At A Glance

18 August 1949 at a glance

Day of the week
18 August 1949 was a Thursday.
Australian No. 1 (Kent retrospective)
“Say Something Sweet to Your Sweetheart” recorded by Ink Spots and Joe Loss was No. 1 on David Kent's retrospective Australian chart. This chart was compiled later by David Kent from radio station charts.
Top Film of 1949
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1949 was Samson and Delilah.
Star sign
The star sign for 18 August is Leo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 18 August 1949 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 18 August 1949 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 18 August

  • 1945 Sukarno takes office as the first president of Indonesia, following the country's declaration of independence the previous day.
  • 1945 Soviet-Japanese War: Battle of Shumshu: Soviet forces land at Takeda Beach on Shumshu Island and launch the Battle of Shumshu; the Soviet Union's Invasion of the Kuril Islands commences.
  • 1949 Kemi strike: Two protesters die in the scuffle between the police and the strikers' protest procession in Kemi, Finland.
  • 1958 Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in the United States.
  • 1958 Brojen Das from Bangladesh swims across the English Channel in a competition as the first Bengali and the first Asian to do so, placing first among the 39 competitors.

Famous people born on 18 August

  • Robert Redford, American actor, director, and producer (1936–2025)
  • Patrick Swayze, American actor and dancer (1952–2009)
  • Edward Norton, American actor (born 1969)
  • Kaitlin Olson, American actress and comedian (born 1975)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1949 in Australia

A selection from Wikipedia's '1949 in Australia'. Not a complete list.

  • 26 January – The Nationality and Citizenship Act is passed. Rather than being identified as subjects of Britain, the Act established Australian citizenship for people who met eligibility requirements.
  • 2 March – A cyclone crosses the Central Queensland coast impacting Gladstone and Rockhampton.
  • 16 March – Australia's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) is established, by order of the Directive for the Establishment and Maintenance of a Security Service.

Life in Australia in 1949

Prime Minister

Ben Chifley

Monarch

King George VI

Petrol (per litre)

$0.02

Loaf of Bread

$0.08

Average House

$2,200

Weekly Wage

$5.50

Or

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Famous Faces Born in the 1940s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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