Life Timeline

For those born April 1, 1945.

Not your birthday? Find your timeline here.

1944
Before you were born

You're one of the first people who's never lived in a world without sunscreen.

In June 2015, James Hamblin offered advice on choosing the best sunscreen.

1945
Year 78

You were born in April of 1945. This year, The Atlantic celebrates its 160th birthday, making it 2 times as old as you.

The year you were born, Virgil W. Peterson wrote about the unreasonable leniency of the American justice system, as authorities prepared for a post-war crime wave.

1945
Beginnings

Around the time you were born, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt died, and Harry S. Truman became president.

In May 1974, Arthur R. Schlesinger wrote about the uselessness of the office of the vice president.

1963
Coming of age

Around your 18th birthday, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. responded to criticism of his nonviolent protest with "Letter From a Birmingham Jail."

Anna Deavere Smith recited King's letter at the Aspen Ideas Festival in the summer of 2013.

1969

NASA

Man on the Moon

At 24 years old, you were alive to behold people walking on the moon.

Over the years, the moon landing has come to be lauded as the pinnacle of human achievement, although it was often derided at the time. In 1963, NASA astronauts took to The Atlantic to plead the case for landing on the moon.

1980
Half a life ago

Your life can be divided into two halves: before and after the 24-hour news cycle.

In October 2009, Mark Bowden wrote about the toll of constant coverage.

1984

Iiu Heung Shing / AP

Contemporaries

In 1984, Priscilla Presley, who was born the same year as you, won the Soap Opera Digest Award for New Actress in a Prime Time Soap Opera for her role on Dallas.

In August 2011, Sean Coons wrote about the life and legacy of Presley's father Elvis.

2007

NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute

Across the Universe

When you turned 62, you watched humankind reach the outer solar system.

With NASA's Cassini-Huygens mission in 2005, humans landed a probe in the outer reaches of the solar system for the first time, a moment Ross Andersen called the most glorious mission in the history of planetary science.

Today
History in the making

History is happening all around you, every day.

The Atlantic is here to help you process it, in stories like these: