Portrait of Ian Livingstone

Birthday profile

Ian Livingstone

Ian Livingstone, English fantasy author and entrepreneur

Born
December 29, 1949
Age in 2026
77
Zodiac sign
Capricorn
Birth year
1949

About Ian Livingstone

Sir Ian Livingstone (born 29 December 1949) is an English fantasy author and entrepreneur. He co-founded Games Workshop in 1975 and helped create Eidos Interactive as executive chairman of Eidos Plc in 1995. Along with Steve Jackson, he is also the co-creator of the Fighting Fantasy series of role-playing gamebooks, and the author of many books within that series. == Early life == Livingstone attended Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, where he states that he only earned one A-level, in Geography. He has kept his close links with the school and has visited it on numerous occasions. == Career == === Games Workshop === Livingstone co-founded Games Workshop in early 1975 with flatmates John Peake and Steve Jackson. They began publishing the monthly newsletter Owl and Weasel, and distributed copies of the first issue to fanzine Albion subscribers; Brian Blume received one of these copies, and sent them a copy of the new game Dungeons & Dragons in return. Livingstone and Jackson found this game to be more imaginative than games produced in the UK at the time, and so worked out an arrangement with Blume for an exclusive deal to sell D&D in Europe. They began distributing Dungeons & Dragons and other TSR products later in 1975. Livingstone and Jackson organised a convention for their first time in late 1975, which became known as the first Games Day.

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

Ian Livingstone timeline

  1. Livingstone co-founded Games Workshop in early 1975 with flatmates John Peake and Steve Jackson.
  2. He co-founded Games Workshop in 1975 and helped create Eidos Interactive as executive chairman of Eidos Plc in 1995.

The world when Ian Livingstone was born

Ian Livingstone was born in 1949. 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 1949

  • #1 song"Riders in the Sky" – Vaughn Monroe
  • Top movieAll the King's Men
  • Top TV showTexaco Star Theater
  • Best-selling bookThe Egyptian - Mika Waltari

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentJoe Louis retires from boxing as undefeated heavyweight champion
  • Top headlineNATO established
  • Technology milestoneFirst stored-program computer runs its first program
  • Defining fadSilly Putty
  • Notable inventionSilly Putty
  • World population2.52 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonMinneapolis Lakers (BAA)
  • U.S. population149.2M

1949 versus 2026

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

Measure19492026
Gas$0.27$3.45/gal
Average home$8,400$435,000
Average income$5,000$67,500
Minimum wage$0.40$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.46$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population149.2M341 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.