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What generation is someone born in 1938?

Someone born in 1938 belongs to the Silent Generation (born 1925–1945). In 2026 they are 88 years old.

Major events in their lifetime

How old someone born in 1938 was when each defining event happened.

Year Event Their age Life stage
1960 In Japan, NHK and NTV introduces color television 22 college
1963 John F Kennedy is assassinated 25 working
1964 First performance of the Beatles on the US Ed Sullivan show 26 working
1973 Roe vs Wade: the right to have an abortion 35 working
1974 Nixon resigns over Watergate scandal 36 working
1980 John Lennon is killed on the streets of NYC 42 working
1981 MTV is launched 43 working
1985 Live Aid concert 47 working
1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster 48 working
1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall 51 working
1990 The movie Home Alone hits the screens 52 working
1995 Microsoft launches the Windows95 OS 57 working
2001 September 11 attacks 63 working
2004 Nipplegate: Janet Jackson's indecent exposure 66 retired
2005 Google buys Android mobile OS 67 retired
2007 Apple launches the first iPhone 69 retired
2009 The first Avatar movie hits the screens 71 retired
2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster 73 retired
2012 Psy releases "Gangnam Style" 74 retired
2016 Donald Trump wins the US elections 78 retired
2020 WHO declares COVID-19 a global pandemic. Start of a wave of lockdowns. 82 retired

Last updated: 2026-06-04