Portrait of Catherine Tizard

Birthday profile

Catherine Tizard

Catherine Tizard, New Zealand politician, 16th Governor-General of New Zealand (died 2021)

Born
April 4, 1931
Died
October 31, 2021
Zodiac sign
Aries
Birth year
1931

About Catherine Tizard

Dame Catherine Anne Tizard (née Maclean; 4 April 1931 – 31 October 2021) was a New Zealand politician who served as mayor of Auckland City from 1983 to 1990, and the 16th governor-general of New Zealand from 1990 to 1996. She was the first woman to hold either office. == Personal life and early career == Catherine Anne Maclean was born in Auckland on 4 April 1931 to Scottish immigrants Neil and Helen Maclean, and grew up in Waharoa, near Matamata, Waikato. Her father worked at the local dairy factory. She attended Matamata College, gaining a University Bursary in her final year, 1948. In 1949 Catherine enrolled at Auckland University College, studying zoology. While at university, she met Bob Tizard, then president of the Auckland University Students Association. On their second date, Bob told Catherine he was "going into politics. And I'm going to marry you." They married in 1951 and had four children; their daughter Judith is also a politician. Between 1972 and 1975 Tizard's husband was a Cabinet Minister in the Third Labour Government, serving first as Minister of Health and later as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

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

Career and life highlights

Catherine Tizard timeline

  1. Between 1972 and 1975 Tizard's husband was a Cabinet Minister in the Third Labour Government, serving first as Minister of Health and later as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
  2. Tizard decided to run for mayor of Auckland City again at the 1983 local elections, and won, defeating the incumbent Colin Kay.

The world when Catherine Tizard was born

Catherine Tizard was born in 1931. 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 1931

  • #1 song"Stardust" – Artie Shaw
  • Top movieFrankenstein
  • Best-selling bookThe Good Earth – Pearl S. Buck

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentKnute Rockne dies in plane crash
  • Top headlineAl Capone convicted of tax evasion
  • Technology milestoneEmpire State Building completed
  • Defining fadJigsaw puzzles
  • Notable inventionElectric razor
  • World population2.10 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHerbert Hoover
  • Sports championSt. Louis Cardinals (World Series)
  • U.S. population124.0M

1931 versus 2026

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

Measure19312026
Gas$0.17$3.45/gal
Average home$5,500$435,000
Average income$3,000$67,500
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population124.0M341 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, Wikidata. 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.