Life Timeline

For those born June 2, 1951.

Not your birthday? Find your timeline here.

1950
Before you were born

You're one of the first people who's never lived in a world without universal credit cards.

In April 2015, Joe Pinsker wrote about how people misuse credit cards without giving much thought to the consequences.

1951
Year 71

You were born in June of 1951. This year, The Atlantic celebrates its 160th birthday, making it 2 times as old as you.

The year you were born, Bertrand Russell considered three possible futures for the human race, as the Cold War set in.

1951
Beginnings

Around the time you were born, Minnie Minoso became the first African American to play for the White Sox.

In April 2013, Peter Dreier wrote about the real story behind baseball integration.

1964

AP

The teenage years

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

A Hard Day's Night was released in 1964.

1969
Coming of age

Around your 18th birthday, the Stonewall Riots in New York City marked the beginning of the country's gay-rights movement.

In January 2013, Garance Franke-Ruta wrote about an account of the Stonewall Riots.

1969

NASA

Man on the Moon

At 18 years old, you were alive to behold people walking on the moon.

Over the years, the moon landing has come to be lauded as the pinnacle of human achievement, although it was often derided at the time. In 1963, NASA astronauts took to The Atlantic to plead the case for landing on the moon.

1983
Half a life ago

Your life can be divided into two halves: before and after the Disney Channel.

In July 2015, James Parker wrote about the insidious messages tweens pick up from the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon.

1991

Craig Fujii / AP

Contemporaries

In 1991, Luther Vandross, who was born the same year as you, started his "Power of Love" tour, which included four back-to-back sold-out concerts at Madison Square Garden.

In April 2012, Michael Arcenaux wrote about how R&B had changed since that legendary tour.

2007

NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute

Across the Universe

When you turned 56, you watched humankind reach the outer solar system.

With NASA's Cassini-Huygens mission in 2005, humans landed a probe in the outer reaches of the solar system for the first time, a moment Ross Andersen called the most glorious mission in the history of planetary science.

2021
Forecasts

By the time you turn 69, scientists estimate it will no longer be possible to keep global temperatures from rising at least 1.5 degrees Celsius.

In December 2015, Robinson Meyer wrote about why scientists had accepted this fact.

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: