Born in 1928
Turns 98 in 2026
Gifts for someone born in 1928
1928 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 1928 · New Zealand
A little history to go with their gift.
Women gained equal parliamentary voting terms with men in Britain, Amsterdam hosted the Summer Olympics, and Carl Theodor Dreyer’s film about Joan of Arc reached audiences. The year brought changes in civic rights, international sport and silent cinema.
What happened in 1928?
Nations sign a pact renouncing war
The United States and 14 other nations signed the Pact of Paris in August 1928.
Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
Amelia Earhart flies into history
Amelia Earhart crossed the Atlantic as a passenger in June 1928, becoming the first woman to make the flight and an international aviation celebrity.
Amsterdam hosts the ninth Summer Olympics
Amsterdam hosted the ninth Summer Olympics from July 28 to August 12, 1928, bringing athletes from many countries to the Dutch capital.
Firsts and new ideas
Baird sends pictures across the Atlantic
John Logie Baird made the first transatlantic television transmission in 1928, sending images from London to Hartsdale, New York.
Fleming notices penicillin’s antibacterial action
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin’s antibacterial action in 1928 after mould contaminated a culture plate in his laboratory.
Number ones and music in 1928
Chart positions belong to the country and chart named in each record.
Let’s Do It enters the songbook
Cole Porter’s Let’s Do It was published in 1928 for the musical Paris, joining sophisticated wordplay to the fast-growing commercial song market.
Mack the Knife begins on the Berlin stage
Mack the Knife began in Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera, which premiered in Berlin in 1928.
Prices and everyday money in 1928
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Average minimum adult wage rate, Bakers—Journeymen | 100s 0d | NZ pounds/shillings/pence per week New Zealand Department of Statistics |
| Average minimum adult wage rate, Labourers (table occurrence 1) | 80s 6d | NZ pounds/shillings/pence per week New Zealand Department of Statistics |
| Average minimum adult wage rate, Butchers—First shopmen | 116s 10 1/2d | NZ pounds/shillings/pence per week New Zealand Department of Statistics |
| Average minimum adult wage rate, Second shopmen | 105s 0d | NZ pounds/shillings/pence per week New Zealand Department of Statistics |
Planning the birthday
Someone born in 1928 turns 98 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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