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 £21.50Add their name
Their birth chartThe sky as astrology reads it, cast for one birth.Unframed from £21.50
The Years We Were BornThe whole family, together in years.Unframed from £21.50
Our Story timelineTheir life, told in your words.Unframed from £21.50
Front Page: United Kingdom 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 · United Kingdom
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?
Baird demonstrates television in Soho
John Logie Baird demonstrated his mechanical television system to expert observers at his London laboratory on 26 January 1926 in Britain.
Gertrude Ederle conquers the Channel
Gertrude Ederle swam from France to England on 6 August 1926, becoming the first woman to cross the English Channel.
International Swimming Hall of Fame · International Swimming Hall of Fame
Route 66 opens an American corridor
The United States created Route 66 in 1926, establishing a celebrated road corridor from Chicago through the Southwest to Los Angeles.
Britain stops work in the General Strike
The General Strike began on 3 May after the coal dispute widened, bringing transport, printing, power, and other industries into Britain's largest labour confrontation.
Firsts and new ideas
Winnie-the-Pooh enters the nursery
A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared in Britain on 14 October 1926, with E. H. Shepard’s illustrations.
Ederle crosses the Channel
On August 6, 1926, New Yorker Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel.
Smithsonian National Museum of American History · Smithsonian Magazine
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
United Kingdom 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 weekly earnings per person in the United Kingdom (Bank of England series) | £2 per week | GBP per week Bank of England (series republished by Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED) |
| sugar (annual average) | 3d | equivalent 1 lb (calculated from ONS per kg) Office for National Statistics |
| flour (annual average) | 5d | equivalent 2 lb (calculated from ONS per 1.5 kg) Office for National Statistics |
| bread (annual average) | 2½d | equivalent 1 lb (calculated from ONS 800 g source measure; not historical loaf size) Office for National Statistics |
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.
See milestone birthdays this year