Born in 1943
Turns 83 in 2026
Gifts for someone born in 1943
1943 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 1943 · United Kingdom
A little history to go with their gift.
The Gloster Meteor prototype made its first flight, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince appeared in New York, and Betty Smith published A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. These records place an engineering milestone beside two books that brought distinct worlds to readers.
What happened in 1943?
The Gloster Meteor Prototype Flies
Gloster Meteor prototype DG206 made its first flight at RAF Cranwell on March 5, 1943.
The Little Prince Appeared In New York
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s fable appeared in English and French editions from a New York publisher in April 1943.
The Morgan Library & Museum · The Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Estate
New York Won The 1943 World Series
New York won four games to one and clinched the title with a 2–0 shutout in Game 5 on October 11. St. Louis took Game 2.
Major League Baseball · Sports Reference, Baseball-Reference.com
Penicillin Production Reached A New Scale
U.S. penicillin supplies grew enough to meet Allied military needs by September 1943.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Emerging Infectious Diseases · U.S. Army Medical Department Center of History and Heritage
Firsts and new ideas
A spring’s walk inspired the Slinky
Richard T. James discovered in 1943 that a spring for stabilizing ship equipment could walk down a shelf, prompting the idea for the Slinky toy.
Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, Rutgers University · Lemelson-MIT Program
Penn Engineers Began A New Electronic Computer
The Moore School took on a major electronic-computing project, beginning work on a machine later known as ENIAC.
University of Pennsylvania Archives · U.S. Army Research Laboratory, hosted by GovInfo
Number ones and music in 1943
Chart positions belong to the country and chart named in each record.
Mick Jagger Was Born In 1943
Mick Jagger was born in Dartford, England, on July 26, 1943, decades before the Rolling Stones toured the United States.
George Harrison Was Born In 1943
George Harrison was born in Liverpool on February 25, 1943, before joining the Beatles and reaching U.S. audiences.
Prices and everyday money in 1943
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) | £3 15s 7d 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 1943 turns 83 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