Life Timeline

For those born March 11, 1973.

Not your birthday? Find your timeline here.

1972
Before you were born

You're one of the first people who's never lived in a world without The Godfather.

In September 2015, David Sims argued that Martin Scorcese's Goodfellas endures as a more realistic, if not more beloved, portrayal of the mafia than even the Francis Ford Coppola classic.

1973
Beginnings

Around the time you were born, the U.S. military officially withdrew from the conflict in Vietnam.

In March 2015, Alan Taylor published a photo essay on the Vietnam War.

1973
Year 50

You were born in March of 1973. This year, The Atlantic celebrates its 160th birthday, making it 3 times as old as you.

The year you were born, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. wrote about why the powers of the presidency spiraled out of control under Richard Nixon.

1986

Paramount

The teenage years

This is what Hollywood thought teenagers looked like the year you became one.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off was released in 1986.

1989

Patrick Hertzog / AFP / Getty Images

After the Fall

At 16 years old, you saw the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

“It was thought that all borders between men had similarly disintegrated, and we were all destined to be free and empowered individuals in a global meeting place,” wrote Robert Kaplan 20 years later.

1991
Coming of age

Around your 18th birthday, the beating of a black motorist named Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers was captured on videotape.

In the October 1992 issue, Jack Miles discussed the grim economic conditions underyling the Rodney King riots.

1994
Half a life ago

Your life can be divided into two halves: before and after Amazon.

In March 2016, Ian Bogost wrote about the next stage in Amazon's commercial revolution.

2004

Andrew Kelly / Reuters

Contemporaries

In 2004, Heidi Klum, who was born the same year as you, began hosting the television show Project Runway.

In August 2014, Kevin O'Keeffe wrote about the appeal of Klum's series.

2010

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

After the Spring

When you turned 37, you saw the rise of the Arab Spring.

People across the world rediscovered the power and peril of revolutions, as Laura Kasinof found in Yemen.

2025
Forecasts

By the time you turn 51, experts at the Pew Research Center warn that there will be no "surveillance-free spaces."

In December 2014, Adrienne LaFrance wrote about how the way we see privacy will change over the next decade.

Today
History in the making

History is happening all around you, every day.

The Atlantic is here to help you process it, in stories like these: