Who Shares My Birthday.

Birthday newspaper

Your Front Page: 12 May 1980

A personalised newspaper front page from the day you were born, printed in the style of your birth year.

Enter your date of birth

Your personalised birthday front page

Printed in the style of your birth year, a keepsake to frame, print or share.

Optional. Your birthplace names the masthead; it stays on this device.

The World Birthday Chronicle

Born on

Monday 12 May

1980

Keepsake edition · Who Shares My Birthday

The world in 1980

World population4.4 billionApproximate
Average house£23,600Typical UK home
Pint of beer35pIn a UK pub
Loaf of bread37pLarge white loaf
Average salary£6,000UK full-time, per year

Approximate UK averages, in the money of the day

Year of the

Monkey

Metal Monkey, 16 February 1980 to 4 February 1981

Star sign

Taurus

Birthstone

Emerald

On the radio

UK number one on your birthday

Johnny Logan – “What's Another Year”

Most weeks at number one in 1980

  1. 1.The Police – Don't Stand So Close to Me (4 wks)
  2. 2.The Jam – Going Underground / Dreams of Children (3 wks)
  3. 3.The Mash – Theme from M*A*S*H (Suicide is Painless) (3 wks)

Christmas number one 1980St Winifred's School Choir – There's No One Quite Like Grandma

Famous births & deaths

on 12 May

In The News

On 12 May 1980

Gwangju Uprising

1980. The Gwangju Uprising, also known in South Korea as the May 18 Democratization Movement, was a series of student-led demonstrations that took place in Gwangju, South Korea, in May 1980, against the coup d'état of May Seventeenth by Chun Doo-hwan that strengthened his power.

Also in 1980

Also on 12 May in history

Second Battle of Kharkov

1942. The Second Battle of Kharkov or Operation Fredericus was an Axis counter-offensive in the region around Kharkov against the Red Army Izium bridgehead offensive conducted 12–28 May 1942, on the Eastern Front during World War II.

Compiled by Who Shares My Birthday from Wikipedia, Wikidata and UK chart records

How your birthday newspaper is made

Enter your date of birth and we will print a one-off newspaper front page for the day you were born. The headline is a real historical event from our archive, chosen from your exact birth date where we have one, then from the same week, then from the same date in an earlier year. The page also shows famous people born and died on your birthday, your star sign, birthstone and Chinese zodiac year, the UK number one single, the biggest hits and Christmas number one of your birth year, the world population and the cost of living in Britain at the time.

  • Your page is laid out as a vintage keepsake poster in sepia ink, with boxed panels for the world in your birth year, your Chinese zodiac year, star sign and birthstone, the UK charts, famous births and deaths on your birthday, and the news.
  • Headlines and summaries come from our archive of historical events, built from Wikidata and reviewed by our editorial team. Chart facts come from the official UK singles chart record, which began on 14 November 1952.
  • Add your town or country of birth to name the masthead, for example The Manchester Birthday Chronicle. Your birthplace is stored only on your device.
  • Every front page has its own link, so you can send it to friends and family, and you can download it as a high-resolution image to print or frame.

Questions people ask

Frequently asked questions

How do I get a newspaper front page from the day I was born?
Enter your day, month and year of birth above and press the button. Your personalised front page appears instantly, with its own link you can share and a download button for a print-quality image.
Are the headlines real?
Yes. Every headline is a real historical event from our archive. If nothing in our archive happened on your exact birth date, we use an event from the same week, or the most recent event on the same date in an earlier year, and the label above the headline says which.
Why does my front page look different from a friend's?
Every page is built from your exact birth date, so the news, the people, the charts and the prices all change with the day and year you were born.
Is the birthday newspaper free?
Yes. Creating, sharing and downloading your personalised birthday front page costs nothing.

Further reading

Reviewed by the Who Shares My Birthday editorial team.

Last reviewed: October 2026