Born in 1926
Turns 100 in 2026 · 100th birthday gifts
100th birthday gifts for someone born in 1926
1926 Front PageTheir name. The news from their year.Unframed from $51.50Add their name
Their birth chartThe sky as astrology reads it, cast for one birth.Unframed from $51.50
The Years We Were BornThe whole family, together in years.Unframed from $51.50
Our Story timelineTheir life, told in your words.Unframed from $51.50
Front Page: New Zealand 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 1926 · New Zealand
A little history to go with their gift.
John Logie Baird demonstrated television in Soho, Gertrude Ederle crossed the English Channel, and Route 66 took shape in the United States. These records capture a year when new ways to see, travel and test human endurance drew public attention.
What happened in 1926?
New family benefit begins
The Family Allowances Act created the world's first fully state-funded family benefit.
Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage (NZ History)
New Zealand establishes DSIR
The government established the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in 1926 following pressure from scientists and recommendations from a visiting British expert; it focused on agriculture.
Bessie Te Wenerau Grace graduates
Bessie Te Wenerau Grace became the first Māori woman to receive a university degree, graduating with a BA in 1926.
Germany and Soviet Russia renew ties
Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Treaty of Berlin on 24 April, renewing neutrality commitments and complicating the diplomatic map of interwar Europe.
The Avalon Project, Yale Law School · German Historical Museum
Firsts and new ideas
Baird demonstrates television in London
John Logie Baird gave a public demonstration of working television in London on January 26, 1926.
Number ones and music in 1926
Chart positions belong to the country and chart named in each record.
Someone to Watch Over Me debuts
The Gershwins' intimate ballad emerged with Oh, Kay! in New York during the 1926 Broadway season and soon travelled beyond the stage.
Bye Bye Blackbird enters print
Ray Henderson and Mort Dixon's Bye Bye Blackbird was published by Jerome H. Remick in New York in 1926 for voice and piano.
Prices and everyday money in 1926
New Zealand figures in the money of the time. Units and sources matter: these are not today's prices.
| Item or measure | Then | Unit and source |
|---|---|---|
| wage: Bricklayers (adult minimum weekly award rate; source reports majority of cases in four chief industrial areas) | 99s 11.5d per week | per week The Ministry of Labour Gazette (archival reproduction of New Zealand Official Year Book 1931 table) |
| wage: Carpenters (adult minimum weekly award rate; source reports majority of cases in four chief industrial areas) | 97s 2d per week | per week The Ministry of Labour Gazette (archival reproduction of New Zealand Official Year Book 1931 table) |
| wage: Plasterers (adult minimum weekly award rate; source reports majority of cases in four chief industrial areas) | 96s 10.5d per week | per week The Ministry of Labour Gazette (archival reproduction of New Zealand Official Year Book 1931 table) |
| wage: Builders’ labourers (adult minimum weekly award rate; source reports majority of cases in four chief industrial areas) | 82s 6d per week | per week The Ministry of Labour Gazette (archival reproduction of New Zealand Official Year Book 1931 table) |
Planning the birthday
Someone born in 1926 turns 100 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.
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