Chevrolet begins to roll out plastic-bodied Corvettes. Read More
Book - Corvette Fifty Years
The 1950s Dr. John H. Gibbon performs the first successful open heart surgery in which the blood is artificially circulated and oxygenated by a heart-lung machine
Fifties Pop History New York adopts three color traffic lights.
The 1950s Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay become the first humans to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Fifties Pop History Playboy Magazine begins publication, featuring nudes of Marilyn Monroe in its first issue
The 1950s The Church of Scientology is founded by L. Ron Hubbard, a science-fiction writer.
Fifties Pop History University of Minnesota physiologist Ancel Keys points out a correlation between coronary heart disease and diets high in animal fats. Also know as "The Day the Pork Rines Died."
The 1950s TV Guide is born. A pictoral essay of Year 1.
Fifties Pop History Sugar Smacks, 56 percent sugar, is introduced by Kelloggs.
The 1950s East Berliners rise against Communist rule. The Soviets roll tanks into city. End of discussion.
Fifties Pop History On the Air! You'd find 2,357 AM radio, 616 FM radio and 125 TV Stations.
The 1950s Tito becomes president of Yugoslavia.
Fifties Pop History Joseph Stalin dies at the age of 73. He will not be missed.
The 1950s Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, convicted in 1951 of selling American atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, are executed June 9.
Fifties Pop History The first 3-D movie is shown: Arch Oboler's Bwana Devil, starring Robert Stack. Learn More
The 1950s The Academy Awards are televised for the first time. And the winner is...Oscar stuff.
Fifties Pop History Francis Crick and James Watson discover the ``double helix'' of DNA.
The 1950s 46.4% of all domestic passenger travel was by railroad; 28.9% by bus; and 21.6% by air.
Fifties Pop History Con-Tact paper!
The 1950s The French Sardine Co. (in existence since 1917) becomes Star-Kist Foods. Charlie will appear in 1961.
Fifties Pop History In Sports...
The 1950s Baseball star/pilot Ted Williams uninjured as plane shot down in Korea
Fifties Pop History Gen George C Marshall wins Nobel Peace Prize
The 1950s Jacqueline Bouvier marries John F Kennedy
Fifties Pop History Dr. Jonas Salk announces discovery of the vaccine for poliomyelitis
The 1950s Ian Fleming publishes the first James Bond novel, Casino Royale.
Fifties Pop History Govenor Earl Warren of California is named Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, a position he would hold until 1969.
The 1950s The Tuskegee Institute announces that 1953 is the second year in a row in which there were no lynchings. Some statistic.
Fifties Pop History The Department of Health, Education and Welfare is established with Cabinet status. Oveta Culp Hobby is sworn in as Secretary, only the second woman in history to achieve this rank. (Frances Perkins under FDR was the first.)
The 1950s The farm population is down 239,000 over a two year period and now stands at 24,819,000.
Fifties Pop History Dag Hammarskjold chosen as secretary-general of UN
The 1950s Jacqueline Cochrane, USA is the first woman to break sound barrier. You go girl!
Fifties Pop History US district Judge Grim, rules NFL can black out TV home games
The 1950s Supreme Court rules Major League baseball exempt from anti-trust laws (7-2) as it is a sport not a business. On what planet?
Fifties Pop History Walt Disney's "Peter Pan" released
The 1950s Chuck Yeager reaches Mach 2.43 (2,575 kph) in Bell X-1A rocket plane Buy his Autobiography
Fifties Pop History White Rose Redi-tea is the world's first instant iced tea.
The 1950s Howdy Doody tumbler from Welch's More
Fifties Pop History Prime commercial paper (4 to 6 mos) was at 2.52%. In New York City a commercial loan ran 3.47%
The 1950s Irish Coffee is introduced at San Francisco's Buena Vista Cafe at the foot of Hyde Street Hill on the Beach Street cable line. Want the recipe?
Fifties Pop History Dow Chemical creates Saran Wrap
The 1950s To counteract the threat of television,Hollywood thinks big and develops wide-screen processes such as CinemaScope, first seen in The Robe.
Fifties Pop History There is a 33.2% business failure rate.Chart for 1946-1964
The 1950s Kraft Cheez Whiz is introduced as a shortcut for homemakers making Welsh rarebit. More
Fifties Pop History There are 26,000,000 TV sets in 28,000,000 homes.
The 1950s "A Stillness at Appomattox" by Bruce Catton is published, along with "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury.
Fifties Pop History There are 37,955 motor vehicle related deaths. While in the air, there were 6 accidents resulting in 88 fatalities.
The 1950s Unemployment is 2.9%
Fifties Pop History US GNP (Gross National Product) is $378.0 billion
