1950s
1950
Diffusion photometer designed; first light-scattering instrument to measure the size of molecules.
Economical methods for producing dextran developed; first used as alternative to blood plasma in Korean War.
National Poultry Improvement Plan authorized.
Exotic Newcastle disease (poultry) detected in the U.S.
Discovered that highly chlorinated naphthalene, a wax used in certain greases and oils, caused hyperkeratosis (X-disease) in cattle.
New form of streptomycin discovered.
Xanthan gum developed; an edible food gum fermented from glucose by a microorganism.
Discovered the cause of salmon disease in foxes and dogs; the first rickettsial disease agent found to be transmitted by an internal parasite.
Separated the milk protein casein into three components.
Of gainfully employed persons, 11 percent were engaged in agriculture
January 1 Ho Chi Minh begins offensive against French troops in Indo China
January 6 Britain recognizes Communist government of China
January 14 US recalls all consular officials from China
January 15 4,000 attend National Emergency Civil Rights Conference in Washington D.C.
January 16 Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands recognize Israel
January 20 Suriname becomes independent part in Realm of Netherlands
January 26 India becomes a republic ceaseing to be a British dominion
January 31 President Truman approves building of hydrogen bomb despite public disapproval from Albert Einstein.
February 1 U.S.S.R. demands condemnation of Emperor Hirohito for war crimes
February 3 Nuclear physicist Klaus Fuchs arrested on spy charges
February 9 Senator Joseph McCarthy charges State Department infested with 205 communists and also finds communists in U.S. Ministry of Foreign Affairs For the next 50 years school children are taught that McCarthy was a drunken, right wing nut case but as more and more papers in Russia and the U.S. are declassified, it turns out McCarthy was correct in many instances and that a very left leaning media went way overboard in discrediting McCarthy.
February 14 Communist U.S.S.R. and Communist China sign peace treaty
February 24 Labour wins British parliamentary election
March 1 Chiang Kai-shek resumed the presidency of National China on Formosa
March 1 U.S.S.R. issues golden rubles
March 6 Silly Putty invented
March 8 1st woman medical officer assigned to naval vessel (BR Walters)
March 8 Marshall Voroshilov of U.S.S.R. announces they developed atomic bomb
March 14 FBI's "10 Most Wanted Fugitives" program begins
April 5 Prague espionage trial against bishops and priests begins
April 11 U.S. B-29 bomber shot down above Latvia
April 18 1st transatlantic jet passenger trip
April 24 President Truman denies there are communists in U.S. government . He probably lied.
May 8 Chiang Kai-shek asks U.S. for weapons
May 21 Vietnamese troops of Ho Chi-Minh attack Cambodia
June 5 U.S. Supreme Court undermines legal foundations of segregation
June 17 1st kidney transplant, Chicago
June 17 Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria sign security pact
June 23 Swiss parliament refuses voting right for women
June 25 Korean conflict begins; North Korea invades South Korea with
U.N. member states using integrated forces against North Korea
June 27 North Koreans troop reach Seoul, United Nations asks members to aid South Korea, Truman orders Air Force and Navy into Korean conflict. General Douglas McArthur soon to be named as UN commander in Chief in Korea. U.S. soldiers start arriving in mass a week later and begin fighting North Koreans on land on July 3rd.
June 27 U.S. sends 35 military advisers to South Vietnam
July 5 Law of Return passes, guarantees all Jews right to live in Israel
July 19 The French/Vietnamese try to fend off the Viet Minh (communists led by Ho) Despite brutal tactics, torture, and bombing of the cities in North Vietnam, the French are no match for the guerrilla warfare waged by the Viet Minh. The French beg America for help using the argument that the Communists will take over one country after another (The “Domino” effect) if they aren’t resisted. There is certainly some merit to this argument … most of Eastern Europe is being forced into communism, the communists of North Korea have just over run South Korea, The Communists in China have just ousted the Nationalists from the mainland, and are threatening their neighbors in Nepal, Tibet, Burma, and India. The Communists in North Vietnam are involved in Laos and Cambodia and are primed to kick out the French and the non communists in South Vietnam. Communist rebels try to take over the Philippines. Many of the Middle Eastern countries have strong pro –communist factions and
despite all the AID, assistance, and development of infra-structure given by the US: Syria, Egypt, and many other Middle Eastern countries are leaning to the Soviets. There are also strong pro communist factions in India, Greece, and throughout the Balkans. It won’t be too many more years before many countries in the Caribbean (Cuba) and South America become communists or strongly pro communists.
July 27 President Truman promises aid to Taiwan to keep it from being run over by Communist China
August 17 Indonesia gains independence from Netherlands. This country will soon become home to the largest number of Muslims in the World.
August 19 ABC begins Saturday morning kid shows (Animal Clinic and Acrobat Ranch)
August 22 Abdel Rehim swims English Channel (10:50)
August 24 Edith Sampson named 1st black U.S. delegate to U.N.
August 24 Operation Magic Carpet concludes transporting 45,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel to avoid slaughter in Yemen.
September 4 1st helicopter rescue of American pilot behind enemy lines (Korea)
September 7 Monasteries shut down in Hungary (due to Communism)
September 12 Belgian government dismisses all communist civil servants
September 14 Western allies rearm West Germany
September 15 U.N. lands at Inchon to drive North Korean troops out of the south
September 16 Viet Minh-offensive against French bases in Vietnam
September 19 U.N. reject membership of China's People Republic
September 22 Nobel peace prize awarded to Ralph J Bunche (1st black winner)
September 23 U.S. Mustangs accidentally bombs British on Hill 282 Korea, 17 killed
September 29 Telephone Answering Machine created by Bell Laboratories
October 2 The U.S. and U.N. troops push the North Koreans back almost the Chinese border (Chosan); Then Mao Tse Tung and China enter the war and over the next 3 years of heavy fighting push us back to the 38th parallel
October 3 Indonesian army opens assault on Ambon, South Moluccas
October 26 Mother Teresa found her Mission of Charity in Calcutta, India
November 8 1st jet-plane battle ever, in Korean War
November 10 Spanish dictator Franco ends war in Gibraltar
November 16 Egyptian king Faruk demands departure of all British troops
November 16 U.S. President Truman proclaims emergency crisis caused by communist threat
November 18 South Korea President Syngman Rhee forced to end mass executions
November 19 U.S. General Eisenhower becomes supreme commander of NATO-Europe
November 24 U.N. troops begin an assault intending to end Korean War by Christmas
November 25 U.N. gives Eritrea to Ethiopia
November 30 US President Truman threatens China with atom bomb
December 3 Paul Harvey begins his national radio broadcast
December 19 Tibet's Dalai Lama flees Chinese invasion
December 20 "Harvey," starring James Stewart, premieres in NY
December 21 Cole Porter's musical "Out of this World," premieres in New York City
December 30 The French withdraw from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia which then become independent states and soon fall prey to civil war and strife from the many factions trying to dominate for control.
1951
Used modified live-virus vaccines to protect swine from hog cholera.
Found that vitamin E prevented yellow-fat disease in mink and pigs.
January 3 9 Jewish Kremlin physicians "exposed" as British/US agents
January 8 Thought extinct since 1615, a Cahow is rediscovered in Bermuda
January 10 U.N. headquarters opens in Manhattan NY
January 17 China refuses cease-fire in Korea
January 18 1st use of lie detector in Netherlands
January 28 "La Vie Commence Demain," which depicted artificial insemination and is the 1st X-rated movie, opened in London
January 30 Belgium refuses to allow communists to make speeches on radio
February 1 United Nations condemns People's Republic of China as aggressor in Korea
February 26 Bread rationing in Czechoslovakia
March 15 Persia nationalizes Anglo-Iranian Oil Company
March 20 Indonesian army offensive against Darul Islam on Java
March 21 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg convicted of espionage
May 12 1st H Bomb test, on Enewetak Atoll
May 27 Chinese Communists force Dalai Lama to surrender his army to Beijing
June 30 NAACP begins attack on school segregation and discrimination
July 14 1st color telecast of a sporting event (CBS-horse race)
August 13 Great-Britain and Iraq sign new oil contract
August 30 U.S. and Philippines sign mutual defense pact
September 1 U.S., Australia and New Zealand sign ANZUS treaty
October 1 24th Infantry Regiment, last all-black military unit, deactivated
October 17 Egyptian army fires on British troops
December 24 United Kingdom of Libya gains independence from Italy via UN
December 31 1st battery to convert radioactive energy to electrical announced
1952
Spirochetes isolated from cattle rumen.
Parasitic wasps released as biological control against pink bollworm.
Discovered that rust in containers causes bacterial spores to form in milk left standing at room temperature.
January 12 University of Tennessee admits it's 1st black student
January 14 Rationing of coffee in Netherlands ends
January 21 Nehru's Congress party wins general election in India The British left India in 1947 with serious internal struggles for power between Muslim, Hindu, and other factions. India was broken up into Pakistan (mostly Muslim), and Bengal … part of which was soon to become Bangladesh. Nehru guided India towards Socialism and tended to be pro communist in international relations.
February 1 General strike against French colonial management in Tunisia
March 10 Military coup by general Fulgencio Batista in Cuba
April 9 Popular uprising in Bolivia
April 30 Mr. Potato Head is 1st toy advertised on television
May 18 Professor WF Libby said Stonehedge dates back to 1848 BC
June 13 Soviet fighters shoot Swedish Dakota down over East Sea, kills 8
June 26 Nelson Mandela and 51 others infringe South Africa curfew
June 29 1st aircraft carrier to sail around Cape Horn-Oriskany
July 22 Poland adopts Communist-imposed Constitution
September 8 Ernest Hemmingway's "Old Man and Sea" published
September 23 Richard Nixon makes his "Checker's" speech
October 3 1st British nuclear test at Monte Bello Is Australia
October 20 Emergency crisis proclaimed in Kenya
October 24 Arab Liberation Movement becomes only party of Syria
November 3 Egypt protests German retribution payments to Israel
December 6 Czech government tells Israeli ambassador, he's persona non grata
December 8 French troops shoot on demonstrators at Casablanca, 50 die
December 15 Christine Jorgenson is 1st person to undergo a sex-change operation
December 30 Tuskegee Inst reports 1952 as 1st yr in 71 with no lynchings in US
1953
James Watson and Francis Crick describe double-helical structure of DNA.
Demonstrated use of light transmittance to detect blood spots in eggs; technology later applied to detect hollow heart and black spot in
First calves born as a result of embryo transfer from donor to recipient cows.
Discovered that adding aureomycin and vitamin B12 to feed reduced loss of rabbits from enteritis by 75 percent.
Reported first case of advanced natural parthenogenesis in birds; spontaneous development of embryos without normal fertilization.
Stalin Dies!
February 21 Francis Crick and James Watson discover structure of DNA-molecule
March 30 Einstein announces revised unified field theory
March 31 Department of Health, Education and Welfare established
May 29 Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norkay are 1st to reach summit of Everest
July 26 Fidel Castro begins rebellion, the "26th of July Movement," against Fulgenico Batista's regime
July 27 1st insulin isolated by F Banting and C Best in Toronto
July 27 North Korea and United Nations sign armistice
August 1 California introduces sales tax, for education
September 5 1st privately operated atomic reactor, Raleigh NC
September 17 1st successful separation of Siamese twins
September 22 Islamic uprising in Atjeh at Indonesia
September 26 Polish government fires/imprisons Cardinal Wyszynski
September 26 U.S. and Spain sign defense treaty (4 U.S. bases in Spain)
September 29 U.S. government gives France $385 million for combat in Indo-China
October 12 U.S. and Greece signs peace treaty (US bases)
October 14 Ike promises to fire as Red any federal worker taking 5th amendment
November 2 Pakistan becomes islamic republic
December 9 General Electric announces all Communist employees will be fired
1954
DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) insect repellent developed.
Gas-liquid chromatography used to study flavors and aromas.
Process for making instant potato flakes developed.
Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act passed.
Test developed to detect visceral lymphomatosis in live chickens.
Discovered that avian lymphomatosis virus can be present in hens that appear normal and that it is shed in their eggs; showed that a hen injected with virus imparts passive immunity to the chicks.
Vaccines developed to protect chickens from visceral lymphomatosis and infectious bronchitis.
First spray vaccine developed to immunize mink against distemper.
January 13 Miltary rule in Egypt; 318 Mohammedan Brotherhood arrested
February 10 Eisenhower warns against U.S. intervention in Vietnam
April 5 Elvis Presley records his debut single, "That's All Right"
April 7 President Eisenhower fears "domino-effect" in Indo-China
April 13 Robert Oppenheimer accused of being a communist
April 18 Colonel Nasser seizes power and becomes PM of Egypt. He is pro-Soviet
April 25 Bell labs announces 1st solar battery
April 25 British raid Nairobi Kenya (25,000 Mau Mau suspects arrested)
The book Mau Mau is banned in the U.S. Mau means to kill. The Mau Mau uprising was to kill all whites… and many were
April 26 Nationwide test of Salk anti-polio vaccine begins
May 7 French surrender to Vietminh after 55-day siege at Dien Bien Phu
June 14 President Eisenhower signs order adding words 'under God' to the Pledge
June 15 Great Britain's 2 biggest steel factory nationalized. Great Britain, once the greatest power in the world, is on her way to becoming a socialist country. Now it seems that it may soon become a Muslim country.
June 27 CIA supports rebels that overthrow elected government of Guatemala
July 12 President Eisenhower put forward a plan for an interstate highway system
August 24 Eisenhower signs Communist Control Act, outlawing the Communist Party
September 27 School integration begins in Washington D.C. and Baltimore Md public schools
September 30 Nautilus, 1st atomic-powered vessel (sub), commissioned by the Navy
October 1 Britian forced to give up Nigeria as a colony
October 10 Ho Chi Minh enters Hanoi after French troops pulled out
October 14 Israeli act of retaliation in Qibiya Jordan, kills 53
October 19 Egypt and Great Britain sign treaty; British troops departs
October 21 Indonesian troops land in New-Guinea
October 23 Britain, England, France and U.S.S.R. agree to end occupation of Germany
October 26 Chevrolet unveils V-8 engine
October 27 B. O. Davis, Jr. becomes 1st black general in USAF
October 27 President Eisenhower offers aid to South Vietnam President Ngo Dinh Diem
October 29 Colonel Nasser disbands Moslem Brothership
October 31 Algerian Revolution against French begins
November 2 Taiwan and U.S. sign military pact
November 7 U.S. spy plane shot down North of Japan
November 22 Humane Society forms
November 24 France sends 20,000 soldiers to Algeria
1955
Future veterinarian Roger Ross is born to parents recently immigrated from Canada. Goes on to write this website
Screwworm fly eradicated from Curacao using sterile-fly mating disruption; eradicated from Florida in 1958.
Vaccines become available dehydrated, much improving shelf life and expense.
January 19 1st presidential news conference filmed for TV (Eisenhower)
February 9 U.S. federations of trade unions merge into AFL/CIO
February 13 Israel acquires 4 of 7 Dead Sea scrolls
March 5 Elvis Presley's 1st TV appearance on "Louisiana Hayride" show
March 24 1st seagoing oil drill rig placed in service
March 24 British Army patrols withdraw from Belfast after 20 years
April 10 Dr. Jonas Salk successfully tests Polio vaccine
April 15 Ray Kroc starts McDonald's chain of fast food restaurants in Illinois
April 18 1st "Walk"/"Don't Walk" lighted street signals installed
April 22 Congress orders all U.S. coins bear motto "In God We Trust"
April 30 Imperial Bank of India nationalized
May 14 Warsaw Pact is signed by the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania
May 23 Presbyterian Church begins accepting women ministers
May 31 Supreme Court orders school integration "with all deliberate speed"
June 7 India premier Nehru visit U.S.S.R.
June 10 1st separation of virus into component parts reported
June 23 Walt Disney's "Lady and the Tramp" released
June 30 "Johnny Carson Show," debuts on CBS-TV
July 17 Disneyland opens its doors in rural Orange County
July 19 Yarkon Water Project opens to supply water to Negev desert in Israel
July 21 1st sub powered by liquid metal cooled reactor launched-Seawolf
July 27 Israeli passenger plane shot down above Bulgaria, 58 die
August 20 Hundreds killed in anti-French rioting in Morocco and Algeria
September 10 "Gunsmoke" premieres on CBS TV
September 19 Argentine president Juan Peron, resigns and flees
October 25 Tappan sells 1st microwave oven
December 5 Historic bus boycott begins in Montgomery Alabama by Rosa Parks
War starts over the Suez Canal
1956
Aureomycin-sulfamethazine treatment developed to prevent mortality of chicks with cecal coccidiosis.
Test for Aleutian disease of mink devised.
January 1 Elvis Presley records Heartbreak Hotel for RCA in Nashville
January 2 Poujadists/communists win French parliamentary elections
January 16 Egyptian President Nasser pledges to reconquer Palestine
February 6 University of Alabama refuses admission to Autherine Lucy (because he's black)
February 25 Khrushchev denounces Stalin at 20th Soviet Party Conference
February 27 Female suffrage in Egypt
March 2 Morocco tears up the Treaty of Fez, declares independence from France
March 20 Tunisia gains independence from France
March 23 Sudan becomes independent
March 27 U.S. seizes U.S. communist newspaper "Daily Worker"
April 23 U.S. Supreme Court ends race segregation on buses
April 28 Last French troop leave Vietnam
May 28 Eisenhower signs farm bill allows government to store agricultural surplus
June 13 After 72 years, Britain gives up Suez Canal to Egyptian control
June 17 Golda Meir begins her term as Israel's foreign minister
July 19 U.S. refuse to lend Egypt money to build Aswan Dam
July 25 Jordan attacks United Nations Palestine force
July 26 Egypt seizes Suez Canal
August 7 British government sends 3 aircraft carriers to Egypt
October 6 Dr. Albert Sabin discovers oral polio vaccine
October 17 England's 1st large scale nuclear power station opens
October 23 Revolt against Stalinist policies begins in Hungary
Soviet troops invade Hungary, Imre Nagy becomes PM of Hungary
October 29 Israeli paratroopers drop into Sinai to open Straits of Tiran Israel captures Egyptian militay post at El-Thamad
October 31 1st American to land an airplane at South Pole-Rear Adm GJ Dufek
November 2 Hungary appeals for United Nations assistance against Soviet invasion
November 2 Israel captures Gaza and Sheham
November 4 200,000 Russian troops attack anti-Stalinist revolt in Budapest
U.S.S.R. sends tanks into Hungary and threatens to bomb Budapest
November 4 Israel captures Straits of Tiran and reach Suez Canal Egypt
November 5 Dutch Communist Party office of Felix Meritis seized
November 5 Israel liberates Sharm-el-Sheikh, reopening Gulf of Aqaba
November 8 U.N. demands U.S.S.R. leave Hungary
December 11 Anti-Russian demonstrates in Stettin and Wroclaw Poland
December 18 Israeli flag hoisted on Mount Sinai
December 18 Japan admitted to UN
1957
Humane Slaughter Act passed.
Poultry Inspection Act authorized compulsory Federal inspection of poultry sold in interstate commerce.
Discovered interferon, an antiviral protein produced by the body to fight viral infections.
Slow virus proposed as cause of kuru; now known as a human spongiform encephalopathy disease. Also known as mad cow disease
Virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease purified, isolated, and photographed.
Discovered that zinc is effective in treating swine parakeratosis.
Laser invented.
January 5 Eisenhower asks Congress to send troops to the Mid East
January 13 Wham-O Company produces the 1st Frisbee
January 25 FBI arrests Jack and Myra Sobel, charged with spying for U.S.S.R.
February 17 Suez Canal reopens
March 6 Ghana (formerly Gold Coast) declares independence from U.K.
March 23 U.S. Army sells last homing pigeons
March 25 Treaty of Rome establishes European Economic Community (Common Market)
May 15 18,000 people at Madison Square Garden-Billy Graham launched a crusade
May 24 Anti American riots breakout in Taipei, Taiwan
May 29 Algerian rebels kill 336 collaborators
July 12 U.S. Surgeon Gen Leroy Burney connects smoking with lung cancer
September 9 President Eisenhower signs 1st civil rights bill since Reconstruction
September 14 U.N. resolution deplores and condemns U.S.S.R. invasion of Hungary but doesn’t do squat
October 4 U.S.S.R. launches Sputnik I, 1st artificial Earth satellite
October 30 Soviet Union launches, Sputnik II, carrying a dog named Laika
December 6 1st U.S. attempt to launch a satellite fails - Vanguard rocket blows up
1958
Food Additives Amendment established.
January 8 Cuban revolutionary forces capture Havana
January 13 9,000 scientists of 43 nations petition United Nations for nuclear test ban
January 24 After warming to 100,000,000 degrees, 2 light atoms are bashed together to create a heavier atom, resulting in 1st man-made nuclear fusion
February 21 Egypt-Syria as UAR elect Nasser president with 99.9 percent of the vote
March 8 William Faulkner says U.S. school degenerated to become babysitters They have gotten a lot worse since then. Any attempts at improvement are blocked by the teachers unions.
April 4 1st march against nuclear weapons (Aldermaston England)
April 14 Sputnik 2 (with dog Laika) burns up in atmosphere
April 20 Morocco demands departure of Spanish troops
May 23 Mao Tse tung start "Great leap forward" movement in China . 14-43 Million killed
June 6 Premier Charles de Gaulle says Algeria will always be French
June 11 U.N. Security council sends observers to Lebanon
July 6 Alaska becomes 49th state
July 14 Saddam Hussein and Iraqi army overthrows the monarchy
July 15 President Eisenhower sends U.S. troops to Lebanon; they stay 3 months
July 29 President Eisenhower signs NASA and Space Act of 1958
August 17 World's 1st Moon probe, US's Thor-Able, explodes at T +77 sec
August 27 U.S.S.R. launches Sputnik 3 with 2 dogs aboard
September 28 Guinea votes for independence from France
October 9 Israeli Navy inaugrates it's 1st submarine
October 24 U.S.S.R. lends Egypt 400 million rubles to build Aswan Dam
November 24 Mali becomes an autonomous state within French Community
November 25 Senegal becomes an autonomous state in French Community
November 28 Chad becomes an autonomous republic within French community
November 28 Congo and Mauritania gain independence from France
December 18 Niger gains autonomy within French Community
December 30 French franc devalued
December 31 Cuban dictator Batista flees
1959
Food for Peace Program inaugurated.
Shipping fever virus isolated.
Automatic feed handling for poultry from bulk storage bins to feeders developed.
January 1 Castro leads Cuba to victory as Fulgencio Batista flees to Dom Rep
January 1 Chad becomes autonomous republic in French Community
January 25 Pope John XXIII proclaims 2nd Vatican council
February 1 Texas Instruments requests patent of IC (Integrated Circuit)
February 19 Britain, Turkey and Greece sign agreement granting Cyprus independence
March 9 Barbie, the popular girls' doll, debuted, over 800 million sold
March 17 Dalai Lama flees Tibet for India
April 13 USAF launches Discoverer II into polar orbit
April 13 Vatican edict forbids Roman Catholics for voting for communists
April 26 Cuba invades Panama
May 28 Monkeys Able and Baker zoom 300 mi (500 km) into space on Jupiter missile, became 1st animals retrieved from a space mission
August 16 U.S.S.R. introduces installment buying
August 21 Hawaii becomes 50th U.S. state
September 11 Congress passes a bill authorizing food stamps for poor Americans
September 12 "Bonanza" premieres on NBC-TV
September 19 Nikita Khrushchev is denied access to Disneyland
October 23 Chinese troops move into India, 17 die
October 31 Lee Harvey Oswald announces in Moscow he will never return to US
December 1 The 1st color photograph of Earth received from outer space
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