-
United Nations Security Council holds its 1st meeting
-
228 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of 30,000 civilian lives
-
India gains independence from Great Britain, remains a dominion until 1950
-
US President Harry Truman signs Marshall Plan ($5B aid to 16 European countries)
-
Israel declares independence from under British administration
-
500th anniversary of the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated in Moscow
-
US President Harry Truman labels his administration the "Fair Deal"
-
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) treaty signed in Washington DC
-
Moscow ends the blockade of West Berlin
-
Chinese Communist leaders proclaim People's Republic of China
-
US President Harry Truman publicly announces support for the development of a hydrogen bomb
-
North Korean troops reach Seoul, UN asks members to aid South Korea, Harry Truman orders US Air Force & Navy into Korean conflict
-
Robert McClure sights the fabled Northwest Passage for the first time (from Banks Island towards Melville Island)
-
AT&T becomes the 1st US corporation to have a million stockholders after young car salesman Brady Denton purchases 7 shares worth $1,078
-
Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes synthesizes the first oral contraceptive
-
Queen Elizabeth II succeeds King George VI to the British throne
-
is proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc
-
Big Bang theory proposed in Physical Review by Alpher, Bethe & Gamow
-
The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey Dummer
-
The New York Daily News reports the first successful sexual reassignment operation
-
US President Harry Truman announces American development of the hydrogen bomb
-
Francis Crick and James Watson discover structure of DNA-molecule
-
Dr Jonas Salk announces vaccine to prevent polio
-
and James Watson's discovery of the double helix structure of DNA is published in "Nature" magazine