In 1939, "Over the Rainbow" topped the charts, Gone with the Wind packed theaters, a stamp cost 3¢, the average home went for about $3,000.
🎵 Top songs of 1939
"Over the Rainbow" — Judy Garland
"Moonlight Serenade" — Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
"Beer Barrel Polka" — Will Glahé & His Orchestra
🎬 In theaters
Gone with the Wind
The Wizard of Oz
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
What things cost in 1939
$0.19
Gallon of gas
3¢
Postage stamp
$0.23
Movie ticket
$0.50
Gallon of milk
$3,000
Average home
$700
New car
$1,260
Household income
A $0.19 gallon of gas in 1939 has the buying power of roughly $4.60 today, and the 23-cent movie ticket converts to about $5.55, a remarkable deal for the year of Oz and Scarlett. Milk at 50 cents a gallon works out to around $12 in today's dollars.
The biggest moments of 1939
The New York World's Fair opened with its Trylon and Perisphere, promising visitors The World of Tomorrow.
Lou Gehrig gave his famous Luckiest Man farewell speech at Yankee Stadium on July 4.
In Hollywood's greatest year, Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz both premiered, while World War II began in Europe.
The first televised major-league baseball game aired in August, with Red Barber calling the Reds and Dodgers from Ebbets Field for a handful of tiny screens.
The Baseball Hall of Fame opened its doors in Cooperstown, with Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and the game's first legends on hand for the dedication.
San Francisco threw its own fair, the Golden Gate International Exposition, on man-made Treasure Island in the middle of the bay.
Toys, TV & trends of 1939
The View-Master 3-D picture viewer was unveiled at the New York World's Fair.
Little League Baseball was founded in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and Batman debuted in Detective Comics.
College students made headlines with a goofy goldfish-swallowing fad that swept campuses in the spring.
The first nylon stockings went on test sale in Wilmington, Delaware, and women cleared the counters within hours.
Marvel Comics #1 hit newsstands in October, introducing the Human Torch and Sub-Mariner and founding a comics dynasty.
Packard offered the first factory air-conditioned automobile, a marvel most families could only dream about from the showroom window.
The music scene
1939 belonged to Glenn Miller: a summer-long radio residency at the Glen Island Casino made his band a sensation, and that August he recorded 'In the Mood,' the song that would define the era. In June, bandleader Harry James hired a skinny unknown singer from Hoboken named Frank Sinatra for $75 a week. And in October, saxophonist Coleman Hawkins wandered through 'Body and Soul' in two choruses that barely touched the melody, creating one of the most celebrated three minutes in jazz history.
At the movies
Hollywood's legendary year ran deeper than its two giants: Stagecoach turned a B-Western bit player named John Wayne into a star, and Garbo finally made a comedy, with posters gleefully shouting 'Garbo Laughs!' about Ninotchka. When Gone with the Wind premiered in Atlanta in December, the governor declared a state holiday and some 300,000 people lined the streets for the motorcade. Wuthering Heights, Goodbye Mr. Chips, and Stagecoach all crowded the same Best Picture race, arguably the strongest in Oscar history.
Cartoons kids loved
Fleischer's Gulliver's Travels arrived as America's second animated feature film
Disney's The Ugly Duckling won the final Silly Symphony Oscar
Popeye and Donald Duck topped theater popularity polls
To make America's second animated feature, the Fleischer brothers moved their entire operation from New York to a brand-new studio in Miami, hiring hundreds of artists in a race to have Gulliver ready for Christmas 1939, just two years after Snow White. Disney, flush with Snow White money, was already deep into Pinocchio and an experimental music film that would become Fantasia. With Technicolor now open to everyone, the black-and-white cartoon's days were numbered.
The world in 1939
World population: about 2.2 billion
U.S. President: Franklin D. Roosevelt
World War II began in Europe when Germany invaded Poland on September 1.
Albert Einstein signed a letter to President Roosevelt warning that atomic energy could be turned into a weapon, quietly setting history in motion.
The world's first jet airplane, Germany's Heinkel He 178, made its maiden flight in August.
Pan Am's Dixie Clipper flying boat began the first regular transatlantic passenger service, crossing from New York to Europe in about a day.
1939 birthday questions
How old is someone born in 1939?
Someone born in 1939 turns 87 in 2026 (86 if their birthday has not come round yet).
What was the number one song in 1939?
"Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland was among the biggest hits of 1939.
What movie came out in 1939?
Gone with the Wind was one of the films packing theaters in 1939.
How much did gas cost in 1939?
A gallon of gas ran about $0.19 in 1939, and a postage stamp cost 3¢.
How much did a house cost in 1939?
The average home went for roughly $3,000 in 1939, against a typical household income of about $1,260.