We Didn't Start the Fire

 

1949- Harry Truman- He was the 33rd president of the United States. While president, Harry Truman faced issues that posed a challenge on war and the cold war that was unprecendented. He was vice president for a few weeks before being made president after Roosevelt died. He was made president on April 12, 1945. He was the president that who ordered the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1949, he helped to established a military alliance or the North Atlantic Treaty Organizations that protected the Western nations of Europe from Russia. This year also marked the beginning of his second term of office.

Doris Day- She was an actress from 1948-1968. She starred in a variety of movies from comedies to drama and even espionage. Some of the movies she starred in during 1949 are It's A Great Feeling and My Dream Is Yours.

Red China- This was the year China began its civil war. The Communists gained immense power over the Nationalists. Throughout 1949, the two parties fought over the government.

Johnnie Ray- He was an American pop singer. He was popular in the United Kingdom also. Some say he invented rock 'n' roll. He was married to Marilyn Monroe from 1952 to 1954. Besides being a singer, he starred in a movie in 1954. He made it big in 1951 when he signed a record contract.

South Pacific- This was first turned into a play and then a movie in 1958. It turned out to be one of the box-office goldmines of the 1950s.

Walter Winchell- He was an actor from 1937 to 1968. He helped to start The Cancer Research Fund of the Damon-Runyon-Walter Winchell Foundation. The foundation owes its beginnings to Walter Winchell. In 1946, he asked his listeners, "Mr. and Mrs. America", for contributions to fight cancer. He also helped direct the fund until his death in 1972.

Joe DiMaggio- He was one of the legendary baseball players. He played for the New York Yankees. He retired in 1951. In 1949, DiMaggio helped to bring the New York Yankees to win the 1949 World Championship. Later on in his life, he married Marilyn Monroe.

1950- Joe McCarthy- He was an U.S. Senator from Wisconsin. In 1950, he planted the terror of Communism and its spreading to every American. Even the U.S. presidents (Truman and Eisenhower) had to think about how McCarthy and his group would regard their actions. He had a huge impact on foreign policy. If he had never lived, America's foreign policy would be very different today.

Richard Nixon- He was the 37th president of the United States. In 1950, he won a Senate seat. He is probably most remembered with the Watergate scandal.

Studebaker- This was a type of car like Ford except named Studebaker. The company started in 1852 as a blacksmith shop. In 1868, they established the company and began making wagons. It became the largest wagon factory in the world. In the twentieth century, the Studebaker company focused all its efforts on manufacturing automobiles. It became a leader in styling and engineering. It became popular in the 1950s causing many to buy them.

Television- Everyone knows what a television is. It was the invention that changed the world forever. It changed the way people communicated. People heard the news (for example, Hollywood news and world news). In 1950, four million households each had a television in their homes. Now, many have more than one television in their households.

North Korea, South Korea- This was the year that the Korean War started. Fighting was centered on the 39th parallel. North Korea was a communist zone. This was a war between Communist and non-communist forces. The Korean War lasted until 1953.

Marilyn Monroe- She was an actress that held certain sex appeal. She was the sex symbol of the 1950s. She finally gained attention in 1949. She was noticed in supporting roles in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve. Her real name was Norma Jean Baker. (Click on her name to see how many famous people she has dated!)

1951- Rosenbergs- This is the U.S. case where Julius Rosenberg and his wife, Ethel were found guilty of espionage. They were guilty of transmitting top-secret data to the USSR. They were later executed on June 19, 1953. This couple also had two children who were put into a foster home and had their names changed.

H-Bomb- This is the hydrogen bomb. It became known that the Soviet Union had developed the atomic bomb in 1949. The U.S. counteracted and discovered the hydrogen bomb in 1951. In 1952, the United States exploded the bomb at ENEWETAK.

Sugar Ray- This Sugar Ray does not mean the band that sings the song called "Fly" on the radio. This Sugar Ray means Sugar Ray Robinson. He was an American boxer. His real name was Walker Smith. In 1951, he knocked out Jake La Motta. Sugar Ray was rated the best boxer of his time.

Panmunjom- This is a village in South Korea which is South of the 38th parallel. Panmunjom was the place the truce negotiations were held for the Korean War. These negotiations were held from October 1951 to July 1953. The armistice was signed in 1953.

Brando- Marlon Brando was an American actor. In 1951, he starred in A Streetcar Named Desire. He played a character named Stanley Kowalski.

The King and I- This is a musical written by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was later made into a movie in 1956. Hammerstein also wrote Sound of Music.

The Catcher In the Rye- This is a novel written by J. D. Salinger. The success of the book caused Salinger to move from the city to the country. If you've seen Conspiracy Theory, you know that some assassins read this book obsessively.

1952- Eisenhower- He was the 34th president of the United States. In 1952, Ei senhower decided to run for the presidency.

Vaccine- This is the polio vaccine invented by Jonas Salk in 1952.

England's Got A New Queen- This was the year Elizabeth II became queen. She is still queen of England.

Marciano- Rocky Marciano became the heavyweight champion of the world in 1952. He defeated Jersey Joe Walcott. He died in an airplane crash in 1969. He is remembered and honored by all Brocktonians. He still holds the records for consecutive professional wins (which is 49).

Liberace- He was a well-known pianist. In 1952, The Liberace Show, a television program, made Liberace popular. The show lasted for two more years.

Santayana Goodbye- Santayana was a well-known American philosopher who was born in Spain. He taught at Harvard University for 23 years. He died in 1952.

1953- Joseph Stalin- He was a Russian revolutionary. He was leader of the USSR from 1924 to 1953. He died in 1953.

Malenkov- He was the aide of Stalin. He became premier (prime minister) in 1953.

Nasser- He was an Egyptian army officer and a political leader. He was the leader of a coup that got rid of the King. In 1954, Nasser became the prime minister. In a couple of years, he became p resident.

And Prokofiev- He was a Russian composer who died in 1953. Some of his famous works are the ballet Romeo and Juliet and the symphony Peter and the Wolf. He also composed music for operas, symphonies, ballets, and chamber music.

Rockefeller- The Rockefellers were a wealthy family. They owned Standard Oil, Co. This year could be pertaining to John D. Rockefeller the 3rd, Nelson Rockefeller, or even David Rocke feller. Or maybe all three of them.

Campanella- Roy Campanella was a Hall of Famer and a three-time NL MVP for the Brooklyn Dodgers. In this year, he set the record for number of home runs by a catcher (40 homeruns). As of 1996, the record had not been broken.

Communist Bloc- I believe that what this means is that the Communist Bloc became divided when Stalin died in 1953. It could also mean that Communism was spreading and becoming more popular especially with Yugoslavia, China, Russia, and other neighboring countries. Eisenhower also implemented a plan to stop the spread of communism in this year.

1954- Roy Cohn- He was Joseph McCarthy's assistant during the Communist Scare of the 195 0s.

Juan Peron- He was an Argentine soldier and later president of Argentina from 1946 to 1955 and from 1973 to 1974. One of his wives was the famous Evita. DON'T CRY FOR ME, ARGENTINAAAAAAAA!

Toscanini- He was an Italian conductor. He was considered one of the greatest conductors. In 1954, Toscanini left the NBC Symphony, which was formed for him.

Dancron- You try and find something on whatever this is. We sure as heck couldn't.

Dien Bien Phu Falls- On May 7, 1954, at Dien Bien Phu, a battle brought the end to the French colonial rule against the Vietnamese. This seemed to be a victory for Communism because Vietnam beca me communist.

Rock Around the Clock- This was the popular song that came out during this year. Written and performed by Bill Haley and the Comets, this was the turning point in American music that eventually led to the formation of rock 'n roll, and little did they know what they had started.

1955- Einstein- He was an American theoretical physicist. He was born in Germany. He won a 1921 Nobel Prize. He is known for his Theory of Relativity and his aid in the creation of the first atom bomb. He died in 1955. Can you say E=mc squared, mein fraulein?

James Dean- He was an actor from 1951 to 1955. He was one of the "heartthrobs" of the time and was well-known despite his young age. He died in a head-on car accident in 1955. The name of his car was Dirty Bastard. During the same year, Rebel Without A Cause was produced.

Brooklyn's Got A Winning Team- In 1955, the Brooklyn Dodgers won their first and only World Series. Three years later, they moved to Los Angeles. Before 1955, the Dodgers lost seven times a chan ce to win the World Series.

Davy Crockett- He was a frontiersman in the 1800s. During this time (1955), Hollywood began producing movies about him and he became popular once more.

Peter Pan-. J. M. Barrie wrote the Peter Pan or "The boy who would not grow up." It became popular in the 1950s. In 1955, there was a musical play version that became popular. Later on, Robin Williams would star as a grown-up Peter in the movie Hook.

Elvis Presley- He is known as King of Rock 'n' Roll. 1955 was the year before he became well-known to every teenager in America. Every parent and conservative in America disapproved of him because of the "suggestive" hip gyrations he did on stage. Nineteen fifty-five was also the one of the years that some consider to be his best. They contained his early records.

Disneyland- Walt Disney opened his famous theme park in California this year. Even today it is one of the most visited sites in America.

Home sweet home... On to 1956-