More Detailed Information on each Event and those not included can be found below
What Happened in 1951 Key Technology, Popular Culture and News Stories include 22nd Amendment is ratified, New Jersey Turnpike, First Color TV Pictures broadcast from Empire State Building, Festival of Britain opens, Disc Jockey Alan Freed coins the term Rock N Roll,
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.
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
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Eggs per dozen - 24 cents
WaterJacketHeater ( Asbestos )
Baby Diapers ( Cotton ) - From $2.79
Children's Tricycle - From $14.00
Average House Price UK - 2,115 -
Part of our Collection of Toys 1951
Vintage 1950s Pepsi Cola TruckDuring January the United States government began nuclear bomb testing at a test site in Nevada. After the initial development of the atomic bomb during the mid-1940's the U.S. had moved its test sites off of the country's mainland and began using islands in the Pacific. Due to logistical and safety concerns the U.S. Government decided to move the testing back to the mainland and chose a large portion of mountainous and desert land in Nevada, located about 65 miles away from Las Vegas, as their site. The first series of tests to be held at this new site was named Operation Ranger. Initially, many tests were atmospheric tests but because of the adverse health effects that were observed all of the tests were moved underground by 1962. A total of 928 nuclear tests were conducted at the Nevada Test Site between 1951 and 1992.
The first thermonuclear weapon test takes place at the Enewetak Atoll during Operation Greenhouse.
The United States performs the first thermonuclear weapon test during May as a part of "Operation Greenhouse." The test was conducted at the Enewetak Atoll and the blast, named "George," was the first successful small-scale demonstration of a non-weaponized hydrogen bomb. The test confirmed to scientists working on the project that the foundation of their design worked and it would be possible to create a large-scale hydrogen bomb. The U.S. would go on to to test the first full-scale thermonuclear hydrogen bomb during November News Events of 1952 with "Ivy Mike" in "Operation Ivy."
The first direct-dial coast to coast telephone call was made during November . The call took place between the Mayor of Englewood, New Jersey, M. Leslie Denning, and the Mayor of Alameda, California, Frank Osborne. It took about 18 seconds to connect the call and it was placed using AT&T’s direct distance dialing system which did not use an operator to connect the call. This new method utilized a ten digit phone number which included the three-digit area code system that had been implemented in the late 1940s.
The popular television show "I Love Lucy" premieres on CBS.
The classic television show "I Love Lucy" debuted on the CBS network on October 15th . The show starred comedienne Lucille Ball as the titular Lucy Ricardo, Cuban entertainer Desi Arnaz as Lucy's husband Ricky, with Vivian Vance and William Frawley as their goofy landlords Fred and Ethel Mertz, and it revolved around Lucy's comical antics. Arnaz and Ball were a real-life husband and wife and the show was based off a popular radio series that Ball had previously starred in. "I Love Lucy" was one of the first scripted television shows to be filmed using three different cameras and it was unusual that it was filmed in Hollywood using a live audience rather than in New York using a laugh track. The show was a huge success and was nominated for and won many Emmy awards while it aired. It ended in May of 1957 but remained popular in reruns and it is still regularly aired on cable TV.
1. Margaret Sanger opens the first birth control clinic in the United States in 1916 and Sanger was arrested for distributing contraceptives in less than two weeks after its opening.
2. During the Thirties, breakthroughs in steroid and hormone research lead to the discovery that high doses of certain steroid hormones can stop ovulation.
3. Russell Marker, an organic chemistry professor at Penn State, developed a process using plant steroids to create progesterone in 1939 .
4. Marker co-founded the Syntex company in Mexico during 1944 but leaves the company in 1945 and is replaced by George Rosenkranz.
5. Margaret Sanger meets Gregory Pincus, a hormone researcher, in 1951 and helps him secure a grant from Planned Parenthood to research hormonal contraceptives.
6. On October 15, 1951, Dr. Carl Djerassi and student Luis Miramontes, under the direction of George Rosenkranz, successfully synthesize progestin norethisterone while working at Syntex. The hormone was a key ingredient in the creation of the birth control pill and Miramontes was credited with completing the final step in the synthesizing process.
7. Frank Colton first synthesizes noretynodrel in 1952 at G.D. Searle and Company, another key ingredient in the creation of the pill.
8. In 1953 Gregory Pincus receives a dramatic increase in funding for his research from Katharine McCormick. He begins human trials of a birth control pill in 1956 in Puerto Rico.
9. The FDA approves "Envoid" in 1957 for certain treatments and in 1960 the FDA approves it for use as an oral contraceptive pill.
10. In 1965, the Supreme Court rules in Griswold v. Connecticut, allowing married couples in all states access to birth control.
11. In 1972, the Supreme Court rules in Eisenstadt v. Baird, allowing unmarried people access to birth control.
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.
An American in Paris
The African Queen
A Streetcar Named Desire
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Perry Como
Mario Lanza
Nat King Cole
Tony Bennett
I Love Lucy
What's My Line? debuts on BBC Television.
Part of our Collection of Home Appliances From 1950s
1956 Silvertone AM-FM RadioThe popular film "An American in Paris" debuts this year.
The classic film "An American in Paris" premiered in London during August . The musical film featured music from George and Ira Gershwin and the dance numbers were choreographed by the film's star Gene Kelly. "An American in Paris" also starred Leslie Caron, Nina Foch, Oscar Lavant, and Georges Guetary and was directed by famed film maker Vincente Minnelli. The story focused on a complicated love triangle and was written by Alan Jay Lerner. The film won a total of six Academy Awards including "Best Picture."
The popular film "The Day the Earth Stood Still" debuts.
The classic science-fiction film "The Day the Earth Stood Still" debuted during September in New York. The film told the story of an alien and his robot who traveled to Earth to deliver an important message to humankind. "The Day the Earth Stood Still" was praised by critics and considered to be one of the best movies to be released that year. It was directed by Robert Wise who is also known for directing popular films like 1961's "West Side Story" and 1965's "The Sound of Music." In 1995 the film was chosen for preservation by the Library of Congress.
The very first Pan American Games begin during February. The games were held in Buenos Aires, Argentina and took place over the span of about two weeks. The idea for the games was originally conceived during the X Olympiad in 1932 but were put off due to the outbreak of World War II. The purpose of the Pan American games was to create an Olympic-style regional competition for the Americas. They are held every four years, the year before the next Olympics during the summer. In the first games 21 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) selected 2,513 athletes to participate in events from 18 different sports. At the end of the games Argentina, the United States, and Chile had the most medals.
Part of our Collection of Fashions 1951
Elastic Waist DressThe Disney film adaptation of Alice in Wonderland debuts in theaters.
Walt Disney's 13th animated feature film "Alice in Wonderland" is released during July . Disney had been trying to create the film adaptation of the classic Lewis Carroll novel since the 1930s but was unhappy with it until after the end of World War II. When the film was finally finished and released in 1951 it was considered a flop and received negative reviews from film critics. "Alice in Wonderland" soon became a cult favorite film and was re-released in the 1970s to a more favorable critical response.
The Treaty of Paris establishes the European Coal and Steel Community.
Six European nations sign the Treaty of Paris establishing the European Coal and Steel Community during April . The treaty was signed by Italy, France, Belgium, West Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. The six countries joined together in an economic union in what was a precursor to the creation of the European Union. The treaty came into effect during July of the next 1952 and it remained in effect until 2002.
The first commercial computer, UNIVAC, is put into use at the U.S. Census Bureau.
The first commercial computer to be created in the U.S., the UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer), was dedicated for use at the U.S. Census Bureau during June . The computer was designed by Presper Eckert and John Mauchly and was created by the Remington Rand company. Eckert and Mauchly had also created the first general-purpose computer (ENIAC) in 1946. The data-processing machine had 5,000 vacuum tubes, weighed about 16,000 pounds, and measured 14.5 by 7.5 by 9 feet in size. UNIVAC was an improved version of ENIAC and the first successful commercial computer created for civilian use. It could do about 1,000 calculations in a second, improving the efficiency of the Census Bureau.
22nd Amendment Ratified February 27, 1951 -- Two-Term Limit on Presidency
No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.
During December , the Experimental Breeder Reactor-I (EBR-I) began operating in Idaho. The EBR-I was the world’s first electricity producing nuclear power plant. It produced enough electricity to power the building and was used by scientists to study experiments on “breeding” nuclear fuel in a fission reactor. The concept of the reactor was for it to produce as much or more fuel than it used. EBR-I remained functional until 1964 when it was decommissioned. It was named as a historical landmark in 1965 and was opened for the public in 1976.
Robin Williams
Born: May 1st, - Chicago, Illinois
Died: August 11, 2014, Paradise Cay, CA
Sting
Born: October 2nd - Wallsend, United Kingdom
Mark Hamill
Born: September 25th - Oakland, CA
Bob Geldof
Born: October 5th - Dún Laoghaire, Ireland
Phil Collins
Born: January 30th - Chiswick, London, United Kingdom
Jane Seymour
Born: February 15 - Hayes, United Kingdom
Tommy Hilfiger
Born: March 24th - Elmira, NY
Kurt Russell
Born: March 17th - Springfield, MA
Jill Biden
Born: June 3rd - Hammonton, NJ
King Abdullah of Jordan assassinated on July 20 News Events in Jerusalem
Iran Nationalizes it's Oil Fields
President Harry S Truman fires General Douglas MacArthur as commander of United Nations Forces
United Nations forces recapture Seoul during the Korean War
The Festival of Britain opens at the Royal Festival Hall
Largest oil refinery in Europe opens at Fawley in Southampton, UK
The Great Flood of 1951 in Midwest United States
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
Breeder Reactor USA converted Uranium to Plutonium
Australia - Prime Minister -- Sir Robert Menzies
Brazil - President -- Gaspar Dutra - Till 31 January
Brazil - President -- Getulio 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 Aleman Valdes
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