Born in 1948
Turns 78 in 2026
Gifts for someone born in 1948
1948 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. The full news selection is shown. A new keepsake, not an original newspaper.
BACK TO 1948 · New Zealand
A little history to go with their gift.
The Manchester Baby ran its first stored program, Columbia introduced the long-playing record, and The Red Shoes reached British audiences. The year changed how computers stored instructions, how listeners played music and how cinema joined colour, dance and drama.
What happened in 1948?
The NHS opened healthcare to everyone
The National Health Service began on 5 July 1948, bringing doctors, hospitals, dentistry and medicines into a national system.
Team USA topped the London medal table
The United States led the London 1948 Olympic medal standings with 38 gold, 27 silver and 19 bronze medals, 84 in all.
International Olympic Committee, Olympic Studies Centre · Team USA
Streetcar won the Pulitzer for drama
Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire received the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; the play had opened on Broadway the year before.
Citation won the Kentucky Derby
Citation won the 74th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 1, 1948, beating stablemate Coaltown by three and a half lengths.
Firsts and new ideas
Manchester Baby ran the first stored program
The Manchester Baby ran its first stored program on 21 June 1948, proving that instructions and data could share electronic memory.
Columbia introduced the long-playing record
On June 21, Columbia Records announced its long-playing microgroove disc, a 33⅓-rpm format that could hold about 23 minutes on each side.
Library of Congress (cached text; no new host request) · The Guardian
Number ones and music in 1948
Chart positions belong to the country and chart named in each record.
Nat King Cole releases Nature Boy
Nat King Cole's 1948 release of Nature Boy became one of his greatest successes and an enduring jazz standard.
Rózsa’s A Double Life score wins an Oscar
Miklós Rózsa won the Academy Award for Music Score for A Double Life at the 1948 ceremony.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences · Syracuse University Libraries
Prices and everyday money in 1948
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Butter (Wellington) | 1s 6d | per lb. New Zealand Parliament; Papers Past, National Library of New Zealand |
| Bread, 2 lb. loaf | 5½d per 2 lb. loaf | 2 lb. loaf New Zealand Government; digitised by Papers Past, National Library of New Zealand |
| Milk (fresh), quart | 7d per quart | quart New Zealand Government; digitised by Papers Past, National Library of New Zealand |
| Bread (Wellington, June price) | 5½d per 2 lb loaf | 2 lb loaf New Zealand House of Representatives, Appendix to the Journals (Financial Statement, 1948) |
Planning the birthday
Someone born in 1948 turns 78 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