Born in 1939
Turns 87 in 2026
Gifts for someone born in 1939
1939 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. A new keepsake, not an original newspaper.
BACK TO 1939 · Australia
A little history to go with their gift.
The New York World’s Fair opened with a showcase of technology and ideas about the future, the Heinkel He 178 made the first turbojet-powered flight, and The Wizard of Oz reached audiences. These records capture spectacle, engineering and a film with lasting popular appeal.
What happened in 1939?
Guba II Crosses The Indian Ocean
The Catalina Guba II crossed the Indian Ocean between Australia and Africa during June 1939.
The New York World’s Fair Opened A Future Showcase
The New York World’s Fair opened on 30 April 1939 in Flushing Meadows, Queens.
NYC Department of Records & Information Services · New York Public Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division
A cyclotron earns a Nobel Prize
Ernest Lawrence received the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics for inventing and developing the cyclotron.
The Yearling wins a Pulitzer
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’s novel The Yearling received the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel.
The Pulitzer Prizes · Florida Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture
Firsts and new ideas
The Heinkel He 178 makes its first jet flight
The Heinkel He 178 made its first turbojet-powered flight at Rostock on August 27, 1939.
Britain’s radar stations form a coastal chain
By the outbreak of war in 1939, Britain had radar stations linked along its coastline.
Number ones and music in 1939
Chart positions belong to the country and chart named in each record.
A film carries Dorothy down the yellow road
The Wizard of Oz reached audiences in 1939, with Judy Garland as Dorothy in a musical fantasy.
A film ballad gives Dorothy a dream
Judy Garland sang Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg’s yearning ballad in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.
American Film Institute Catalog · Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Prices and everyday money in 1939
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 2s 2d 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 1939 turns 87 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