Baby Boomers - What Happened in 1952?

If you are a baby boomer born in 1952, 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 1952, 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
• Dwight D. Eisenhower elected President over Adlai Stevenson by a wide margin
• Republicans gain control of White House and both houses of Congress
• Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Richard Nixon defends himself against charges of maintaining a secret slush fund in his "Checkers" speech, broadcast on national television
• United States troops complete their pull-out from Japan
• U.S. detonates world's first hydrogen bomb
• Korean conflict continues as truce attempts fail
• Violent protests erupt in Egypt
• Britain develops atomic bomb
• Polio paralyzed 57,000 children - 3,300 people in the U.S. die from polio
• Puerto Rico becomes a self-governing commonwealth of the United States
• Elizabeth II becomes Queen of England at age 25 after the death of her father, King George VI
• Sister Theresa becomes Mother Theresa and begins her charity work in Calcutta, India

Business and Economy

• U.S. GDP (1998 dollars): $358.6 billion
• Federal spending: $67.69 billion
• Federal debt: $259.1 billion
• Consumer Price Index: 26.5
• Unemployment: 3.3%

Science and Technology

• First explosion of a hydrogen device takes place at Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific
• Jonas Salk develops the first experimentally safe dead-virus polio vaccine
• First contraceptive pill developed
• The first plastic artificial heart valve is developed at Georgetown Medical Center
• A brand new Japanese company, Sony, introduces the first pocket-sized transistor radio
• U.S. begins construction of first nuclear submarine, the Nautilus

Sports

• New York Yankees defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the World Series (4-3)
• Detroit Lions win the NFL championship
• Minneapolis Lakers defeat New York to win the NBA Championship (4-3)
• Rocky Marciano beats Jersey' Joe Walcott to win the world heavyweight boxing championship
• Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland
• John Cobb sets a water speed record of 206.89 m.p.h. on Loch Ness, Scotland; is killed in process

Famous Baby Boomers Born in 1952

• Christie Hefner
• Christopher Reeve
• Jimmy Connors
• Lorna Luft
• Patrick Swayze
• Patti Davis
• Roseanne
• Susan Dey

Arts and Entertainment

• Books: The Silver Chalice, The Caine Mutiny, East of Eden, My Cousin Rachel, Steamboat Gothic, Giant, The Old Man and the Sea, The Gown of Glory, The Saracen Blade, The Houses in Between
• Movies: Singin' in the Rain, High Noon, The Greatest Show on Earth, Moulin Rouge
• Songs: Lawdy Miss Clawdy, Jambalaya (On The Bayou), Have Mercy Baby, One Mint Julep, Night Train, My Song, Goin' Home, Moody Mood For Love, Juke Little Walter, Baby Don't Do It
• Popular Musicians: Lloyd Price, Hank Williams, Dominoes, Clovers, Jimmy Forrest, Johnny Ace, Fats Domino, King Pleasure, Little Walter, "5" Royales
• TV Shows: The Honeymooners debuts on CBS, I Love Lucy, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, Arthur Godfrey and His Friends, Dragnet, The Texaco Star Theater
• Television's first magazine-format program, the Today Show, debuts on NBC

Everyday Life

• U.S. Population: 157,552,740
• Life expectancy: 68.6 years
• Average yearly income: $3,890
• Federal hourly minimum wage: $.75
• Cost of a new home: $16,800
• Cost of a new car: $1,700
• Cost of a first-class stamp: $.03

Popular Culture

• Presidential campaigns are the first to be broadcast on television
• Microwave ovens made available for domestic use - the first models are the size of refrigerators and cost over $1,200
• Car seat belts were introduced
• Mr. Potato Head was patented
• Mad magazine makes its debut
• Guiding Light premiered on TV after being a staple on radio since 1937
• Telephone area codes begin
• Revised Standard Version of the Bible published
• University of Tennessee admits its first black student
• The first birth control pill is introduced, but it was not be available to the public for another 8 years
• Ronald Reagan and actress Nancy Davis were married
• Howard Johnson's restaurant becomes the world's largest food chain
• The first Holiday Inn opens
• Green-tinted chlorophyll becomes a popular additive to a variety of food and medicinal products as a breath aid (a benefit soon to be disputed by many doctors and scientists)
• Christine Jorgensen becomes the first medically and legally certified transsexual
• Clarence Birdseye marketed the first frozen peas
• George Jorgensen/Christine Jorgensen was the first person to go public after a sex change operation
• Mrs. Paul's introduces frozen fish sticks
• TV first acknowledges pregnancy on I Love Lucy
• Lipton onion soup mix became available