, most people still accept Baby Boomers as being born between roughly 1946 and 1964. A growing movement puts the dates at 1946 to 1963 because of the amount of significant "Gen-X" figures born in 1964, including Courtney Love and Eddie Vedder. This is, among later generations, becoming a more accepted sequence of dates.
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Place in time
Boomers' typical grandparents were of the Lost Generation; their parents were of the G.I. Generation and Silent Generation. Their children are of Generation X and the Generation Y and their typical grandchildren will be of the Generation Z (born roughly about 2000 - 2021).
Unlike the previous generation (the Silent), Boomers lack any childhood recollection of World War II. Unlike the next generation (Generation X), many American Boomers fought in Vietnam or organized opposition to it, or were reaching adolescence or lingering in "post-adolescence" (a term coined for them) as the Vietnam War drew to a close. See also Generation gap.
Born early or late within their generation, Boomers could hardly avoid a world of Beatlemania, mod clothes, a search of either new philosophical discoveries in India or hallucinogenic drugs in Mexico. A great gap emerged in America between those organizing against the Vietnam War and those fighting and dying in the same war, Although the term "Boomer" is now in global use, the generation is also known in Europe as the Generation of 1968 for protests that led to the fall of the French government and the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia in 1968. Cheap, easy travel, relative peace, inexpensive and widespread college education, and mass communications that others had created had made the philosophical and cultural awakening possible for many.
What Howe and Strauss termed the Consciousness Awakening of the 1960s faded, and the popular culture became less euphoric. Drugs and political radicalism began to charge persons less naïve about self-interest than the hippies who flocked to the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, and pathologies became more commonplace. By the 1970s a revival of religious activity led to a resurgence of religious fundamentalism that has reshaped American life. By 1980, reactionary trends had become surprisingly common in Boomers, and Ronald Reagan, a politician who had based much of his political career on opposition to the cultural tendencies of Boomers of the late-1960's, was able to win a majority of Boomers as voters.
Like other Idealist generations, Boomers got an early start in elective politics. By 1988 the elder George Bush selected the fortyish Dan Quayle as Vice-President; by 1992, American voters voted Bill Clinton in as President of the United States; the Presidential succession had gone from a veteran of World War II to a draft resister of the Vietnam War, bypassing the Silent Generation altogether. By 2001, George W. Bush succeeded Bill Clinton as President.
For their numbers and their resources, Boomers have had but slight achievements in technology and in any commerce not related to culture. However, they have had crucial roles in developing the American technology and finance industries which dominate to a good deal the US economy today, and popularizing and shepherding the growth of consumer goods and marketing development and sale.
Prospects
By the middle of the first decade of the new millennium, the oldest Boomers are approaching retirement age. The younger members of the generation are still in their forties, and many have yet to leave their mark upon history and still have time in which to do so. Patterns of history for Idealist generations suggest that Boomers will have a long tenure of political office and cultural influence, as was true for the Awakeners of Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Adams, the Transcendentals of Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman, and the Missionaries of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and George Catlett Marshall. Patterns of history indicate that Boomers will occupy the upper echelons of worldly power through a likely Crisis Era that will not end until about 2020. The best Idealist leaders demonstrate vision, decisiveness, and culture that allows them to lead in the best manner in the worst of times.
A caveat applies: the arrogance, selfishness, and ruthlessness that Howe and Schwartz attribute to an unusual degree in all prior Idealist generations can lead to factional strife or to outright despotism. Younger generations may need to rein in these destructive tendencies. The best role that Boomers can perform in the next twenty or so years is to bring out the best in generations younger than themselves, as they will be old people during what Howe and Strauss predict will be some of the most dangerous times in human history.
Famous Baby-Boomers
- 1961
- George Clooney – actor, “ER”
- Ann Coulter -- neoconservative writer and polemicist
- Diana, Princess of Wales – Princess of Wales (died 1997)
- The Edge – rock guitarist, U2
- Enya – new age vocalist
- Melissa Etheridge – rock vocalist
- k.d. lang – rock vocalist
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus – actor, "Seinfeld"; "Saturday Night Live"
- Michael J. Fox – actor, “Family Ties”
- Wayne Gretzky – NHL legend
- Sean Hannity – conservative tv/radio personality, "Hannity and Colmes"
- Peter Jackson – filmmaker, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- Greg LeMond – cyclist, three–time Tour de France winner
- Carl Lewis – track & field legend
- George Lopez – actor/comedian, "George Lopez"
- Dan Marino – NFL quarterback, Miami Dolphins
- Dylan McDermott – actor, "The Practice"
- Eddie Murphy – actor/comedian, Coming to America; Beverly Hills Cop
- Dave Mustaine – rock vocalist/guitarist, Megadeth; Metallica
- Kirby Puckett – Baseball Hall of Famer
- Dennis Rodman – NBA forward, Detroit Pistons; Chicago Bulls; San Antonio Spurs; Los Angeles Lakers
- Henry Rollins – rock vocalist, Black Flag; Rollins Band
- Tim Roth – actor, Pulp Fiction; Reservoir Dogs
- Meg Ryan – actor, When Harry Met Sally
- Isiah Thomas – NBA guard, Detroit Pistons
- Irvine Welsh, Scottish writer
- Reggie White – NFL defensive lineman, Philadelphia Eagles; Green Bay Packers; deceased
- Steve Young – NFL quarterback, San Francisco 49ers
- 1962
- Paula Abdul – pop vocalist
- Matthew Broderick – actor, Ferris Bueller's Day Off
- Garth Brooks – country vocalist
- Jon Bon Jovi – rock vocalist, Bon Jovi
- Cliff Burton – rock bassist, Metallica (died 1986)
- Jim Carrey – actor, "In Living Color"; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- Steven Curtis Chapman – contemporary Christian music vocalist
- Roger Clemens – MLB pitcher
- Tom Cruise – actor, Rain Man; Top Gun
- Joan Cusack – actor, Say Anything; Sixteen Candles
- Sheryl Crow – rock vocalist
- Clyde Drexler – NBA guard, Houston Rockets
- Anthony Edwards – actor, ER; Fast Times at Ridgemont High
- Emilio Estevez – actor, The Breakfast Club; The Outsiders
- Patrick Ewing – NBA center, New York Knicks; Seattle SuperSonics
- David Fincher – filmmaker, Fight Club; Se7en
- Flea – rock bassist, Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Doug Flutie – CFL & NFL quarterback, Calgary Stampeders; Toronto Argonauts; Buffalo Bills; San Diego Chargers
- Jodie Foster – actor, The Silence of the Lambs; The Accused
- Bobcat Goldthwait – actor, Police Academy; Scrooged
- MC Hammer – (a.k.a. Hammer) rapper
- John Hannah, Scottish actor
- Steve Irwin, Australian herpetologist and TV personality (The Crocodile Hunter)
- Eddie Izzard – comedian
- Bo Jackson – MLB & NFL player
- Craig Kilborn – comedian/talk show host, "The Late Late Show"; "SportsCenter"; "The Daily Show"
- Andrew McCarthy – actor, Pretty in Pink; St. Elmo's Fire
- Dylan McDermott - actor, theatrical director
- Demi Moore – actor, Ghost; St. Elmo's Fire
- Rosie O'Donnell – comedian/actor/talk show host, "The Rosie O'Donnell Show"
- Chuck Palahniuk – novelist, Fight Club
- Ralph E. Reed - conservative political figure, former head of the Christian Coalition
- Jerry Rice – NFL receiver, San Francisco 49ers; Oakland Raiders; Seattle Seahawks
- Axl Rose – rock vocalist, Guns N' Roses
- Ally Sheedy – actor, The Breakfast Club; WarGames
- Jon Stewart – comedian/actor, "The Daily Show"; "The Jon Stewart Show"
- John Stockton – NBA point guard, Utah Jazz
- 1963
- Charles Barkley – NBA forward, Phoenix Suns
- Len Bias – NBA player (died 1986)
- Jack Del Rio – NFL coach, Jacksonville Jaguars
- Johnny Depp – actor, Edward Scissorhands; Ed Wood
- Eazy-E – rapper (died 1995)
- Whitney Houston – pop vocalist
- Randy Johnson – MLB pitcher, Seattle Mariners; Arizona Diamondbacks
- Michael Jordan – NBA guard, Chicago Bulls; Washington Wizards
- Garry Kasparov – chess champion
- Julian Lennon – vocalist; son of John Lennon
- Heather Locklear – actress, "T.J. Hooker"; "Dynasty"
- Karl Malone – NBA forward, Utah Jazz; Los Angeles Lakers
- Mark McGwire – MLB player, Oakland Athletics; St. Louis Cardinals
- Natalie Merchant – rock vocalist, 10,000 Maniacs
- Mike Myers – actor, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery; "Saturday Night Live"
- Hakeem Olajuwon – NBA center, Houston Rockets
- Conan O'Brien – comic/talk show host, "Late Night with Conan O'Brien"; "Saturday Night Live"
- Tatum O'Neal – actress, Paper Moon
- Brad Pitt – actor, Fight Club; Se7en
- Vijay Singh – golfer
- Steven Soderbergh – filmmaker, Traffic; sex, lies, and videotape
- Quentin Tarantino – filmmaker, Pulp Fiction; Reservoir Dogs
- Vinny Testaverde – NFL quarterback, New York Jets; Dallas Cowboys
- Jeanne Tripplehorn – actor, Basic Instinct
Two U.S. Presidents were born during the years 1943-1960: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. It is estimated that the Boom Generation will not hold a plurality in Congress until 2015, the White House until 2021, and will have a majority in the Supreme Court from 2010 to 2030.
Non-U.S. peers of the Boomers include Lech Walesa, Mick Jagger, George Harrison, U2 frontman Bono, Daniel Ortega, Charles, Prince of Wales, and former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Their cultural endowments have included the following:
- Doonesbury (comic, Garry Trudeau)
- All the President's Men (book, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, later a movie)
- The Fate of the Earth (Jonathan Schell)
- The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
- Cathy (comic, Cathy Guisewite)
- "American Pie" (song, Don McLean)
- Saturday Night Live (television show)
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (film, Steven Spielberg)
- Strawberry Statement (James Kunen)
- Green Rage (Christopher Manes)
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Maya Lin)
- Do the Right Thing (film, Spike Lee)
Categories: American Generations
See also
Usage examples
- BBC report on pensioners (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3659996.stm)
| Preceded by: Silent Generation 1928 – 1945 | Baby Boomers 1946 – 1960 | Succeeded by: Generation X 1961 – 1981 |