1880. The First Boer War, also known as the Transvaal War, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 between the United Kingdom and Boers of the Transvaal.
Birthday newspaper
Your Front Page: 20 December 1997
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
Saturday 20 December
1997
Keepsake edition · Who Shares My Birthday
The world in 1997
World population5.9 billionApproximate
Average house£70,600Typical UK home
Pint of beer£1.66In a UK pub
Loaf of bread53pLarge white loaf
Average salary£18,000UK full-time, per year
Approximate UK averages, in the money of the day
Year of the
Ox
Fire Ox, 7 February 1997 to 27 January 1998
Star sign
Sagittarius
Birthstone
Turquoise
On the radio
UK number one on your birthday
Teletubbies – “Teletubbies say "Eh-oh!”
Most weeks at number one in 1997
- 1.Elton John – Candle in the Wind 1997 / Something About the Way You Look Tonight (5 wks)
- 2.Will Smith – Men in Black (4 wks)
- 3.Aqua – Barbie Girl (4 wks)
Christmas number one 1997Spice Girls – Too Much
Famous births & deaths
on 20 December
- ★ Suzuka Nakamoto born 1997
- ★ Kylian Mbappé born 1998
- ★ Abdulrazak Gurnah born 1948
- John Steinbeck died 1968
- Carl Sagan died 1996
- Léopold Sédar Senghor died 2001
In The News
On 20 December 1997
SilkAir Flight 185
1997. SilkAir Flight 185 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by a Boeing 737-300 from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia to Changi Airport in Singapore that crashed into the Musi River near Palembang, Sumatra, on 19 December 1997, killing all 97 passengers and 7 crew members on…
Also in 1997
Also on 20 December in history
1989. The United States invasion of Panama began in mid-December 1989 during the presidency of George H. W. Bush.
1952. The Convention on the Political Rights of Women was approved by the United Nations General Assembly during the 409th plenary meeting, on 20 December 1952, and adopted on 31 March 1953.
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
- Historical events data from Wikidata
- Portraits via Wikimedia Commons
- UK number one singles from the Official Charts Company
Reviewed by the Who Shares My Birthday editorial team.
Last reviewed: October 2026