The Year 1952 From The People History

1952 despite the war in Korea Americans considered themselves to be prospering with average worker earning $3,400 per year, a college teacher could expect to earn $5,100 per year . Three out of 5 families owned a car, 2 out of 3 families now had a telephone, 1 in 3 homes had a television. The average woman in America would be married by 20 years of age looking forward to raising a family but few continued with a career after children were born. Fast Food restaurants were growing in popularity, but the scourge of Polio hit many thousands of families ( 50,000 estimated ) . Many more cars in America were now fitted with automatic gearboxes and gas cost 25 cents per gallon. The worlds first passenger jet The Comet is produced in UK signaling the start of faster and cheaper air travel in later years.

What Events Happened in 1952

• Albert Einstein refuses Presidency of Israel

• Big Bang Theory of the creation of the Universe first propounded

• Elizabeth II becomes Queen upon the death of her father George VI.

• De Havilland 110 fighter aircraft breaks up over spectators at Farnborough Air Show killing 30

• Three Trains crash at Harrow in North London

• The Mau Mau Rebellion starts in Kenya

• South African Police Arrest Nelson Mandella

• India holds it's first general elections

• Thick smog in London on December 4th , England causes 4,000 fatalities

• Britain announces it has Atomic Bomb

• Live Atomic bomb Test from testing site in Yucca Flats, Nevada shown on Television

• California has it's second largest earthquake rocking 100,000 sq miles

• Charlie Chaplin refused entry back to the US after living in Hollywood for 20 years.

• Rocky Marciano becomes world heavyweight champion after knocking out Jersey Joe Walcott

• Vice Presidential Candidate Richard M. Nixon defends himself on Television over allegations of secret cash fund

• 3300 die of polio in U.S.; 57,000 children are paralyzed

• The Last London Trams Decommissioned

• Mother Teresa opens the home for dying and destitute in Calcutta

• The Summer Olympics are held in July in Helsinki, Finland

• Puerto Rico becomes a Self Governing Commonwealth Of the United States

• Steel Plants Placed Under Presidential Control after Steel Unions Threaten to Strike

• Military coup d'etat in Egypt headed by Nasser

• The Winter Olympic Games are held in Oslo, Norway

Popular Culture

• The Diary of Anne Frank published
• The "Today" Program debuts on NBC the first of it's kind hosted by Dave Garroway. The shows current presenters are Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira
• KFC Fried Chicken Franchise Opens ( Kentucky Fried Chicken )
• MAD Magazine first issue
• Agatha Christie's murder-mystery play The Mousetrap opens and becomes the longest continuously production running play in history

Popular Films

• The African Queen
• Greatest Show on Earth
• The Quiet man
• Singin' in the Rain

Check out our Television Programmes From The 50s whenever possible we have included a trailer to jog your memory. Series trailers and more information are found on the decade they started.

Technology

• The worlds first passenger jet is produced in UK ( The Comet )



• Atom Bomb Developed by Britain



• The worlds first successful use of a mechanical heart in US



• The first “Don’t Walk” sign is installed in New York City



• The First Holiday Inn is opened in Tennessee



• SS United States wins Blue Ribband crossing the Atlantic in 3 days 10hrs and 40 minutes



• The United States successfully detonates the first hydrogen bomb, code named "Mike" ["m" for megaton],



• The first Patent for a bar code used to identify products issued in 1952 to Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver but the industry standard till 1970 when the Universal Grocery Products Identification Product Code or UGPIC was written which evolved into the UPC or Universal product Code



• First Roll On Deodorant introduced under the brand name Ban-Roll-On




Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country ( or attributed to First Use )
Hydrogen Bomb USA by Edward Teller's team
Mr Potato Head Game USA by George Lerner
Polio Vaccine by Jonas Salk

Major World Political Leaders 1952

Australia Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies

Brazil President Getúlio Vargas

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 Till 30 November
Mexico President Adolfo Ruiz Cortines From 30 November

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 Sir Winston Churchill

Political Elections 1952

United States Presidential Election 1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican) Defeats Adlai Stevenson (Democratic)


The Information above is taken from our new page that gives world leaders from 1920 to current.
WorldLeaders