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Johnnie Ray
Releases hit song "Cry" -
Harry Truman
When President Roosevelt was assassinated in 1945, Truman took his place. Truman began his second term as president in 1949. During his second period, he launched the United States into the Korean War. His inauguration was January 20, 1949. -
Joe DiMaggio
DiMaggio signed a record contract worth $100,000, and became the first baseball player to break $100,000 in earnings. -
Walter Winchell
Walter Winchell was a gossip reporter. Depending on his critique, Hollywood stars either became successful or failures. -
South Pacific
South Pacific was a highly popular Broadway musical and hit movie. -
Doris Day
Doris Day was a popular actress and singer. He movie "My Dream is Yours" was released Apr 16, 1949. -
Red China
Communists overthrew China, s he United States Red China to indicate that indicate that China was now a communist. -
Joe McCarthy
Joe McCarthy was a Senator from Wisconsin. He was known for his brutal interrogations of suspects, resulting in ruining the lives of both guilty and innocent people. -
Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon was a member of the House of Representatives from California. He was a part of Alger Hiss's trial. Nixon proved that Hiss was guilty in 1950. This kicked off Nixon's political career, and he soon ran for the Senate and won. Nixon later became Vice-President. -
Studebaker
Studebaker was a popular car in 1950. People joked that the car looked like it was going backwards. -
Television
Television became popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s. There was only one station. They had 10 inch screens and were in black and white. -
North Korea / South Korea
Korea split after World War II. North Korea became a Communist dictatorship by Soviet Union and Red China, after Japan was defeated. In 1950, North Korea attacked South Korea, starting the Korean War. -
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was a popular sex symbol and movie star. She was rumored to have relationships with President John F. Kennedy. She died from over dosing, but many say the government had something to do with her death. -
Rosenbergs
The Rosenbergs were a husband and wife who were executed for selling secrets of the United States to the Soviet Union during war time. -
H-bomb
The hydrogen bomb was developed by Dr. Edward Teller. It was much more powerful than the atomic bomb and actually needed an atomic bomb to detonate. The United States exploded the first H-bomb. -
Sugar Ray
Sugar Ray Robinson was the middle-weight boxing champion of the world. He was considered pound-for-pound the best boxer ever. -
Panmunjom
Panmunjom is where deals between the United Nations and the North Koreans to end the Korean War took place. The countries also exchanged prisoners-of-war as a result of the Panmunjom negotiations. -
Brando
Marlon Brando was a very popular movie actor. He was famous for his brooding and mumbling acting style. -
The King and I
"The King and I" was a popular Broadway play and later turned into a movie. -
The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye was an extreme popular book among young adults, as it demonstrated their attitudes and feelings. -
Eisenhower
General Dwight D. Eisenhower had been Supreme Commander in the II fight against the Nazis. He later became president of the United States. -
Vaccine
The vaccine to polio was discovered by Jonas Salk and was used all over the world. -
England's got a new Queen
On February 6, 1952, Queen Elizabeth 2 ascended to the throne. Her coronation didn't take place until June 2, 1953. -
Marciano
Rocky Marciano was the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. He retired undefeated. -
Liberace
Liberace was a popular pianist and entertainer, who had his own TV show. He was known for wearing sequined tuxedos and having a candelabrum on his piano. -
Santayana good-bye
Philosopher George Santayana died in 1952. -
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin was the dictator of the Soviet Union. He was a harsh leader who had millions of his people executed or sent to labor camps. He changed his name to Stalin. Stalin means "steel" in Russian. -
Malenkov
Malenkov was a Soviet politician and Communist Party leader, and a close collaborator of Joseph Stalin. He became leader of the USSR after Stalin's death. -
Nasser
Nasser was the second President of Egypt, taking taking the place of Muhammad Naguib. He was an influential Arab leader. -
Prokofiev
Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor. His works include widely heard ballets from Romeo and Juliet and Peter and the Wolf. -
Rockefeller
President Dwight D. Eisenhower elected Nelson as chair of the President's Advisory Committee on Government Organization. He governed New York and was also the 41st Vice President of the United States of America. -
Campanella
Campanella an the all-star catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was a paralyzing car accident that ended his career. -
Roy Cohn
Roy Cohn advised Senator McCarthy during the McCarthy Hearings on communists. He died from HIV/AIDS. -
Juan Perón
Juan Perón was a famous leader of Argentina. His wife Evita was known for working with the poor. He was anti-American and anti-British. He was overthrown by a military coup in 1955. -
Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was a world-famous conductor. On April 4, 1954, while conducting a radio broadcast at Carnegie Hall,Toscanini had a
a memory lapse. That was the last time he conducted live in public. -
Dacron
A new wonder-material Dacron was introduced to the market. -
Dien Bien Phu falls
The French lose control over Indo-China. -
Rock Around the Clock
Bill Haley and the Comets came out with the first rock-and-roll hit song, Rock Around the Clock. -
Brooklyn's got a winning team
The Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team won the World Series over the New York Yankees. -
Davy Crockett
Fess Parker played in the highly popular TV series Davy Crockett. -
Einstein
Albert Einstein developed the Theory of Relativity. He was considered to be one of the smartest men to ever live. He died in the year 1955. -
Peter Pan
Peter Pan was a top Broadway play. -
Elvis Presley
Singer Elvis Presley became a national phenomenon with such number-one hit songs. He later went on to be nicknamed "The King" as the most popular singer ever. -
Disneyland
Disneyland opened in 1955 in Anaheim, California. It was inspired by Walt Disney's cartoon characters. It was designed to be a family friendly place. -
Bardot
Brigitte Bardot was a popular French actress. -
Budapest
Anti-communist riots took part in Budapest. -
Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev emerged as a leader in the Soviet Union after the death of dictator Josef Stalin. -
Princess Grace
Grace Kelly left her acting career to Prince Ranier of Monaco. -
Peyton Place
The book Peyton Place became the number-1 best-seller among teens and adults. -
Alabama
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, and ended up getting arrested. The NAACP then boycotted city buses. -
Little Rock
African- American students enrolled in a white high school. Governor Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to surround the school, because he believed in segregation between races. -
Pasternak
Pasternak wrote a novel on Soviet Russia, Doctor Zhivago, which was banned I the Soviet for a long period of time. -
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle was an excellent payer that was awarded with the title of MVP in 1957. -
Kerouac
Keouac author of the best-selling book On the Road, but then became a drunk and died at an early age. -
Macarena
The macarena was a popular song made by Los del Río, and was named after a woman. -
The O.J. Trials
O.J. Simpson was a popular football player accused of murdering his wife. He was found not guilty, but many still believe he killed her. -
Milli Vanilli Lip Sync Scandal
Milli Vanilli was a popular band in the 1990s. It was discovered that they an unknown person was providing the voices for the two men, their Grammy taken away. -
James Dean
James Dean was a movie star who became a symbol to teens. Dean drove his new car to Salinas, California to enter in a race. During the trip, Dean's was in a car crash that ended his life. -
Trouble in the Suez
