Portrait of Desmond Swayne

Birthday profile

Desmond Swayne

Desmond Swayne, English soldier and politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household

Born
August 20, 1956
Age in 2026
70
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1956

About Desmond Swayne

Sir Desmond Angus Swayne (born 20 August 1956) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for New Forest West since 1997. Before going into politics, Swayne was a teacher, and then a manager at the Royal Bank of Scotland. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to David Cameron, during Cameron's time as Leader of the Opposition, 2005–10, and then for two years while he was Prime Minister, 2010–12. In September 2012 he was appointed as Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury and in July 2014 as Minister for International Development. Swayne was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for political and parliamentary services. He was a supporter of the Eurosceptic pressure group Leave Means Leave. He is also a prominent critic of the British government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2009, he was awarded the Volunteer Reserves Service Medal.

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

The world when Desmond Swayne was born

Desmond Swayne was born in 1956. 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 1956

  • #1 song"Heartbreak Hotel" – Elvis Presley
  • Top movieAround the World in 80 Days
  • Top TV showI Love Lucy
  • Best-selling bookPeyton Place – Grace Metalious

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentDon Larsen pitches a perfect game in the World Series
  • Top headlineElvis Presley takes America by storm
  • Technology milestoneFirst transatlantic telephone cable (TAT-1)
  • Defining fadElvis Presley mania
  • Notable inventionHard disk drive (IBM)
  • World population2.82 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonPhiladelphia Warriors (NBA)
  • U.S. population168.1M

1956 versus 2026

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

Measure19562026
Gas$0.30$3.45/gal
Average home$11,700$435,000
Average income$6,500$67,500
Minimum wage$1.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.50$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population168.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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