Born in 1940
Turns 86 in 2026
Gifts for someone born in 1940
1940 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 1940 · Australia
A little history to go with their gift.
Walt Disney’s Fantasia brought animation together with orchestral music, Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben identified carbon-14 at Berkeley, and the Cincinnati Reds won a seven-game World Series. The year combined experiments in film and science with a close American baseball contest.
What happened in 1940?
The Grapes Of Wrath Won The Pulitzer
The Pulitzer jury recognized John Steinbeck’s novel in 1940. The award added a major book prize to a story already read across the country.
The Pulitzer Prizes · The Steinbeck Institute, Stanford University
Hattie McDaniel Made Oscar History
McDaniel won the supporting actress award for Gone with the Wind. Her win was a milestone in Academy Award history.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences · The Associated Press
Jimmy Demaret Won The 1940 Masters
Jimmy Demaret took the 1940 Masters title at Augusta National in his first of three wins there.
Ohl Found a Junction Inside Silicon
Russell Ohl discovered a p–n junction in silicon at Bell Labs, a finding that helped shape later semiconductor technology.
Firsts and new ideas
A New Form Of Carbon Was Identified
The discovery gave researchers a radioactive form of carbon that could trace chemical and biological processes.
University of California, Berkeley, College of Chemistry · Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Berkeley Scientists Identified Neptunium
Their experiments produced element 93, later named neptunium after the planet beyond Uranus.
National Park Service · Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Number ones and music in 1940
Chart positions belong to the country and chart named in each record.
A band gives a junction its swing
Tuxedo Junction became one of Glenn Miller Orchestra Top Ten hits in 1940 after its Bluebird release.
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution · Glenn Miller Orchestra / Glenn Miller Productions
Miller records The Nearness of You
Glenn Miller and his Orchestra recorded The Nearness of You in 1940, with Ray Eberle singing. The session took place in New York.
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution · Dennis M. Spragg, Glenn Miller Archives researcher
Prices and everyday money in 1940
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bread (4lb loaf) | 5d | 4 lb loaf State Library Victoria |
| Milk | 7d | per quart State Library Victoria |
| Commonwealth basic wage, adult male (Sydney) | 85s 0d per week | per week Commonwealth Parliamentary Papers / APH House Committee archive |
| Ordinary domestic letter postage | 2d | per letter up to 1 oz. Royal Philatelic Society of Victoria, Philately from Australia, June 2019 |
Planning the birthday
Someone born in 1940 turns 86 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