Born in 1945
Turns 81 in 2026
Gifts for someone born in 1945
1945 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 1945 · New Zealand
A little history to go with their gift.
VE Day marked the end of war in Europe, penicillin’s developers received the Nobel Prize, and Vannevar Bush proposed a machine for linking recorded knowledge. These records reflect celebration, medical progress and new thinking about how people might find information.
What happened in 1945?
The FA Cup returned after wartime suspension
The FA Cup reopened after wartime interruption, with first-round proper matches beginning November 17, 1945, and return legs the following week.
The Victory Tests revived a famous rivalry
England and an Australian Services side played the 1945 Victory Tests, restarting a famous cricket contest after wartime interruption.
Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians · CricJudge
The United Nations began on October 24
The United Nations began when its founding Charter took effect on October 24, 1945.
United Nations · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
Gabriela Mistral won the 1945 Nobel Prize
The Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1945.
Nobel Prize Outreach · Memoria Chilena, Biblioteca Nacional de Chile
Firsts and new ideas
Bush imagines the future of knowledge
In The Atlantic, Vannevar Bush proposed the memex as a future machine for linking and consulting a person's recorded knowledge.
The ENIAC began running test calculations
In November 1945, ENIAC at the University of Pennsylvania began its first calculations.
Number ones and music in 1945
Chart positions belong to the country and chart named in each record.
Rod Stewart starts in north London
Rod Stewart was born in London in 1945, years before his gravelly voice led solo hits and celebrated bands.
Bob Marley was born in Nine Mile
Marley became reggae's most internationally recognisable ambassador, carrying Jamaican rhythm, Rastafari and anti-colonial themes across popular music and political independence.
Prices and everyday money in 1945
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Award minimum wage, baker | £6 | per week; 40 hours National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past archival publication |
| Award minimum wage, adult male biscuit and confectionery worker | £4 15s. to £5 15s. | per week; 40 hours National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past archival publication |
| Award minimum wage, retail butcher | £5 16s. to £6 16s. | per week; 44 hours National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past archival publication |
| Standard unskilled adult male wage minimum | 2s. 7½d. | per hour National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past archival publication |
Planning the birthday
Someone born in 1945 turns 81 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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