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1950
Calendar year From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1950th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 950th year of the 2nd millennium, the 50th year of the 20th century, and the 1st year of the 1950s decade.
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From top to bottom, left to right: The Korean War begins as North Korea invades the South, with a major UN victory at the Battle of Inchon; the Annexation of Tibet by China brings Tibet under Chinese control; the 1950 FIFA World Cup ends with Uruguay’s Maracanazo upset over Brazil; McCarthyism drives anti-communist hysteria in the U.S.; the 1950 Assam–Tibet earthquake causes massive destruction; the Treaty of Zgorzelec confirms the Oder–Neisse border; the Jayuya Uprising challenges U.S. rule in Puerto Rico; Typhoon Jane devastates Japan; and King Bhumibol Adulyadej is crowned.
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Events
January
- January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.[1]
- January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: Aeroflot Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 aboard are killed, including almost the entire national ice hockey team (VVS Moscow) of the Soviet Air Force – 11 players, as well as a team doctor and a masseur.[2]
- January 6 – The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China; the Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with Britain in response.
- January 7 – A fire in the St Elizabeth's Ward of Mercy Hospital in Davenport, Iowa, United States, kills 41 patients.[3]
- January 9 – The Israeli government recognizes the People's Republic of China.[4]
- January 12 – British submarine HMS Truculent collides with Swedish oil tanker Divina in the Thames Estuary and sinks; 64 die.[5]
- January 13 – Finland forms diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.
- January 21 – In the United States, suspected spy Alger Hiss is convicted on two counts of perjury.[6]
- January 23 – The Knesset passes a resolution that states Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.[7]
- January 24 – Cold War: Klaus Fuchs, German émigré physicist, confesses to a British MI5 interrogator that he is a Soviet spy: for seven years, he passed top secret data on U.S. and British nuclear weapons research to the Soviet Union. Fuchs is formally charged on February 2.[8]
- January 26 – India promulgates its constitution, forming a republic, and Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first president. The Kingdom of Mysore is merged into the new republic.
- January 31
- United States President Harry S. Truman orders the development of the hydrogen bomb, in response to the detonation of the Soviet Union's first atomic bomb in 1949.[9]
- The last Kuomintang troops surrender in mainland China.
February
- February 1 – Chiang Kai-shek is re-elected as president of the Republic of China.
- February 6
- In West Virginia, 372,000 coal miners strike (they remain out until March 3).[10]
- In India, the first Cabinet Secretary (N. R. Pillai) is appointed.
- February 8
- The Stasi is founded in East Germany, and acts as a secret police until 1990.
- A payment is first made by Diners Club card, in New York, United States (the first use of a charge card).[11][better source needed]
- February 9 – In Wheeling, West Virginia, Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin makes a speech that claims to have 205 communists in the U.S. State Department.
- February 11
- Two Viet Minh battalions attack a French base in French Indochina.
- Finland recognizes Indonesia.
- February 12
- The European Broadcasting Union is founded.[12]
- Albert Einstein warns that nuclear war could lead to mutual destruction.
- February 13 – British Columbia B-36 crash: The U.S. Air Force loses a Convair B-36 bomber that carried a Mark 4 nuclear bomb off the west coast of Canada, and produces the world's first Broken Arrow.[13]
- February 14 – Cold War:
- February 15 – Juho Kusti Paasikivi is re-elected president of Finland.
- February 19 – Konrad Adenauer tries unsuccessfully to negotiate with East Germany, to begin reunification.
- February 21 – Cunard liner Aquitania arrives at the scrapyard in Faslane at the end of a 36-year career, the longest of any in the 20th Century.
- February 23 – 1950 United Kingdom general election: The Labour Party, led by Clement Attlee, remains in office, but the Tories, led by Winston Churchill, increase their seats in the House of Commons.
- February – The Ad Hoc Committee on Slavery of the United Nations is formally inaugurated with its first meeting at Lake Success in February 1950.[15]
March
- March 1
- Klaus Fuchs is convicted in London of spying against both Britain and the United States for the Soviet Union, by giving to the latter top secret atomic bomb data.
- Acting President of the Republic of China Li Zongren ends his term in office and Chiang Kai-shek resumes his duties as president, after moving the government of the Republic to Taipei, Taiwan.
- March 3 – Poland indicates its intention to exile all Germans.
- March 8 – The first Volkswagen Type 2 (also known as the Microbus) rolls off the assembly line in Wolfsburg, Germany.
- March 12
- A plane carrying returning rugby fans from Ireland to Wales crashes near Llandow, with the loss of 80 lives.
- Royal question: 1950 Belgian monarchy referendum – In Belgium, a referendum on the monarchy shows 57.7% support the return of King Leopold III from exile to resume exercise of his constitutional powers, 42.3% against. The King has said he would abdicate if he did not receive 55% support, and that the final decision would be for the federal parliament.
- March 18 – The Belgian government collapses, after the March 12 referendum.[16]
- March 20 – The Polish government enacts a law to take possession of properties owned by Roman Catholic churches.[17]
- March 22 – Egypt demands that Britain remove all its troops from the Suez Canal zone.
- March 23 – The 22nd Academy Awards ceremony is held in Hollywood. All the King's Men (1949 film) is Best Picture.
April
- April 14 – Influential British adventure comic Eagle is launched.
- April 21 – Nainital wedding massacre: A mass stabbing occurs at Nainital in India, killing 22 members of the Harijan caste.[18][19][20][21]
- April 24 – Jordan formally annexes the West Bank.[22]
- April 27
- Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed, formally segregating the races.
- Britain formally recognises Israel.
May
- May 1 – UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, begins operations.
- May 5 – Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), king of Thailand since 1946, is crowned, at The Grand Palace in Bangkok.
- May 6 – Cazin rebellion in Bosnia against Communist agrarian reforms.
- May 8 – Tollund Man is unearthed in Denmark.[23]
- May 9 – Robert Schuman presents his proposal for the creation of a pan-European organisation, which he believes to be indispensable to the maintenance of permanently peaceful relations between the different nations of the continent. This proposal, known as the "Schuman Declaration", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what becomes the European Union.
- May 11 – The Kefauver Committee hearings into U.S. organized crime begin.
- May 13 – The first race in the inaugural FIA Formula One World Championship in automobile racing is held, at Silverstone, England.
- May 14 – The Huntsville Times runs the headline "Dr. von Braun Says Rocket Flights Possible to Moon."
- May 17 – Israeli Air Force Spitfires intercept a British Royal Air Force Short Sunderland when it inadvertently crosses into Israeli airspace, forcing it to land at Lod Airport. The Sunderland's crew have been issued maps that do not depict Israel, as Britain had not recognized the Jewish state at the time they were issued.
- May 22
- Celâl Bayar becomes the third president of Turkey and Adnan Menderes of the DP forms the new government of Turkey (19th government).
- Recorded premiere of Four Last Songs (1948) by German composer Richard Strauss (d. 1949) given by the composer's choice of soloist, Norwegian-born soprano Kirsten Flagstad, with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler at the Royal Albert Hall in London,[24] sponsored by Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, Sultan of Mysore.
- May 24 – The United States Maritime Administration is formed (under the Department of Commerce).
- May 25 – The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel is formally opened to traffic in New York City.
- May 29
- St. Roch, the first ship to circumnavigate North America, arrives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
- The pilot series of the world's longest-running radio soap opera, The Archers, is first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in the U.K. It will still be running more than 75 years later.
June
- June 1–23 – Mauna Loa in Hawaii starts erupting.
- June 3 – Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal, of the French Annapurna expedition, become the first climbers to reach the summit of an 8,000-metre peak.
- June 6 – In Turkey, the Adhan (call to prayer) in Arabic is permitted by law after a ban of 18 years.[25]
- June 8 – Sir Thomas Blamey becomes the only Field Marshal in Australian history.
- June 16 – Maracanã Stadium, which becomes a well-known sports venue of Brazil, opens in Rio de Janeiro, in advance of the opening of the 1950 FIFA World Cup in the country on June 24.[26]
- June 25 – The Korean War begins: Troops and T-34 tanks of the North Korean People's Army cross the 38th parallel into South Korea.
- June 27 – Korean War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman orders American military forces to aid in the defense of South Korea.
- June 28 – Korean War:
- North Korean forces capture Seoul, but do not win the war.
- Hangang Bridge bombing: The South Korean army, in an attempt to defend Seoul, blows up the Hangang Bridge while it is crowded with refugees.
- Seoul National University Hospital massacre: North Korean troops kill around 800 medical staff and patients.
- Bodo League massacre begins: South Korean armed forces and police summarily execute at least 100,000 suspected North Korean sympathizers.
July
- July 14–21 – Korean War: Battle of Taejon – North Korean forces capture the city held by the U.S. 24th Infantry Division, but the delay allows establishment of the Pusan Perimeter.
- July 16 – Uruguay beats Brazil 2–1, to win the 1950 World Cup, the match dubbed the Maracanazo.
- July 17 – The Suppression of Communism Act (passed on June 26 by the Parliament of South Africa) comes into force in South Africa.
- July 20 – Air Battle of South Korea: After a month-long campaign, the majority of North Korea's People's Air Force is destroyed by anti-communist forces.[27]
- July 22 – Royal question in Belgium: King Leopold III returns from exile, provoking a general strike, particularly in Wallonia.[28]
- July 30 – 4 workers striking over the "Royal question" in Belgium are shot dead by the Gendarmerie, at Grâce-Berleur near Liège.[29]
August
- August 1 – Royal question: King Leopold III of Belgium publicly announces that he will abdicate in favor of his son, Baudouin.[28]
- August 5
- 2 Squadron SAAF departs from South Africa to take part in the Korean War.[30]
- 1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash: A bomb-laden Boeing B-29 Superfortress crashes into a residential area in California, United States, killing 17 people and injuring 68.
- August 6 – Monarchist demonstrations lead to a riot in Brussels.
- August 8
- American Florence Chadwick swims the English Channel in 13 hours, 22 minutes, beating the women's record for the crossing.
- Winston Churchill supports the idea of a pan-European army, allied with Canada and the U.S.
- August 12
- Korean War: Bloody Gulch massacre – 75 U.S. soldiers are executed after being captured in battle by North Korea.
- In his encyclical Humani generis, Pope Pius XII requires Catholic theologians to defer to the teachings of the Church as a whole but declares evolution to be a serious hypothesis that does not contradict essential Catholic views.
- August 15 – The 8.6 Mw Assam–Tibet earthquake shakes the region, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing about 4,800 people.
- August 17 – Korean War: Hill 303 massacre – 39 U.S. soldiers are executed after being captured in battle by North Korea.
- August 22
- France announces the introduction of a government-guaranteed minimum wage.[31]
- The Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary is founded in Tagbilaran City, Philippines.
- August 23 – Legendary African American singer-actor Paul Robeson, whose passport has recently been revoked because of his alleged Communist affiliations, meets with U.S. officials in an effort to get it reinstated. He is unsuccessful, and it is not reinstated until 1958.
September
- September 3 – Italian racing driver Giuseppe Farina becomes the first winner of the FIA Formula One World Championship, being the only driver to win the championship in his home country.
- September 7 – The Knockshinnoch Disaster in Scotland kills 13 coal miners; 116 are rescued.
- September 15 – Korean War: Battle of Inchon – Allied troops commanded by Douglas MacArthur land in Inchon, occupied by North Korea, to begin a U.N. counteroffensive.
- September 18 – Rede Tupi, the first television broadcast network in South America, is founded in Brazil.
- September 19
- West Germany decides to purge communist officials.
- Korean War: An attack by North Korean forces is repelled at the Battle of Nam River.[32]
- September 26 – Indonesia is admitted to the United Nations.
October
- October – Turing test published.[33]
- October 2 – The comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz is first published in seven U.S. newspapers.
- October 3 – Getúlio Vargas is elected president of Brazil for a 5-year term.
- October 5 – The Indonesian government quells riots in the Moluccas.
- October 7
- Battle of Chamdo: The Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China, begins with the Chinese People's Liberation Army invading across the Jinsha River. By October 19 they will have taken the border town of Chamdo, and the Tibetan army will have surrendered.
- The Agate Pass Bridge opens for traffic in Washington State.
- October 9 – The Goyang Geumjeong Cave massacre begins in South Korea.
- October 11 – The Federal Communications Commission in the United States issues the first license to broadcast television in color, to CBS (RCA will successfully dispute and block the license from taking effect, however).
- October 19 – Korean War: The People's Republic of China enters the conflict, by sending thousands of soldiers across the Yalu River.
- October 20 – Australia passes the Communist Party Dissolution Act, which is later struck down by the High Court.
- October 28 – Torcida Split is founded, in support of the Association football club HNK Hajduk Split, in SFR Yugoslavia.
- October 29 – Upon the death of Gustaf V of Sweden, he is succeeded as king by his 68-year-old son Gustaf VI Adolf.
- October 30 – The Jayuya Uprising is started by Puerto Rican Nationalists against the United States-supported government.
November
- November 1
- Pope Pius XII witnesses the "Miracle of the Sun" at the Vatican[34] and defines a new dogma of Roman Catholicism, the Munificentissimus Deus, which says that God took Mary's body into Heaven after her death (the "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary").
- Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate U.S. President Harry S. Truman, who is staying at the Blair-Lee House in Washington, D.C. during White House repairs.
- November 4 – The United Nations ends the diplomatic isolation of Spain.
- November 8 – Korean War: While in an F-80, United States Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown intercepts 2 North Korean MiG-15s near the Yalu River and shoots them down, in the first jet-to-jet dogfight in history.
- November 10 – A U.S. Air Force B-50 Superfortress bomber, experiencing an in-flight emergency, jettisons and detonates a Mark 4 nuclear bomb over Quebec, Canada (the device lacks its plutonium core).
- November 13
- The President of Venezuela, Colonel Carlos Delgado Chalbaud, is kidnapped and murdered in Caracas.
- A Curtiss Reid Flying Services plane crashes while en route to Paris from Rome, killing all 52 on board.
- November 17 – Tenzin Gyatso, 15, is formally enthroned as the 14th Dalai Lama, becoming temporal ruler of Tibet.[35]
- November 18 – The United Nations accepts the formation of the Libyan National Council.
- November 24 – A phenomenal winter storm ravages the northeastern United States, brings 30–50 inches of snow and temperatures below zero, and kills 323 people.
- November 26 – Korean War: Troops from the People's Republic of China launch a massive counterattack against South Korean and United Nations forces at the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River and the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, dashing any hopes for a quick end to the conflict.
- November 28
- The Colombo Plan for Co-operative Economic Development in South and South-East Asia comes into effect.
- Greece and Yugoslavia reform diplomatic relations.
- November 29 – The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is founded.
- November 30 – Douglas MacArthur threatens to use nuclear weapons in Korea.
December
- December 2 – Korean War: The Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River ends with the Chinese People's Volunteer Army expelling United Nations forces from North Korea.
- December 31 – The inaugural 12 Hours of Sebring automobile endurance race is held in Florida.
Date unknown
- President Harry Truman sends United States military advisers to Vietnam, to aid French forces.
- Laos gets involved in the First Indochina War, to overthrow the French Army.
- Canadians Harry Wasylyk, Larry Hansen and Frank Plomp introduce the plastic bin bag, for garbage collection.
- Myxomatosis is introduced into Australia, in an attempt to control the escalating rabbit population.
- Knox's Translation of the Vulgate Old Testament (commissioned by the Catholic Church) is published.
- IBM Israel begins operating in Tel Aviv.
- Raid Pyrénéen, a French timed bicycle challenge, is first staged.[36]
- Summer – The first newspaper for the Romanian minority in modern Hungary, Foaia Românească ("The Romanian Sheet"), is founded.[37]
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Births
Deaths
Nobel Prizes
References
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