B-52 50th Anniversary
Fabulous 50s: What Was Happening in 1952
- The United States enters its third year of involvement in the Korean War.
- "I Love Lucy" is watched in a record 10.6 million homes, displacing Milton Berle's "Texaco Star Theater" as the top-rated television show. "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson" begins its first season.
- It's a Scandinavian Olympic year, with the winter games in Oslo, Norway, and the summer games in Helsinki, Finland.
- "Cry" by Johnnie Ray is the year's No. 1 record. Popular recording stars include Patti Page, Peggy Lee, Nat "King" Cole and Eddie Fisher. (Rock and roll won't reach the Top Ten until 1955.)
- The New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series. But the St. Louis Cardinals Stan Musial has baseball's best batting average (.336) and hitting record (194).
- "The King and I" is the hottest ticket on Broadway.
- The average price of a new car is $1,850. A new house costs $17,000 and the average annual salary is $4,500.
- Gasoline is 27 cents a gallon. A loaf of bread is 16 cents and milk is 96 cents a gallon. First-class postage is 3 cents.
- "The Greatest Show on Earth," Cecil B. De Mille's epic about life under the big top, wins the Oscar for Best Picture. It stars Charlton Heston and Jimmy Stewart. But the most popular movie at the box office is "High Noon" with Gary Cooper.
- Scientists discover that the genetic material of viruses is DNA.
- It is a record year for the sighting of unidentified flying objects. The most common description of UFOs: saucer-shaped objects.
- King George VI of England dies. His daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, succeeds him.
- Dwight David Eisenhower is elected president of the United States; Richard M. Nixon is his vice president.
- Plans for building a family bomb shelter become widely available.