Born in 1938
Turns 88 in 2026
Gifts for someone born in 1938
1938 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. Music leads the page. The car photograph shows a replica, photographed in 2023, not an original 1938 car. A new keepsake, not an original newspaper.
BACK TO 1938 · United Kingdom
A little history to go with their gift.
Superman appeared in Action Comics No. 1, DuPont introduced nylon to the public, and Artie Shaw’s recording of Begin the Beguine turned Cole Porter’s stage song into a swing showcase. The year brought a new comic-book hero, a synthetic fiber and a hit recording.
What happened in 1938?
Superman Arrives in Action Comics
Action Comics No. 1 introduced Superman in 1938. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History dates the comic to June 1938; its month is a cover date, not an on-sale day.
Smithsonian National Museum of American History · Associated Press
Nylon made its public debut
DuPont introduced nylon to the American public in 1938, presenting a new synthetic fiber developed from its polymer research.
Artie Shaw records Begin the Beguine
Artie Shaw and his orchestra recorded Begin the Beguine in 1938, turning Cole Porter's earlier stage song into a swing showcase.
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution · Mosaic Records
Don Budge completed tennis’s first Grand Slam
Don Budge won the Australian, French, Wimbledon, and U.S. singles titles in 1938, completing tennis’s first calendar-year Grand Slam.
International Tennis Hall of Fame · International Tennis Federation
Firsts and new ideas
Hahn and Strassmann Find Fission Evidence
In late 1938, chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann found evidence that neutron-bombarded uranium produced much lighter elements, a result that revealed nuclear fission.
Nobel Prize Outreach · Naturwissenschaften / Springer Nature
A Queens experiment made copying history
Chester Carlson and assistant Otto Kornei produced the first xerographic copy in an improvised Astoria laboratory.
Number ones and music in 1938
Chart positions belong to the country and chart named in each record.
Ella Fitzgerald records A-Tisket, A-Tasket
Ella Fitzgerald recorded A-Tisket, A-Tasket with Chick Webb's band in 1938, bringing a nursery rhyme into swing.
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution · Bibliotheque nationale de France
Kenny Rogers was born in Houston
Kenny Rogers, the Houston-born singer whose career crossed country and pop, was born on August 21, 1938.
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum · Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas
Prices and everyday money in 1938
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 3s 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) | 4d | 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 1938 turns 88 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