Portal:1950s
1950s portal
The 1950s (pronounced nineteen-fifties; commonly abbreviated as the '50s or Fifties) was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on January 1, 1950, and ended on December 31, 1959.
By its end, the world had largely recovered from World War II and the Cold War developed from its modest beginning in the late-1940s to a hot competition between the United States and the Soviet Union by the early-1960s.
Clashes between communism and capitalism dominated the decade, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. The conflicts included the Korean War in the beginnings of the decade and the beginning of the Space Race with the launch of Sputnik 1. Along with increased testing of nuclear weapons (such as RDS-37 and Upshot–Knothole), this created a politically conservative climate. In the United States, the Second Red Scare caused Congressional hearings by both houses in Congress and anti-communism was the prevailing sentiment in the United States throughout the decade. The beginning of decolonization in Africa and Asia took place in this decade and accelerated in the following decade.
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| The 1952 Winter Olympics took place in Oslo, Norway, from 14 to 25 February. All of the venues for the games were located in Oslo's metropolitan area with the exception of the alpine skiing events, which were held at Norefjell, 113 km (70 mi) away. A new hotel was built for the press and dignitaries, along with three dormitories to house athletes and coaches, creating the first modern Olympic Village. The games attracted 694 athletes representing 30 countries, who participated in four sports and 22 events. There was one demonstration sport, bandy, in which three Nordic countries competed. Women were allowed to compete in cross-country skiing for the first time. Portugal and New Zealand competed at their first Winter Olympics, and Japan and Germany competed for the first time since World War II. Norway won the overall medal count with sixteen medals, seven of which were gold. Hjalmar Andersen from Norway was the most decorated athlete with three gold medals for speed skating. The games closed with the presentation of a flag (pictured) by the city of Oslo to the International Olympic Committee. The "Oslo Flag" has been displayed in the host city during each subsequent winter games. |
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I Love Lucy is a landmark American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley that ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on CBS. I Love Lucy was the most watched show in the United States in four of its six seasons, and was the first to end its run at the top of the Nielsen ratings (an accomplishment later matched only by The Andy Griffith Show in 1968 and Seinfeld in 1998). The show is still syndicated in dozens of languages across the world and remains popular with an American audience of 40 million each year. I Love Lucy is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential sitcoms in history.
Did you know...
- ... that the walls of the Woodhaven Boulevard subway station in New York City still prominently display the name of a plaza that was demolished in the 1950s?
- ... that after the Kraft Music Hall television show aired a recipe for clam dip in the early 1950s, canned clams in New York City sold out within 24 hours?
- ... that Marguerite Lehr conducted a televised lecture course on mathematics in the 1950s?
- ... that Mabel Sine Wadsworth sent teams of outreach workers door to door in rural Maine in the 1950s and 1960s to teach women about birth control?
- ... that Robert Heinlein's 1959 novel Starship Troopers is a critique of US society of the 1950s, and advocates for corporal and capital punishment?
- ... that Mary Ann Kerwin, co-founder of La Leche League, said that when breastfeeding in the US in the 1950s, "we would practically smother our babies with blankets to avoid showing any breast"?
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Nasser's popularity in Egypt and the Arab world skyrocketed after his nationalization of the Suez Canal and his political victory in the subsequent Suez Crisis. Calls for pan-Arab unity under his leadership increased, culminating with the formation of the United Arab Republic with Syria from 1958 to 1961. In 1962, Nasser began a series of major socialist measures and modernization reforms in Egypt. Despite setbacks to his pan-Arabist cause, by 1963 Nasser's supporters gained power in several Arab countries, but he became embroiled in the North Yemen Civil War and eventually the much larger Arab Cold War. He began his second presidential term in March 1965 after his political opponents were banned from running. Following Egypt's defeat by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, Nasser resigned, but he returned to office after popular demonstrations called for his reinstatement. By 1968, Nasser had appointed himself Prime Minister, launched the War of Attrition to regain lost territory, began a process of depoliticizing the military and issued a set of political liberalization reforms. After the conclusion of the 1970 Arab League summit, Nasser suffered a heart attack and died. His funeral in Cairo drew five million mourners and an outpouring of grief across the Arab world.
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