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What generation is someone born in 1940?

Someone born in 1940 belongs to the Silent Generation (born 1925–1945). In 2026 they are 86 years old.

Notable people born in 1940

Major events in their lifetime

How old someone born in 1940 was when each defining event happened.

Year Event Their age Life stage
1960 In Japan, NHK and NTV introduces color television 20 college
1963 John F Kennedy is assassinated 23 working
1964 First performance of the Beatles on the US Ed Sullivan show 24 working
1973 Roe vs Wade: the right to have an abortion 33 working
1974 Nixon resigns over Watergate scandal 34 working
1980 John Lennon is killed on the streets of NYC 40 working
1981 MTV is launched 41 working
1985 Live Aid concert 45 working
1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster 46 working
1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall 49 working
1990 The movie Home Alone hits the screens 50 working
1995 Microsoft launches the Windows95 OS 55 working
2001 September 11 attacks 61 working
2004 Nipplegate: Janet Jackson's indecent exposure 64 working
2005 Google buys Android mobile OS 65 retired
2007 Apple launches the first iPhone 67 retired
2009 The first Avatar movie hits the screens 69 retired
2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster 71 retired
2012 Psy releases "Gangnam Style" 72 retired
2016 Donald Trump wins the US elections 76 retired
2020 WHO declares COVID-19 a global pandemic. Start of a wave of lockdowns. 80 retired

Last updated: 2026-06-04