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.
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 2.29%
Yearly Inflation Rate UK 5.3%
Average Cost of new house $9.050.00
Average wages per year $3,850.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 20 cents
Average Cost of a new car $1,700.00
Average Cost of Rent $80.00 per month
LB of Hamburger Meat 53 cents
Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Stirling
Average House Price 2,028
Cost of Living 1952
How Much things cost in 1952Yearly Inflation Rate USA 2.29%
Yearly Inflation Rate UK 5.3%
Average Cost of new house $9.050.00
Average wages per year $3,850.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 20 cents
Average Cost of a new car $1,700.00
Average Cost of Rent $80.00 per month
LB of Hamburger Meat 53 cents
Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Stirling
Average House Price 2,028
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.
- The Mau MauRebellion starts in Kenya
- South African Police Arrest Nelson Mandella
- India holds it's first general elections
- Thick smog in London, England causes 4,000 fatalities
- Britain announces it has Atomic Bomb
- Live Atomic bomb Test from testing site in Yucca Flat, Nevada shown on Television
- California has it's second largest earthquake rocking 100,000 sq miles
- 3300 die of polio in U.S.; 57,000 children are paralyzed
- The Last London Trams Decommisioned
- Mother Teresa opens the home for dying destitutes in Calcutta
- The Summer Olympics are held in Helsinki, Finland
- Steel Plants Placed Under Presidential Control after Steel Unions Threaten to Strike
- The Winter Olympic Games are held in Oslo, Norway
Popular Culture
- The Diary of Anne Frank published
- 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
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
