Portrait of Gunnar Sønsteby

Birthday profile

Gunnar Sønsteby

Norwegian resistance member (1918-2012)

Born
January 11, 1918
Died
May 10, 2012
Zodiac sign
Capricorn
Birth year
1918

About Gunnar Sønsteby

Gunnar Fridtjof Thurmann Sønsteby DSO (11 January 1918 – 10 May 2012) was a member of the Norwegian resistance movement during the German occupation of Norway in World War II. Known by the nickname "Kjakan" ("The Chin") and as "Agent No. 24", he was the most highly decorated citizen in Norway, including being the only person to have been awarded the War Cross with three swords, Norway's highest military decoration. Known by the nickname "Kjakan" and as "Agent No. 24", he was the most highly decorated citizen in Norway, including being the only person to have been awarded the War Cross with three swords, Norway's highest military decoration.

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

The world when Gunnar Sønsteby was born

Gunnar Sønsteby was born in 1918. 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 1918

  • Best-selling book"The U.P. Trail" – Zane Grey

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentWorld Series played in September due to WWI
  • Top headlineWorld War I ends — Spanish Flu pandemic begins
  • Technology milestoneFirst regular airmail service
  • World population~1.78B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWoodrow Wilson
  • U.S. population102.0M

1918 versus 2026

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

Measure19182026
Gas$0.25$3.45/gal
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population102.0M341 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. 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.