W h a t h a p p e n e d i n 1 9 5 0
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January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver introduces a resolution calling for an investigation of organized crime in
the U.S.
* January 6 – The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China; the Republic of China severs
diplomatic relations with Britain in response.
* January 9 – The Israeli government recognizes the People's Republic of China.
* January 11 – Huk guerrillas manhandle the town of Hermosa, Bataan in the Philippines.
* January 12
- The British submarine Truculent collides with a Swedish oil tanker in the Thames Estuary and sinks; 64 die.
- Cold War: U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson delivers his 'Perimeter Speech', outlining the boundary of U.S.
security guarantees.
* January 13 – Finland forms diplomatic relations to People's Republic of China.
* January 17 – Great Brinks Robbery: 11 thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car in Boston,
Massachusetts.
* January 21 – Accused communist spy Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.
* January 23 – The Knesset passes a resolution that states Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
* January 24 – Cold War: Klaus Fuchs, German émigré and physicist, walks into London's War Office and confesses
to being a Soviet spy: for 7 years, he passed top secret data on U.S. and British nuclear weapons research to the
Soviet Union; formally charged February 2.
* January 26 – India promulgates its constitution, forming a republic, and Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first
president.
* January 28 – Somaliland is put under Italian mandate.
* January 29 – Lord Balfour criticizes the fact that rationing is still in force in Britain.
* January 31
- 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.
- The last Kuomintang troops surrender in mainland China.
February
* February 1 – Chiang Kai-shek is re-elected as a president of the Republic of China.
* February 4 – Ingrid Bergman's illegitimate child arouses ire in the U.S.
* February 8 – Payment first made by Diners Club card, in New York, first use of a charge card.
* February 9 – Second Red Scare: In his speech to the Republican Women's Club at the McClure Hote in Wheeling,
West Virginia, Senator Joseph McCarthy accuses the United States Department of State of being filled with 205
Communists.
* February 11
- Two Viet Minh battalions attack a French base in French Indochina.
- Finland recognizes Indonesia.
* February 12
- Pro-communist riots erupt in Paris.
- The European Broadcasting Union is founded.
- Albert Einstein warns that nuclear war could lead to mutual destruction.
* February 13
- The U.S. Army begins to deploy anti-aircraft cannons to protect nuclear stations and military targets.
- The U.S. Air Force loses a Convair B-36 bomber that carried an Mk-4 atomic bomb off the west coast of Canada,
and produces the world's first Broken Arrow.
* February 14 – The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China sign a mutual defense treaty.
* February 15
- Juho Kusti Paasikivi is re-elected president of Finland.
- Walt Disney releases his 12th animated film, Cinderella in Hollywood.
* February 19 – Konrad Adenauer tries unsuccessfully to negotiate with East Germany to begin unification.
* February 23 - United Kingdom general election, 1950 : 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.
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 Chinese President Li Tsung-jen ends his term in office.
- Chiang Kai-shek resumes his duties as Chinese president after moving his government to Taipei, Taiwan.
* March 3 – Poland states that it intends to exile all Germans.
* March 8
- The Soviet Union claims to have an atomic bomb.
- The first Volkswagen Type 2 van (also known as the Volkswagen 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.
* March 12–March 13 – In Belgium, the referendum over the monarchy shows 57.7% support the return of King
Léopold III, 42.3% against.
* March 14 – The ship Cygnet hits a mine off the Dutch coast.
* March 17 – University of California, Berkeley researchers announce the creation of element 98, which they have
named "californium".
* March 20 – The Polish government decides to confiscate the property of the Polish Catholic Church.
* March 22 – Egypt demands that Britain remove all its troops in the Suez Canal.
* March 23 – The 22nd Academy Awards ceremony is held.
* March 23 – World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
April
* April 14 – Influential British comic Eagle (comic) is launched
* April 15 – Belgian King Leopold III announces that he is ready to abdicate in favor of his son Baudouin.
* April 24 – Jordan formally annexes the West Bank.
* April 27
- Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed, formally segregating the races.
- Britain formally recognises Israel.
May
* May 1 – UNRWA operations begin.
* May 6
- The town of Cazin (Bosnia) rises up against Communist agrarian reforms.
- Tollund Man is unearthed in Denmark.
* 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 is
now the European Union.
- L. Ron Hubbard publishes Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.
* 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 is held at Silverstone, England.
* May 14 – The Huntsville Times runs the headline, "Dr. von Braun Says Rocket Flights Possible to Moon."
* May 22
- Celal Bayar becomes the third president of Turkey.
- Adnan Menderes of DP forms the new government of Turkey (19th government)
* May 24 – Maritime Administration (under Department of Commerce).
* May 25 – The Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel is formally opened to traffic.
* May 27 – The Linnanmäki amusement park opens in Finland.
* May 29 – St. Roch, the first ship to circumnavigate North America, arrives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
June
* June 1 – Mauna Loa in Hawaii starts erupting.
* June 3 – Annapurna I, 10th highest mountain in the world, is first ascended.
* June 6 – Turkey: The Adhan in Arabic is legalized.
* June 8 – Sir Thomas Blamey becomes the only Field Marshal in Australian history.
* June 23 – Mauna Loa stops erupting.
* June 25 – Korean War: North Korean troops cross the 38th parallel into South Korea.
* June 26 – The South African Parliament passes the Suppression of Communism Act, No. 44 of 1950.
* 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.
* June 29 – United States defeats England 1–0 in the 1950 FIFA World Cup.
July
* July 16 – Uruguay beat Brazil 2–1 to win the 1950 World Cup.
* July 17 – The Suppression of Communism Act, passed on June 26, comes into force in South Africa.
August
* August 5
- Florence Chadwick swims across the English Channel in 13 hours, 22 minutes.
- A bomb-laden B-29 Superfortress crashes into a residential area in California; 17 are killed, 68 injured.
* August 6 – Monarchist demonstrations lead to a riot in Brussels.
* August 8 – Winston Churchill supports idea of a pan-European army allied with Canada and the U.S.
* August 12 – In his encyclical Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII declares evolution to be a serious hypothesis that did
not contradict essential Catholic teachings.
* August 15 – An earthquake and floods in Assam, India kill 574 and leave 5,000,000 homeless.
* August 22 – The Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary is founded in Tagbilaran City, Philippines.
* August 23 – Legendary 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 4
- Darlington Raceway is the site of the inaugural Southern 500, the first 500-mile NASCAR race.
- The comic strip Beetle Bailey is created by Mort Walker.
* September 7
- A coal mine collapse in New Cumnock, Scotland kills 13 miners; 116 are rescued.
- The game show Truth or Consequences debuts on television.
* September 8 – The Defense Production Act is enacted into law in the U.S., shaping American military contracting
for the next 60 years.
* September 9 – The U.S. state of California celebrates its centennial anniversary.
* September 12 – Communist riots erupt in Berlin.
* 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 19 – West Germany decides to purge communist officials.
* September 22 – World Dance Council inaugurated.
* September 26 – Indonesia is admitted to the United Nations.
* September 30 – NSC-68 is enacted by President Truman, setting U.S. foreign policy for the next 20 years.
October
* October 2 – The comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz is first published in 7 U.S. newspapers.
* October 3 – Getúlio Dornelles Vargas is elected president of Brazil for a 5-year term.
* October 5 – The Indonesian government quells riots in the Moluccas.
* October 7
- The 1950-1951 invasion of Tibet by People's Republic of China begins.
- The Agate Pass Bridge opens for traffic in Washington State.
* October 11 – The Federal Communications Commission issues the first license to broadcast television in color, to
CBS (RCA will successfully dispute and block the license from taking effect, however).
* October 15
- The second Tacoma Narrows Bridge opens.
- In East Germany, the Communists win 99.7% of the vote.
* October 20 – Australia passes the Communist Party Dissolution Act, which is later struck down by the High Court.
* October 28 – Torcida Split is founded.
* October 30 – The Jayuya Uprising is started by Puerto Rican Nationalists against the United States.
November
* November 1
- Pope Pius XII witnesses the "Miracle of the Sun" at the Vatican 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 lacked its plutonium core).
* November 11 – The Mattachine Society is founded in Los Angeles as the first gay-liberation organization.
* November 13
- Colonel Carlos Delgado Chalbaud is kidnapped and murdered in Caracas.
- A Curtiss Reid Flying Services plane crashes while enroute to Paris from Rome, killing all 52 on board.
* November 18 – The United Nations accepts the formation of the Libyan National Council.
* November 20 – T. S. Eliot speaks against television in the UK.
* November 22
- Anti-British riots erupt in Egypt.
- Shirley Temple announces her retirement from show business.
* November 25 – A phenomenal winter storm ravages the northeastern United States, brings 30 to 50 inches of
snow, temperatures below zero, and kills 323 people.
* November 26 – Korean War: Troops from the People's Republic of China move into North Korea and launch a
massive counterattack against South Korean and American forces at Chosin, dashing any hopes for a quick end to
the conflict.
* November 28 – Colombo Plan for Co-operative Economic Development in South and South-East Asia
* November 28 – Greece and Yugoslavia reform diplomatic relations.
* November 29
- Korean War: North Korean and Chinese troops force a retreat of United Nations forces from North Korea.
- 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 3 – Mt. Etna erupts in Sicily.
* December 11–December 13 – The Maria Hertogh riots occur in Singapore, leaving 18 dead and 173 injured.
* December 12 – Paula Ackerman becomes the first woman in the United States to serve a congregation as a Rabbi.
* December 16 – The Office of Defense Mobilization is established in the United States.
* December 24–December 25 – Scottish nationalists take the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey.
* December 28 – The Peak District becomes Britain's first National Park.
Undated
* The first pagers are developed.
* The first TV remote control, Zenith Radio's Lazy Bones, is marketed.
* Myxomatosis is introduced into Australia in an attempt to control the escalating rabbit population.
* IBM Israel begins operating in Tel Aviv.
* President Harry Truman sends United States military advisers to Vietnam to aid French forces.
* France institutes a government-guaranteed minimum wage.
B i r t h s
January
* January 2 – Débora Duarte, Brazilian actress
* January 5
o John Manley, Canadian politician
o Charlie Richmond, Canadian entrepreneur and inventor
* January 10 – Ernie Wasson, American gardener and writer
* January 12
o Sheila Jackson-Lee, American politician
o Dorrit Moussaieff, First Lady of Iceland
* January 16 – Debbie Allen, American actress, dancer, and choreographer
* January 17
o Cristina Galbó, Spanish actress
* January 17
o Luis López Nieves, Puerto Rican writer
* January 18 – Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (d. 1982)
* January 20 – Edward Hirsch, American poet
* January 21 – Billy Ocean, West Indian-born musician
* January 23 – Richard Dean Anderson, American actor
* January 24
o Gennifer Flowers, American actress, connected to US President Bill Clinton
o Benjamin Urrutia, Ecuadorian-born American author and scholar
* January 26
o Joerg Haider, Austrian politician (d. 2008)
o Janet Lupo, American model
* January 27 – Amos Grunebaum, Israeli-born obstetrician and gynecologist
o Derek Acorah, British spiritualist medium
* January 29 – Jody Scheckter, South African race car driver
* January 30 – Trinidad Silva, American actor (d. 1988)
February
* February 1 – Kazimierz Nycz, Polish clergyman
* February 3 – Morgan Fairchild, American actress
* February 6 – Natalie Cole, American singer
* February 10 – Mark Spitz, American Olympic swimmer
* February 12
o Michael Ironside, Canadian actor
o Steve Hackett, British songwriter and guitarist
* February 13 – Peter Gabriel, British rock musician
* February 15 – Tsui Hark, Hong Kong film director
* February 16 – Roman Tam, Renowned Cantopop singer (d.2002)
* February 16 – Peter Hain, British politician
* February 18
o Cybill Shepherd, American actress
o John Hughes, American film director, producer, and writer (d. 2009)
* February 20
o Ken Shimura, Japanese television performer and actor
o Tony Wilson, English impresario (d. 2007)
* February 22
o Julius Erving, American basketball player
o Julie Walters, English actress
o Miou-Miou, French actress
o Ellen Greene, American actress
* February 25
o Neil Jordan, Irish film director, writer, and producer
o Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina
* February 26
o Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand
o Bill Ritter, American news anchor
March
* March 2 – Karen Carpenter, American singer and drummer (d. 1983)
* March 2 – Rosli Dhobi, famous Malay Sarawakian
* March 4 – Rick Perry, Governor of Texas
* March 9 – Danny Sullivan, American race car driver
* March 11
o Bobby McFerrin, American singer
o Jerry Zucker, American film producer, director, and writer
* March 13 – William H. Macy, American actor
* March 18 – Brad Dourif, American actor
* March 20 – William Hurt, American actor
* March 22 – Jocky Wilson, Scottish darts player
* March 26
o Teddy Pendergrass, American singer (d. 2010)
o Martin Short, Canadian-born comedian
* March 28 – Claudio Lolli, Italian singer-songwriter
* March 30
o Robbie Coltrane, British actor and comedian
o David Janson, British actor
April
* April 4 – Christine Lahti, American actress
* April 5
o Agnetha Fältskog, Swedish rock singer and songwriter (ABBA)
o Harpo, Swedish pop musician
* April 8 – Grzegorz Lato, Polish footballer
* April 10 – Ken Griffey, Sr., American baseball player
* April 12
o David Cassidy, American actor and singer
* April 20 – Steve Erickson, American novelist
* April 22 – Peter Frampton, English rock musician
* April 25 – Lenora Fulani, American presidential candidate
* April 28 – Jay Leno, American comedian and talk show host
* April 29 – Paul Holmes, New Zealand radio and television broadcaster
May
* May 5 – Googoosh, Iranian singer and actress
* May 7 – Tim Russert, American journalist (d. 2008)
* May 12 – Ching Hai, Formosan author, spiritual leader and jewellery designer
* May 13 – Stevie Wonder, American musician
* May 29 – Rebbie Jackson, American singer
June
* June 5 – Abraham Sarmiento, Jr., Filipino journalist and political activist (d. 1977)
* June 14 – Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
* June 15 – Lakshmi Mittal, Indian industrialist
* June 20 – Nouri Al-Maliki, Prime Minister of Iraq
* June 21 – Vasilis Papakonstantinou, Greek singer and musician
* June 22 – Zenonas Petrauskas, Lithuanian lawyer and politician (d. 2009)
* June 25 – Nitza Saul, Israeli actress
* June 30 – Leonard Whiting, British actor
July
* July 5 – Huey Lewis, American rock singer
* July 9 – Victor Yanukovych, former Prime Minister of Ukraine
* July 11 – Pervez Hoodbhoy, Pakistani Nuclear physicist and social activis
* July 12 – Eric Carr, Former Kiss drummer and musician (d. 1991)
* July 13 – Ma Ying-jeou, current President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
* July 18
o Sir Richard Branson, British entrepreneur
o Glenn Hughes, American vocalist (d. 2001)
* July 19 – Per-Kristian Foss, Norwegian Minister of Finance
o Freddy Moore, American musician
* July 26 – Susan George, British actress
August
* August 1
o Roy Williams, American basketball coach
o Bunkhouse Buck, American professional wrestler
* August 7 – Alan Keyes, American conservative political activist
* August 8 – Ken Kutaragi, ex-C.E.O of Sony Computer Entertainment
* August 11 – Gennadiy Nikonov, Russian weapon designer
* August 15
o Anne, Princess Royal
o Neil J. Gunther Australian/American physicist and computer scientist
* August 16
o Hasely Crawford, West Indian athlete
o Marshall Manesh, Persian actor
* August 26 – Carl Deuker, American author
* August 27 – Charles Fleischer, American actor, stand-up comedian, and voice artist
September
* September 1
o Dr. Phil McGraw, American TV psychologist
o Mikhail Fradkov, Russian politician, Prime Minister of Russia (2004–2007)
* September 2
o Rosanna DeSoto, American actress
o Yuen Wah, Hong Kong actor
* September 7 – Julie Kavner, American actress
* September 10 – Joe Perry (musician), American rock guitarist (Aerosmith)
* September 14
o Paul Kossoff, British rock guitarist (Free) (d. 1976)
o Masami Kuwashima, Japanese race car driver
* September 16 – Loyd Grossman, American television presenter and chef
* September 17 – Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat
* September 21
o Charles Clarke, British politician
o Bill Murray, American actor and comedian
* September 22 – Kirka, Finnish singer (d. 2007)
* September 24 – Kristina Wayborn, Swedish actress
* September 27 – Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Japanese actor
* September 28 – John Sayles, American director and screenwriter
October
* October 1 – Randy Quaid, American actor
* October 5 – Jeff Conaway, American actor
* October 7 – Jakaya Kikwete, Tanzanian president
* October 9 – Jody Williams, American teacher and aid worker, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
* October 10 – Nora Roberts, American novelist
* October 12
o Edward Bloor, American novelist
o Kaga Takeshi, Japanese actor
* October 17
o Dean Shek, Hong Kong actor
o Howard Rollins, American actor (d. 1996)
* October 18 – Wendy Wasserstein, American playwright (d. 2006)
* October 20 – Tom Petty, American rock singer
* October 22 – Bill Owens, Governor of Colorado
* October 28 – Sihem Bensedrine, Tunisian human rights activist
* October 29 – Abdullah Gül, 11th President of Turkey
* October 31
o John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (d. 1994)
o Jane Pauley, American television broadcaster and journalist
November
* November 1 – Robert B. Laughlin, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
* November 3 – Massimo Mongai, Italian author
* November 4 – Charles Frazier, American novelist
* November 10
o Debra Hill, American producer (d. 2005)
o Bob Orton, Jr., American professional wrestler
* November 13 – Mary Lou Metzger, American singer and dancer
* November 17 – Roland Matthes, German swimmer
* November 21 – Alberto Juantorena, Cuban athlete
* November 22 – Lyman Bostock, American baseball player (d. 1978)
* November 28 – Russell Alan Hulse, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
* November 28 – Ed Harris, American actor
December
* December 2
o Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd on Whale Wars.
o Amin Saikal, Australian academic
o Benjamin Stora, French historian
* December 5 – Camarón de la Isla, Spanish singer (d. 1992)
* December 10 – Tom Towles, American actor
* December 13 – Wendie Malick, American actress
* December 16 – Roy Schuiten, Dutch cyclist (d. 2006)
* December 17
o Laurence F. Johnson, American futurist and educator
o Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
* December 18 – Leonard Maltin, American film critic
* December 19 – Manny Trillo, Venezuelan-born American baseball player
* December 23
o Michael C. Burgess, American politician
o Vicente del Bosque, Spanish footballer and manager
* December 28 – Alex Chilton, American rock musician (The Box Tops)
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