Who Shares My Birthday.

Birthday newspaper

Your Front Page: 2 May 1996

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

Thursday 2 May

1996

Keepsake edition · Who Shares My Birthday

The world in 1996

World population5.8 billionApproximate
Average house£66,000Typical UK home
Pint of beer£1.58In a UK pub
Loaf of bread54pLarge white loaf
Average salary£17,300UK full-time, per year

Approximate UK averages, in the money of the day

Year of the

Rat

Fire Rat, 19 February 1996 to 6 February 1997

Star sign

Taurus

Birthstone

Emerald

On the radio

UK number one on your birthday

George Michael – “Fastlove”

Most weeks at number one in 1996

  1. 1.Spice Girls – Wannabe (7 wks)
  2. 2.Babylon Zoo – Spaceman (5 wks)
  3. 3.Fugees – Killing Me Softly (4 wks)

Christmas number one 1996Spice Girls – 2 Become 1

Famous births & deaths

on 2 May

In The News

On 2 May 1968

May 68

1968. May 68 was a period of widespread protests, strikes, and civil unrest in France that began in May 1968 and became one of the most significant social uprisings in modern European history.

Also in 1996

Also on 2 May in history

Peninsular War

1808. The Peninsular War was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by the Iberian nations Spain and Portugal, along with the United Kingdom, against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars.

Anglo-Iraqi War

1941. The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq, then ruled by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état with assistance from Germany and Italy.

Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle

1668. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle or Aachen ended the War of Devolution between France and Spain. It was signed on 2 May 1668 in Aachen.

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