Facts and Events That Happened in This Year
The Boeing B-47 Stratojet Strategic bomber plane made its first flight.
The French Army massacred more than 300 civilians in the Vietnamese village of Mỹ Trạch.
Queen Elizabeth II married Philip Mountbatten at Westminster Abbey in London.
The first episode of Meet The Press, the longest-running American TV program, aired.
US Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager became the first-ever person to break the speed of sound, flying the Bell X-1 at 662 miles per hour.
Grace Hopper fell victim to the first-ever computer bug after removing a moth from her Harvard Mark II computer.
Pakistan gained independence from the British Empire – a day before India's independence.
President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act.
British Princess Elizabeth got engaged to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten.
A flying saucer crash at Roswell, New Mexico, was broadcasted to the public.
The Soviet Union started mass producing the AK-47 assault rifle.
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank was published.
Swedish company Saab, previously known for making aircraft, produced their first automobile.
Billie Holiday was arrested.
Babe Ruth Day was commemorated for the first time to celebrate one of baseball's greatest players of all time.
President Harry Truman opened the two-lane White House bowling alley.
The Texas City industrial incident occurred, killing 536 people.
Jackie Robinson signed the first Major League Baseball contract for a Black ballplayer.
Car engineer Henry Ford died at the age of 83.
The first Tony Awards were handed out at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
An anti-government uprising took place in Taiwan, where around 28,000 people lost their lives.
US General Eisenhower bid to raise $170 million in aid to help European Jews.
Edwin Land presented his Polaroid photo product, the world's first instant photos, in New York City.
Christian Dior presented 'The New Look Fashion Show.'
The temperature plunged to -81.4°F in Snag, Yukon, Canada, making it the coldest recorded temperature in North America.
