Portrait of Martin Donnelly (sportsman)

Birthday profile

Martin Donnelly (sportsman)

Martin Donnelly, New Zealand cricketer (died 1999)

Born
October 17, 1917
Died
October 22, 1999
Zodiac sign
Libra
Birth year
1917

About Martin Donnelly (sportsman)

Martin Paterson Donnelly was a New Zealand-born sportsman who played Test cricket for New Zealand and rugby union for England. He worked for Courtaulds in England and Sydney. Donnelly's sporting talent emerged quickly and Donnelly became known for his batting and fielding skills, as well as his prowess at Rugby Union. He attended New Plymouth Boys' High School, and quickly made an impact- recording 187 for NPBHS in a club match in 1934 which stood as a school record for 76 years. This led to his first-class debut in January 1936 for Wellington in a Plunket Shield match against Auckland, in which he made 22 and 38. Aged only 19, Donnelly was a surprise selection for the 1937 New Zealand tour of England, having played only one first-class match.

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

Martin Donnelly (sportsman) timeline

  1. He attended New Plymouth Boys' High School, and quickly made an impact- recording 187 for NPBHS in a club match in 1934 which stood as a school record for 76 years.
  2. This led to his first-class debut in January 1936 for Wellington in a Plunket Shield match against Auckland, in which he made 22 and 38.
  3. Aged only 19, Donnelly was a surprise selection for the 1937 New Zealand tour of England, having played only one first-class match.

The world when Martin Donnelly (sportsman) was born

Martin Donnelly (sportsman) was born in 1917. 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 1917

  • Best-selling book"Mr. Britling Sees It Through" – H.G. Wells

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentProfessional sports curtailed as America enters World War I
  • Top headlineUS enters World War I
  • Technology milestoneFirst practical military use of sonar
  • World population~1.77B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWoodrow Wilson
  • U.S. population100.8M

1917 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Martin Donnelly (sportsman)'s birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19172026
Gas$0.25$3.45/gal
Population100.8M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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