Born in 1938
Turns 88 in 2026
Gifts for someone born in 1938
1938 Front PageTheir name. The news from their year.Unframed from $50.50Add their name
Their birth chartThe sky as astrology reads it, cast for one birth.Unframed from $50.50
The Years We Were BornThe whole family, together in years.Unframed from $50.50
Our Story timelineTheir life, told in your words.Unframed from $50.50
Front Page: Australia edition. The year is filled in; add their name in the editor. “Your name” is a placeholder. Light news is selected. Music leads the page. The car photograph shows a replica, photographed in 2023, not an original 1938 car. A new keepsake, not an original newspaper.
BACK TO 1938 · Australia
A little history to go with their gift.
Superman appeared in Action Comics No. 1, DuPont introduced nylon to the public, and Artie Shaw’s recording of Begin the Beguine turned Cole Porter’s stage song into a swing showcase. The year brought a new comic-book hero, a synthetic fiber and a hit recording.
What happened in 1938?
Don Budge completed tennis’s first Grand Slam
Don Budge won the Australian, French, Wimbledon, and U.S. singles titles in 1938, completing tennis’s first calendar-year Grand Slam.
International Tennis Hall of Fame · International Tennis Federation
Joe Louis won the rematch in one round
Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmeling in their heavyweight rematch at Yankee Stadium in 1938.
PBS American Experience · United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Italy retains football world championship in Paris
Italy beat Hungary 4–2 in the World Cup final at Paris’s Stade de Colombes on June 19, 1938.
Seabiscuit wins the Pimlico match race
Seabiscuit beat the favored War Admiral by four lengths in a match race at Pimlico Race Course on November 1, 1938.
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame · PBS American Experience
Firsts and new ideas
Hahn and Strassmann Find Fission Evidence
In late 1938, chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann found evidence that neutron-bombarded uranium produced much lighter elements, a result that revealed nuclear fission.
Nobel Prize Outreach · Naturwissenschaften / Springer Nature
Nylon made its public debut
DuPont introduced nylon to the American public in 1938, presenting a new synthetic fiber developed from its polymer research.
Number ones and music in 1938
Chart positions belong to the country and chart named in each record.
Artie Shaw records Begin the Beguine
Artie Shaw and his orchestra recorded Begin the Beguine in 1938, turning Cole Porter's earlier stage song into a swing showcase.
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution · Mosaic Records
Ella Fitzgerald records A-Tisket, A-Tasket
Ella Fitzgerald recorded A-Tisket, A-Tasket with Chick Webb's band in 1938, bringing a nursery rhyme into swing.
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution · Bibliotheque nationale de France
Prices and everyday money in 1938
Australia figures in the money of the time. Units and sources matter: these are not today's prices.
| Item or measure | Then | Unit and source |
|---|---|---|
| Adult male basic minimum wage, Perth metropolitan area (Western Australia) | £4 0s 0d per week | per week Western Australian Industrial Gazette, Industrial Court of Western Australia |
| Ordinary domestic letter postage | 2d | per letter Royal Philatelic Society of Victoria, Philately from Australia |
| Domestic postcard postage | 1½d | per postcard Royal Philatelic Society of Victoria, Philately from Australia |
| Domestic lettercard postage | 2d | per lettercard Royal Philatelic Society of Victoria, Philately from Australia |
Planning the birthday
Someone born in 1938 turns 88 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