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Birthday profile

Mike Hawthorn

Mike Hawthorn, English racing driver (died 1959)

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Born
April 10, 1929
Died
January 22, 1959
Zodiac sign
Aries
Birth year
1929

About Mike Hawthorn

John Michael Hawthorn (10 April 1929 – 22 January 1959) was a British racing driver who competed in Formula One from 1952 to 1958. Hawthorn won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1958 with Ferrari, and won three Grands Prix across seven seasons. In endurance racing, Hawthorn won both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1955 with Jaguar. In 1958, Hawthorn became the first of 11 British Formula One World Champions, beating Stirling Moss to the title by one point. He announced his retirement upon his triumph, having been profoundly affected by the death of his teammate and friend Peter Collins two months earlier during the German Grand Prix. Three months after retiring, Hawthorn died in a road accident in Guildford, driving his Jaguar 3.4 Litre. The Hawthorn Memorial Trophy was established in his honour by the RAC in 1959, being awarded to the most successful British, or Commonwealth, driver in Formula One each year.

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

Mike Hawthorn timeline

  1. In endurance racing, Hawthorn won both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1955 with Jaguar.
  2. Hawthorn won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1958 with Ferrari, and won three Grands Prix across seven seasons.
  3. In 1958, Hawthorn became the first of 11 British Formula One World Champions, beating Stirling Moss to the title by one point.
  4. The Hawthorn Memorial Trophy was established in his honour by the RAC in 1959, being awarded to the most successful British, or Commonwealth, driver in Formula One each year.

The world when Mike Hawthorn was born

Mike Hawthorn was born in 1929. 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 1929

  • #1 song"Singin' in the Rain"
  • Top movieThe Broadway Melody (first Best Picture winner)
  • Best-selling bookA Farewell to Arms – Ernest Hemingway

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst baseball All-Star Game proposed
  • Top headlineStock market crashes on Black Tuesday
  • Technology milestoneFirst Academy Awards ceremony held
  • Defining fadYo-yos
  • Notable inventionCar radio
  • World population2.10 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHerbert Hoover
  • Sports championPhiladelphia Athletics (World Series)
  • U.S. population121.8M

1929 versus 2026

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

Measure19292026
Gas$0.21$3.45/gal
Average home$6,300$435,000
Average income$3,850$67,500
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population121.8M341 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, 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.