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Harry Truman
Harry S Truman became U.S. President when President Roosevelt died in 1945. He was responsible for dropping the atomic bombs on Japan and ending World War II. Truman initiated the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after the war. He started his second term in 1949, defeating Thomas Dewey. A famous picture shows him smiling and holding up the Chicago Tribune newspaper with the headline "Dewey Defeats Truman". -
Doris Day
Doris Day was born in 1924. She started singing and touring with the Les Brown Band at age 16. She made her first movie in 1948 and soon became a popular movie star and singer. -
Red China
Communists took control of China after a struggle that started before World War II and renamed the country the People's Republic of China. It was called Red China by the United States to indicate they were Communists. Red China entered the Korean War in the 1950s, when it looked like the U.N. forces would defeat Communist North Korea. -
Johnnie Ray
Partially deaf singer, whose song Cry was a number-one hit. Ray actually cried in performing the song. He was a top star in 1949 and 1950 with his other hit songs The Little White Cloud that Cried and Walking in the Rain -
South Pacific
South Pacific was a highly popular Broadway musical and hit movie. -
Walter Winchell
Walter Winchell was a top gossip reporter, whose newspaper column and radio show could make or break a celebrity. -
Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio was a popular baseball player for the New York Yankees. In 1941, he set a Major League record of hitting safely in 56 straight games. He was affectionately known as "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper" until he retired in 1952. -
Joe McCarthy
Joe McCarthy was a Senator from Wisconsin. He was best known for his work chairing the Senate Committee on Government Operations, which focused on suspected communists in the government. -
Richard nixon
Richard Nixon was a member of the House of Representatives from California when he became involved in the trial of Alger Hiss, who was accused of being a Communist and a spy. Nixon presented evidence that help prove Hiss guilty in 1950. This advanced Nixon's political career, and he soon ran for the Senate and won. Nixon later became Vice-President under President Dwight Eisenhower. Years later, he became President of the United States. -
Studebaker
Studebaker was a popular car in 1950. The styling consisted of a torpedo front end and read window. People joked that the car looked like it was going backwards. The company went out of business in 1966. -
Television
Television became popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Most large cities had only one station. -
North Korea / South Korea
Korea was split into north and south after World War II. North Korea became established as a Communist dictatorship by Soviet Union and Red China, after Japan was defeated. -
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was a popular "sex symbol" movie star. She was married to baseball hero Joe Dimaggio and later author Arthur Miller. She also was rumored to have relationships with President John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, as well as mafia boss Joe Gianconna. -
Rosenbergs
The Rosenbergs were a husband and wife who were arrested and executed for selling secrets of the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. -
H-bomb
The hydrogen bomb was developed under the guidance of Dr. Edward Teller. It was many times more powerful than an atomic bomb and in fact required an atomic bomb to detonate. The United States exploded the first H-bomb and a few years later the Soviet Union then exploded their version of the bomb. -
Sugar Ray
Sugar Ray Robinson was the middle-weight boxing champion of the world. At the time considered pound-for-pound the best boxer ever. He was also highly personable and popular. -
Panmunjom
Panmunjom, Korea is where negotiations between the United Nations—led by the United States—and the Communist North Koreans to end the Korean War took place. The separation between North Korea and South Korea was originally the 38th Parallel, but the new truce decided on a boundary between the countries that was more defensible. The countries also exchanged prisoners-of-war as a result of the Panmunjom negotiations. -
Brando
Marlon Brando became a top movie actor. He was famous for his brooding and mumbling acting style. He received an Academy Award for his role in "On the Waterfront" that brought him to be a top box-office draw. Many years later, he starred in the "Godfather" movie. -
The King and I
The King and I was a popular Broadway play and later turned into a movie starring Yul Brunner and Deborah Kerr. -
The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye was an extreme popular book among teens, as it epitomized their attitudes and feelings. -
Eisenhower
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower ("Ike") had been Supreme Commander in the World War II fight against the Nazis. He later became a popular president of the United States. "I like Ike" was the motto of his followers. -
Vaccine
The vaccine to the dreaded disease polio was discovered by Jonas Salk and distributed to the world. -
England's got a new Queen
Queen Elizabeth 2 ascended to the throne upon the death of her father, King George 6. Her coronation didn't take place until June 2, 1953. This was a great event, not only in Britain but in all the countries of the British Commonwealth. It was also big news in the United States and many other countries as well. Filmed documentaries of the event circulated in Commonwealth countries for a long time after the event and every school child was taken to organized cinema screenings in school time. -
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 in the 1950s. He was known for wearing sequined tuxedos and having a candelabrum on his piano. He is credited with advising singer Elvis Presley to also wear "fancy clothes" during his performances. Women adored Liberace, because of his sweet smile and wavy hair. -
Santayana good-bye
Famed 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 in Siberia. On his way to political power, he changed his name to Stalin, which means "steel" in Russian. -
Malenkov
Georgy Malenkov was a Soviet politician and Communist Party leader, and a close collaborator of Joseph Stalin. He briefly became leader of the USSR (March 1953-February 1955) after Stalin's death. -
Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser was the second President of Egypt after Muhammad Naguib. He was considered one of the more influential Arab leaders in history. -
Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was the most prolific Russian composer, pianist and conductor of the twentieth century. His works include such widely heard works ballets from Romeo and Juliet and Peter and the Wolf. He died in 1953. -
Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller—who was known as a playboy and hard drinker—moved from Florida and New York to Arkansas. It was jokingly said he moved there because he loved playing the banjo. Winthrop became Governor of Arkansas in 1966 and was said to be a great influence on future Arkansas Governor and U.S. President Bill Clinton. -
Campanella
Roy Campanella was the all-star catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team. His career was cut short by a paralyzing car accident -
Communist bloc
USSR and their satellite countries formed what was called the Communist bloc. -
Dacron
A new wonder-material Dacron hit the market. -
Dien Bien Phu falls
The French lose control over Indo-China—now known as Vietnam—with the fall of the city Dien Bien Phu -
Roy Cohn
Roy Cohn was the advisor to Senator Joseph McCarthy during the McCarthy Hearings on Communists in the movie industry and government. -
Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was a world-famous conductor, considered to have been one of the greatest classical conductors of all time. On April 4, 1954, while conducting a radio broadcast of the NBC Symphony at Carnegie Hall in New York, Toscanini suffered a memory lapse during the performance. That was the last time he conducted live in public. He died at the age of 89 in 1957. -
Rock Around the Clock
Bill Haley and the Comets came out with what was considered the first rock-and-roll hit song, Rock Around the Clock. It was the theme music for the popular movie Blackboard Jungle. -
Juan Perón
Juan Perón was a popular leader in Argentina, elected first in 1946 and then again in 1952. Perón pursued social policies aimed at empowering the working class. His wife Evita was known for helping the poor. He was strongly anti-American and anti-British, confiscating much of the British and American-owned assets in Argentina. In 1955, he was overthrown by a military coup. It wasn't until 1973 that he returned to power. He died shortly afterward in 1974. -
Einstein
Albert Einstein developed the Theory of Relativity in 1903 and was considered one the world's smartest scientists. He became a popular figure in the later years of his life. He died in 1955. -
James Dean
James Dean was a movie star who became a symbol of young people for his role in the movie Rebel Without a Cause. -
Brooklyn's got a winning team
The Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team finally won the World Series over the New York Yankees. They later moved to Los Angeles. -
Davy Crockett
Actor Fess Parker starred in the highly popular TV series Davy Crockett. The novelty song The Ballad of Davy Crockett became the number-one song in 1955. Coonskin caps—like Davy Crockett wore—also became popular among young boys. -
Peter Pan
Peter Pan was a top Broadway play starring Mary Martin, who flew through the air as Peter Pan -
Elvis Presley
Singer Elvis Presley became a national phenomenon with such number-one hit songs as Heartbreak Hotel, Don't Be Cruel and Hound Dog. He was called "Elvis the Pelvis" because of the way he shook his hips while dancing. Many religious leaders and school officials banned his songs, which only made them more popular. 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 a theme park, developed by Walt Disney and based around his cartoon characters. It was designated as a place for family entertainment. -
Bardot
Brigitte Bardot was a popular French "sex-kitten" movie star. -
Budapest
Anti-communist riots took part in Budapest, Hungary. Soviet troops put down the revolt and arrested many Hungarians, especially students. -
Alabama
In 1955, African-American Rosa Parks sat in a Montgomery, Alabama bus seat designated "for whites only". She was then arrested for her act of defiance. That arrest resulted in demonstrations and a boycott of Montgomery buses by African-Americans that lasted until December 1956. -
Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev emerged as a leader in the Soviet Union after the death of dictator Josef Stalin. In 1956, he advocated reform and indirectly criticized Stalin and his methods. He became the Premier of the Soviet Union from 1958 to 1974. -
Princess Grace
Actress Grace Kelly left Hollywood to marry Prince Ranier of Monaco. She then attained the title of Princess Grace. -
Peyton Place
The book Peyton Place became the number-1 best-seller. Teens often marked the "good parts" in the book, as they passed it among each other. -
Trouble in the Suez
After Britain and the USA withdrew their financial support for the Egyptian Aswan dam project, General Nasser nationalized the important Suez Canal. Egypt was then invaded by British, French and Israeli forces. Under pressure from the United States the invaders left Egypt and a UN emergency force was sent to Egypt. -
Little Rock
Nine African-American students enrolled at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Governor Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to surround Central High School to keep the nine students from entering the school, because he believed black and whites should be segregated, despite Federal laws on integration. President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne Division into Little Rock to insure the safety of the students. The crisis gained world-wide attention. -
Pasternak
Boris Pasternak was a Russian poet and writer. He is best known in the West for his monumental novel on Soviet Russia, Doctor Zhivago. The book was also made into an award-winning movie. -
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle was a great baseball player for the New York Yankee team. He batted both left- and right-handed, hit at a leading batting average, as well as led the league in home runs -
Kerouac
Jack Kerouac was the author of the best-selling book On the Road, which epitomized the Beat Generation of the late 1940s and early 1950s. Upon achieving fame, Kerouac became a serious alcoholic and died at an early age. -
Sputnik
Sputnik was the name of the first orbiting satellite sent into space by the USSR. Turmoil over its launch in the United States initiated the race for supremacy in space. -
Chou En-Lai
Chou En-Lai (Zhou Enlai) was the Premier and Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China (also called Red China by Western journalists). He was a popular and practical administrator during the "Great Leap Forward" of 1958 and later pushed for modernization to undo damage caused by the "Cultural Revolution" of 1966 to 1976. Zhou was largely responsible for the re-establishment of contacts with the West during the Nixon presidency. -
Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai was a 1957 Academy Award winning movie about a World War II Japanese prisoner-of-war camp. -
Lebanon
U.S. President Eisenhower ordered U.S. Marines into Lebanon at the request of Lebanese President Chamoun to help stop riots that were occurring in the country. -
Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle returned to power as the leader of France. -
California baseball
The Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team moved to Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Giants moved to San Francisco. -
Starkweather homicide
Charles Starkweather was a serial killer who made the news 1958 because of his gruesome murders. Starkweather and his girlfriend, Caril Fugate, went on a killing spree of 11 to 15 people over a span of a month and a half. They were captured and he was executed in 1959. -
Children of Thalidomide
Thalidomide was a medication intended for pregnant women to combat morning sickness and as an aid to help them sleep. Unfortunately, inadequate tests were performed to assess the drug's safety. Between 1957 and 1962, children of women who took the drug thalidomide during pregnancy were born with severe deformities, including only stubs for arms. Because of this tragedy, the drug was taken off the market in 1962. Of the 10,000 children born with birth defects, only 5000 lived -
Ben Hur
Ben Hur was a spectacular movie starring Charlton Heston. It was set around the time of Christ. -
Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly was a popular singer and leader of the Crickets rock group. He was killed in a plane crash, along with singers The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. In 1971, the hit song American Pie referred to his death in the line "...the day the music died." -
Mafia
Mafia leaders met in upstate New York to get better organized -
Hula Hoops
Hula Hoops became a national fad. Everywhere, you would see children and even adults trying to spin the large plastic hoop around their waist. TV celebrities would also display their skills with the hoop. The fad peaked and died out quickly. -
Castro
Fidel Castro had been a wealthy lawyer, advocating social justice and protesting the influence of the United States in Cuba. He became involved in political activism and led the revolution to overthrow Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. He was then sworn in as the Prime Minister of Cuba. Moving toward Communism, he alienated the United States. -
Edsel is a no-go
Ford Motor Company came out with a new car, the Edsel. The car was named after Edsel Ford, who was Henry Ford's son. The car was to fit in between the Ford and Mercury, but it was the wrong car at the wrong time and lasted only a few years until it was discontinued. -
Space Monkey
Starting in 1948. a number of monkeys had been sent into space in various rockets, but unfortunately all died during their flights. It wasn't until 1959 that Able, a rhesus monkey, and Miss Baker, a squirrel monkey, became the first monkeys to successfully travel in space and successfully return to Earth. -
U-2
The United States had been sending the secret U-2 high-flying spy plane over the Soviet Union to take pictures and gather information, when one was shot down by a Russian missile. The pilot Francis Gary Powers was taken prisoner and later released in an exchange for a Soviet spy who had been arrested in the U.S. -
Syngman Rhee
Syngman Rhee was the first President of South Korea, serving from 1948 to 1960. His method of rule became unpopular, and he was forced to resign by a student-led democratic movement. -
Kennedy
John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States in 1960. He was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on 22 November 1963. -
Chubby Checker
Singer Chubby Checker came out with the song The Twist, which started a national dance sensation. Soon, not only teens but also adults where doing the twist. The dance was responsible for popularizing "fast dancing" or rock-and-roll among adults. Chubby Checker's name was a spin-off of the name of the popular rock singer Fats Domino. -
Psycho
Psycho was a thriller movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock. A young woman, Marion Crane—played by Janet Leigh—steals some money from work and leaves town, getting a room at the Bates Motel. A shy man, Norman Bates—played by Anthony Perkins—runs the motel with his domineering mother. -
Belgians in the Congo
The country of Belgian Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960 to become simply the Congo. For the next several there was civil strife, resulting in 100,000 deaths, as Congolese political parties fought for power. -
Payola
Many disk jockeys were exposed for taking bribes to pay certain songs on the radio, thus biasing the record sales. Top national disk jockey Allen Freed was convicted of payola. American Bandstand TV dance show host Dick Clark was accused of payola but found innocent. -
Hemingway
Famous author Ernest Hemingway committed suicide. -
Eichmann
Former Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann was arrested in Argentina and brought to Israel, where he was convicted of war crimes and executed. -
Stranger in a Strange Land
Stranger in a Strange Land is an award-winning fictional book by Robert A. Heinlein about Valentine Michael Smith, who was born during the first manned mission to Mars and was the only survivor. He is raised by Martians, and when he arrived on Earth he had no knowledge of anything about the planet or its cultures. He then explored human morality and the meanings of love and founded his own church, preaching free love. Many young rebels of the 1960s selected Stranger as their counterculture bible -
Dylan
Singer Bob Dylan led the folk music craze. -
Berlin
The Soviets erected the Berlin Wall, dividing the city into the Russian-controlled part and the area controlled by the U.S., British and French. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
In 1960, the Eisenhower Administration created a plan to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba. In April of 1961, newly-elected President John F. Kennedy allowed the attack on Cuba. Armed Cuban exiles sailed from Florida and landed at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba. Because of poor planning by Kennedy, as well as spies and U.S. government leaks, Castro was ready for the attack. The exiles were all either captured or killed. President Kennedy was greatly criticized for the failure of the mission. -
Lawrence of Arabia
The movie Lawrence of Arabia starring Peter O'Toole won the Academy Awards. -
British Beatle-mania
British rock group the Beatles took over the music scene, with numerous hit records on the Top-40 charts. -
Ole Miss
University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) admitted its first black or African-American student, James Meredith, with U.S. Marshals enforcing the rules to integrate the school. -
John Glenn
John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. He had previously been a U.S. Marine test pilot, but in 1959 he was assigned to NASA as one of the original group of Mercury astronauts. After he piloted the first American manned orbital mission aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft, he was considered and American hero and given a tickertape parade. He later become a U.S. Senator. -
Liston beats Patterson
Boxer Sonny Liston easily defeated Heavyweight Champion Floyd Patterson to gain the title. Liston was a large, mean-looking boxer that struck fear in the hearts of his opponents. He was finally defeated by Cassius Clay, who after the fight changed his name to Muhammad Ali -
Pope Paul
Pope Paul VI was pope—or leader—of the Catholic Church from 1963 to 1978. He followed Pope John and completed the implementation of the goals of the Second Vatican Council. He became the first pope to visit six continents, but he also known to be an indecisive leader. His views were important to the world's Catholics. -
Malcolm X
Malcolm X came into the news when he preached separation of the races as part of the Black Muslim teachings. His family had been harassed by white-supremacists a number of times. Apparently, three of Malcolm's uncles and his father were killed by white men. After his mother was institutionalized as insane, Malcolm grew up in foster homes. He was discouraged in school from wanting to be a lawyer, because his white teacher said it wasn't a realistic goal for black people. -
British politician sex
A sex scandal rocked British Parliament. Secretary of State for War John Profumo was highly respected and married, but after it was discovered that he had a several week affair with a showgirl named Christine Keeler, he was forced to resign. Not only did he lie to the House of Commons about the affair, but is was also found out that Keeler had also had a relationship with a senior naval attaché at the Soviet Embassy in London. -
JFK blown away
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963. Kennedy was riding in an open-top automobile in a presidential motorcade when Lee Harvey Oswald shot him through the head with a sniper rifle from a sixth floor window of a nearby building. Oswald was arrested eighty minutes later after killing a Dallas police officer -
Birth control
Birth Control became an issue with the advent of the birth control pill. Later, abortion was legalized. -
Ho Chi-Minh
Ho Chi-Minh was the leader of the Communist North Vietnamese, who first fought the French and then the Americans. -
Richard Nixon back again
After losing the election for President to John F. Kennedy in 1960 and then losing his bid to be Governor of California in 1962, former Vice President Richard Nixon fought back to regain prominence in national politics. One interesting thing he did was to be a guest on the popular television comedy show Laugh-In. Nixon repeated the show's running gag-line, "Sock it to me" a number of times. It gave the impression that he was not such a dour person after all. Nixon was elected President in 1968. -
Moon shot
The United States landed the first man on the moon. -
Woodstock
A farmer in the Woodstock area of New York state donated his land for a rock concert. Surprisingly, 600,000 rock fans showed up, making it the biggest rock concert ever held. -
Watergate
Supporters and staff of U.S. President Richard Nixon were accused of breaking into the Democratic headquarters in the Watergate hotel. Nixon tried to cover up the fact and soon he forced to resign from office because of that cover up. Several of his staff members were sent to prison as a result of the affair. -
Punk Rock
Punk rock hits the music scene with such groups as the Sex Pistols, who would spit at the audience. -
Begin
Begin was Prime Minister of Israel. -
Reagan
Former movie actor Ronald Reagan became President of the United States. -
Palestine
Palestinians protested unfair treatment by the Israelis. -
Terror on the airlines
Numerous airline hijackings were in the news. -
Ayatollah's in Iran
The Shah of Iran—who was supported by the United States—was overthrown and Ayatollah Khomeini took over the country. Hostages were taken at the US embassy in Tehran and finally released 444 days later. -
Russians in Afghanistan
The Soviet Union entered Afghanistan to "protect" Communist interests in the country. Rebels were supported by the United States, and finally after a long, costly war, the Soviets were forced to withdraw from the country. Ironically, the Afghan rebels later used the arms supplied by the U.S. to fight the Americans. -
Wheel of Fortune
The Wheel of Fortune TV show became a favorite. -
Crack
A potent form of the highly addictive drug cocaine called "crack" or "rock" had been rapidly spreading in the United States, especially in troubled neighborhoods. -
Sally Ride
Sally Ride became the first American woman in space as a member of the Space Shuttle crew in 1983. Valentina Tereshkova of the Soviet Union was the very first woman in space in 1963, orbiting the Earth 48 times. -
Heavy metal, suicide
there were lawsuits against heavy metal groups of Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest, claiming that their lyrics encouraged and caused some young people to commit suicide. -
Foreign debts
Foreign debts were causing an increase in inflation, as well as a burden on American taxpayers. -
Homeless Vets
Many veterans of the Vietnam conflict became homeless. A major problem with them was drug addiction or alcoholism. -
AIDS
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) disease started to spread throughout the world. -
Bernie Goetz
Bernie Goetz was a New Yorker who was concerned about crime in the city. After he got on a subway in the afternoon, four African-American youths approached Goetz and demanded $5 from him. He pulled out a gun and shot all four. Then he shot one of the youths again, as he lay on the floor, severing the spinal cord and paralyzing him. -
Hypodermics on the shore
News reports showed how hundreds of carelessly discarded hypodermic needles had washed up on the New Jersey shoreline. -
China's Under Martial Law
In June 1989, thousands of protesters marched in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. Many were killed and China went under martial law until order was restored. -
Rock and Roller Cola Wars
Pepsi and Coke battle for supremacy in the marketplace. Each hired musicians to promote their drink. Coke hired Paula Abdul, while Pepsi had Michael Jackson. They then started to try to outdo each other by getting other musicians and celebrities to help promote their drinks
