Timeline: Major Events of the 1950s | Timetoast

Jan 31, 1950

President Truman approves Hydrogen bomb construction
May 4, 1950

First organ transplant (kidney)

*not exact date, sometime in early 1950
May 4, 1950

Postwar Baby Boom begins as birthrate rises dramatically

*not exact date, continues throughout decade
Jun 25, 1950

Korean War starts
May 4, 1951

Rock and Roll Begins

*not exact date
May 4, 1951

Transcontinental and Colour Tv introduced

*not exact date
Feb 6, 1952

King George VI died
May 4, 1952

Immigration and Naturalization Act
Mar 5, 1953

Joseph Stalin dies

*dies from a massive heart attack
May 4, 1953

DNA discovered

*not exact date
Jun 2, 1953

Queen Elizabeth's Coronation
Jan 21, 1954

First Atomic Submarine Launched
Feb 12, 1954

Report released that says cigarettes cause cancer
May 4, 1954

Birth Control Pill Trials begin

*not exact date, continuous event
Jun 4, 1954

Racial segregation ruled unconstitional in public schools

*not exact date in june
May 14, 1955

Warsaw Pact signed
Oct 26, 1955

Winston Churchill re-elected Prime Minister of Great Britain
Nov 1, 1955

Vietnam War begins

ends 1975
May 5, 1957

Soviet satelittle 'Sputnik' launched

launches "Space Age"
May 5, 1958

NORAD Radarr Systam

Located close to North Pole to detect missile attack from Soviets on North America.
Jan 3, 1959

Alaska becmes a part of the U.S.A.
Dec 1, 1959

Antartic Treaty

International Treaty makes Antartica a scientific preserve