1950s 34573 225270828 2008-07-12T20:26:57Z RobinCarmody 55740 {{Unreferenced|date=April 2007}} {{globalize}} {{Decadebox|195}} The '''1950s''' [[decade]] refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive. '''The Fifties''' in the [[United States]] and much of [[Western Europe]] are generally considered conservative in contrast to the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|social revolution]] of the next decade. Mass [[suburb]]an developments and [[nuclear family]] ideals serve as symbols of the era from the end of the Second World War in 1945 to the inauguration of [[United States President]] [[John F. Kennedy]] in 1961. Education grew explosively because of a very strong demand for high school and college education. The [[Cold War]] between the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[United States]] played out through the entire decade. The fifties also revolutionized entertainment with the mainstream introduction of [[television]], rapid growth of the recording industry and new genres of [[music]], and movies targeted at teenage audiences. Due to the conservative norms of the era and the sometimes violent suppression of social movements, seeds of rebellion grew and were manifested through [[Rock and Roll]], movies emphasizing rebelliousness, expansion of the [[Civil Rights Movement]], the so-called [[Beat Generation]] of poets and artists. All of these played significant roles in the Social Revolution of the Sixties (1960s). ==Ascendancy of the United States== The 1950s in the U.S. were marked with a sharp rise in the [[economy]] for the first time in almost 30 years, and a return to the 1920s-type [[consumer]] [[society]] built on credit and boom-times, as well as the [[baby boom]] from returning [[GI (military)|GI]]s who went to college under the [[G.I. Bill of Rights|G.I. Bill]] and settled in [[suburbia|suburban]] America. Most of the internal conflicts that had developed in earlier decades like [[women's rights]], [[civil rights]], and [[imperialism]] were relatively suppressed or neglected during this time as a world returning from the brink hoped to see a more consistent way of life as opposed to the [[Radicalization|radicalism]] of the 1930s and 1940s. The effect of suppressing social problems in the 1950s would have a significant impact on the rest of the twentieth century{{Fact|date=June 2008}}. == Social and political movements == ===Trends=== In the east, an American generation troubled by the [[Great Depression]] and [[World War II]] created a culture with emphasis on organization and suppression. African Americans took a generally different approach to a post-war society, aiming for a greater inclusiveness and social awareness after a global crisis in the preceding decades that many blamed on the failings of [[free market]] [[capitalism]], and the fifties were marked by the establishment of a [[Welfare State]] in many countries in Europe. Teenagers had a significant impact on fashion trends in the 1950s. ===Korean War=== The [[Korean War]], lasted from [[June 25]], [[1950]] until a [[cease-fire]] on [[July 27]] [[1953]] (as of now, there has been no peace treaty signed), started as a [[civil war]] between [[Communism|communist]] [[North Korea]] and the [[Republic]] of [[South Korea]]. When it began, North and South Korea existed as provisional governments competing for control over the Korean peninsula, due to the [[division of Korea]] by outside powers. While originally a civil war, it quickly escalated into a [[proxy war]] between the capitalist powers of the [[United States]] and its allies and the Communist powers of the [[People's Republic of China]] and the [[Soviet Union]]. On [[September 15]], General [[Douglas MacArthur]] planned a grand strategy to dissect North-Korean-occupied Korea at the city of [[Incheon]] (Song Do port) to cut off further invasion by the North Korean army. Within a few days, MacArthur's army took back [[Seoul]] (South Korea's capital). The plan succeeded which allowed American and South Korean forces to cut off further expansion by the North Koreans. The war continued until a cease-fire was agreed to by both sides on [[July 27]], [[1953]]. The war left 33,742 American soldiers dead, 92,134 wounded, and 51,000 [[Missing_in_action|MIA]]. ===Suez Crisis=== [[Image:1956 Suez war - conquest of Sinai.jpg|thumb|Israeli conquest of Sinai during the Suez Crisis]] The [[Suez Crisis]] was a [[war]] fought on [[Egypt]]ian territory in 1956. Following the nationalisation of the Suez Canal in 1956 by [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[France]] and [[Israel]] subsequently invaded. The operation was a military success, but after the [[USA]] and [[Soviet Union]] united in opposition to the invasion, the invaders were forced to withdraw. This was seen as a major humiliation, especially for the two Western European countries, and symbolises the beginning of the end of colonialism and weakening of European global importance, and specifically the collapse of the [[British Empire]]. ===European Common Market=== The [[European Community]] (or Common Market), the precursor of the [[European Union]], was established with the [[Treaty of Rome]] in 1957 === Civil rights === During this time, African-Americans were subject to racial segregation, but the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s was brewing. Key figures like [[Martin Luther King]], [[Malcolm X]] and [[Rosa Parks]] highlighted and challenged those who were against African-American rights and freedom. The Little Rock Nine integrated Central High School, which was a key event in the fight to end segregation in schools. == Culture == * [[Juvenile delinquency]] was said to be at unprecedented epidemic proportions in the [[United States]], though some see this era as relatively low in [[crime]] compared to today. * Continuing [[poverty]] in some regions during recessions later on in this decade. The 1950s is often mistakenly painted as the pinnacle of American prosperity. To some, it also may be considered the peak of the modern American civilization{{Fact|date=June 2008}}. The '50s were supposed to be a time of the "Affluent Society". * The 1950s saw fairly high rates of unionization, government social spending, taxes, and the like in the [[United States]] and [[Europe]]an countries. Most Western governments were liberal or [[moderate]], though domestic politics were also affected by reactions to communism and the Cold War. * [[Beatniks]], a culture of teenage and young adults who were seen as rebels and against the social norms, were popularized towards the end of the decade and criticised by older generations. They are seen as a predecessor for the [[counterculture of the 1960s| counterculture]] and [[hippie]] movements. * Optimistic visions of a semi-utopian technological future, including such devices as the [[flying car]], were popular. * ''[[The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951 film)|The Day the Earth Stood Still]]'' hits movie theaters launching a cycle of Hollywood films in which Cold War fears are manifested through scenarios of alien invasion or mutation. * Considerable [[race relations|racial tension]] arose with military and school desegregation in mostly the southern part of the United States, though major controversy and uproar did not truly erupt until the 1960s. * Resurgence of evangelical [[Christianity]] including Youth for Christ (1943); the National Association of Evangelicals, the American Council of Christian Churches, the [[Billy Graham]] Evangelistic Association (1950), [[Conservative Baptist Association of America]] (1947); and the Campus Crusade for Christ (1951). ''[[Christianity Today]]'' was first published in 1956. 1956 also marked the beginning of Bethany Fellowship, a small press that would grow to be a leading evangelical press. * [[Carl Stuart Hamblen]], a religious radio broadcaster, hosted the popular show "The Cowboy Church of the Air". *The [[Kinsey Reports]] were published. [[Hugh Hefner]] launched ''[[Playboy]]'' magazine. [http://www.litkicks.com/Texts/ThisIsBeatGen.html][http://www.trussel.com/hf/finger.htm] ===Fashion=== Flying in the face of continuity, logic, and erudite sociological predictions, fashion in the 1950s, far from being revolutionary and progressive, bore strong nostalgic echoes of the past. A whole society which, in the 1920s and '30s, had greatly believed in progress, was now much more circumspect. Despite the fact that women had the right to vote, to work, and to drive their own cars, they chose to wear dresses made of opulent materials, with corseted waists and swirling skirts to mid-calf. As fashion looked to the past, haute couture experienced something of a revival and spawned a myriad of star designers who profited hugely from the rapid growth of the media. Throughout the 1950s, although it would be for the last time, women around the world continued to submit to the trends of Parisian haute couture. Three of the most prominent of the Parisian couturiers of the time were [[Cristobal Balenciaga]], [[Hubert de Givenchy]], and [[Pierre Balmain]]. Also notable is the return of [[Coco Chanel]] (who detested the [[New Look]]) to the fashion world. After the war, the American look (which consisted of broad shoulders, floral ties, straight-legged pants, and shirts with long pointed collars, often worn hanging out rather than tucked in) became very popular among men in Europe. The designers of [[Hollywood]] created a particular type of glamour for the stars of American film, and outfits worn by the likes of [[Marilyn Monroe]], [[Lauren Bacall]], or [[Grace Kelly]] were widely copied. By the end of the decade mass-manufactured, off-the-peg clothing had become much more popular than in the past, granting the general public unprecedented access to fashionable styles. Teen fashion in America favored [[blue jeans]], [[penny loafers]] and [[bobby sox]], [[saddle shoes]], [[poodle skirt]]s, letterman sweaters and varsity jackets, [[T-shirts]] and black leather motorcycle jackets made popular by the [[Marlon Brando]] film ''[[The Wild One]]'', and, for boys, the [[greaser]] hairstyle known as the D.A. or [[Duck's Ass]]. The hairstyle became a stereotypical feature of rebels and nonconformists, and was adopted by Hollywood to represent the wild youth of the era. [[Brylcreem]] and other hair tonics had a period of popularity. ===Popular music=== {{See also|Timeline of musical events#1950s}} [[Popular music]] up to the early 1950s was mainly [[bebop]] and [[jazz]] variants. Jazz stars included [[Charlie Parker]], [[Dizzy Gillespie]], [[Miles Davis]], [[John Coltrane]], and [[Thelonious Monk]]. Rock and roll emerged as the teen music of choice with [[Little Richard]], [[Chuck Berry]] and [[Buddy Holly]] being notable exponents. [[Elvis Presley]] was the musical superstar of the period with rock, rockabilly, gospel, and romantic balladeering being his signatures. [[Bill Haley]], [[Jerry Lee Lewis]] and [[Johnny Cash]] were rockabilly musicians. [[Doo Wop]] was another popular genre at the time. [[Calypso]] enjoyed popularity with Jamaican [[Harry Belafonte]] being dubbed the "King of Calypso". The [[Kingston Trio]] was instrumental in launching the folk music revival of the fifties and sixties. On March 14, 1958, the [[RIAA]] certified crooner [[Perry Como]]'s single, "Catch A Falling Star" its first ever [[Gold Record]]. ===Drama and musical theater=== Dramas included [[William Inge]]'s ''[[Come Back, Little Sheba (play)|Come Back, Little Sheba]]'' (1950), the Pulitzer Prize-winning ''[[Picnic (play)|Picnic]]'' (1953), ''[[Bus Stop (play)|Bus Stop]]'' (1955) and ''The Dark at the Top of the Stairs'' (1957). [[Tennessee Williams]] won a [[Tony Award]] for ''[[The Rose Tattoo]]'' (1952) and the Pulitzer Prize for ''[[Cat on a Hot Tin Roof]]'' (1955). [[Arthur Miller]] followed his 1949 success ''[[Death of a Salesman]]'' with ''[[The Crucible]]'' (1953) and ''[[A View from the Bridge]]'' (1955). [[Eugene O'Neill]]'s ''[[Long Day's Journey Into Night]]'', written 1941, was first performed 1956 and ''[[A Touch of the Poet]]'', completed in 1942, was first performed 1958. Musicals of the period included ''[[Guys and Dolls]]'' (1950), [[Rogers and Hammerstein]]'s ''[[The King and I]]'' (1951), ''[[The Pajama Game]]'' (1954), ''[[Peter Pan (1954 musical)|Peter Pan]]'' (1954), ''[[Damn Yankees]]'' (1955), [[Lerner and Loewe]]'s ''[[My Fair Lady]]'' (1956), Meredith Wilson's ''[[The Music Man]]'' (1957), [[Leonard Bernstein]]'s ''[[West Side Story]]'' (1957), Lerner and Loewe's musical film adaptation of the stage play ''[[Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi]]'' (1958), and Rogers and Hammerstein's ''[[The Sound of Music]]'' (1959). ===Film=== : ''See also: [[1950s in film]] With television's rapidly growing popularity producing a marked decline in fifties movie-going, Hollywood was prompted to seek ways to draw its former audience back to the theaters. New film techniques were developed ([[Cinemascope]], [[VistaVision]], [[Cinerama]], and [[3-D film]]) that were ideally suited for the big budget '''[[sword and sandal|sword and sandal epics]]''' ''[[The Robe]]'', ''[[Demetrius and the Gladiators]]'', ''[[The Ten Commandments (1956 film)|The Ten Commandments]]'', ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'' and ''[[Cleopatra]]'' (1963). ''[[Hercules (1958 film)|Hercules]]'' (1958) and its follow-up ''[[Hercules Unchained]]'' launched internationally popular low budget epics with bodybuilders [[Steve Reeves]], Gordon Scott, and others cast as the heroes of [[Greco-Roman mythology]]. The spectacle approach to film-making, [[Cold War]] paranoia, public fascination with [[Outer Space]], and a renewed interest in science sparked by the [[atom bomb]] lent itself well to '''[[science fiction films]]'''. Martians and other alien menaces were metaphors for Communism, foreign ideologies, and the misfits threatening democracy and the American way of life. ''[[The Day the Earth Stood Still]]'', ''[[Invaders from Mars (1953 film)|Invaders from Mars]]'', ''[[Them!]]'', [[The War of the Worlds]], ''[[The Time Machine]]'', ''[[It Came from Outer Space]]'', ''[[Creature from the Black Lagoon]]'', ''[[The Day the Earth Stood Still]]'', ''[[The Thing from Another World]]'', ''[[This Island Earth]]'', ''[[Earth vs. the Flying Saucers]]'', and ''[[Forbidden Planet]]'' were popular. ''[[Queen of Outer Space]]'' (1958) with [[Zsa Zsa Gabor]] brought sex to the genre. There were also Earth-based subjects, such as ''[[20,000 Leagues Under the Sea]]'' (1954) and ''[[When Worlds Collide]]'' (1951). Companies such as [[American International Pictures]], Japan's [[Toho]], and Britain's [[Hammer Film Productions]] were created to solely produce films of the ''fantastique'' genres. Japanese films included ''[[Godzilla]]'' (1954), ''[[Godzilla Raids Again]]'' (1955), and ''[[Rodan]]'' (1956), and ''[[Battle in Outer Space]]'' (1959). [[Image:I Was A Teenage Werewolf.jpg|thumb|Original poster]] '''[[Teen films]]''' came into their own during the decade. [[MGM]]'s ''[[Blackboard Jungle]]'' (1955) examined race and class dynamics in an inner-city high school, and is regarded by some as the spark that lit the [[Rock and Roll]] revolution by featuring [[Bill Haley & His Comets]]' ''[[Rock Around the Clock]]'' over the opening credits. Screenings of the film occasionally led to teen violence and vandalism, and, for some, the film marks the start of visible teen rebellion in the 20th century. ''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]'' (1955) thrust its [[angst]]-ridden star [[James Dean]] to international stardom, and, unlike ''Blackboard Jungle'', told its story from the viewpoint of its teen characters. ''[[Gidget (film)|Gidget]]'' (1959) set off a tsunami of light-hearted teen beach party and [[surf culture|surfing]] movies that flirted with sex but respected fifties morality, conformism, and traditional values. Love, sex, marriage, divorce, alcoholism, dysfunctional families, and adultery were themes of ''[[A Summer Place (film)|A Summer Place]]'' featuring [[Sandra Dee]] and [[Troy Donahue]] as teen lovers and [[Dorothy McGuire]] and [[Richard Egan]] as their adulterous parents. Low budget teen films punctuated with rock and roll soundtracks were produced through the decade with provocative titles such as ''[[High School Hellcats]]'', ''[[High School Confidential]]'', ''Girls in the Night'', ''Girls Town'', ''Hound-Dog Man'', ''Lost, Lonely, and Vicious'', ''Running Wild'', ''Hot Rod Girl'', ''Juvenile Jungle'', ''[[Teenage Devil Dolls]]'', and the [[Ed Wood]]-scripted ''[[The Violent Years]]''. Teen and sci-fi genres were wedded in B-film ''[[The Blob]]'' with [[Steve McQueen]] in his first starring role while teen horror flick ''[[I Was a Teenage Werewolf]]'' launched [[Michael Landon]]'s Hollywood career. '''[[The Walt Disney Studios]]''' enjoyed a decade of prosperity with animated feature-length films ''[[Cinderella (1950 film)|Cinderella]]'', ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1951 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'', ''[[Peter Pan (1953 film)|Peter Pan]]'', ''[[Lady and the Tramp]]'' (Disney's first wide-screen animated film), and ''[[Sleeping Beauty (1959 film)|Sleeping Beauty]]''. The studio began producing [[List of Disney live-action films|live-action period and historical films]] such as ''The Sword and the Rose'', ''[[Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier]]'', ''[[Johnny Tremain (film)|Johnny Tremain]]'', ''[[Old Yeller (1957 film)|Old Yeller]]'', ''Light in the Forest'', ''Tonka'', and ''[[Darby O'Gill and the Little People]]''. The studio produced its first live-action contemporary comedy ''[[The Shaggy Dog]]'' in 1959 with Disney teen stars [[Annette Funicello]] and [[Tommy Kirk]]. '''Established stars''' appeared in films that have come to be regarded as classics such as ''[[Sunset Boulevard (1950 film)|Sunset Boulevard]]'' ([[Gloria Swanson]]), ''[[All About Eve]]'' ([[Bette Davis]]), ''[[Some Like It Hot]]'' ([[Marilyn Monroe]], [[Tony Curtis]], and [[Jack Lemmon]]), ''[[High Noon]]'' ([[Gary Cooper]] and [[Grace Kelly]]), ''[[The Searchers (film)|The Searchers]]'' ([[John Wayne]]), ''[[North by Northwest]]'' ([[Cary Grant]]), ''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]'' ([[Alec Guinness]]), ''[[Singin' in the Rain (film)|Singin' in the Rain]]'' ([[Gene Kelly]] and [[Donald O'Connor]]), ''[[White Christmas (film)|White Christmas]]'' ([[Bing Crosby]]), and ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'' ([[Charlton Heston]]), a film which holds (with ''[[Titanic]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (film)|Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'') a record for most Academy Awards. The [[Stanislavski]] method's natural approach to acting was exemplified in screen stars [[Marlon Brando]] and [[Paul Newman]]. Brando's performances in ''[[The Wild One]]'' and ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' influenced sales of T-shirts and motorcycles. '''[[European cinema]]''' experienced a renaissance in the fifties following the deprivations of [[World War II]]. [[Italian people|Italian]] director [[Federico Fellini]] won the first [[Best Foreign Language Film|foreign language film]] [[Academy Award]] with ''[[La strada (film)|La strada]]'' and garnered another Academy Award with ''[[Nights of Cabiria]]''. In 1955, Swedish director [[Ingmar Bergman]] earned a Jury Prize at the [[Cannes Film Festival]] with ''[[Smiles of a Summer Night]]'' and followed the film with masterpieces ''[[The Seventh Seal]]'' and ''[[Wild Strawberries (film)|Wild Strawberries]]''. [[Jean Cocteau]]'s ''[[Orpheus (film)|Orphée]]'', a film central to his Orphic Trilogy, starred [[Jean Marais]] and was released in 1950. French director [[Claude Chabrol]]'s ''[[Le Beau Serge]]'' is now widely considered the first film of the [[French New Wave]]. Notable European film stars of the period include [[Brigitte Bardot]], [[Sophia Loren]], [[Marcello Mastroianni]], [[Max von Sydow]], and [[Jean-Paul Belmondo]]. '''[[Japanese cinema]]''' reached its zenith with films from director [[Akira Kurosawa]] including ''[[Rashomon (film)|Rashomon]]'', ''[[Ikiru]]'', ''[[Seven Samurai]]'', ''[[Throne of Blood]]'', and ''[[The Hidden Fortress]]''. Other distinguished Japanese directors of the period were [[Yasujiro Ozu]] and [[Kenji Mizoguchi]]. Russian fantasy director [[Aleksandr Ptushko]]'s mythological epics ''[[Sadko]]'', ''[[Ilya Muromets]]'', and ''[[Sampo]]'' were internationally acclaimed. ===Television=== Sales of [[television]] sets boomed in the fifties. Shows aired monochromatically. Popular programs included ''[[Your Show of Shows]]'', a live 90-minute weekly sketch comedy television series (1950-1954) with [[Sid Caesar]] and [[Imogene Coca]], and ''[[Producers' Showcase]]'' (1954-1957), a 37-episode, multi-Emmy Award-winning, 90-minute NBC [[anthology series]] that featured A-list talent such as [[Margot Fonteyn]] in ''[[The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)|The Sleeping Beauty Ballet]]'', [[Helen Hayes]] in ''[[The Skin of Our Teeth]]'', and ''[[The Fourposter]]'' with original Broadway cast members [[Hume Cronyn]] and [[Jessica Tandy]]. Other anthology series included ''[[Lux Video Theatre]]'', ''[[Fireside Theater]]''. and ''[[Kraft Television Theater]]''. '''[[Sitcoms]]''' offered a paternalistic, conservative vision of idealized [[middle class]] American life with ''[[The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet]]'' (1952-1966), ''[[Father Knows Best]]'' (1954-1960), and [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[The Donna Reed Show]]'' (1958-1966) exemplifying the genre. [[Emmy Award|Emmy]]-winning comedy ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' (1952-1957) starred husband and wife [[Desi Arnaz]] and [[Lucille Ball]] and enjoyed such popularity that some businesses closed early on Monday nights in order to allow employees to hurry home for the show. In ''[[Life of Riley]]'' (1953-1958), blue collar Chester A. Riley ([[William Bendix]]) became the protype for a long line of bumbling television patriarchs that included [[Fred Flintstone]] and [[Archie Bunker]]. The show's first incarnation for the [[DuMont Television Network]] lasted a season (1949-1950) and won television's first Emmy. ''[[The Honeymooners]]'' (1955-1956) followed bus driver Ralph Kramden ([[Jackie Gleason]]) and his sewer-working sidekick Ed Norton ([[Art Carney]]) while archetypal suburban life was limned in ''[[Leave It to Beaver]]'' (1957-1963), purportedly the first [[sitcom]] to be told from a child's point of view and the first to strike a blow for television realism by displaying a toilet in an early episode. Genre series were popular with ''[[Dragnet (series)|Dragnet]]'' (1952) starring [[Jack Webb]] representing police procedural drama, British [[television syndication|syndicated]] series ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]'' (1955) starring [[Richard Greene]] representing historical drama, and ''[[Gunsmoke]]'' (1955) with [[James Arness]] and [[Amanda Blake]] representing the western. Mid-decade, Warner Bros. produced a clutch of five westerns with ''[[Maverick]]'' starring [[James Garner]] and ''[[Cheyenne (1955 TV series)|Cheyenne]]'' starring [[Clint Walker]] leading the group in popularity. '''Musical programs''' distinguished the decade. [[Gian Carlo Menotti]]'s ''[[Amahl and the Night Visitors]]'', the first [[opera]] written for television, was performed on [[December 24]], [[1951]] at the [[NBC]] studios in New York City, where it was telecast as the debut production of the [[Hallmark Hall of Fame]]. The opera was performed live on or near [[Christmas Eve]] annually until the mid-sixties when a production starring [[Teresa Stratas]] was filmed and telecast for several years. The [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musical ''[[Peter Pan (1954 musical)|Peter Pan]]'' was televised in 1955 on NBC with [[Mary Martin]] and [[Cyril Ritchard]] in their original roles as Peter Pan and Captain Hook. The telecast drew the largest ratings for a single television program up to that time, and was restaged in 1956 and 1960. On September 9, 1956, [[Elvis Presley]] made his first televised appearance on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'', while, the same year, musical film ''[[The Wizard of Oz (film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'' starring [[Judy Garland]] saw its first telecast on [[November 3]] on CBS. [[Rogers and Hammerstein]]'s ''[[Cinderella (telefilms)|Cinderella]]'' was written for a live television broadcast in 1957 and starred [[Julie Andrews]]. '''Children's programs''' included the 19-season, Emmy-winning [[CBS]] dramatic series ''[[Lassie (1954 TV series)|Lassie]]'' (1954-1973), sci-fi series ''[[Adventures of Superman]]'' (1952), variety show ''[[The Mickey Mouse Club]]'' (1955), anthology series ''[[Disney anthology television series|Disneyland]]'' (1955), and live-action [[fairy tale]] anthology series ''[[Shirley Temple's Storybook]]'' (1958). [[Bozo the Clown]] enjoyed widespread franchising in early television, making him the best-known clown character in the United States. ''[[Ding Dong School]]'' (1952), ''[[Captain Kangaroo]]'' (1955) and ''[[Romper Room]]'' were aimed at pre-schoolers. ''[[Howdy Doody]]'' (1947-1960) was a pioneer in early color production during the period. ''[[Fury (TV series)|Fury]]'', ''[[Sky King]]'', ''[[The Roy Rogers Show]]'', ''[[Heckle and Jeckle]]'', ''[[Mighty Mouse]]'' and similar live-action and animated half-hour shows held sway on Saturday mornings. '''Quiz and panel shows''' included ''[[The $64,000 Question]]'', ''[[What's My Line]]'', ''[[I've Got a Secret]]'', ''[[The Price is Right]]'', ''[[Beat the Clock]]'', ''[[Truth or Consequences]]'', ''[[Queen for a Day]]'', and ''[[Name That Tune]]''. The [[quiz show scandals]] of the period rocked the nation and were the result of the revelation that contestants were secretly given assistance by the producers to arrange the outcome of a supposedly fair competition. '''Newscasting and journalism''' were distinguished by NBC's [[Chet Huntley]] and [[David Brinkley]], and CBS' [[Walter Cronkite]]. On July 7, 1952, the term "anchor" was coined to describe Cronkite's role at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, which marked the first nationally-televised convention coverage. '''[[Talk shows]]''' had their genesis in the decade with [[NBC]]'s ''[[Today (NBC program)|Today]]'' creating the much-sopied genre format. ''[[The Tonight Show]]'' debuted in 1954 with [[Steve Allen]] as host. The [[coronation]] of [[Elizabeth II]] was televised on [[June 2]], [[1953]], highlighting the start of pan-European cooperation with regards to the exchange of TV programs. The [[Academy Awards]] show was first televised in 1953 on NBC, and the show holds the distinction of having won the most [[Emmy Award|Emmys]] in history, with 38 wins and 167 nominations. ===Comics=== : ''See also: [[1950s in comics]]'' Comic book audiences grew during and after [[World War II]], with young adult males and returning GIs preferring material depicting sex and violence. Newspaper comic strip reprint books such as [[Ace Comics]] and [[King Comics]] ended their decade-long runs while caped crimefighters and superheroes declined in popularity. Attempts to bring out single character comic strip reprints, such as ''[[Flash Gordon]]'', ''[[Steve Canyon]]'', and ''[[Terry and the Pirates]]'' were unsuccessful. The [[Golden Age of Comic Books]] gave way to the [[Silver Age of Comic Books|Silver Age]] with [[romance comics]], [[horror comics]], western comics, [[science fiction comics]], and [[crime comics]] in demand. '''Romance comics''' kicked-off in 1947 with [[Joe Simon]] and [[Jack Kirby]]'s ''Young Romance'' and its companion title ''Young Love''. While both titles generally featured innocuous stories about youthful relationships, other romance comics of the period ventured into grim tales of alcoholic spouses, two-timing, and wife-beating. The genre was hugely successful with more than 150 series published during the early 1950s. [[good girl art|Good girl]] comics of the period depicted the exploits of voluptuous women in bosom-hugging sweaters or jungle heroines clad in animal skin bikinis. 'Headlight' covers featured young women [[bondage (BDSM)|bound with ropes or chains]], their ample breasts swelling against torn clothing. '''Horror comics''' enjoyed a heyday during the same period. While superheroes had been menaced by warlocks, zombies, and vampires in the employ of Nazis and the Japanese through the war years, it wasn't until 1947 that the horror genre was established with Avon Periodicals' ''[[Eerie Comics]]'', the first out-and-out horror comic. Marvel, [[Harvey Comics]], and American Comics Group hopped aboard with the latter's ''Adventures Into the Unknown'' (1948) enjoying a twenty year run. In 1950, [[EC Comics]] published ''[[The Haunt of Fear]]'', ''[[Tales from the Crypt]]'', and ''[[The Vault of Horror]]'' with characters meeting gruesomely violent ends. Horror titles numbered in the dozens in the early years of the decade, most crudely scripted and drawn. '''Western comics''' were fueled by popular television westerns. [[Dell Comics]] published a large number of western comics, dedicated to celebrities such as [[Roy Rogers]], [[Gabby Hayes]], [[The Lone Ranger]], and [[Gene Autry]]. The Lone Ranger's pal, Tonto, had his own title. Dell also published titles based on popular television shows and films such as ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' and ''[[Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier]]''. DC published several western titles while Marvel saw fifty different titles including ''The Rawhide Kid'', ''The Arizona Kid'', ''Kid Colt'', and ''The Ringo Kid''. '''Science fiction comics''' were published in abundance. [[DC Comics]] picked-up on the public's interest in science and [[Outer Space]] with ''[[Strange Adventures]]'' and ''[[Mystery in Space]]''. [[EC Comics]] published ''[[Weird Science]]'' and ''[[Weird Fantasy]]''. ====Public disapproval and the 1954 Senate subcommittee hearings==== The Cold War era seemed to encourage witch-hunting and comics found themselves blamed for the alarming increase in juvenile deliquency and other social ills. In 1948, American children across the country piled their comic book collections in schoolyards, and, encouraged by parents, teachers, and clergymen, set them ablaze. In the same year, the media began kicking comic books around. John Mason Brown of the ''Saturday Review of Literature'' described comics as the "marijuana of the nursery; the bane of the bassinet; the horror of the house; the curse of kids, and a threat to the future." Dr. Fredric Wertham's book ''[[Seduction of the Innocent]]'' rallied opposition to violence, gore, and sex in comics, arguing that it was harmful to the children who made up a large segment of the comic book audience. The [[Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency]] hearings in April and June of 1954, focused specifically on graphic crime and horror comic books. When publisher William Gaines contended that he sold only comic books of good taste, one of Gaines' comics cover was entered into evidence which showed an axe-wielding man holding aloft a severed woman's head. When asked if he considered the cover in "good taste", Gaines replied: "Yes, I do -- for the cover of a horror comic." Because of the unfavorable press coverage resulting from the hearings, the comic book industry adopted the [[Comics Code Authority]] (CCA), a self-regulatory ratings code that is still used by some publishers today in a modified form. In the immediate aftermath of the hearings, several publishers were forced to revamp their schedules and drastically censor or even cancel many popular long-standing comic series. =====Comics trivia===== *[[Charles Schulz]]'s ''[[Peanuts]]'' appeared for the first time on [[October 2]], [[1950]] in seven US newspapers. *Superman's sweetheart [[Lois Lane]] received her own title. *''[[Classics Illustrated]]'' continued its literary adaptations, ending its run in the early 1970s after 169 titles. In 1953, ''Classics Illustrated Junior'' debuted with fairy tale adaptations for the younger set. ===Toys=== [[Image:Barbie 1959 First Editions.jpg|thumb|upright|''Barbie'', 1959]] Popular toys of the period included [[Wham-O]]'s [[Hula Hoop]] and its flying disc [[Frisbee]], both introduced in 1957. Kids got around on [[Schwinn]] bicycles and [[Radio Flyer]] wagons. Nomura's 9" tall, tin, remote-controlled [[Robbie the Robot]] walked, moved his arms, and sported moving lighted pistols. Girls wanted [[Ohio Art Company]]'s tin lithographed tea sets and Little Chefs Stoves, [[Ideal Toy Company]]'s diaper-wetting [[Betsy Wetsy]], and [[Mattel]]'s 1959 adult-bodied fashion doll [[Barbie]]. Boys wanted Daisy [[BB guns]], [[Lincoln Logs]], and miniature [[Matchbox (toy)|Matchbox]] vehicles. In 1955, Walt Disney's ''[[Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier]]'' saw the production of 'coonskin caps' and other frontier-themed toys. [[View-Master]]s, [[Silly Putty]], and [[Slinky]] were bestsellers. [[Mr. Potato Head]], a toy of plastic face parts that could be stuck into a potato, was the first toy to be advertised on network television, and in its first year of production (1952) made over $4 million. Television shows and films generated show-related toys and books. Popular board games included [[Milton Bradley]]'s ''[[Candyland]]'' (1949), ''[[Chutes and Ladders]]'', and ''[[Careers (board game)|Careers]]'' (1955). ===Vehicles=== This decade many con manufactures produced large luxury cars designed to appear to flow through the air. Considered the "Jet Age", the new aircraft and rockets had anfluence on vehicles. All Detroit manufactures built cars with "Tail fins" and "bullet lights" --- for this reason the 1950's are refered to as the "Finned Fifties". The [[Cadillac Eldorado ]] is an example of this. Cadillac is considered the epitamy of luxury at this time. === Literature === {{See also|List of years in literature#1950s}} [[Beatnik]]s and the [[beat generation]], an anti-materialistic literary movement that began with [[Jack Kerouac]] in 1948 and stretched on into the early-mid 1960s, was at its zenith in the 1950s. Such groundbreaking literature as [[William S. Burroughs]]' ''[[Naked Lunch]]'', [[Allen Ginsberg]]'s ''[[Howl]]'', [[William Golding]]'s ''[[Lord of the Flies]]'', Jack Kerouac's ''[[On the Road]]'', and [[J.D. Salinger]]'s ''[[The Catcher in the Rye]]'' were published. Also published in this decade was [[J. R. R. Tolkien's]] epic ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' as well as [[C.S. Lewis]]' ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]''. This decade is also marked by some of the most famous works of [[science fiction]] by science fiction writers [[Isaac Asimov]], [[Arthur C. Clarke]], [[Theodore Sturgeon]], [[A. E. van Vogt]], and [[Robert A. Heinlein]]. Other significant literary works included [[James Jones (author)|James Jones]]' ''[[From Here to Eternity]]'', [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s ''[[The Old Man and the Sea]]'', [[John Cheever]]'s ''[[The Wapshot Chronicle]]'', [[Tennessee Williams]]' ''[[Cat on a Hot Tin Roof]]'', [[Arthur Miller]]'s ''[[The Crucible]]'', [[Lorraine Hansberry]]'s ''[[A Raisin in the Sun]]'', [[Ralph Ellison]]'s ''[[Invisible Man]]'', [[Saul Bellow]]'s ''[[The Adventures of Augie March]]'', [[Ray Bradbury]]'s ''[[Fahrenheit 451]]'', [[Richard Matheson]]'s ''[[I Am Legend]]'', [[John Knowles]]' ''[[A Separate Peace]]'', [[Ayn Rand]]'s ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'', [[Vladimir Nabokov]]'s ''[[Lolita]]'', [[Grace Metalious]]' ''[[Peyton Place (novel)|Peyton Place]]'', and [[Boris Pasternak]]'s ''[[Doctor Zhivago]]''. === Art Movements === '''[[Abstract expressionism]]''', the first [[art movement]] specifically American to gain worldwide influence, was responsible for putting [[New York City]] in the centre on the artistic world, a place previously owned by [[Paris, France]]. This movement acquired its name for combining the [[German expressionism]]'s emotional intensity with the anti-figurative aesthetic of the European abstract schools such as [[Futurism]], [[Bauhaus]] and [[Synthetic Cubism]]. [[Jackson Pollock]] was one of the most influential painters of this movement, creating famous works such as [[No. 5, 1948]]. '''[[Color Field]]''' painting and [[Hard-edge painting]] followed close on the heels of [[Abstract expressionism]], and became the idiom for new abstraction in painting during the late 1950s. The term ''second generation'' was applied to many abstract artists who were related to but following different painterly directions than the earliest abstract expressionists. In the early 1950s [[Jackson Pollock]] and [[Willem de Kooning]] were enormously influential. However by the late 1950s [[Barnett Newman]] and [[Mark Rothko]]'s paintings became more in focus to the next generation. '''[[Pop art]]''', with its roots in [[dadaism]] started to take form towards the end of the 1950s when some artists, after studying symbols and products of the world of [[propaganda]] in the United States, started to make them the main subject of their artistic work. That way, they used the most ostensive components of [[popular culture]], with powerful influence in the daily life of the second half of the 20th century. It was the return of a [[figurative art]], in opposition to the abstract expressionism that dominated the aesthetic scene since the end of World War II. Pop art used [[iconography]] of television, photography, comics, cinema and advertising. [[Andy Warhol]] was the most known artist of this movement, and in spite of it having initiated in the 50s, its most famous works date of the later decade. === Science and technology === * The [[Miller-Urey experiment]] showed in 1953 that under simulated conditions resembling those thought to be possible to have existed shortly after Earth was first created, many of the basic organic molecules that form the building blocks of life are able to spontaneously form. * [[Francis Crick]], [[James D. Watson]], and [[Rosalind Franklin]] discovered the helical structure of [[DNA]] at the [[Cavendish Laboratory]] at the [[University of Cambridge]] in 1953. * [[Bruce C. Heezen]] discovered the [[Mid-Atlantic Ridge]]. * The first [[polio vaccine]], developed by Jonas Salk, was introduced to the general public in 1955. * The first [[organ transplant]]s were done in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] and [[Paris]] in 1954. * The term [[artificial intelligence]] was coined in 1956 by [[John McCarthy (computer scientist)|John McCarthy]]. * [[Sputnik 1]] was launched in 1957. * [[BOAC]] brings into service the [[de Havilland Comet]] the world's first commercial jet airliner to reach production. * [[Fortran]], perhaps the single most important milestone in the development of programming languages, was developed at IBM. ===Prizes=== [[Albert Schweitzer]] is awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1952. In 1953 Churchill is given the [[Nobel Prize]] for literature. In 1955 [[Laxness]] is awarded the Nobel Prize for literature for his work with [[Iceland]]ic literature. [[Pulitzer Prize]] === Sports === [[Image:Paavo Nurmi sytyttää olympiatulen 1952.jpg|thumb|right|[[Paavo Nurmi]] and the [[Olympic Flame]] in the opening ceremony of the [[1952 Summer Olympics]].]] * [[Lindsey Sloan]] (German [[football player, Olympic Gymnast]]) * [[Alberto Ascari]] (Italian [[motor racing|racing driver]]) * [[Roger Bannister]] (English [[athletics (track and field)|track and field athlete]]) * [[Yogi Berra]] (American [[baseball]] player) * [[Maureen Connolly]] (American [[tennis]] player) * [[Colin Cowdrey]] (English cricketer) * [[Juan Manuel Fangio]] (Argentinian [[motor racing|racing driver]]) * [[Tom Finney]] (English [[association|football]]er) * [[Neil Harvey]] (Australian cricketer) * [[Gordie Howe]] (Canadian [[ice hockey]] player) * [[Len Hutton]] (England cricketer) * [[Mickey Mantle]] (American [[baseball]] player) * [[Rocky Marciano]] (American [[boxing|boxer]]) * [[Stanley Matthews]] (English [[association|football]]er) * [[Willie Mays]] (American [[baseball]] player) * [[Ferenc Puskás]] (Hungarian [[association|football]]er) * [[Alfredo Di Stéfano]] (Argentinian [[association|football]]er (but played for [[Spain national football team|Spain]])) * [[Real Madrid]] (Hegemony over European soccer) * [[Maurice Richard]] (Canadian [[ice hockey]] player) * [[Sugar Ray Robinson]] (American [[boxing|boxer]]) * [[Bill Russell (basketball)|Bill Russell]] (American [[basketball]] player) * [[Gary Sobers]] (West Indies cricketer) * [[Brian Statham]] (England cricketer) * [[Eduard Streltsov]] (Russian [[association|football]]er) * [[Frank Tyson]] ([[England]] cricketer) * [[Frank Worrell]] (West Indies cricketer) * [[Billy Wright (footballer)|Billy Wright]] (English [[association|football]]er) * [[Lev Yashin]] (Russian [[association|football]]er) * [[Jackie Robinson]] (American [[baseball]] player) * [[Helmut Rahn]] (German [[association|football]]er) * [[Sepp Herberger]] (German [[association|football]] manager) * [[Pelé]] (Brazilian [[association|football]]er) * [[Garrincha]] (Brazilian [[association|football]]er) * [[Jenniffer Rodriguez]] (American [[association|basketball]]er) ==== Olympics ==== *[[1952 Summer Olympics]] held in [[Helsinki]], [[Finland]] *[[1952 Winter Olympics]] held in [[Oslo]], [[Norway]] *[[1956 Summer Olympics]] held in [[Melbourne]], [[Australia]] *[[1956 Winter Olympics]] held in [[Cortina d'Ampezzo]], [[Italy]] == International issues == === Middle East === Most of the countries of the Middle East continued in the national divisions created by former European empires. However, with the growing importance of their abundance of [[oil]], the otherwise mostly impoverished states experienced an increase of [[wealth]] to mostly the [[elite]] aristocratic or later theocratic regimes. The growth of the state of [[History of Israel|Israel]] continued. [[Mahmoud Abbas]] became involved in Palestinian politics in [[Qatar]]. In 1958 American troops enter [[Lebanon]] on a peacekeeping mission. ===Africa=== [[Decolonization]] was occurring in [[Africa]] in the 1950s. In 1956 Sudan, Tunisia, and Morocco became independent. In 1954 guerrillas started the [[Algerian War of Independence]]. The [[Mau Mau]] began their terrorist attacks against the [[United Kingdom|British]] in Kenya. This led to [[concentration camps]] in Kenya, the retreat of the British, and the election of former terrorist [[Kenyatta]] as leader of Kenya. Africa experienced the beginning of large-scale top-down economic [[intervention]]s in the 1950s that failed to cause improvement and led to charitable exhaustion by the [[Western world|West]] as the century went on. The widespread corruption was not dealt with and war, disease, and famine continue to be constant problems in this region. === Asia === The nations of [[History of the People's Republic of China|the People's Republic of China]] and [[History of Indonesia|Indonesia]] began their history after their establishment in the late 1940s. [[Mao Zedong]] began to rise in prominence in China as he helped lead a revolution against the Nationalist government. In 1953 the [[France|French]] occupiers of [[Indochina]] tried to contain a growing communist insurgency against their rule led by [[Ho Chi Minh]]. After their defeat at [[Dien Bien Phu]] in 1954 they were forced to cede independence the nations of [[Cambodia]], [[Laos]] and [[Vietnam]]. Vietnam however was divided between the communist north and American-influence south, and conflict continued. By 1953 the three-year war between [[North Korea]], supported by the USSR and China (PRC), and [[South Korea]], supported by the [[United States]], had ended. This war resulted in a permanent border between the north and south sections of this country. After [[World War II]] the United States occupied Japan and assisted in its rebuilding. Social changes took place, including democratic elections and universal suffrage. === Latin America === In the 1950s [[Latin America]] was the center of covert and overt conflict between the [[CIA]] and the [[KGB]]. Their varying collusion with national, populist, and elitist interests destabilized the region. The [[United States]] [[CIA]] [[Operation PBSUCCESS|orchestrated]] the overthrow of the [[Guatemala]]n government in 1952. In 1957 the military dictatorship of Venezuela was overthrown. This continued a pattern of regional revolution and warfare making extensive use of [[ground forces]]. === Europe === With the help of the [[Marshall Plan]], post-war reconstruction succeeded, with some countries (including [[West Germany]]) preferring free market capitalism while others preferred Keynesian-policy welfare states. Europe continued to be divided into ''Western'' and ''Soviet bloc'' countries. The geographical point of this division came to be called the [[Iron Curtain]]. It divided [[Germany]] into [[German Democratic Republic|East]] and [[West Germany]]. In 1955 West Germany joined [[NATO]]. In 1956 Soviet troops marched into [[Hungary]]. In 1957 the [[Treaty of Rome]] was part of the beginning of the process that led to the [[European Union]]. === Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc === The [[Soviet Union]] continued its domination of the territories it conquered during [[World War II]]. Life was economically harsh. (See the [[Black Book of Communism]].) In 1953 [[Joseph Stalin]], the leader of the Soviet Union, died and in the resulting power struggle head of the [[KGB]] [[Lavrenti Beria]] was denounced and executed. Popular rebellions in [[East Germany]] in 1953 and Hungary in 1956 were brutally put down. === Caribbean === In 1957, Dr. [[François Duvalier]] came to power in an election in [[Haiti]]. He later declared himself president for life, and ruled until his death in 1971. In 1959 [[Fidel Castro]] overthrew the corrupt Batista regime in Cuba, initiating widespread social reform on the island. The romance and popularity of the revolution, and such leader as the Argentinian [[Che Guevara]] gave it global appeal and recognition. The [[United States]] was, however, now unable to meddle with either its social or economic development and was angered when Castro redistributed land that had been owned by American companies. It would thus become involved in an [[embargo]] and clumsy attempts to overthrow Castro, with [[Cuba]] as a result moving closer to the [[Soviet Union]]. ==People== ===Entertainers=== '''Actors:''' [[Montgomery Clift]], [[Dorothy Dandridge]], [[James Dean]], [[Sandra Dee]], [[Troy Donahue]], [[Audrey Hepburn]], [[Charlton Heston]], [[Rock Hudson]], [[Grace Kelly]], [[Jerry Lewis]], [[Sophia Loren]], [[Sal Mineo]], [[Jayne Mansfield]], [[Jerry Mathers]], [[Hayley Mills]], [[Marilyn Monroe]], [[Paul Newman]], [[Kim Novak]], [[Jon Provost]], [[Debbie Reynolds]], [[George Reeves]], [[Steve Reeves]], '''Musicians:''' [[Perry Como]], [[Paul Anka]], [[Maria Callas]], [[Bo Diddley]], [[Ella Fitzgerald]], [[Buddy Holly]], [[Little Richard]], [[Jerry Lee Lewis]], [[Thelonious Monk]], [[Elvis Presley]], [[Joan Sutherland]], '''Others:''' [[Hugh Hefner]] (publisher), film directors [[Jacques Tati]] and [[Raj Kapoor]], comics [[Ernie Kovacs]] and [[Steve Allen]], television personalities [[Jack Paar]], [[Dave Garroway]], [[Gary Moore]], and [[Johnny Carson]], {{col-begin}} {{col-2}} * [[Desi Arnaz]] * [[Lucille Ball]] * [[Jack Benny]] * [[Chuck Berry]] * [[Pat Boone]] * [[Marlon Brando]] * [[Yul Brynner]] * [[June Carter]] * [[Johnny Cash]] * [[Clay Cole]] * [[John Coltrane]] * [[Tony Curtis]] * [[Peter Cushing]] * [[Dalida]] * [[Miles Davis]] * [[Diana Dors]] * [[Kirk Douglas]] {{col-2}} * [[Ava Gardner]] * [[John Gregson]] * [[Dizzy Gillespie]] * [[The Goons]] * [[Lionel Hampton]] * [[Tony Hancock]] * [[William Holden]] * [[Dean Martin]] * [[Charles Mingus]] * [[Charlie Parker]] * [[Patti Page]] * [[Art Pepper]] * [[Carl Perkins]] * [[Jimmie Rodgers (pop singer)|Jimmie Rodgers]] * [[Gale Storm]] * [[Jack Webb]] {{col-end}} ===World leaders=== {{col-begin}} {{col-2}} * Prime Minister [[Robert Menzies]] ([[Australia]]) * President [[Getúlio Vargas]] ([[Brazil]]) * President [[Juscelino Kubitschek]] ([[Brazil]]) * Prime Minister [[Louis St. Laurent]] ([[Canada]]) * Prime Minister [[John Diefenbaker]] ([[Canada]]) * Chairman [[Mao Zedong]] ([[People's Republic of China]]) * President [[Chiang Kai-shek]] ([[Republic of China]] on Taiwan) * King [[George VI of the United Kingdom|George VI]] ([[Commonwealth realm]]s) * Queen [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Elizabeth II]] ([[Commonwealth realm]]s) * President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] ([[Egypt]]) * Emperor [[Haile Selassie]] ([[Ethiopia]]) * President [[Vincent Auriol]] ([[France]]) * President [[Rene Coty]] ([[France]]) * President [[Charles de Gaulle]] ([[France]]) * Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] ([[India]]) * Prime Minister [[David Ben-Gurion]] ([[Israel]]) * Taoiseach [[John A. Costello]] ([[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]) * Taoiseach [[Éamon de Valera]] ([[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]) {{col-2}} * Taoiseach [[Seán Lemass]] ([[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]) * Emperor [[Hirohito]] ([[Japan]]) * Prime Minister [[George Borg Olivier]] ([[Malta]]) * Prime Minister [[António de Oliveira Salazar]] ([[Portugal]]) * [[Francisco Franco]] ([[Spain]]) * [[Joseph Stalin]] ([[Soviet Union]]) * [[Nikita Khrushchev]] ([[Soviet Union]]) * President [[Celal Bayar]] (Turkey) * Prime Minister [[Adnan Menderes]] (Turkey) * Prime Minister Sir [[Winston Churchill]] ([[United Kingdom]]) * Prime Minister Sir [[Anthony Eden]] ([[United Kingdom]]) * Prime Minister [[Harold Macmillan]] ([[United Kingdom]]) * President [[Harry S. Truman]] ([[United States]]) * President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] ([[United States]]) * [[Pope Pius XII]] ([[Holy See|Vatican]]) * [[Pope John XXIII]] ([[Holy See|Vatican]]) * Chancellor [[Konrad Adenauer]] ([[West Germany]]) * President [[Josip Broz Tito]] ([[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]) {{col-end}} ==External links== * [http://www.fiftiesweb.com FiftiesWeb - History, fashion, music, classic TV and more] * [http://vlib.iue.it/history/USA/ERAS/20TH/1950s.html WWW-VL: 1950s History] * [http://www.mrpophistory.com/1950s_popculture_index.htm The 1950s Week-By-Week includes news, trends & pop culture] *[http://lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/50sbib.html Hollywood and The Movies During the 1950s] *[http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/home.html The Literature & Culture of the American 1950s] *[http://rememberingthe50s.com Remembering The 50s: Take a trip back to yesteryear and those fabulous fifties] * {{cite web |publisher= [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] |url= http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1486_couture/ |title= The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947-57, exhibition about 1950s fashion}} [[Category:1950s| ]] [[als:1950er]] [[ar:عقد 1950]] [[ast:Años 1950]] [[zh-min-nan:1950 nî-tāi]] [[be-x-old:1950-я]] [[bs:1950te]] [[br:Bloavezhioù 1950]] [[ca:Dècada del 1950]] [[cv:1950-мĕш çулсем]] [[cy:1950au]] [[da:1950'erne]] [[de:1950er]] [[et:1950. aastad]] [[el:Δεκαετία 1950]] [[es:Años 1950]] [[eo:1950-aj jaroj]] [[eu:1950eko hamarkada]] [[fr:Années 1950]] [[ga:1950idí]] [[gd:1950an]] [[gan:1950年代]] [[ko:1950년대]] [[hr:1950-ih]] [[io:1950a yari]] [[id:1950-an]] [[ia:1950s]] [[os:1950-тæ]] [[is:1951-1960]] [[it:Anni 1950]] [[he:שנות ה-50 של המאה ה-20]] [[jv:1950-an]] [[ka:1950-იანები]] [[kk:1950 жж.]] [[la:Decennium 196]] [[lt:XX amžiaus 6-as dešimtmetis]] [[hu:1950-es évek]] [[mr:इ.स.चे १९५० चे दशक]] [[ms:1950-an]] [[nah:1950s]] [[nl:1950-1959]] [[ja:1950年代]] [[no:1950-årene]] [[nn:1950-åra]] [[nrm:Annaées 1950]] [[uz:1950-lar]] [[pl:Lata 50. XX wieku]] [[pt:Década de 1950]] [[ksh:1950-er Joohre]] [[ro:Anii 1950]] [[ru:1950-е]] [[se:1950-lohku]] [[sq:Vitet 1950]] [[scn:1950ini]] [[simple:1950s]] [[sk:50. roky 20. storočia]] [[sl:1950.]] [[sr:1950е]] [[su:1950-an]] [[fi:1950-luku]] [[sv:1950-talet]] [[ta:1950கள்]] [[tt:1950. yıllar]] [[uk:1950-ті]] [[wa:Anêyes 1950]] [[zh-yue:1950年代]] [[zh:1950年代]]