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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). -
Harry Truman
was 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 in Japan during World War II, on August 6 and August 9, 1945, respectively. -
Sugar Ray Robinson
a champion welterweight boxer -
Rocky Marciano
defeats Jersey Joe Walcott, becoming the world Heavyweight champion -
Roy Campanella
an African-American baseball catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, receives the National League's Most Valuable Player award for the second time -
Roy Cohn
resigns as Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel and enters private practice with the fall of McCarthy. He also worked to prosecute the Rosenbergs, mentioned earlier. -
Peter Pan
is broadcast on TV live and in color from the 1954 version of the stage musical starring Mary Martin on March 7. Disney released an animated version the previous year. -
Princess Grace Kelly
releases her last film, High Society, and marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco. -
Jack Kerouac
publishes his first novel in seven years, On the Road. -
Ben Hur
a film based around the New Testament starring Charlton Heston, wins eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture
