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Birthday profile

Des Renford

Des Renford, Australian swimmer (died 1999)

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Born
August 25, 1927
Died
December 30, 1999
Zodiac sign
Virgo
Birth year
1927

About Des Renford

Desmond Robert Renford MBE was an Australian long-distance swimmer who swam the English Channel 19 times from 19 attempts. This was a record for successful crossings by an Australian until it was overtaken by Chloe McCardel in 2016. From 1975 to 1979 and for a period in 1980 he held the title of King of the Channel. At the time of his death, only two other people had swum the Channel more often, Alison Streeter and Michael Read. Des Renford was born on the 52nd anniversary of the very first Channel swim, achieved in 1875 by Matthew Webb. In 1977 he broke the record for swimming around Alcatraz Island by 23 minutes.

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

Des Renford timeline

  1. Des Renford was born on the 52nd anniversary of the very first Channel swim, achieved in 1875 by Matthew Webb.
  2. From 1975 to 1979 and for a period in 1980 he held the title of King of the Channel.
  3. In 1977 he broke the record for swimming around Alcatraz Island by 23 minutes.
  4. This was a record for successful crossings by an Australian until it was overtaken by Chloe McCardel in 2016.

The world when Des Renford was born

Des Renford was born in 1927. 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 1927

  • #1 song"My Blue Heaven" – Gene Austin
  • Top movieThe Jazz Singer (first talking picture)
  • Best-selling bookElmer Gantry – Sinclair Lewis

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentBabe Ruth hits 60 home runs
  • Top headlineLindbergh completes first solo transatlantic flight
  • Technology milestoneThe Jazz Singer — first feature-length talking film
  • Defining fadDance marathons peak
  • Notable inventionPEZ candy dispensers
  • World population2.04 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderCalvin Coolidge
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population119.0M

1927 versus 2026

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

Measure19272026
Gas$0.21$3.45/gal
Average home$6,100$435,000
Average income$3,700$67,500
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population119.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, National Library of Australia Trove, 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.