Portrait of Jonathan Palmer

Birthday profile

Jonathan Palmer

Jonathan Palmer, English race car driver and businessman

Born
November 7, 1956
Age in 2026
70
Zodiac sign
Scorpio
Birth year
1956

About Jonathan Palmer

Jonathan Charles Palmer (born 7 November 1956) is a British former racing driver, motorsport executive, and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from 1983 to 1989. Before opting for a career in motor racing, Palmer trained as a physician at London's Guy's Hospital. He also worked as a junior physician at Cuckfield and Brighton hospitals. Palmer was active in Formula One between 1983 and 1989, and drove for Tyrrell, Williams, RAM, and Zakspeed. He won 14 Championship points from 83 starts, and was the winner of the Jim Clark Trophy, a competition for drivers of non-turbo cars which existed only for the 1987 season. He also raced a Group C Porsche in sports car events between 1983 and 1990, winning the 1984 1000 km of Brands Hatch with co-driver Jan Lammers and taking second place at the 1985 24 Hours of Le Mans with co-drivers James Weaver and Richard Lloyd. Palmer helped develop the McLaren F1 road car, and drove one to a new speed record for production cars. He is the majority shareholder and Chief Executive of MotorSport Vision (MSV), a company that runs six UK motorsport circuits, the PalmerSport corporate driving event at Bedford Autodrome and several racing championships including British Superbikes and GB3 and GB4. His son, Jolyon, competed in Formula One from 2016 to 2017. He won the British Formula 3 Championship in 1981, and landed a Williams Formula One test drive in 1982. Palmer won championship points in three races, and it was in Australia that he achieved his career-best fourth-place finish.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

The world when Jonathan Palmer was born

Jonathan Palmer was born in 1956. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1956

  • #1 song"Heartbreak Hotel" – Elvis Presley
  • Top movieAround the World in 80 Days
  • Top TV showI Love Lucy
  • Best-selling bookPeyton Place – Grace Metalious

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentDon Larsen pitches a perfect game in the World Series
  • Top headlineElvis Presley takes America by storm
  • Technology milestoneFirst transatlantic telephone cable (TAT-1)
  • Defining fadElvis Presley mania
  • Notable inventionHard disk drive (IBM)
  • World population2.82 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonPhiladelphia Warriors (NBA)
  • U.S. population168.1M

1956 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Jonathan Palmer's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19562026
Gas$0.30$3.45/gal
Average home$11,700$435,000
Average income$6,500$67,500
Minimum wage$1.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.50$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population168.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Driver Database, Motorsport Stats. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.