By Chris D. and Marcelo P.

1950   1951   1952   1953   1954   1955   1956   1957   1958   1959

1953 was a year of change, planes continued to replace trains and boats as sources of long distance transportation. Televisions also replaced the radio as a major source of entertainment. Also people began to become more concerned of their health so cigarette companies began putting filters on cigarettes for the first time. In addition to this, the drought continued to worsen in the Midwest.

• A renaming of the New York Curb Exchange on January 5, creates the American Stock Exchange.
• Eisenhower is inaugurated on Tuesday, January 20.
• James Dewey Watson and Francis H.C. Crick discovered the structure of DNA and the basics of how genetics work, in March.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is placed in the new Department of Health, Education and Welfare on March 9.
• On March 31 Swedish diplomat, Dag Hammarskjold, was elected Secretary-General of the UN.
• A new U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare established by Congress April 11 incorporates most of the functions of the Federal Security Agency.
• Jacqueline "Jackie" Cochran is the first woman to break the sound on May 18.
• New Zealand climber Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norkay, reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 29.
• Invisible Man by U.S. novelist Ralph Waldo Ellison is published in June, it is about black identity.
• Casino Royale by Ian Fleming is published on June 1, whose hero James Bond is a Secret Service Agent 007.
• On July 27, an armistice was signed ending the Korean War.
• The U.S.S.R. explodes a hydrogen device on August 12.
• Robert H. Abplanalp develops a plastic valve mechanism for aerosol cans in September, greatly reducing production costs.
• On October 5, the New York Yankees won the World Series defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers and gain the championship for the fifth consecutive time.
• On October 25, Japan Airlines (JAL) is organized to give the Japanese their first national overseas airline.
• President Eisenhower proposes an Atom for Peace program December 8 in a speech to the UN General Assembly.
• In December, atomic scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, is charged  for having Communist sympathies and with possible treason.
• Chicago publisher Hugh Hefner has started his frankly sexist magazine Playboy. Playboy magazine begins publication in December with a nude calendar.
• Early in the year, the polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk becomes available to the public.
• Chevrolet introduces the Corvette, a two-seat sports car.

26th Annual Academy Awards
Best Picture: From Here to Eternity
Best Actress: Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday
Best Actor: William Holden in Stalag 17

Emmy Awards:
Best Drama: U.S. Steel Hour
Best Comedy: I Love Lucy

1950   1951   1952   1953   1954   1955   1956   1957   1958   1959

The 1950's