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Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American in the major leagues when he plays his first game with the Brooklyn Dodgers. -
Charles Yeager
Air Force Captain Charles Yeager becomes the first pilot to exceed the speed of sound. -
Berlin Blockade
After Joseph Stalin imposes a land blockade on West Berlin, President Truman mounts an airlift; 277,000 flights carry over 2.5 million tons of supplies to the city. -
US joins NATO
The United States and 11 other nations establish the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a mutual defense pact aimed at containing possible Soviet aggression against Western Europe. NATO stood as the main U.S.-led military alliance against the Soviet Union throughout the duration of the Cold War. -
Korean War Begans
When North Korean forces cross the 38th parallel into South Korea. President Truman wins a UN mandate to drive communist forces from South Korea because the Soviet delegation is absent. -
Gen. Douglas MacArthur dismissed
President Truman dismisses Gen. Douglas MacArthur for publicly challenging the policies of his civilian superiors. MacArthur had advocated an invasion of China. -
Espionage execution
The Rosenbergs were convicted on March 29, 1951, and on April 5 were sentenced to death by Judge Irving Kaufman under Section 2 of the Espionage Act of 1917, 50 U.S. Code 32 (now 18 U.S. Code 794). They became the only American civilians executed for espionage. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Supreme Court rules unanimously that segregated schools were unconstitutional. Chief Justice Earl Warren writes: "We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate education facilities are inherently unequal." -
Rosa Parks says "nah"
Seamstress Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., city bus to a white man, leading to a year-long black bus boycott. -
Sputnik launch
he first artificial Earth satellite. The Soviet Union launched it into an elliptical low Earth orbit. It was a 58 cm (23 in) diameter polished metal sphere, with four external radio antennae to broadcast radio pulses. It was visible all around the Earth and its radio pulses were detectable.
