Timeline of Events 1950’s

Amy Uecker

FCSE 411

Prices in the 1950’s

• 25 cents a gallon of gas

• 15 cents for a McDonald’s hamburger

• 5 cents for a postage stamp

• 5 cents for a Coke

• 12 cents for a loaf of bread

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50sfood.html

Inventions/Technology

• 1950 Credit Cards• 1951 Video Tape Recorder (VTR)• 1952 Car Seat Belts• 1958 The first U.S. satellite,

successfully orbit the earth

http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade50.html

Historical Events

• 1950 Korean War began 1953 Korean War ended

• 1954 Racial segregation is ruled unconstitutional in public schools

• 1955 Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat

• 1957 Little Rock Nine

http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade50.html

Medical Advances

• 1950 Some causes of cancer identified • 1953 Discovery of DNA • 1955  Vaccine for polio • 1957 Ultrasound for pregnant women

http://ktbotanicals.wordpress.com

Inventions/ Technology

1950 Credit Cards

• McNamara invented a credit card that could be used at more than one place. This card was

intended to pay restaurant bills.

• Charles Ginsburg developed the first practical videotape

recorder (VTR). The first video tape recorder

captured live images from television cameras by

converting the information into electrical impulses

and saving the information onto magnetic

tape.

1951 Video Tape Recorder (VTR)

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blvideo.htmhttp://inventors.about.com/od/cstartinventions/a/credit_cards.htm

• Bohlin invented the three-point seat belt. This wasn’t the first

but it was the modern seatbelt. Nils Bohlin's lap-and-shoulder belt

was introduced by Volvo in 1959.

• A 184 pound satellite was launched by the

Russians. They named it Sputnik 1. The satellite sent back radio signals

and eventually helped with communication.

1958 The first U.S. satellite1952 Car Seat Belts

•http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_seat_belts.htm http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsatellite.htm

Historical Events

1950-1953 Korean War

• North Korean forces invaded South Korea.

U.S. President Truman authorized the use of American

land, sea, and air forces in Korea. Many families were effected

and lives were lost because of this war.

• The Supreme Court rules on the case of Brown vs. Board of

Education of Topeka, Kansas and agreeing that

segregation in public schools was

unconstitutional.

1954 Racial segregation was ruled

unconstitutional

http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/korean+war http://www.infoplease.com/spot/civilrightstimeline1.html

1955 Rosa Parks

• Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a

white stranger at the front of the "colored section" of a bus. She was arrested and the black community launched a bus boycott which lasted for more

than a year. The buses were then desegregated

in 1956.

• Nine black students were blocked from entering an

all-white school on the orders of the Governor. President Eisenhower sent federal troops and

the National Guard to get involved on behalf of the students, who become

known as the "Little Rock Nine."

1957 Little Rock nine

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/civilrightstimeline1.html

Medical Advances

1953 Discovery of DNA

• Watson and Crick discovered the double

helix structure of. DNA's discovery has been called the most important biological work of the last 100 years. DNA is the

substance that makes life.

• Research linked smoking to lung cancer and other

external factors were also identified. Such as excess sunlight potentially causing

skin cancer.

1950 Some Causes for Cancer Identified

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/do53dn.htmlhttp://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medical_changes_from_1945.htm

1955  Vaccine for polio

• Dr. Jonas Salk was the first to develop a successful vaccine

using a mixture of the three types of viruses.

He developed a process using a

chemical that inactivated the whole

virus.

• The ultrasound was invented by an

English physician named Ian Donald. The ultrasound was used one year later

on a pregnant woman.

1957 Ultrasound for pregnant women

http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEC/CC/polio.php http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blultrasound.htm

Resources• About.com, (2009). The History of Video Recorders. Retrieved September 21, 2009, from

About.com Web site: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blvideo.htm• About.com, (2009). Who Invented Credit Cards. Retrieved September 21, 2009, from

About.com Web site http://inventors.about.com/od/cstartinventions/a/credit_cards.htm • About.com, (2009). History of Seat Belts . Retrieved September 21, 2009, from About.com

Web site: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_seat_belts.htm • About.com, (2009). History of Satellites. Retrieved September 21, 2009, from About.com

Web site: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsatellite.htm• About.com, (2009). Ultrasound. Retrieved September 21, 2009, from About.com Web site:

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blultrasound.htm • Burnner, Borgna and Elissa Haney. (2007). Civil Rights Movement Timeline. Retrieved

September 21, 2009, from Information Please Database Web site: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/civilrightstimeline1.html

• Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, (2007). Korean War . Retrieved September 21, 2009, from Infoplease.com Web site: http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/korean+war

• History Learning Site, (2009). Medical Changes from 1945. Retrieved September 21, 2009, from historylearningsite.co.uk Web site:

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medical_changes_from_1945.htm • Okonek, Bonnie A. M. (2009). Development of Polio Vaccines. Retrieved September 21,

2009, from Access Excellence Classic Collection Web site: http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEC/CC/polio.php

• Public Broadcasting System, (1998). The Science Odyessey. Retrieved September 21, 2009, from Pbs.org Web site:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/do53dn.html