99 Fun Facts About 80th Birthday

Which Japanese emperor issued the 'Humanity Declaration' renouncing his divinity on January 1, 1946?

Hirohito's New Year rescript of January 1, 1946, known as the Humanity Declaration, rejected the idea that the emperor was a living god.

Which US president was in office throughout 1946?

Harry S. Truman closed 1946 with Proclamation 2714 on December 31, officially ending hostilities in World War II more than a year after Japan's surrender.

Where did Winston Churchill give his famous 'Iron Curtain' speech in March 1946?

Churchill delivered the 'Iron Curtain' speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, on March 5, 1946, with President Truman sharing the platform.

Which swimsuit was first modelled in Paris on July 5, 1946?

Louis Réard unveiled the bikini at the Piscine Molitor in Paris on July 5, 1946, naming it after Bikini Atoll, where the US had tested an atomic bomb four days earlier.

Which early electronic computer was unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946?

ENIAC, built by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, was publicly unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School on February 14, 1946.

Roughly how much did ENIAC weigh?

ENIAC weighed roughly 60,000 pounds, about 30 tons, and used some 17,468 vacuum tubes spread across 40 panels.

Which Italian scooter brand built its first model in 1946?

Piaggio's Vespa, designed by aeronautical engineer Corradino D'Ascanio, was patented in April 1946 and entered production that year at Pontedera.

Which famous film festival was founded in 1946?

The first Cannes Film Festival opened on September 20, 1946, in the town's old casino, with films from 21 countries.

Which Christmas film starring James Stewart was released in December 1946?

It's a Wonderful Life premiered on December 20, 1946, disappointed at the box office, and became a holiday staple after its copyright lapsed in 1974.

Which 1946 film about three returning servicemen swept the Oscars, winning seven including the top prize?

The Best Years of Our Lives won seven Oscars including Best Picture; Harold Russell, a real disabled veteran, took Best Supporting Actor plus an honorary award for the same performance.

Which actress performed 'Put the Blame on Mame' in the 1946 film Gilda?

Rita Hayworth performed 'Put the Blame on Mame' in Gilda, which opened on February 14, 1946; her singing voice was dubbed by Anita Ellis.

Which Hitchcock thriller starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman came out in 1946?

Notorious, released in August 1946, paired Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman in Hitchcock's spy story set among Nazi exiles in Rio de Janeiro.

Which comedy duo staged their first show together at Atlantic City's Club 500 in July 1946?

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis first worked as a team at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 25, 1946, and split exactly ten years later in July 1956.

Which food-storage brand introduced its airtight plastic containers to the public in 1946?

Earl Tupper, who had worked at DuPont, launched Tupperware's airtight polyethylene containers in 1946; the home-party selling that made the brand famous came later.

Which fortune-telling toy was invented in 1946 by Albert C. Carter and Abe Bookman?

The Magic 8 Ball began in 1946 as Carter and Bookman's Syco-Seer; Brunswick Billiards asked for the black billiard-ball housing in 1950.

Which Japanese electronics company was founded in May 1946 as Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering?

Sony began on May 7, 1946, when Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita founded Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo with about 20 employees; the Sony name was adopted in 1958.

Which high-IQ society was founded in Oxford in October 1946?

Mensa was founded at Oxford on October 1, 1946, by Roland Berrill and Lancelot Ware; the name is Latin for 'table', signalling a round-table society of equals.

Which UN agency for children was founded on December 11, 1946?

UNICEF was created by the UN General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to feed and care for children in countries devastated by the Second World War.

In which city did the United Nations hold its very first meeting in January 1946?

The UN General Assembly first convened on January 10, 1946, at Methodist Central Hall in London, with 51 member states represented.

Who became the first Secretary-General of the United Nations in February 1946?

Norway's Trygve Lie was elected the first UN Secretary-General on February 1, 1946; Dag Hammarskjöld succeeded him in 1953.

Which country voted in a June 1946 referendum to abolish its monarchy and become a republic?

Italy's referendum of June 2, 1946 chose a republic by roughly 12.7 million votes to 10.7 million, and King Umberto II left for exile in Portugal.

Which Asian nation became fully independent on July 4, 1946?

The Philippines became fully independent from the United States on July 4, 1946, with Manuel Roxas as its first president; Spanish rule had begun in 1565.

Which Nazi leader poisoned himself two hours before his scheduled execution at Nuremberg in October 1946?

Hermann Göring swallowed cyanide in his cell on the night of October 15, 1946; the other ten condemned men were hanged hours later in the prison gymnasium.

Which Argentine leader was elected president in February 1946?

Juan Perón won Argentina's presidential election on February 24, 1946, and took office on June 4; his wife Eva's European 'Rainbow Tour' came in 1947.

Which king came to the throne of Thailand in June 1946 and reigned until 2016?

Bhumibol Adulyadej became king on June 9, 1946, after his elder brother Ananda Mahidol was found shot dead, and reigned 70 years until October 2016.

The first official Formula One Grand Prix was held in September 1946 in which city?

The Turin Grand Prix of September 1, 1946, run in Valentino Park and won by Achille Varzi in an Alfa Romeo, was the first race held under the new Formula One rules.

Santa Claus Land, which opened in Indiana in August 1946, is credited as the first what?

Santa Claus Land is credited as the first themed amusement park, opening nine years before Disneyland; it was renamed Holiday World in 1984.

What banking innovation debuted at a Chicago branch in November 1946?

Exchange National Bank of Chicago opened ten drive-up teller windows in November 1946, letting motorists bank without leaving their cars.

Project Diana in January 1946 bounced radar waves off what?

On January 10, 1946, Project Diana at Camp Evans, New Jersey, bounced radar signals off the Moon and received the echo about 2.5 seconds later, founding radar astronomy.

Which of these US presidents was NOT born in 1946?

Barack Obama was born in 1961; Trump arrived on June 14, Bush on July 6 and Clinton on August 19 of 1946.

Which member of Queen was born on September 5, 1946?

Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara in Stone Town, Zanzibar, on September 5, 1946; Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon were all born later.

Which country music legend was born on January 19, 1946?

Dolly Parton was born on January 19, 1946, in Sevier County, Tennessee, the fourth of twelve children.

Which star of Rocky was born on July 6, 1946, the same day as George W. Bush?

Sylvester Stallone shares his July 6, 1946 birthday with George W. Bush; his Rocky co-star Talia Shire was born that April.

Which of these directors was born on December 18, 1946?

Steven Spielberg was born in Cincinnati on December 18, 1946; David Lynch, born January 20, 1946, is another director from the same year.

Which of these actresses was born on January 5, 1946?

Diane Keaton was born in Los Angeles on January 5, 1946; Sally Field is also a 1946 baby, born that November.

Which Bee Gee was born on the Isle of Man in September 1946?

Barry Gibb, the eldest Bee Gee, was born in Douglas on the Isle of Man on September 1, 1946; the twins Robin and Maurice followed in 1949.

Which of these rock drummers was born on August 23, 1946?

Keith Moon, drummer of The Who, was born in Wembley on August 23, 1946; Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones arrived the same year, on January 3.

Which of these writers died in 1946?

H. G. Wells died in London on August 13, 1946, aged 79; John Maynard Keynes, Gertrude Stein and W. C. Fields also died that year.

Which of these musicals opened on Broadway in 1946?

Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun opened at the Imperial Theatre on May 16, 1946, with Ethel Merman as Annie Oakley, and ran 1,147 performances.

Which singer co-wrote 'The Christmas Song' (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire), first recorded in 1946?

Mel Tormé and lyricist Bob Wells wrote 'The Christmas Song' in 1945; the King Cole Trio's first recording in June 1946 turned it into a standard.

In Jules Verne's novel, how much does Phileas Fogg wager that he can go around the world in eighty days?

Fogg bets £20,000, half his fortune, with his whist partners that he can circle the globe in eighty days.

Where does Phileas Fogg make and settle his wager in Around the World in Eighty Days?

Fogg makes his bet with fellow whist players at the Reform Club in Pall Mall and must be back in its rooms by 8:45 p.m. on 21 December 1872.

The Pareto principle is also known by which numbers?

It says roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of causes.

Which leader was confirmed as president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in March 1946?

Ho Chi Minh was confirmed as president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam by its first National Assembly on March 2, 1946; by December the Viet Minh were at war with France.

Which of these singers was born on May 20, 1946?

Cher arrived on May 20, 1946, just two days before George Best, the Northern Irish football great, on May 22.

Which US nuclear test series began at Bikini Atoll in Micronesia on July 1, 1946?

Operation Crossroads' Baker shot later that month was the first underwater atomic test, and it sank the surplus carrier USS Saratoga.

Which airline was founded in Hong Kong in September 1946 by an American and an Australian?

Cathay Pacific was started on September 24, 1946 by American Roy Farrell and Australian Sydney de Kantzow, the same year Scandinavian Airlines System formed as a three-nation consortium.

Which of these writers won the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature?

Hermann Hesse took the 1946 Literature Nobel, the year the Peace Prize was shared by Emily Greene Balch and John Mott.

In which New York City neighbourhood did the UN General Assembly first convene in October 1946?

The General Assembly met from October 23, 1946, in the former World's Fair New York City Building at Flushing Meadows, Queens, years before the East River headquarters opened.

Which of these British actors was born on 21 February 1946?

Alan Rickman's film debut only came in 1988 with Die Hard, after years on stage that included a Tony nomination as Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Which of these performers was born on March 12, 1946?

Liza Minnelli's Sally Bowles in Cabaret (1972) won her the Oscar and international fame; her father was the director Vincente Minnelli.

Which of these singer-songwriters was born on Christmas Day 1946?

Jimmy Buffett was born on December 25, 1946, in Pascagoula, Mississippi; his fans are Parrotheads and 'Margaritaville' grew into a chain of restaurants and hotels.

Which of these Hall of Fame baseball players was born on May 18, 1946?

Reggie Jackson, 'Mr. October', was born on May 18, 1946, in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, and won five World Series with the A's and Yankees.

Which of these Italian designers was born in Reggio Calabria in 1946?

Gianni Versace was born in Reggio Calabria on December 2, 1946; Andrew Cunanan shot him outside his Miami Beach mansion, Casa Casuarina, in July 1997.

Whose Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1946) sold 500,000 copies in six months?

Benjamin Spock's book had sold some 50 million copies by his death in 1998; in 1924 he had rowed to Olympic gold in the US eight at the Paris Games.

Bobby Troup's 1946 song, first cut by the King Cole Trio, celebrates which US highway?

Troup wrote '(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66' on a 1946 drive west; his wife Cynthia suggested the title after he had considered US 40, and the King Cole Trio cut it that year.

'Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah' debuted in which Disney film, premiered in Atlanta in November 1946?

Song of the South premiered in Atlanta on November 12, 1946; 'Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah' won the Oscar for Best Original Song and James Baskett got an honorary award as Uncle Remus.

Which London airport opened to civil flights in 1946 and was renamed in 1966?

London Airport was renamed Heathrow in September 1966 to avoid confusion with Gatwick and Stansted, the other airports then serving the capital.

Which of these actors was born on 19 April 1946?

Tim Curry was born in Grappenhall, Cheshire, on 19 April 1946; he met Richard O'Brien in the London cast of Hair, and O'Brien later wrote Frank-N-Furter for him.

Which Italian confectioner was founded in Alba, Piedmont, in 1946?

Pietro Ferrero's Pasta Gianduja used hazelnuts to stretch expensive cocoa; his son Michele relaunched it as Nutella in 1964.

The French word for 80, quatre-vingts, literally means what?

Quatre-vingts is literally 'four twenties', a relic of counting in twenties; Swiss French speakers in Vaud, Valais and Fribourg simply say huitante.

Which member of Pink Floyd was born in 1946?

David Gilmour was born in Cambridge on March 6, 1946, and joined Pink Floyd in January 1968, weeks before Syd Barrett's departure.

In the US, a spirit labelled 80 proof contains what percentage of alcohol by volume?

In the US system proof is twice the alcohol by volume, so 80 proof is 40% alcohol; under Britain's old scale a 40% spirit was 70 degrees proof.

Which Dickens novel did David Lean film in 1946, starring John Mills and Valerie Hobson?

David Lean's Great Expectations (1946) cast John Mills as Pip and Valerie Hobson as the adult Estella; it won Oscars for black-and-white cinematography and art direction.

Bugsy Siegel opened the casino of which Las Vegas resort on December 26, 1946?

The Flamingo's casino opened on December 26, 1946, but its hotel rooms were not ready until March 1947; publisher Billy Wilkerson had begun the project before Siegel took it over.

George Kennan sent his 'Long Telegram' on Soviet intentions in 1946 from which city?

Kennan, deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Moscow, sent the 5,000-word Long Telegram on February 22, 1946; Soviet ambassador Nikolai Novikov answered with his own analysis from Washington that September.

The League of Nations held its final session on 18 April 1946 in which city?

The League's final Assembly met in Geneva from 8 to 18 April 1946 and voted itself out of existence, transferring its assets to the United Nations.

Which staple food was rationed in Britain from 21 July 1946 until July 1948?

Bread, never rationed during the war itself, was rationed from 21 July 1946 until July 1948; British rationing finally ended with meat on 4 July 1954.

Louis Slotin died in May 1946 after an accident with a plutonium sphere known as what?

The demon core, a 6.2 kg plutonium sphere, had already killed Harry Daghlian in 1945; after Slotin's death it was melted down and recycled that summer.

Which Middle Eastern kingdom dates its independence from Britain to 25 May 1946?

Jordan's independence day marks 25 May 1946, when Abdullah I was proclaimed king of Transjordan; the state took the name Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1949.

Which 1946 Robert Penn Warren novel follows Willie Stark, a figure likened to Huey Long?

All the King's Men won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction; Warren insisted Willie Stark was not Huey Long, though he had taught at Louisiana State University from 1934, the year before Long's assassination.

Which engine first appeared in 1946, in the second book of Rev. W. Awdry's Railway Series?

He was introduced as a fussy, cheeky tank engine with six small wheels and a short stumpy funnel, modelled on an LB&SCR E2.

John Hersey's 'Hiroshima' filled the entire 31 August 1946 issue of which magazine?

The New Yorker devoted its entire August 31, 1946 issue to Hersey's 31,000-word 'Hiroshima', which follows six survivors; editors had first planned to serialise it over four issues.

Enos Slaughter's 'Mad Dash' in Game 7 won the 1946 World Series for which team?

The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Boston Red Sox in seven games for their sixth title, after winning baseball's first pennant tie-breaker series against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The NBA traces itself to a league founded in 1946 by hockey team owners — under what name?

The Basketball Association of America formed on June 6, 1946, with the Celtics, Knicks and Warriors among its founders; it absorbed the NBL in 1949 to become the NBA.

Oliver Stone shares his birthday, 15 September 1946, with which Men in Black star?

Tommy Lee Jones was born in San Saba, Texas, on 15 September 1946, the same day Oliver Stone was born in New York City.

Which of these fashion designers was born on New Year's Eve 1946?

Diane von Furstenberg was born in Brussels on 31 December 1946; her 1974 jersey wrap dress had sold a million by 1976 and entered the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute.

Which element has atomic number 80?

Mercury, symbol Hg, is element 80; gold sits one place before it at 79 and lead two places after at 82.

The Eighty Years' War, ending in 1648, won which state its independence from Spain?

The Dutch Republic's independence was recognised by Spain in the Peace of Münster in 1648; Spain kept the Southern Netherlands, roughly today's Belgium.

On 8 March 1946, which aircraft became the first helicopter certified for civilian use?

The Bell 47 received the first commercial helicopter certificate from the US Civil Aeronautics Administration on 8 March 1946; the first civilian delivery went to Helicopter Air Transport on 31 December 1946.

In November 1946 Vincent Schaefer seeded clouds over the Berkshires using what?

Schaefer dropped dry ice pellets from a plane over Mount Greylock on 13 November 1946; he had found the effect that July when solid CO2 dropped into a too-warm GE cold chamber produced ice crystals.

Which country marks 17 April 1946, when the last French soldier left, as Independence Day?

Syria's Evacuation Day marks 17 April 1946, when the last French troops left; the country had declared independence in 1941 and was a founding member of the United Nations in 1945.

On 1 August 1946, Hungary replaced the hyperinflated pengő with which currency?

The forint replaced the pengő on 1 August 1946 at a rate of 400 octillion (4 x 10^29) pengő to one forint, ending the worst hyperinflation ever recorded.

Which BBC radio programme was first broadcast on 7 October 1946?

Woman's Hour began on the Light Programme on 7 October 1946 with a male presenter, Alan Ivimey, and moved to Radio 4 in 1973.

Which Cretan author published Zorba the Greek in 1946?

Nikos Kazantzakis published Zorba the Greek in 1946; its Greek title means Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas, and the author lies buried on the Venetian walls of Heraklion.

Which Eugene O'Neill play, set in Harry Hope's saloon, premiered in October 1946?

The Iceman Cometh opened at the Martin Beck Theatre on 9 October 1946, set in 1912 among the barflies of Harry Hope's saloon, and ran 136 performances.

Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (1946) varies a theme by which composer?

The tune is the Rondeau from Purcell's incidental music to Aphra Behn's play Abdelazer.

Whose 1946 debut album, The Voice, is sometimes called the first concept album?

The Voice of Frank Sinatra, released by Columbia in March 1946, topped the young Billboard album chart for seven weeks and is often called the first concept album.

Joe Louis's June 1946 rematch with whom was the first heavyweight title fight live on TV?

Louis knocked out Billy Conn in the eighth round at Yankee Stadium on 19 June 1946 in the first heavyweight title bout televised live, by NBC; their first fight was in June 1941.

Soichiro Honda funded his 1946 institute by selling his old firm's remains to whom?

Honda sold the bomb- and earthquake-damaged Tokai Seiki to Toyota for ¥450,000 in 1945, money that funded the Honda Technical Research Institute he opened in October 1946.

BBC TV returned on 7 June 1946 with the cartoon it had closed with in 1939, starring whom?

Mickey's Gala Premier had been the final programme before the wartime shutdown on 1 September 1939.

Which boxer died in a car crash in North Carolina in June 1946?

Jack Johnson, the first Black world heavyweight champion (1908-1915), died on 10 June 1946 when his car crashed near Raleigh, North Carolina.

In July 1946 Rajah Vyner Brooke ceded which territory to Britain, ending White Rajah rule?

Vyner Brooke, the third White Rajah, ceded Sarawak to the British Crown on 1 July 1946, a century after James Brooke became its first rajah in 1841; Sarawak joined Malaysia in 1963.

Bernard Lynch made the first live ejection-seat test from a Meteor in 1946 for which firm?

Martin-Baker's test fitter Bernard Lynch ejected from a Meteor at 320 mph over Chalgrove Airfield, Oxfordshire, on 24 July 1946, after rig tests that began in 1945.

Which Powell and Pressburger film opened the first Royal Film Performance in 1946?

A Matter of Life and Death opened the first Royal Film Performance at the Empire, Leicester Square, on 1 November 1946, attended by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

Yvon Petra, the 1946 Wimbledon men's champion, was the last to win a final wearing what?

Petra was the last man to win a Wimbledon final in long trousers, beating Australia's Geoff Brown in five sets, 6-2, 6-4, 7-9, 5-7, 6-4.

Which horse completed the 1946 Triple Crown, the only Texas-bred ever to do so?

Assault, bred at the King Ranch in Texas, won the 1946 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont, ridden in all three by Warren Mehrtens.

Tandy's TRS-80 home computer took the '80' in its name from which microprocessor?

The TRS-80 Model I, launched in 1977, used a Zilog Z80 running at 1.77 MHz; its keyboard was notorious for 'bounce' that typed letters twice.

Damon Runyon, who died in 1946, had his ashes scattered over which Manhattan street?

Eddie Rickenbacker piloted the plane that scattered Runyon's ashes over Broadway, the street his stories celebrated; those stories later became the musical Guys and Dolls.