By: Haley Huston and Allison Yeckering

Harry S. Truman was born on May 8, 1884 in Lamar, Missouri. He became the 33rd president in 1945 and served two terms until 1953. Truman made the decision on August 6, 1945 to drop an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. Instantly, 70,000 Japanese citizens were vaporized. Two days later, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan.

I believe that Billy Joel used Harry S. Truman in his song, “We didn’t start the Fire” because it is a major historical event. The Japanese surrendered soon after Truman dropped the bombs, therefore, ending the war between the U.S.A. and Japan.

Trivia: Truman’s inauguration for his second term was the first to be shown on television .

In 1952 for the first time, television news was able to broadcast the Republican and Democratic conventions live from Philadelphia to the rest of the nation. The importance of that event for rural America went beyond the fact that rural residents knew in real time that Dwight D. Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson were running for President against each other. Between 1949 and 1969, the number of households in the U.S. with at least one TV set rose from less than a million to 44 million. The number of commercial TV stations rose from 69 to 566. The amount advertisers paid these TV stations and the networks rose from $58 million to $1.5 billion.

I think Billy Joel chose to use this in his song because it was a major new invention. It was a way for people to learn what was going on in the world.

Trivia: The Today Show first aired in 1952 with the original host Dave Garroway.

Marilyn Monroe was born in 1926 and became a popular “sex symbol” movie star. She was married to baseball star Joe Dimaggio, Arthur Miller, and was rumored to have a relationship with JFK, Robert Kennedy, and mafia boss Joe Giaconna. She broke the strict view of American puritanism, and fought for the women’s civil rights. The same year that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, Marilyn decided to give up the role of the “dumb blonde”.

Billy Joel include Marilyn Monroe into his song because she was a popular American sweet heart and was a civil rights activist.

Trivia: Marilyn was born with the name of Norma Jeane Mortenson and changed it several different times when she modeled and finally changed it to Marilyn Monroe in 1956.

Elvis A. Presley was born on January 8, 1935. His musical influence was pop and country music and gospel music. In 1955 his contract was sold to RCA. His music blurred and challenged the social and racial barriers of the time. Many religious leaders and schools banned his songs but this only made them more popular.

Billy Joel included Elvis Presley into his song because his music ushered a whole new era of American music and popular culture.

Trivia: Elvis was born with a twin, Jesse, that was a still born. So Elvis grew up as an only child.

Although World War II and other projects put

Disney's theme park on the back burner for

many years, Disney continued to dream about

his future park. On July 21, 1954, construction

on the park began. It was a momentous

undertaking to build Main Street,

Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and

Tomorrowland in only one year. The total cost

of building Disneyland would be $17 million.

Opening Day

In 1953, Walt Disney was finally ready to start

on what would become known as Disneyland.On

July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened for a few

thousand specially invited visitors; the following

day, Disneyland officially opened to the public.

Disneyland, located in Anaheim, California on

what used to be a 160-acre orange orchard,

cost $17 million to build. The original park

included Main Street, Adventureland,

Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland.

I think Billy Joel included this in his song

because they were able to pull off a huge

project while World War II was going on. It was

a place for kids to go to just have fun.

Trivia: The first ticket for Disneyland was sold

to Walt's brother, Roy, for $1.

The 1954 musical version of Peter Pan opened on October 20, 1954 at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York for a planned limited run of 152 performances. The show had been sold to NBC, which ensured that it was a financial success despite the limited run. It played its final performance on February 26, 1955. The revised score and Tony Award-winning performances by Martin and Ritchard made Peter Pan a success. A Broadway cast album was made of the songs, and is still in print today.

I think Billy Joel put Peter Pan in his song because it was one of earlier moviesF in color to be shown on television. Everyone was raving over the television because it was a way of entertaining and a way of learning what is going on around them.

Trivia: The term “Peter Pan” is in the dictionary. It is defined as “a boyish or immature man.”

Trivia: In the Disney movie, the melody for “The Second Star to the Right” was originally written for "Alice in Wonderland."

On April 18, 1956 in the throne room of the palace of Monaco, Grace went through the first part of her marriage, the civil ceremony, which was required by Monegasque law. On April 19, 1956 the wedding took place in the St. Nicholas Church. As an agreement with MGM, Grace and Rainier's wedding was to be filmed and then release as a movie back in America. The agreement was made because Grace had to break her 7 year contract with MGM. To say the least the wedding was beautiful, despite the cameras and high powered lights. Although it's said that Grace herself hated . Then at 5 'o clock that evening Prince Rainier's yacht (the same that came to pick Grace up when she first arrived) set sailed for their honeymoon. Grace Kelly was now officially Princess Grace of Monaco!

I think Billy Joel used Princess Grace in his song because she signified wealth which was everything everyone strived for. She was also the Princess of Monaco and could have an impact later on.

Trivia: Grace was the very first actress to appear on a U.S. postage stamp back in 1993.

The Little Rock Nine were a group of African

American students enrolled in Little Rock Central

High School n 1957. The ensuing Little Rock Crisis,

in which the students were initially prevented

from entering the racially segregated school by

Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, and then

attended after the intervention of President

Eisenhower.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued its historic Brown

v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 347 U.S.

483, on May 17, 1954. The decision declared all

laws establishing segregated schools to be

unconstitutional, and it called for the

desegregation of all schools throughout the

nation. After the decision, the National

Association for the Advancement of Colored

People (NAACP) attempted to register black

students in previously all-white schools in cities

throughout the South

Billy Joel would include this in his song because

this is the first time that blacks were allowed in

white schools. It was such a big event that the

president had to intervene.

Trivia: The following year, Little Rock officials

closed the schools to prevent integration. But in

1959, the schools were open again. Both black and

white children were in attendance.

The mafia is an Italian-American criminal society that cooperates in various American activities and dominated organized crime. It began as a way of life in Italy because men had to protect their families with the economy that they lived in. The mafia was most active in New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia, New England, Detroit, and Chicago. The five Main New York City families were Gambino, Lucchese, Genovese, Bonanno, and Colombo.

Billy Joel included the Mafia into his song because they ran the crime in 1959 and before.

Trivia: once you were apart of the Mafia, there was only one way out… in your coffin.

Wheel of Fortune, which debuted in 1975, became the longest-running syndicated game show on American television, turning Sajak and his co-host, Vanna White, into pop-culture icons. Each year, more than 3,000 people audition to become contestants on Wheel of Fortune, while fewer than 500 make the final cut. During its 25 years of syndication, Wheel of Fortune has given over $180 million in cash and prizes to its contestants.

Billy Joel most likely chose to use this in his song because it was also a hit TV show for entertainment.

Trivia: The first letter Vanna ever turned on the Wheel of Fortune puzzleboard was a "T.“

Trivia: Vanna has worn over 5,600 different outfits while at the puzzleboard.

Trivia: The studio audience seats 160 people.