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Harry Truman
is inaugurated as U.S. president after being elected in 1948 to his own term; previously he was sworn in following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He authorized the use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan during World War II, on August 6 and August 9, 1945, respectively. -
Doris Day
enters the public spotlight with the films My Dream Is Yours and It's a Great Feeling as well as popular songs like "It's Magic"; divorces her second husband. -
Red China
as the Communist Party of China wins the Chinese Civil War, establishing the People's Republic of China. -
Joe McCarthy,
the US Senator, gains national attention and begins his anti-communist crusade with his Lincoln Day speech. -
North Korea and South Korea
declare war after Northern forces stream south on June 25. -
The Rosenbergs,
Ethel and Julius, were convicted on March 29 for espionage -
Rocky Marciano
defeats Jersey Joe Walcott, becoming the world Heavyweight champion -
Marilyn Monroe
soars in popularity with five new movies, including The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve, and attempts suicide after the death of friend Johnny Hyde who asked to marry her several times, but she refused respectfully. Monroe would later (1954) be married for a brief time to Joe DiMaggio (mentioned in the previous verse). -
Panmunjom
the border village in Korea, is the location of truce talks between the parties of the Korean War -
The Catcher in the Rye
a controversial novel by J. D. Salinger, is published
