The 1950s was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century The 20th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1901 and ended on December 31, 2000. According to the Gregorian calendar, 2000 was the first century leap year since 1600. By its end, the world had largely recovered from World War II Albania · Australia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Brazil · Bulgaria · Burma · Cambodia · Canada · Ceylon (Sri Lanka) · Channel Islands · China · Czechoslovakia · Denmark · Dutch East Indies · Egypt · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Greenland · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland · and the Cold War The Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition existing after World War II (1939–1945), primarily between the Soviet Union and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, particularly the United States. Although the primary participants' military forces never developed from its modest beginning in the late 1940s The Second World War took place in the first half of the decade, which had a profound effect on most countries and people in Europe, Asia and elsewhere. The consequences of the war lingered well into the second half of the decade, with a war-weary Europe divided between the jostling spheres of influence of the West and the Soviet Union. To some to a hot competition between the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language and the Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (help·info), tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, IPA [sɐˈjʊs sɐˈvʲeʦkʲɪx səʦɪ by the beginning of the 1960s The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.
Clashes between communism and capitalism dominated the decade, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. The conflicts included the Korean War The Korean War was a military conflict between the Republic of Korea, supported by the United Nations, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and People's Republic of China (PRC), with air support from the Soviet Union. The war began on 25 June 1950 and an armistice was signed on 27 July 1953. The war was a result of the political division and the beginning of the Space Race The Space Race was a technological and ideological competition between the Soviet Union and the United States (USA) for supremacy in outer-space exploration during the mid-to-late 20th century. The term refers to a specific period in human history, 1957-1975, and does not include subsequent efforts by these or other nations to explore space. The with the launch of Sputnik I Sputnik 1 (Russian: "Спутник-1" Russian pronunciation: [ˈsputnʲɪk], "Satellite-1", ПС-1 ) was the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957, and was the first in a series of satellites collectively known as the Sputnik program. Along with increased testing of nuclear weapons (such as RDS-37 and Upshot-Knothole), this created a politically conservative climate.[citation needed] The decade was also highly materialistic Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods or services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen or, more recently by a movement[citation needed] called Enoughism. Veblen's subject of in the western world The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term that can have multiple meanings depending on its context (e.g., the time period, the region or social situation). Accordingly, the basic definition of what constitutes "the West" varies, expanding and contracting over time, in relation to various historical.[citation needed] In the United States, the Red Scare In United States history, the term Red Scare denotes two distinct periods of strong anti-communism: the First Red Scare, from 1917 to 1920, and the Second Red Scare, from 1947 to 1957. The Scares were characterized by the fear that communism would upset the capitalist social order in the United States; the First Red Scare was about worker (fear of communism Communism is a social structure in which classes are abolished and property is commonly controlled, as well as a political philosophy and social movement that advocates and aims to create such a society) caused public Congressional hearings by both houses in Congress The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C and Anti-Communism Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the October Revolution brought the Bolsheviks to power in Russia in 1917 was the prevailing sentiment in the United States throughout the decade (this is what primarily led the country to intervene in the Korean War The Korean War was a military conflict between the Republic of Korea, supported by the United Nations, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and People's Republic of China (PRC), with air support from the Soviet Union. The war began on 25 June 1950 and an armistice was signed on 27 July 1953. The war was a result of the political division and later the Vietnam War The Vietnam War [A 2] was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 1, 1955 [A 1], to April 30, 1975 when Saigon fell. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between the communist North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the). Conformity Conformity is the process by which an individual's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are conditioned by what is conceived to be what other people might perceive. This influence occurs in both small groups and society as a whole, and it may be the result of subtle unconscious influences, or direct and overt social pressure. Conformity also occurs and conservatism Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and opposes rapid change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism and seek a return to "the way things were." The first established use characterized the social mores Mores is the Latin term for societal norms, customs, virtues or values. Mores derive from the established practices of a society rather than its written laws. They consist of shared understandings about the kinds of behavior likely to evoke approval, disapproval, toleration or sanction, within particular contexts of the time.[citation needed] The beginning of decolonization Decolonization refers to the undoing of colonialism, the establishment of governance or authority through the creation of settlements by another country or jurisdiction. The term generally refers to the achievement of independence by the various Western colonies and protectorates in Asia and Africa following World War II. This conforms with an in Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people (as of 2009, see table) in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.72% of the world's human population and Asia Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population. During the 20th century Asia's population nearly quadrupled occurred in this decade and accelerated in the following decade, the 1960s. The 1950 congressional seminar gave way to the new focus of contention between communist and capitalist ideology. Through which multiple instances of terminal interests, but never became an open conflict.
Contents |
Wars and conflicts
| This section requires expansion. |
- Cold War The Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition existing after World War II (1939–1945), primarily between the Soviet Union and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, particularly the United States. Although the primary participants' military forces never wars involving the influence of the rival superpowers of the Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (help·info), tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, IPA [sɐˈjʊs sɐˈvʲeʦkʲɪx səʦɪ and the United States:
-
- Korean War The Korean War was a military conflict between the Republic of Korea, supported by the United Nations, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and People's Republic of China (PRC), with air support from the Soviet Union. The war began on 25 June 1950 and an armistice was signed on 27 July 1953. The war was a result of the political division (1950 - 1953) - The war, which lasted from June 25, 1950 until a cease-fire on July 27, 1953 1953 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (as of 2010, there has been no peace treaty signed), started as a civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within a single nation state, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation-state. The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies. It is high-intensity conflict, often between North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Chosongul: 조선민주주의인민공화국), is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea. The Amnok River and and the Republic A republic is a form of government in which at least a part of its people have some element of formal control over its government,, and in which the head of state is not a monarch The word "republic" is derived from the Latin phrase res publica, which can be translated as "a public affair" of South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (Korean: 대한민국, pronounced [tɛːhanminɡuk̚] ( listen)), is a country in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul. South Korea lies in a temperate climate. When it began, North and South Korea existed as provisional governments competing for control over the Korean peninsula, due to the division of Korea The division of Korea into North Korea and South Korea stems from the 1945 Allied victory in World War II, ending Japan's 35-year colonial rule of Korea. In a proposal opposed by nearly all Koreans, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to temporarily occupy the country as a trusteeship with the zone of control demarcated along the 38th by outside powers. While originally a civil war, it quickly escalated into a war between the western powers led by 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 General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and Field Marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He was a highly decorated soldier of the war, receiving the Medal of Honor for his early service in the conducted an amphibious landing at the city of Inchon (Song Do port). The North Korean army collapsed, and within a few days, MacArthur's army retook Seoul Seoul (Korean pronunciation: [sʌ.ul] ), officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest city of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 12 million, it is one of the largest cities in the world The Seoul National Capital Area, which includes the Incheon metropolis and most of Gyeonggi province, has 24.5 million inhabitants, (South Korea's capital). He then pushed north, capturing Pyongyang in October. Chinese intervention the following month drove UN forces south again. MacArthur then planned for a full-scale invasion of China, but this was against the wishes of President Truman and others who wanted a limited war. He was dismissed and replaced by General Matthew Ridgeway. The war then became a bloody stalemate for the next two and a half years while peace negotiations dragged on. A cease-fire was finally agreed to by both sides on July 27, 1953. The war left 33,742 American soldiers dead, 92,134 wounded, and 80,000 Missing in action (MIA) or Prisoner of war (POW). Estimates place Korean and Chinese casualties The Korean War was a military conflict between the Republic of Korea, supported by the United Nations, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and People's Republic of China (PRC), with air support from the Soviet Union. The war began on 25 June 1950 and an armistice was signed on 27 July 1953. The war was a result of the political division at 1,000,000–1,400,000 dead or wounded, and 140,000 MIA or POW.
- The Vietnam War The Vietnam War [A 2] was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 1, 1955 [A 1], to April 30, 1975 when Saigon fell. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between the communist North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the began in 1959.Diem instituted a policy of death penalty against any communist activity in 1956. The Vietcong began an assassination campaign in early 1957. An article by French scholar Bernard Fall published in July 1958 concluded that a new war had begun. The first official large unit military action was on September 26, 1959, when the Vietcong ambushed two ARVN companies.[1]</ref>
- Arab–Israeli conflict (Early 20th century-present)
-
- Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, was a war fought by Britain, France, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956 (1956) - The Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, was a war fought by Britain, France, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956 was a war War is a behaviour pattern exhibited by many primate species including humans, and also found in many ant species. The primary feature of this behaviour pattern is a certain state of organized violent conflict that is engaged in between two or more separate social entities. Such a conflict is always an attempt at altering either the psychological fought on Egyptian Egypt (pronounced /ˈiːdʒɪpt/ ; Arabic: مصر Miṣr, pronounced [misˤɾ] ( listen); Arabic: مِصْر Miṣr [ˈmisˤɾ]; Egyptian Arabic: مَصْر Maṣr [ˈmɑsˤɾ]; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, kīmi; Egyptian: 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 Kemet), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula territory in 1956. Following the nationalisation of the Suez Canal in 1956 by Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser was the second President of Egypt from 1954 until his death. He led the bloodless coup which toppled the monarchy of King Farouk and heralded a new period of modernization and socialist reform in Egypt together with a profound advancement of pan-Arab nationalism, the United Kingdom, France and Israel Israel , officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (help·info), Medīnat Yisrā'el; Arabic: دَوْلَةُ إِسْرَائِيلَ, Dawlat Isrā'īl), is a country in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the subsequently invaded. The operation was a military success, but after the United States and Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (help·info), tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, IPA [sɐˈjʊs sɐˈvʲeʦkʲɪx səʦɪ 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 symbolizes the beginning of the end of colonialism and the weakening of European global importance, specifically the collapse of the British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a.
- Algerian War The Algerian War, or in French: Guerre d'Algérie, was a conflict between France and Algerian independence movements from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria gaining its independence from France. An important decolonization war, it was a complex conflict characterized by guerrilla warfare, maquis fighting, terrorism against civilians, use of (1954–1962) - An important decolonization Decolonization refers to the undoing of colonialism, the establishment of governance or authority through the creation of settlements by another country or jurisdiction. The term generally refers to the achievement of independence by the various Western colonies and protectorates in Asia and Africa following World War II. This conforms with an war, it was a complex conflict characterized by guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is irregular warfare, conflicts in which a small group of combatants uses military tactics, like ambushes and raids, to harass a larger and less-mobile traditional army, maquis fighting, terrorism against civilians, use of torture on both sides and counter-terrorism operations by the French Army. The war eventually led to the independence of Algeria from France.
Internal conflicts
Fidel Castro becomes the leader of Cuba as a result of the Cuban Revolution- Cuban Revolution (1953–1959) - The overthrow of Fulgencio Batista by Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and other forces in 1959 resulted in the creation of the first communist government in the western hemisphere.
- The Mau Mau began retaliating against the British in Kenya. This led to concentration camps in Kenya, the retreat of the British, and the election of Jomo Kenyatta as leader of Kenya.
- The wind of destruction began in Rwanda in 1959, following the beating up of Hutu politician Dominique Mbonyumutwa by Tutsi forces. This was the beginning of decades of ethnic violence in the country, which culminated in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.
Decolonization and Independence
- Decolonization of former European Colonial empires. The French Fourth Republic in particular faces conflict on two fronts within the French Union, the Algerian War and the First Indochina War. French rule ends in Algeria in 1958, Vietnam leaves French Indochina in 1954. The rival states of North Vietnam and South Vietnam are formed. Cambodia and the Kingdom of Laos also gained independence, effectively ending French presence in Southeast Asia. Elsewhere the Belgian Congo and other African nations gain their independence from France, Belgium and the United Kingdom.
- Large-scale decolonization in Africa first began in the 1950s. In 1951, Libya became the first African country to gain independence in the decade, and in 1954 the Algerian War began. 1956 saw Sudan, Morocco, and Tunisia become independent, and the next year Ghana became the first sub-saharan African nation to gain independence.
Prominent political events
| This section requires expansion. |
- European Common Market - The European Communities (or Common Markets), the precursor of the European Union, was established with the Treaty of Rome in 1957.
International issues
- Establishment of the Non-aligned Movement, consisting of nations not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.
Africa
- Africa experienced ben the beginning of large-scale top-down economic interventions in the 1950s that failed to cause improvement and led to charitable exhaustion by the West as the century went on. The widespread corruption was not dealt with and war, disease, and famine continued to be constant problems in the region.
- Egyptian general Gamel Abdel Nasser overthrows the Egyptian monarchy, establishing himself as President of Egypt. Nasser becomes an influential leader in the Middle East in the 1950s, leads Arab states into war with Israel, is a major leader of the Non-Aligned Movement and promotes pan-Arab unification.
Americas
- In the 1950s Latin America was the center of covert and overt conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States. Their varying collusion with national, populist, and elitist interests destabilized the region. The United States CIA orchestrated the overthrow of the Guatemalan government in 1952. In 1958 the military dictatorship of Venezuela was overthrown. This continued a pattern of regional revolution and warfare making extensive use of ground forces.
- 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 regime of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba, establishing a communist government in the country. Although Castro initially sought aid from the US, he was rebuffed and later turned to the Soviet Union.
- NORAD signed in 1959 by Canada and the United States creating a unified North American aerial defense system.
- Brasília was built in 41 months, from 1956, and on April 21, 1960, becomes the capital of Brazil
Asia
- Reconstruction continue in Japan in the 1950s, funded by the United States, which ended its occupation of the country in 1951. Social changes took place, including democratic elections and universal suffrage.
- Within a year of its establishment, the People's Republic of China had invaded Tibet and intervened in the Korean War, causing years of hostility and estrangement from the United States. The Chinese allied with the Soviet Union, which then provided considerable technical and economic aid. Although relations between the two communist giants remained friendly throughout the 1950s, cracks were forming in their alliance by the end of the decade. The Great Leap Forward in 1958–1960 was an attempt by Mao Zedong to rush the country's economic development with the creation of huge rural communes. It failed ignominiously, and combined with a series of natural disasters triggered an enormous famine in which several million people died.
- In 1953 the French colonial rulers 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 to the nations of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The Geneva Conference of 1954 separated French supporters and communist nationalists for the purposes of the ceasefire, and mandated nationwide elections by 1956; Ngo Dinh Diem established a government in the south and refused to hold elections. Conflict then resumed between the communist north and American-supported south .
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 East and West Germany. In 1955 West Germany joined.
The Soviet Union continued its domination of eastern Europe. In 1953 Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, died. This led to the rise of Nikita Khrushchev, who denounced Stalin and pursued a more liberal domestic and foreign policy, stressing peaceful competition with the West rather than overt hostility. There were anti-Soviet uprisings in East Germany in 1953.
Disasters
| This section requires expansion. |
- On 15 August 1950 an earthquake and floods in Assam, India kill 574 and leave 5,000,000 homeless.
- Mount Lamington erupted in Papua New Guinea on 18 January 1951, killing 3,000 people.
- On 31 January 1953 the North Sea flood of 1953 kills 1,835 people in the southwestern Netherlands (especially Zeeland) and 307 in the United Kingdom[1]
- On 9 September 1954 an earthquake centered on the city of Orleansville, Algeria killed 1,500 and left thousands homeless.
- On 11 October 1954 Hurricane Hazel crosses over Haiti, killing 1,000.
- On 19 August 1955 Hurricane Diane hits the northeastern United States, killing over 200 people, and causing over $1.0 billion in damage.
- On 27 June 1957 Hurricane Audrey demolishes Cameron, Louisiana, US, killing 400 people.
- Typhoon Vera hit central Honshū on 26 September 1959, killing an estimated 5,098, injuring another 38,921, and leaving 1,533,000. Most of the victims and damage are centered in the Nagoya area.
- On 2 December 1959, Malpasset Dam in southern France collapses and water flows over the town of Frejus, killing 412.
Economics
| This section requires expansion. |
Science and technology
Technology
Sputnik Operation Castle became the highest-yield nuclear test series ever conducted by the United States.- Charles H. Townes builds the Maser in 1953 at the Columbia University.
- The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth on October 4, 1957.
- The United States conducts its first hydrogen bomb explosion test.
- The invention of the Transistor.
- The invention of the Solar cell.
Science
- Francis Crick and James Watson discovered the spiral structure of DNA.
- An immunization vaccine is produced for polio.
- The first successful ultrasound test of the heart activity.
- The CERN was established.
- The world's first nuclear power plant was opened in Obninsk near Moscow.
Popular culture
Music
Further information: 1950s in music and Rock and roll In the mid-1950s Elvis Presley became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and rollRock-n-Roll emerged in the mid-50s as the teen music of choice with Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Gene Vincent, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Little Richard, James Brown, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, Bobby Darin, Ritchie Valens, Duane Eddy, Eddie Cochrane, Brenda Lee, Bobby Vee, Connie Frances, Johnny Mathis, Pat Boone and Ricky Nelson being notable exponents. Elvis Presley In the mid-1950s Elvis Presley became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll with a series of network television appearances and chart-topping records. Chuck Berry, with "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958), refined and developed the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive, focusing on teen life and introducing guitar solos and showmanship that would be a major influence on subsequent rock music.[2] Bill Haley, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Everly Brothers, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Johnny Horton, and Marty Robbins were Rockabilly musicians. Doo Wop was another popular genre at the time. Popular Doo Wop and Rock-n-Roll bands of the mid to late 1950s include The Platters, The Flamingos, The Dells, The Silhouettes, Frankie Lyman and The Teenagers, Little Anthony & The Imperials, Danny and the Juniors, The Coasters, The Drifters, The Del-Vikings and Dion and the Belmonts.
Jazz stars in the 1950s who came into prominence in their genres called Bebop, Hard bop, Cool jazz and the Blues, at this time included Lester Young, Ben Webster, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Art Tatum, Bill Evans, Ahmad Jamal, Oscar Peterson, Gil Evans, Jerry Mulligan, Cannonball Adderley, Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck, Art Blakey, Max Roach, the Miles Davis Quintet, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington, Nina Simone, and Billie Holiday.
The American folk music revival became a phenomenon in the United States in the 1950s to mid-1960s with the initial success of the Weavers who popularized the genre. Their sound, and their broad repertoire of traditional folk material and topical songs inspired other groups such as the Kingston Trio, the Chad Mitchell Trio, The New Christy Minstrels, and the "collegiate folk" groups such as The Brothers Four, The Four Freshmen, The Four Preps, and The Highwaymen. All featured tight vocal harmonies and a repertoire at least initially rooted in folk music and topical songs.
On 3 February 1959, a chartered plane transporting the three American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson goes down in foggy conditions near Clear Lake, Iowa, killing all four occupants on board, including pilot Roger Peterson. The tragedy is later termed "The Day the Music Died", popularized in Don McLean's 1972 song "American Pie".
Film
Further information: 1950s in film Cary Grant as Roger O. Thornhill in "North by Northwest" (1959)European cinema experienced a renaissance in the '50s following the deprivations of World War II. Italian director Federico Fellini won the first foreign language film Academy Award with 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. Jean Cocteau's 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, 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 as was Ballad of a Soldier, a 1959 Soviet film directed by Grigori Chukhrai
The "Golden Era" of 3-D cinematography happened during the 1950s.
Art Movements
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 used the iconography of television, photography, comics, cinema and advertising. With its roots in dadaism, it started to take form towards the end of the 1950s when some European artists started to make the symbols and products of the world of advertising and propaganda the main subject of their artistic work. This return of figurative art, in opposition to the abstract expressionism that dominated the aesthetic scene since the end of World War II was dominated by Great Britain until the early 1960s when Andy Warhol, the most known artist of this movement began to show Pop Art in galleries in the United States.
Sports
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
FIFA World Cups
- 1950 World Cup hosted by Brazil, won by Uruguay
- 1954 World Cup hosted by Switzerland, won by West Germany
- 1958 World Cup hosted by Sweden, won by Brazil
People
| The lists in this section may contain items that are not notable, encyclopedic, or helpful. Please help out by removing such elements and incorporating appropriate items into the main body of the article. (July 2009) |
World leaders
|
|
Entertainers
|
Elizabeth Taylor in Father of the Bride (1950) |
Marilyn Monroe performing "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) |
Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell putting signatures, hand and foot prints in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theater, 1953 |
|
Montgomery Clift in I Confess, 1953 |
Marlon Brando with Eva Marie Saint in the trailer for On the Waterfront (1954) |
James Dean as Cal in East of Eden (1955) |
Musicians
|
Elvis Presley in a publicity photo for Jailhouse Rock (1957) |
Chuck Berry |
Rick Nelson in a poster for Here Come the Nelsons (1952) |
Bands
Sports figures
See also
TimelineThe following articles contain brief timelines which list the most prominent events of the decade: 1950 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959 References
External links |
Categories: 1950s
|
Sun, 27 Jun 2010 10:26:13 GMT+00:00
DVD Talk The shows themselves look splendid, on par with the best CBS/Paramount releases of classic late- 1950s /early-'60s titles (Perry Mason, Twilight Zone, etc.). ...
460px x 424px | 287.50kB
[source page]
done live from the studio or nearby theaters and auditoriums Most local shows followed a basic script but were ad libbed and often the announcers flew by the seats of their pants
unknown
hu, 22 Jul 2010 07:50:10 GM
A Sexy Vintage Girdle just for you! Wouldn't you like to own it? Up for auction are this amazing vintage corset bullet bra, romper gir...
Q. What kinds of issues/pressures did a family deal with in the 1950s. My guess that one of the issues the family may have dealt with was women considering working. I read somewhere that in the event a woman did work, she was to blame for a husbands alcohalism, or her kids' social issues. Anybody else have any ideas?
Asked by lionxxlamb - Mon Feb 16 18:36:04 2009 - - 1 Answers - 0 Comments
A. If this is a report then I have found you some websites that will help with your research:
Answered by Yellowstonedogs - Fri Feb 20 06:54:16 2009
