World+Events

The Korean War Begins- June 25 1950 The United Nations, particularly the United States, came to the aid of South Korea in repelling the invasion. A rapid UN counter-offensive drove the North Koreans past the 38th Parallel and almost to the Yalu River, and the People's Republic of China entered the war on the side of the North. The Chinese launched a counter-offensive that pushed the United Nations forces back across the 38th Parallel. The Soviet Union materially aided the North Korean and Chinese armies. In 1953, the war ceased with an peace agreement that restored the border between the Koreas near the 38th Parallel and created the Korean Demilitarized Zone buffer zone between the two Koreas.



The First Commercial Jet Airliner- January 22 1952

A British Overseas Aircraft Corporation plane called the de Havilland Comet was the first commercial jet airliner. The Comet started a new era of speed and comfort. The plane was capable of carrying up to 44 passenger and had a top speed of 500 miles per hour, this was twice as fast as its competition. The Comet would take its passengers from London to Johannesburg needing to stop to refuel in Rome, Beirut, Khartoum, Entebbe, and Livingstone, it took around 23 hours.





DNA is Discovered- February 28 1953

Scientists Francis Crick and James Watson found the structure of a macromolecule ( a tiny amount of a chemical substance ) called deoxyribonucleic acid- or DNA, which contains the genetic code for life. They were awarded a Nobel Prize in 1962 for their discovery.



Everest is Conquered- May 29 1953

Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. It sits among the Himalayan mountain range in Nepal and rises 29035 feet ( 8,840 Meters ) it was named after the man who surveyed the mountain, Sir George Everest. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, were in the final stage of climbing, which was extremely difficult because of the enormous lump of rock and snow they had to squirm up like a chimney- all this while carrying oxygen tanks and wrapped in multiple layers of clothing. Finally at 11:30 A.M Hillary and Tenzing made it- they were the first to make it to the top of Mt. Everest.



Breaking the Four-Minute Mile- May 6 1954

Roger Bannister, a 25-year-old runner was the first to beat the four minute mile, he crossed the finish line in a time of 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds.



First Organ Transplant- December 23 1954

23-year- old Ronald Herrick gave his twin brother Richard one of his kidneys. It was the first organ transplant that work.



The First McDonald's opens- April 15 1955 Became famous because of there limited menu and cheap prices. Their restaurants had no tables and their utensils were made of plastic. The menu was limited, offering around nine different items, it was cheap: a hamburger was only 15 cents. The biggest selling factor was that it was quick: a hamburger took under a minute to prepare and give to the customer.



Rosa Parks Refuses to Change Seats- December 1 1955

On the evening of December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was returning from work the bus she was riding was full and she and the other people in her rwo were asked to move so a white person could sit down. After some grumbling, three people got up, but Rosa Parks, refused to move.The bus driver had her arrested, at her trial she was found guilty and fined 14 dollars. The same day the WPC organized a bus boycott, which lasted for 381 days, and came to an end when the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was unconstitutional.



Sputnik is Launched- October 4 1957

The Soviet Union scored the first major victory in the space race when it launched a satellite into orbit around the Earth. In 1955 the United States publicly declared its plan to launch a satellite. The fact that the Soviet Union managed to do this first was embarrassing and alarming for the United States. Now the fear that the Soviet Union could spy on the United States, the United States quickly developed their own space program called NASA.



Castro Becomes Prime Minister of Cuba- February 16 1959

In February, Miro Cardona resigned and Fidel Castro became Prime Minister of Cuba. Castro went on to become one of the longest-serving national leaders in history, he lead his country for 47 years until his resignation in July 2006.



Information taken from Dates Of A Decade: the 1950's book written by Paul Harrison.