Grandfather, Father and Grandson All Share a Birthday

Odds that a father and a son share the same birthday are 1-in-365. It’s not impossible but difficult to accomplish. The odds of having a father, his son and his son’s son all born on the same day? Well that’s a lot more astronomical at 1-in-133,224.

To put that into perspective, you have a 1-in-3,000 chance of being struck by lighting in your lifetime. We’ll do the rough and remedial math on that for you. (Counting with fingers and toes. Carry the one.) It means you’re 44 times more likely to get quite a jolt from the sky than having your husband, his father and your son share candles on a birthday cake every year.

One UK family defied those odds though. Meet the Cushings.

According to the Eastern Daily Press, on June 12 of this year little Lee John was born in Norfolk, England. His father Marc was born on the same day 35 years previously and his grandfather Lee Michael, who he was named for, was born on the same day in 1951.

While they defied the odds, unfortunately, the three generations won’t be able to celebrate their birthday party together next year. See, Lee Michael passed away when Marc was just 10 years old. That doesn’t mean the son doesn’t have fond memories of sharing his birthday with his father.

“My father died when I was 10 years old, but I still remember having two birthday cakes in the house every year,” Marc told the Eastern Daily Press.

Although it was completely unlikely, it’s a family tradition he’ll again get to share thanks to little Lee. We’re just not good enough to do the math on what the chances are that Lee’s son will be born on June 12 a few decades from now.