Baby Boomers - What Happened in 1949?
If you are a baby boomer born in 1949, you will find this information extremely interesting. Hope you enjoy learning more about the year you were born! If you have a friend or a family member born in 1949, send them a link to this page. They will appreciate it!
Major Events
- Harry Truman is president and Alben W. Barkley is vice president of the United States
- 12 nations sign the North Atlantic Treaty establishing (NATO)
- German Federal Republic (West Germany) is established
- A communist government is established in mainland China
- Republic of China / Taiwan on the island of Formosa comes into being following the defeat by Mao Tse Tung
- Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb
- Israel admitted to U.N.
- U.S. recognizes the state of Israel
- Soviet Union lifts Berlin blockade - Berlin airlift ends
- Britain recognizes the independence of the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland remains a part of the United Kingdom
- Apartheid becomes official government policy in South Africa
- Vietnam and Indonesia gain sovereignty
Business and Economy
- U.S. GDP (1998 dollars): $267.8 billion
- Federal spending: $38.84 billion
- Federal debt: $252.6 billion
- Consumer Price Index: 23.8
- Unemployment: 3.8%
- Nearly 500,000 steel workers strike
Science and Technology
- RCA perfects a system for broadcasting color television
- First Polaroid camera sold for $89.95
- First Volkswagen Beetle sold in U.S.
- The world's first commercially available computer, The Ferranti Mark 1, released
- U.S. Air Force's Lucky Lady completes first non-stop around-the-world flight
- Electron microscopy developed
- The antibiotics oxytetracycline and neomycin are developed
- The Soviet Union begins testing atomic weapons
- The first automatic street lights are installed in New Milford, Connecticut
Sports
- New York Yankees defeats Brooklyn Dodgers (4-1) and win the World Series
- Philadelphia Eagles win the NFL Championship
- Minneapolis Lakers defeats Washington Capitols and wins the NBA Championship (4-2)
Famous Baby Boomers Born in 1949
- Bill O'Reilly
- Billy Joel
- Bruce Springsteen
- Don Johnson
- Erik Estrada
- George Foreman
- Jeff Bridges
- Jessica Lange
- John Belushi
- Larry Holmes
- Lionel Richie
- Meryl Streep
- Shelley Long
- Sissy Spacek
- Vicki Lawrence
Arts and Entertainment
- Books: The Egyptian, The Big Fisherman, Mary, A Rage to Live, Point of No Return, Dinner at Antoine's, High Towers, Cutlass Empire, Pride's Castle, Father of the Bride
- Movies: The Third Man, All the King's Men, Twelve O'Clock High, Sands of Iwo Jima, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
- Songs: I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, Lovesick Blues, Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee, Saturday Night Fish Fry, The Hucklebuck, Riders In The Sky, Mule Train, Blues Stay Away From Me, I'll Get Along Somehow, Music! Music! Music!
- Popular Musicians: Hank Williams, Stick McGhee & His Buddies, Louis Jordan, Paul Williams, Vaughn Monroe, Frankie Laine, Delmore Brothers, Larry Darnell, Teresa Brewer
- TV Shows: Texaco Star Theatre, Candid Camera, Colgate Theatre, Kukla Fran & Ollie
- The Emmy Awards for U.S. television first presented
- Cable television is introduced
- 45 rpm discs are sold in the U.S.
- South Pacific opens on Broadway
- Arthur Miller's play, Death of a Salesman, wins Pulitzer Prize
Everyday Life
- U.S. Population: 149,188,130
- Life expectancy: 68 years
- Average yearly income: $3,107
- Federal hourly minimum wage: $.40
- Cost of a new home: $7,450
- Cost of a new car: $1,420
- Cost of a first-class stamp: $.03
Popular Culture
- Soap operas started
- First recorded case of snowfall in Los Angeles, California
- The Goldbergs, the first sitcom on American television, airs
- Grady the cow, a 1,200-pound cow gets stuck inside a silo on a farm in Yukon, Oklahoma, and garners national media attention
- The Tucker Automobile Corporation folds
- Red Scare: Such celebrities as Helen Keller, Dorothy Parker, Danny Kaye, Fredric March, John Garfield, Paul Muni, and Edward G. Robinson are named in an FBI report as Communist Party members
- A former sharpshooter in World War II, Howard Unruh, kills 13 neighbors in Camden, New Jersey, with a souvenir Luger to become the first U.S. single-episode mass murderer
- Nearly 10 million televisions in American homes
- Americans buy 100,000 television sets a week
- Pyramid Clubs in which participants send each other money in hopes of receiving large amounts of money themselves become a fad
- Editor Russel Lyons coins the terms "highbrow," "middlebrow," and lowbrow"
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