On this page you will find some memorable moments that occurred in the 50's as well as some moments that you may not have known about. Some interesting stuff here folks. Information is added as it is collected and obtained.
1950
February 12th, 1950 - Albert Einstein warns against the hydrogen bomb.
February 16th, 1950 - The longest running prime time game show "What's My Line" debuts on CBS.
March 2nd, 1950 - Silly Putty is invented.
March 14th, 1950 - The FBI's "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" begins.
April 9th, 1950 - Bob Hopes first television appearance.
May 25th, 1950 - The Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel opens in New York City.
July 1st, 1950 - New York City bus fare rises to 10¢, equal to subway fares, combo fare cost 15¢.
October 2nd, 1950 - The comic strip "Peanuts" makes it's debut in nine newspapers.
December 13th, 1950 - James Dean begins his career when he appears in a Pepsi commercial.
December 15th, 1950 - Port Authority opens up in New York City.
1951
January 16th, 1951 - The world's largest gas pipeline opens. It runs from Brownsville, Texas to 134th Street in New York City.
November 1st, 1951 - Jet magazine founded by John H. Johnson.
November 10th, 1951 - The first long distance telephone call is made without operator assistance.
January 30th, 1951 - Ferdinand Porsche (German car inventor) dies at age 75.
February 1st, 1951 - The first telecast of an atomic explosion taken from a US nuclear test at Nevada test site.
February 16th, 1951 - New York City passes a bill prohibiting racism in city assisted housing.
February 16th, 1951 - San Francisco City Hall dome fire.
May 1st, 1951 - 600,000 march for peace & freedom in Germany.
May 15th, 1951 - AT&T becomes the first corporation to have one million stockholders.
June 25th, 1951 - CBS airs the first color TV broadcast "Arthur Godfrey" from New York City to four other cities.
July 28th, 1951 - Walt Disney's "Alice In Wonderland" is released.
August 14th, 1951 - William Randolph Hearst (newspaper publisher) dies in Beverly Hills.
September 3rd, 1951 - The soap opera "Search For Tomorrow" debuts on CBS.
1952
March 4th, 1952 - Ronald Reagan (actor) marries Nancy Davis.
March 21st, 1952 - Alan Freed presents the Moondog Coronation Ball at the old Cleveland Arena. 25,000 people attend the first Rock N' Roll concert ever.
March 27th, 1952 - Sun Records in Memphis begins releasing records.
July 25th, 1952 - The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is created.
November 3rd, 1952 - Clarence Birdseye markets frozen peas.
November 4th, 1952 - Eisenhower is elected 34th President of The United States.
November 6th, 1952 - The first hydrogen bomb is exploded by the US at Eniwetok Atoll.
**In 1952 nationwide Polio killed 3,300 people. There were 57,628 cases reported. Known to be the worst epidemic since 1916.
1953
March 26th, 1953 - Dr. Jonas Salk announces a new vaccine to prevent polio.
March 31st, 1953 - Department Of Health, Education & Welfare is established.
April 9th, 1953 - TV Guide publishes it's first issue.
June 14th, 1953 - Elvis Presley graduates from LC Humes High School in Memphis, TN.
July 25th, 1953 - New York City transit fare rises from 10¢ to 15¢, first use of subway tokens.
September 10th, 1953 - Swanson sells it's first TV dinner.
September 12th, 1953 - Jacqueline Bouvier marries John F. Kennedy.
January 1st, 1953 - Hank Williams (country singer) "Cold Cold Heart" dies at age 29.
March 11th, 1953 - An American B-47 accidently drops a nuclear bomb on South Carolina, the bomb does not go off due to six safety catches.
April 10th, 1953 - The first 3-D movie "House Of Wax" is released in New York City.
September 10th, 1953 - The "Milton Berle Show" premieres.
December 16th, 1953 - The first White House Press Conference involves President Eisenhower & 161 reporters.
1954
January 14th, 1954 - Marilyn Monroe (actress) marries Joe DiMaggio (NY Yankees baseball Star).
June 14th, 1954 - President Eisenhower signs an order adding the words "Under God" to the Pledge Of Allegiance.
August 31st, 1954 - The Census Bureau is established.
May 26th, 1954 - An explosion and fire aboard an aircraft carrier "Bennington" located off Quonset Point, R.I. kills 103 crewmen.
March 25th, 1954 - RCA manufactures the first color television set. A 12 1/2" screen cost $1000.000.
June 28th, 1954 - A red deer dies in Milwaukee zoo at the age of 26, oldest known deer.
September 11th, 1954 - The first Miss America Pageant is broadcast on television.
October 27th, 1954 - Walt Disney's first TV show "Disneyland" premieres on ABC.
November 12th, 1954 - Ellis Island immigration station in New York Harbor is closed.
1955
January 19th, 1955 - President Eisenhower films the first Presidential news conference for television.
July 17th, 1955 - Disneyland opens it's doors in Orange County.
August 3rd, 1955 - Automobile Association of America ends it's support of auto racing.
January 19th, 1955 - "Scrabble" makes it's debut on the board game market.
August 12th, 1955 - President Eisenhower raises minimum wage from 75¢ to $1.00.
September 24th, 1955 - President Eisenhower suffers a heart attack while vacationing in Denver.
January 7th, 1955 - Marian Anderson becomes the first African American singer to perform at the Met in N.Y.C.
April 19th, 1955 - Albert Einstein dies.
June 23rd, 1955 - Walt Disney's "Lady & The Tramp" is released.
July 11th, 1955 - Congress authorizes all US currency to say "In God We Trust".
July 2nd, 1955 - Lawrence Welk show premieres on ABC-TV.
September 30th, 1955 - James Dean (actor) is killed in an automobile accident at age 24.
September 10th, 1955 - "Gunsmoke" premieres on CBS-TV.
December 1st, 1955 - Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus.
December 14th, 1955 - Tappan Zee Bridge in New York opens to traffic.
December 29th, 1955 - Barbra Streisand makes first recording "You'll Never Know" at age 13.
1956
February 2nd, 1956 - The Coasters sign with Atlantic Records.
March 5th, 1956 - "King Kong" is televised for the first time.
April 11th, 1956 - Singer Nat King Cole is attacked on stage at a Birmingham theater.
July 9th, 1956 - Dick Clark's first appearance as host of "American Bandstand".
October 31st, 1956 - Brooklyn, New York ends streetcar service.
November 3rd, 1956 - The "Wizard Of Oz" first televised on CBS-TV.
November 6th, 1956 - President Eisenhower is re-elected.
April 2nd, 1956 - The soap operas "As The World Turns" & "Edge Of Night" premiere on television.
May 11th, 1956 - The "Pinky Lee Show" last airs on NBC-TV.
June 30th, 1956 - A United DC-7 & TWA collide over the Grand Canyon killing 128 people.
July 16th, 1956 - The last Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus to be performed under a canvas tent.
July 30th, 1956 - US motto "In God We Trust" is authorized.
1957
April 6th, 1957 - New York City ends trolley car service.
May 1st, 1957 - Larry King does his first radio broadcast.
May 4th, 1957 - Alan Freed host "Rock N' Roll Show" the first prime time network rock show.
September 4th, 1957 - Ford Motor Company introduces the Edsel.
November 25th, 1957 - President Eisenhower suffers a mild stroke which impairs his speech.
December 12th, 1957 - Jerry Lee Lewis (singer) marries his cousin Myra Gale Brown (age 13) while still married to his first wife Jane Mitcham.
January 13th, 1957 - Wham-O produces the first Frisbee.
September 21st, 1957 - "Perry Mason" starring Raymond Burr premieres on CBS-TV.
October 9th, 1957 - Louis B. Mayer (MGM producer) dies at age 71.
December 1st, 1957 - Sam Cooke and Buddy Holly & the Crickets debut on the Ed Sullivan Show.
1958
January 29th, 1958 - Paul Newman (actor) and Joanne Woodward wed.
August 1st, 1958 - First class postage is raised after 26 years goes from 3¢ to 4¢.
September 20th, 1958 - Martin Luther King Jr. is stabbed in the chest by a deranged woman in New York City.
December 25th, 1958 - Alan Freed's "Christmas Rock N' Roll Spectacular" opens.
December 1st, 1958 - 90 students & 3 nuns are killed in a fire at Our Lady Of Angels Roman Catholic School in Chicago.
January 1st, 1958 - Sammy Davis Jr. marries Loray White.
July 15th, 1958 - Julia Lennon (mother of Beatle John Lennon) dies in an automobile accident.
August 14th, 1958 - Gladys L. Presley (mother of Elvis Presley) dies at age 46.
1959
February 2nd, 1959 - Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper & Ritchie Valens last performances.
February 22nd, 1959 - The first Daytona 500 race. Lee Petty wins.
November 19th, 1959 - Ford cancels the Edsel.
January 5th, 1959 - "Bozo The Clown" live children's show premieres on TV.
January 29th, 1959 - Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" is released.
February 3rd, 1959 - Buddy Holly (singer) age 22, The Big Bopper (singer) age 28 & Ritchie Valens (singer) age 17 are all killed in a plane crash.
March 8th, 1959 - Groucho, Chico & Harpo's last appearance together.
May 24th, 1959 - The first house with a built in bomb shelter exhibited in Pleasant Hills, PA.
June 16th, 1959 - George Reeves (actor) "Superman" commits suicide by shooting himself.
July 17th, 1959 - Billie Holiday (blues singer) dies of liver failure at the age of 44.
September 12th, 1959 - "Bonanza" premieres.
October 2nd, 1959 - Rod Serling's "Twilight Zone" premieres on CBS-TV.
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