Earl Nightingale Birthday & Fun Facts

Earl Nightingale Birthday Highlights

Birth Name

Earl Nightingale

Place Of Birth

Los Angeles, USA

Age

102 years old

Birth Date

March 12 1921

Earl Nightingale Facts

Child Star?

no

Occupation

Radio Personality, Author

Education & Qualifications

Net Worth

$38,000,000

Current Partner

Diana Nightingale

Children

Pamela Nightingale, David Nightingale, Tad Nightingale

Parents

Gladys Nightingale, Earl Nightingale IV

On March 12, 1921, Earl Nightingale was born in Los Angeles, California.

Nightingale was a legendary author and radio speaker, best known for his celebrated spoken word record 'The Strangest Secret'. In addition to that, he has recorded 'Lead The Field', 'The Essence Of Success', 'Transformational Living: Positivity, Mindset And Persistence', and 'Your Greatest Asset: Creative Vision And Empowered Communication'.

Throughout his life, Earl Nightingale explored the subjects of meaningful existence, motivation, and human character, and all his works primarily take their inspiration from these topics. In the '50s, Nightingale played the voice of 'Sky King'. He also worked at WGN as a radio host for over half a decade (1950-1956).

All his life, Earl Nightingale remained a follower and disciple of Napoleon Hill. It is said that the great American radio speaker attained his enlightenment in 1949, at the age of 29, while perusing Hill's 'Think And Grow Rich'. Such was the book's influence on his life that later, in the '60s, Nightingale went on to publish its audio version.

Earl Nightingale's incomparable contribution to the radio industry earned him a position in the National Speakers Association Speaker Hall of Fame in 1976 and The National Association of Broadcasters National Radio Hall of Fame in 1985. In addition, Nightingale's book 'Earl Nightingale's Greatest Discovery' won the Napoleon Hill Gold Medal for Literary Excellency.

The great motivational speaker was married to Diana Nightingale. They remained together till Earl Nightingale's demise in 1989 and had three children together: Tad Nightingale, David Nightingale, and Pamela Nightingale. On March 25, 1989, he died in Scottsdale, Arizona.

What was Earl Nightingale’s net worth?

Belonging to a low-income family, Earl Nightingale started his professional career at a young age. He joined the US Marine corps in 1938, at the age of 17, and served till the end of World War II. Earl Nightingale's career in the radio industry began after the war. Subsequently, he wrote books, published spoken word records, appeared on famous television programs, and worked at various radio stations. By the time he entered the final days of his life, Earl Nightingale had already become one of the wealthiest and most famous motivational speakers in the United States, with a net worth of $38 million.

How much did Earl Nightingale earn per year?

Unfortunately, Earl Nightingale never disclosed his annual income.

How tall was Earl Nightingale?

Coming to his physical attributes, Earl Nightingale's height is not known.

How old was Earl Nightingale?

The great American motivational speaker was born on March 12, 1921. So, Earl Nightingale was 68 years old at the time of his demise in 1989.

Earl Nightingale was born on March 12, 1921, in Long Beach, Los Angeles, California. His father was Earl Nightingale IV, and his mother was Gladys Nightingale. The great radio host grew up in his hometown with his two brothers.

In 1933, when Nightingale was just 12 years old, his father, Earl the Fourth, abandoned his family. Nightingale's mother took her sons and relocated to a nearby tent city, where she started working at the WPA sewing factory as a seamstress. The great depression ruled the United States at the time, creating huge monetary differences between people. While many remained extremely poor, some found their way to success. This discrepancy was clearly perceptible to the young Nightingale, and it affected him greatly.

This rich-poor duality pushed Nightingale to learn more about the nature of human beings and the reasons behind the differences between their monetary condition and mental health. Nightingale became a regular visitor of the Long Beach Public Library, where he studied philosophy, psychology, and religions. His quest for success and peace began at an early age.

Nightingale's military career began when he was 17 years old. He joined the US Marine in 1938. At first, he was stationed at Camp Lejune, North Carolina, as an instructor. Later, his service took him to Hawaii. During the Pearl Harbor incident, Earl Nightingale was on the USS Arizona. He experienced the Japanese onslaught and was among the twelve men who survived when Arizona sank. Whether he faced any other combat during World War II is not clear as of yet.

Nightingale discovered his passion while serving in the Marine Corps. At one point in his service, he was given the opportunity of doing some volunteer work for the local radio station. Nightingale worked as an announcer there and soon realized what he would like to do after the war.

Upon his return (in 1942/1943), Nightingale at first moved to Phoenix and then to Chicago. He started establishing his position in the radio industry by working at the WGN radio as a commentary program host. In 1949, at the age of 29, he read 'Think And Grow Rich'. According to his official website, that was the moment when the famous public speaker and radio personality attained enlightenment.

Who was Earl Nightingale’s partner?

Coming to his personal life, Earn Nightingale was married to the famous American author Diana Nightingale. Even though it is unclear when they exchanged their wedding vows, we found out Diana and Earl Nightingale remained together till the latter's demise in 1989. During their marriage, the pair had three children together: Tad Nightingale, David Nightingale, and Pamela Nightingale.

Some of Diana Nightingale's best works include 'Strangest Secret Holiday On Earth Edition' was published in 2015, 'Learning To Fly As A Nightingale: A Motivational Love Story' was published in 1997, and 'The Spiritual Flight Of The Nightingale: Book Of Stories Teaching Lessons On Life' was published in 2012.

Best Known For…

Earl Nightingale led an exceptionally successful career in the radio and television industry and was also included in the National Association Of Broadcasters (NAB) National Radio Hall of Fame in 1985.

His big breakthrough came in the year 1956 when Nightingale released his celebrated audiobook 'The Strangest Secret'. The spoken word record sold over a million copies and became the first-ever audiobook to earn Gold certification.

As is already mentioned, Nightingale was deeply influenced by Napoleon Hill and his books. So, in 1960, the famous radio host narrated and published an audio version (condensed) of Hill's celebrated work 'Think And Grow Rich'. Success Motivation Institute produced this audiobook under the name 'Think And Grow Rich: The Essence Of The Immortal Book By Napoleon Hill, and it was narrated by Earl Nightingale'.

In the same year, Nightingale and Lloyd Conant came together to form a personal development company called Nightingale-Conant corporations. The primary aim of this company was to help people achieve successful business and happy lives. As of 2022, the company is owned and managed by Victor Conant.

Through this corporation, Nightingale published another famous audiobook titled 'Lead The Field' in 1987. Later in the same year, the radio personality published his debut book: 'Earl Nightingale's Greatest Discovery'.

'Our Changing World', one of Nightingale's greatest creations on radio, turned out to be the world's most syndicated program (on radio) ever. It was broadcast in over 30 countries around the world, including the US, Mexico, Fiji, the Bahamas, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. In addition, the show was also broadcast on the Armed Forces Network.

After taking retirement, Nightingale founded a new publishing house with his wife named Keys Publishing. Later, he also developed a new book format, which he used in 'The Winner's Notebook'. This new format includes separate spaces for illustrations, text, and a private journal.

Besides all these, there are still certain books (published in his lifetime and also posthumously) that need to be mentioned. So, the first one is 'The Essence of Success'. It consists of Nightingale's broadcasts, conversations, and writings on various aspects and stages of personal development. The book was published in 2007 by BN Publishing.

The next one is 'The Direct Line'. Initially, it came out as an audiobook; however, in 2018, the publishing house Sound Wisdom produced and released a printed version of this book. 'The Direct Line' offers the readers a practical guide that will help them lead a better life and achieve success in career, finances, and relationships.

In 2019, Sound Wisdom released a printed version of 'Your Success Starts Here'. The book contains 160 pages, where the readers will find some of Nightingale's most potent advice on how to achieve success in life and relationships.

What awards did Earl Nightingale win?

The great American radio host won several prestigious awards in his lifetime. These are the Napoleon Hill Gold Medal for Literary Excellency (for 'Earl Nightingale's Greatest Discovery'), the 1976 Golden Gavel Award (Toastmasters International), and a Gold Certification from the audio version of 'The Strangest Secret'. In the United States only, the audiobook sold over one million copies.

Apart from that, Nightingale became the National Speakers Association (NSA) Speaker Hall of Fame inductee in 1976 and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) National Radio Hall of Fame inductee in 1985.

Earl Nightingale’s Death

On March 25, 1989, Earl Nightingale died in Scottsdale, Arizona. According to reports, Nightingale's death was caused by various complications that followed his heart surgery.

• Statistics show that Nightingale, during his lifetime, wrote and recorded 250 audio programs and over 7,000 radio programs. In addition to that, he composed numerous videos and television programs too.
• The Golden Gavel Award-winning radio host was so famous around the world that a Belgian pop music band called Felix Pallas incorporated some lines from 'The Strangest Secret' into one of the songs of their first Extended Play '2S4T': 'Song For Melody'.
• While talking about Nightingale, Steve King, a commercial announcer and close friend of the famous radio personality said that the author of 'The Strangest Secret' never spent a day without learning something new and passing it on to others.
• One of Nightingale's greatest messages to his readers was the 30-day challenge. Here, he asked the readers to only focus on their clearly-defined goals in a cheerful manner for 30 days. Nightingale added that the readers should not tire themselves out by worrying about how they would achieve their goals. The primary intention of this challenge was to prepare the readers to take control of their own minds.

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