The 1950s By: Jessica Carr

Inventions & Technology First Modern Credit Card Introduced- 1950 First “Peanuts” Cartoon Strip- 1950 Color TV Introduced- 1951 Car Seat Belts Introduced-1952 DNA Discovered-1953 First Atomic Submarine Launched- 1954 McDonald’s Corporation Founded-1955 T.V Remote Introduced-1956 Velcro Introduced-1956 First Modern Credit Card Introduced (1950): In 1949, Frank X. McNamara thought of a way for customers to have just one credit card that they could use at multiple stores. McNamara discussed the idea with two colleagues and the three pooled some money and started a new company in 1950 which they called the Diners Club. The first Diners Club credit cards were given out in 1950 to 200 people (most were friends and acquaintances of McNamara) and accepted by 14 restaurants in New York. The concept of the card grew and by the end of 1950, 20,000 people were using the Diners Club credit card. The Diners Club credit card is considered the first modern credit card. First Peanuts Cartoon Strip (1950): The very first Peanuts comic strip, written by Charles M. Schulz, appeared in seven newspapers on October 2, 1950. When Schulz sold his first strip to the United Feature Syndicate in 1950, it was the Syndicate that changed the name from Li'l Folks to Peanuts - a name that Schulz himself never liked. The very first strip was four panels long and showed Charlie Brown walking by two other young children, Shermy and Patty. (Snoopy was the also an early character in the strip, but he did not appear in the very first one.) Most of the other characters that eventually became the main characters of Peanuts did not appear until later: Schroeder (May 1951), Lucy (March 1952), Linus (September 1952), Pigpen (July 1954), Sally (August 1959), “Peppermint” Patty (August 1966), Woodstock (April 1967), Marcie (June 1968), and Franklin (July 1968).

Inventions & Technology T.V Remote Introduced-1956 Velcro Introduced-1956 Dr. Suess publishes The Cat in the Hat- 1957 Hula hoops become popular- 1958 LEGO Toy Bricks Introduced- 1958 Peace Symbol Created- 1958 NASA Founded- 1958 The Sound of Music opens on Broadway- 1959 U.S. Quiz Shows Found to be Fixed- 1959 LEGO Toy Bricks First Introduced (1958): The company that makes the famous, little, plastic, interlocking bricks known as LEGO started as a small shop in Billund, Denmark. Established in 1932 by master carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen who was aided by his 12-year-old son Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, the company made wooden toys, stepladders, and ironing boards. It wasn't until two years later that the business took the name of LEGO, which came from the Danish words "LEg GOdt," meaning "play well." Over the next several years, the company grew exponentially. From just a handful of employees in the early years, LEGO had grown to 50 employees by 1948. The product line had grown as well, with the addition of a LEGO duck, clothes hangers, a Numskull Jack on the goat, a plastic ball for babies, and some wooden blocks. In 1947, the company made a huge purchase that was to transform the company and lead it to world fame. In that year, LEGO bought a plastic injection-molding machine, which could mass produce plastic toys. By 1949, this machine was producing about 200 different kinds of toys, including Automatic Binding Bricks, a plastic fish, and a plastic sailor. The Automatic Binding Bricks were the predecessor of the LEGO toys of today. In 1953, the Automatic Binding Bricks were renamed LEGO Bricks and in 1958, these bricks underwent a slight change in their design, which transformed them into the LEGO Bricks we know today. Also in 1958, Ole Kirk Christiansen passed away and his son Godtfred became head of the LEGO company. By the early 1960s, LEGO had gone international, with sales in Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany, and even Lebanon. Over the following decade, more countries started to sell LEGO toys, including the United States in 1973. In 1964, for the first time, consumers could buy LEGO sets, which included all the parts and instructions to build a particular model. LEGO later introduced themed lines of LEGO, including town (1978), castle (1978), space (1979), pirates (1989), Western (1996), Star Wars (1999), and Harry Potter (2001). For over half a century, these small, little, plastic bricks have sparked the imagination of children around the world and LEGO remain one of the world's most popular toys. Peace Symbol Created (1958): In 1958, British artist Gerald Holtom drew a circle with three lines inside, intending the design to be a symbol for the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War (DAC). The design incorporates a circle with the lines within it representing the simplified positions of two semaphore letters (the system of using flags to send information great distances, such as from ship to ship). The letters "N" and "D" were used to represent "nuclear disarmament." (The "N" is formed by a person holding a flag in each hand and then pointing them toward the ground at a 45 degree angle. The "D" is formed by holding one flag straight down and one straight up.) Holtom finished his design on February 21, 1958 and the design was then first introduced to the public at a DAC march on April 4. The symbol quickly spread. In Britain, the symbol became the emblem for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), thus causing the design to become synonymous with nuclear disarmament. In 1960, the symbol migrated to the United States and began to be used as a symbol for the peace movement. This symbol has become internationally recognized and is still used by peace activists today.

Historical Events Korean War Begins- 1950 U.S. President Truman orders construction of Hydrogen Bomb- 1950 Truman signs Peace Treaty with Japan, officially ending WWII- 1951 Winston Churchill again Prime Minister of Great Britain- 1951 The Great Smog of 1952 Princess Elizabeth becomes Queen at Age 25- 1952 Winston Churchill Again Prime Minister of Great Britain (1951): After being chosen to be Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1940 to lead the country during World War II, Winston Churchill refused to surrender to the Germans, built up British morale, and became a central force of the Allies. However, before the war with Japan had ended, Churchill and his Conservative Party were soundly defeated by the Labour Party in a general election held in July 1945. Considering Churchill's near-hero status at the time, it was a shock that Churchill lost the election. The public, although grateful to Churchill for his role in winning the war, was ready for change. After half a decade at war, the populace was ready to think of the future. The Labour Party, who focused on domestic rather than foreign issues, included in its platform programs for such things as better health care and education. Six years later, in another general election, the Conservative Party won the majority of seats. With this win, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of Great Britain for his second term in 1951. On April 5, 1955, at age 80, Churchill resigned as Prime Minister. The Great Smog of 1952: From December 5 to December 9, 1952, a thick fog settled on London. This fog mixed with trapped black smoke to create a deadly layer of smog. Although there was no great panic at the time, the smog proved deadly. In the five days it hovered over London, the smog killed 4,000 people. In the following weeks, another 8,000 people died from exposure to the Great Smog of 1952. Princess Elizabeth Becomes Queen at Age 25 (1952): After suffering from lung cancer for several years, King George VI died in his sleep on February 6, 1952 at age 56. Upon his death, his oldest daughter, Princess Elizabeth, became queen. Elizabeth was 25 years old. Princess Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, were out of the country when King George died. The couple had been visiting Kenya as part of the beginning of a planned five-month tour of Australia and New Zealand when they received the news of King George's death. With this very sad news, the couple immediately made plans to return to Great Britain. While Elizabeth was still flying home, England's Accession Council met to officially determine who was the heir to the throne. By 7 p.m. it was announced that the new monarch would be Queen Elizabeth II. When Elizabeth arrived in London and was met at the airport by Prime Minister Winston Churchill. After laying in state at Westminster Hall, King George was buried on February 15, 1952. Over a year later, on June 2, 1953, Queen Elizabeth's coronation was held at Westminster Abbey. It was the first televised coronation in history.

Historical Events Joseph Stalin dies- 1953 Segregation ruled illegal in U.S.- 1954 Elvis gyrates on Ed Sullivan’s Show- 1956 Disneyland opens Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a bus- 1955 Soviet Satellite Sputnik launches space age-1957 Laika becomes the first living animal to enter orbit- 1957 Segregation Ruled Illegal in U.S. (1954): In 1896, the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case determined that "separate but equal" was constitutional. The opinion of the Supreme Court stated, "A statute which implies merely a legal distinction between the white and colored races -- a distinction which is founded in the color of the two races, and which must always exist so long as white men are distinguished from the other race by color -- has no tendency to destroy the legal equality of the two races, or re-establish a state of involuntary servitude." The Plessy v. Ferguson legitimized the numerous state and local laws that had been created around the United States after the Civil War. Across the country, blacks and whites were legally forced to use separate train cars, separate drinking fountains, separate schools, separate entrances into buildings, and much more. Segregation was the law. On May 17, 1954, the law was changed. In the landmark Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision by ruling that segregation was "inherently unequal." Although the Brown v. Board of Education was specifically for the field of education, the decision had a much broader scope. Although the Brown v. Board of Education decision overturned all the segregation laws in the country, the enactment of integration was not immediate. In actuality, it took many years, much turmoil, and even bloodshed to integrate the country. Disneyland Opens (1955): When they were little, Walt Disney would take his two young daughters, Diane and Sharon, to play at the carousel at Griffith Park in Los Angeles every Sunday. While his daughters enjoyed their repeated rides, Disney sat on park benches with the other parents who had nothing to do but watch. It was on these Sunday excursions that Walt Disney began to dream of an activity park that had things for both children and parents to do. At first, Disney envisioned an 8-acre park which would be located near his Burbank studios and be called, "Mickey Mouse Park." However, as Disney began to plan themed areas, he quickly realized that 8-acres would be way too small for his vision. 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. In 1953, Walt Disney was finally ready to start on what would become known as Disneyland. The first part of the project was to find a location. Disney hired the Stanford Research Institute to find an appropriate location that consisted of at least 100-acres, was located near Los Angeles, and could be reached by a freeway. The company found for Disney a 160-acre orange orchard in Anaheim, California. Next came finding funding. While Walt Disney put up much of his own money to make his dream a reality, he didn't have enough personal money to complete the project. Disney then contacted financiers to help. But however much Walt Disney was enthralled with the theme park idea, the financiers he approached were not. Many of the financiers could not envision the monetary rewards of a place of dreams. To gain financial support for his project, Disney turned to the new medium of television. Disney made a plan with ABC: ABC would help finance the park if Disney would produce a television show on their channel. The program Walt created was called "Disneyland" and showed previews of the different themed areas in the new, upcoming 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. On July 17, 1955, 6,000 by-invitation-only guests were invited for a special preview of Disneyland before it opened to the public the following day. Unfortunately, 22,000 extra people arrived with counterfeit tickets. Besides the huge numbers of extra people on this first day, many other things went wrong. Included in the problems were a heat wave that made the temperature unusually and unbearably hot, a plumber's strike meant only a few of the water fountains were functional, women's shoes sunk into still soft asphalt which had been laid the night before, and a gas leak caused several of the themed areas to be closed temporarily. Despite these initial setbacks, Disneyland opened to the public on July 18, 1955, with an entrance fee of $1. Over the decades, Disneyland has added attractions and opened the imaginations of millions of children. What was true when Walt Disney stated it during the opening ceremonies in 1995 still stands true today: "To all who come to this happy place - welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America... with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world. Thank you." Laika Becomes the First Living Animal to Enter Orbit (1957): The Soviet Union and the United States were in a very heated competition after World War II. Part of this competition was over control of space. As part of this "space race," the Soviets succeeded in putting up the first satellite into space in October 1957. Working hastily, the Soviets launched their second satellite (Sputnik 2) on November 3, 1957 with a living animal (Laika the dog) on board. Laika lived through the launch, but died in space since no return plan had been created for her.

Historical Events Hope diamond is donated to the Smithsonian- 1958 NASA founded- 1958 Boris Pasternak refuses Nobel Peace Prize- 1958 Castro becomes dictator of Cuba- 1959 International treaty makes Antarctica scientific preserve- 1959 Hope Diamond Is Donated to the Smithsonian (1958): The large, exquisite, blue diamond known as the Hope Diamond has had a long history. The diamond's history may include having been owned by King Louis XIV, stolen during the French Revolution, sold to earn money for gambling, and worn to raise money for charity. On November 10, 1958, the latest owner of the huge diamond, Harry Winston (a New York jeweler) donated the diamond to the Smithsonian Institute to be displayed as part of the National Gem and Mineral Collection in the National Museum of Natural History. Fidel Castro Becomes Dictator of Cuba (1959): Ever since General Fulgencio Batista's successful coup in 1952, Fidel Castro had worked to oust Batista from Cuba. At first, Castro used the legal system but when that didn't work, he resorted to violence. After a failed attempt to control the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba in 1953, Castro spent two years in jail before being released and traveling to Mexico. While in Mexico, Castro trained in guerilla warfare tactics which readied him for the next few years of fighting. Arriving back in Cuba on December 2, 1956, Castro and his group of trained rebels (the 26th of July Movement) landed on Cuban soil with the intention of starting a revolution. Met by heavy opposition forces, nearly all of the rebels died. Castro, his brother, and Che Guevara escaped into the mountains. Over the next two years, Castro and his newly recruited rebels used guerilla tactics against Batista's troops. On January 1, 1959, Batista admitted defeat and left the country. Although not at first appointed president, Castro succeeded in taking power of the new Cuban government by July 1959.

Medical Advances First organ transplant- 1950 Polio vaccine created- 1952 DNA discovered- 1953 Report says cigarettes cause cancer- 1954

Resources Rosenberg, Jennifer (). 1950s Timeline. Retrieved September 20,2010 from , About.comWebsite:http://history1900s.about.com/od/timelines/tp/1950timeline.htm Molly (). The 1950s A Decade of Fun, Excitement, and     Individuality!. Retrieved September 20, 2010 from , About.comWebsite:http://history1900s.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kyrene.k12.az.us%2Fschools%2Fbrisas%2Fsunda%2Fdecade%2Fdecade.htm