David Macaulay

David Macaulay, English-American author and illustrator

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Born: December 2, 1946
Age in 2026: 80
Zodiac sign: Sagittarius
Birth year: 1946

About David Macaulay

David Macaulay (born 2 December 1946) is a British-born American illustrator and writer. His works include Cathedral (1973), The Way Things Work (1988), and its updated revisions The New Way Things Work (1998) and The Way Things Work Now (2016). His illustrations have been featured in nonfiction books combining text and illustrations explaining architecture, design, and engineering, and he has written a number of children's fiction books. In 2006, Macaulay was a recipient of a MacArthur Fellows Program award and received the Caldecott Medal in 1991 for his book Black and White, published in 1990.

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

Career and life highlights

In 2006, Macaulay was a recipient of a MacArthur Fello.

David Macaulay timeline

2006In 2006, Macaulay was a recipient of a MacArthur Fellows Program award and received the Caldecott Medal in 1991 for his book Black and White, published in 1990.
2006In 2006, Macaulay was a recipient of a MacArthur Fello.

The world when David Macaulay was born

David Macaulay was born in 1946. 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 1946

#1 song"The Christmas Song" – Nat King Cole
Top movieThe Best Years of Our Lives
Best-selling bookThe King's General – Daphne du Maurier

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentFirst NBA (BAA) season begins
Top headlineUnited Nations General Assembly holds its first session
Technology milestoneENIAC — first general-purpose electronic computer
Defining fadBaby boom begins
Notable inventionTupperware
World population2.43 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
Sports championSt. Louis Cardinals (World Series)
U.S. population141.4M

1946 versus 2026

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

Measure	1946	2026
Gas	$0.21	$3.45/gal
Average home	$6,600	$435,000
Average income	$4,300	$67,500
Minimum wage	$0.40	$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket	$0.35	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.03	$0.73
Population	141.4M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Library of Congress. 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.