Born in 1978
Turns 48 in 2026
Gifts for someone born in 1978
1978 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 1978 · United Kingdom
A little history to go with their gift.
Louise Brown’s birth marked the first successful birth following in vitro fertilisation. In film, Grease brought its songs and retro styling to cinemas, while Björn Borg won Wimbledon. The year joined a medical milestone with two very different moments in popular entertainment and sport.
What happened in 1978?
Louise Brown became the first IVF baby
Her birth marked a turning point in reproductive medicine and opened social questions that would grow for decades.
Grease made teenage nostalgia a blockbuster
Grease blended stage musical energy, radio-ready songs, and bright retro styling into one of the decade’s most durable films.
Borg defended his Wimbledon title
The final strengthened Borg’s image as the calm centre of a new era in men’s tennis.
Ipswich claimed its first FA Cup
Ipswich Town defeated Arsenal 1–0 to win the FA Cup for the first time in the club’s history.
Firsts and new ideas
The first GPS test satellite reached orbit
The early GPS programme began as defence technology but created the infrastructure behind modern navigation and location services.
Astronaut Group 8 widened the space programme
The group represented the people who would turn reusable spacecraft from a programme on paper into a working flight system.
Wikimedia Commons · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Number ones and music in 1978
Chart positions belong to the country and chart named in each record.
Rivers of Babylon dominated the spring chart
The song became one of the decade’s most recognisable examples of reggae-rooted material recast for European pop.
You’re the One That I Want topped the summer
The single blurred the boundary between film promotion and pop success, helping Grease become a year-round cultural presence.
Prices and everyday money in 1978
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) | £59.20 per week | GBP per week Bank of England (series republished by Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED) |
| sugar (annual average) | 28p | perkg source-table measure Office for National Statistics |
| flour (annual average) | 35p | per1.5kg source-table measure Office for National Statistics |
| bread (annual average) | 26p | 800g source-table loaf Office for National Statistics |
Planning the birthday
Someone born in 1978 turns 48 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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