Baby Boomer Gift Ideas For People Born In The 1950's

1951 Unemployment dipped to 3.3% in the US and new roads were built to take the ever increasing numbers of cars including the New Jersey Turnpike. Children were given more than any other time in previous history with guitar lessons and sets of Encyclopedias to improve their minds . The average family income was $3,700 per year and people had money to spend so cars became more luxurious and had more powerful engines with options for two tone paint, during this time things like turn signals were still an extra and most drivers still used hand signals to tell other drivers which way they were turning. Television continued to grow with popular programmes like "I Love Lucy" and the first tests for Color Television Pictures were broadcast from Empire State Building on June 25th . Europe continued to export many cars to the US including Volkswagen's and Austin's.


Cost of Living 1951

How Much things cost in 1951
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 7.88%
Yearly Inflation Rate UK 9.5%
Average Cost of new house $9.000.00 Average wages per year $3,510.00 Cost of a gallon of Gas 19 cents Average Cost of a new car $1,500.00 Loaf of Bread 16 cents LB of Hamburger Meat 50 cents Bacon per LB 52 cents Eggs per dozen 24 cents Water Jacket Heater ( Asbestos ) $4.59 Baby Diapers ( Cotton ) From $2.79 Children's Tricycle From $14.00
Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Sterling
Average House Price 2,115
Part of our 1950s Toys Selection of 250 Fifties Toys
Price: $7.65
Hopalong Cassidy Wrist Watch From The 1950s


From Fifties Fashion Section
Price: $3.69
Embroidery Helmet
Price: $23.98
Pyramid Jacket
From Our Fifties Furniture Page
Price: $177.50
Modern Bedroom Set
From Our Fifties Electrical
Price: $339.95
Twenty-One Inch Silvertone Console




Technology 1951

  • First oral contraceptive ( the Pill )invented by Luis E. Miramontes
  • Direct dial coast-to-coast telephone service begins in the United States.
  • First Color Television Pictures broadcast from Empire State Building

Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country ( or attributed to First Use )

Breeder Reactor USA converted Uranium to Plutonium




What Events Happened in 1951

Libya
  • Libya Gains Independence from Italy
U.S.
  • 22nd Amendment is ratified which limits US presidential term of office to 8 yrs ( 2 terms ) Available as a downloadable image on our Public Domain Images Page
U.S.
  • First nuclear bomb tests at Nevada test site
Jordan
  • King Abdullah of Jordan assassinated on July20th in Jerusalem
Iran
  • Iran Nationalizes it's Oil Fields
U.S.
  • The Broker Commuter Train Crashes in Woodbridge, New Jersey
U.S.
  • President Harry S Truman fires General Douglas MacArthur as commander of United Nations Forces
UN
  • United Nations forces recapture Seoul during the Korean War
UK
  • The Festival of Britain opens at the Royal Festival Hall
UK
  • Largest oil refinery in Europe opens at Fawley in Southampton, UK
U.S.
  • The Great Flood of 1951 in Midwest United States




Popular Culture

  • The term Rock N Roll is coined by Cleveland Disc Jockey Alan Freed
  • The Dennis the Menace comic strip appears in newspapers across the U.S. for the first time.

Popular Films

  • An American in Paris
  • The African Queen
  • A Streetcar Named Desire
  • The Day the Earth Stood Still

Popular Music

  • Perry Como
  • Mario Lanza
  • Nat King Cole
  • Tony Bennett

Popular TV

  • I Love Lucy
  • What's My Line? debuts on BBC Television.

Check out our Television Programmes From The 1950s whenever possible we have included a trailer to jog your memory. Series trailers and more information are found on the decade they started.

Born This Year

Sting October 2nd
Bob Geldof October 5th
Phil Collins January 30th
Jane Seymour February 15th



Major World Political Leaders

Australia Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies Brazil President Gaspar Dutra Till 31 January
Brazil President Getúlio Vargas From 31 January
Canada Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent

China Chairman of the People's Republic of China Mao Zedong

France President Vincent Auriol

Germany Chancellor Konrad Adenauer
India Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru

Italy Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi

Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida Mexico President Miguel Alemán Valdés Russia / Soviet Union
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Joseph Stalin South Africa Prime Minister Daniel François Malan United States President Harry S. Truman United Kingdom Prime Minister Clement Attlee Till 26 October
United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill From 26 October

Political Elections


British General Election 1951 Winston Churchill ( Conservative ) defeats Clement Attlee ( Labour ) and Clement Davies ( Liberal )