Birthday profile

Trevor McDonald

Trevor McDonald, Trinidadian-English journalist and academic

Born
August 16, 1939
Age in 2026
87
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1939

About Trevor McDonald

Sir Trevor Lawson McDonald (born George McDonald; 16 August 1939) is a Trinidadian–British newsreader and journalist, best known for his career as a news presenter with Independent Television News (ITN). McDonald began his career working as a print and broadcast journalist for Naparima College's Blue Circle Network. He began his professional career with Radio Trinidad as a reporter and worked as a news reader and sports journalist for Trinidad Television. McDonald was employed by BBC Radio in 1969 as a producer, based in London but still broadcasting to the Caribbean. In 1973, he began his long association with ITN as a general reporter and was also ITN's first black reporter. McDonald was promoted in 1992 as the sole presenter of News at Ten and became a well-known face on British television screens. He was the presenter of the current affairs programme Tonight with Trevor McDonald and a series of documentaries for ITV. McDonald was knighted in 1999 for his services to journalism and was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Greater London in 2006. He is a recipient of the National Television Award for Special Recognition and the BAFTA Fellowship. In 2006, the British public ranked McDonald number 31 in ITV's poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars. McDonald worked as a Northern Ireland correspondent reporting on The Troubles, and later became a sports correspondent from 1978 to 1980, reporting on events such as the 1978 FIFA World Cup matches involving Scotland.

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

Trevor McDonald timeline

  1. McDonald worked as a Northern Ireland correspondent reporting on The Troubles, and later became a sports correspondent from 1978 to 1980, reporting on events such as the 1978 FIFA World Cup matches involving Scotland.
  2. McDonald was promoted in 1992 as the sole presenter of News at Ten and became a well-known face on British television screens.

The world when Trevor McDonald was born

Trevor McDonald was born in 1939. 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 1939

  • #1 song"Over the Rainbow" – Judy Garland
  • Top movieGone with the Wind
  • Best-selling bookThe Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentLou Gehrig delivers his "Luckiest Man" farewell speech
  • Top headlineGermany invades Poland — World War II begins
  • Technology milestoneFirst regular television broadcasts in the US (NBC)
  • Defining fadThe Wizard of Oz mania
  • Notable inventionNylon stockings
  • World population2.30 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population130.9M

1939 versus 2026

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

Measure19392026
Gas$0.19$3.45/gal
Average home$5,200$435,000
Average income$2,900$67,500
Minimum wage$0.30$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population130.9M341 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.