Born in 1936

Turns 90 in 2026 · 90th birthday gifts

90th birthday gifts for someone born in 1936

Front Page: Australia edition. The year is filled in; add their name in the editor. “Your name” is a placeholder. Light news is selected. A new keepsake, not an original newspaper.

BACK TO 1936 · Australia

A little history to go with their gift.

Alan Turing submitted his paper on computable numbers, Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields wrote The Way You Look Tonight, and Bing Crosby recorded Pennies from Heaven. These works helped shape ideas about computing and songs that travelled beyond their first audiences.

What happened in 1936?

Berlin stages Olympic Games under Nazi rule

The Berlin Olympic Games ran from August 1 to August 16, 1936 as the Nazi regime used the event to project its image to visitors.

International Olympic Committee · International Olympic Committee Olympic Studies Centre

The BBC opens regular television

The BBC opened its regular television service at Alexandra Palace in north London on 2 November 1936.

BBC · BBC Programme Index

The Academy celebrates Hollywood’s 1935 releases

The 8th Academy Awards ceremony took place on 5 March 1936, honouring films released during the preceding eligibility year, including Mutiny on the Bounty’s Charles Laughton victory.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Fred Perry wins a third straight Wimbledon crown

Fred Perry beat Germany’s Gottfried von Cramm in the 1936 Wimbledon final, completing his third consecutive men’s singles title.

International Tennis Hall of Fame · All England Lawn Tennis Club

Firsts and new ideas

Zuse begins building the Z1 in Berlin

In Berlin, Konrad Zuse began assembling the Z1, a programmable mechanical calculating machine, in 1936.

Computer History Museum · Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin

The DC Three Changes Passenger Flight

The Douglas DC-3 helped airlines build dependable passenger services during the 1930s.

Federal Aviation Administration

Number ones and music in 1936

Chart positions belong to the country and chart named in each record.

Bing Crosby records Pennies from Heaven

Bing Crosby recorded Pennies from Heaven with the Georgie Stoll Orchestra in 1936 for Decca Records.

MusicBrainz · Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Astaire introduces The Way You Look Tonight

Fred Astaire introduced The Way You Look Tonight in the 1936 film Swing Time, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy Fields.

Carnegie Hall Works Database · Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Prices and everyday money in 1936

Australia figures in the money of the time. Units and sources matter: these are not today's prices.

Recorded prices and earnings, 1936
Item or measureThenUnit and source
Bread, delivered (about 2 lb loaf)about 5.9dper about 2 lb loaf
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Tea (½ lb equivalent)about 1s 2dper ½ lb equivalent
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Sugar (2 lb equivalent)about 9.7dper 2 lb equivalent
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Potatoes (per lb equivalent)about 1.3dper lb equivalent
Australian Bureau of Statistics

Planning the birthday

Someone born in 1936 turns 90 in 2026. Before their birthday they are one year younger. Choose the birth year for the print; add the full date in the editor if you know it.

See milestone birthdays this year