Who Shares My Birthday.

Birthday newspaper

Your Front Page: 5 August 1998

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

Wednesday 5 August

1998

Keepsake edition · Who Shares My Birthday

The world in 1998

World population6.0 billionApproximate
Average house£75,300Typical UK home
Pint of beer£1.74In a UK pub
Loaf of bread53pLarge white loaf
Average salary£18,600UK full-time, per year

Approximate UK averages, in the money of the day

Year of the

Tiger

Earth Tiger, 28 January 1998 to 15 February 1999

Star sign

Leo

Birthstone

Peridot

On the radio

UK number one on your birthday

Spice Girls – “Viva Forever”

Most weeks at number one in 1998

  1. 1.Cher – Believe (7 wks)
  2. 2.Run-DMC vs. Jason Nevins – It's Like That (6 wks)
  3. 3.Baddiel, Skinner and The Lightning Seeds – 3 Lions '98 (3 wks)

Christmas number one 1998Spice Girls – Goodbye

Famous births & deaths

on 5 August

In The News

On 5 August 1998

Second Congo War

1998. The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War or the Great War of Africa, was a major conflict that began on 2 August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just over a year after the First Congo War.

Also in 1998

Also on 5 August in history

Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

1963. The Partial Test Ban Treaty, formally known as the 1963 Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water, prohibited all test detonations of nuclear weapons except for those conducted underground.

1995 World Championships in Athletics

1995. The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden on 5–13 August 1995.

2016 Summer Olympics

2016. The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events in some…

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