-
1949
South Pacific, the prize-winning musical, opens on Broadway on April 7.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pacific_(musical) -
1950
• North Korea and South Korea declare war after Northern forces stream south on June 25.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War -
1951
• The Rosenbergs, Ethel and Julius, were convicted on March 29 for espionage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_and_Julius_Rosenberg -
1951
• The King and I, musical, opens on Broadway on March 29.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_and_I -
1952
• The vaccine for polio is privately tested by Jonas Salk.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polio_vaccine -
1953
• Sergei Prokofiev, the composer, dies on March 5, the same day as Stalin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Prokofiev -
1955
• Albert Einstein dies on April 18 at the age of 76.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein -
1955
• Disneyland opens on July 17 as Walt Disney's first theme park.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disneyland_Park_(Anaheim) -
1959
• Buddy Holly dies in a plane crash on February 3 with Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, in a day that had a devastating impact on the country and youth culture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Holly -
1969
• Moonshot: Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing, successfully lands on the moon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11
