Events from the year 1950 in the United States .
February 9: Joseph McCarthy rises to prominence after claiming the State Department employs communists January 5 – U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver introduces a resolution calling for an investigation of organized crime in the U.S.
January 7 – A fire consumes Mercy Hospital in Davenport, Iowa , killing 41 patients.[ 1]
January 12 – Cold War : U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson delivers his "Perimeter Speech", outlining the boundary of U.S. security guarantees.
January 17 – Great Brinks Robbery : 11 thieves steal more than $2,000,000 from an armored car in Boston, Massachusetts .
January 21 – Accused communist spy Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury .[ 2]
January 24 – Cold War : Klaus Fuchs , German émigré and physicist, walks into London 's War Office and confesses to being a Soviet spy: for seven years, he passed top secret data on American and British nuclear weapons research to the Soviet Union ;[ 3]
January 31 – President Harry S. Truman orders the development of the hydrogen bomb , in response to the detonation of the Soviet Union 's first atomic bomb in 1949.[ 3]
February 4 – Ingrid Bergman 's illegitimate child arouses ire in the U.S.
February 9 – Second Red Scare : In his speech to the Republican Women's Club at the McClure Hotel in Wheeling, West Virginia , Senator Joseph McCarthy accuses the U.S. State Department of being filled with 205 Communists .
February 12 – Albert Einstein warns that nuclear war could lead to mutual destruction.
February 13
The U.S. Army begins to deploy anti-aircraft cannons to protect nuclear stations and military _targets.
The U.S. Air Force loses a Convair B-36 bomber carrying an Mk-4 atomic bomb off the west coast of Canada, producing the world's first Broken Arrow .
February 15 – Walt Disney releases his twelfth animated feature film, Cinderella ,Bambi anthology films released to recoup losses due to World War II , and Disney's biggest commercial hit since 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
March 1 – Klaus Fuchs is convicted in London of spying against both the UK and the United States for the Soviet Union, by giving to the latter top secret atomic bomb data.
March 17 – University of California, Berkeley researchers announce the creation of element 98, which they have named "californium ".
March 22 – Frank La Salle is arrested in California for the abduction of Florence Sally Horner since 1948.
March 23 – The 22nd Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Paul Douglas , is held at RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood , Los Angeles . Robert Rossen 's All The King's Men Best Picture , while Joseph L. Mankiewicz wins Best Director for A Letter to Three Wives William Wyler 's The Heiress June 25: North Korea invades South Korea beginning the Korean War July 8 – G. Mennen Williams , the Governor of Michigan , is attacked and briefly held hostage while visiting Marquette Branch Prison , as part of an inmate escape plot.
August 5 – A bomb-laden B-29 Superfortress crashes into a residential area in California; 17 are killed and 68 injured.
August 8 – Winston Churchill expresses support for the idea of a pan-European army allied with Canada and the United States.
August 23 – Legendary African American singer-actor Paul Robeson , whose passport has recently been revoked because of his alleged Communist affiliations, meets with U.S. officials in an effort to get it reinstated. He is unsuccessful, and it is not reinstated until 1958.
August 25 – Althea Gibson becomes the first African American woman to compete at the U.S. National Championships (tennis) .
September 4
September 7 – The game show Truth or Consequences
September 8 – The Defense Production Act is enacted into law in the United States, shaping American military contracting for the next sixty years.
September 9 – The U.S. state of California celebrates its centennial anniversary.
September 15 – Korean War – Battle of Inchon : Allied troops commanded by Douglas MacArthur land in Inchon , occupied by North Korea, to begin a U.N. counteroffensive.
September 30 – NSC 68 is approved by President Harry S. Truman, setting United States foreign policy for the next 20 years. October 2 – The comic strip Peanuts Charles M. Schulz is first published in seven U.S. newspapers.
October 7
October 11 – The Federal Communications Commission issues the first license to broadcast television in color, to CBS (RCA will successfully dispute and block the license from taking effect, however).
October 15 – The second Tacoma Narrows Bridge opens.
October 30 – The Jayuya Uprising is started by Puerto Rican Nationalists against the United States.
November 1 – Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate U.S. President Harry S. Truman , who is staying at the Blair-Lee House in Washington, D.C. during White House repairs.
November 8 – Korean War : While in an F-80 , United States Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown intercepts two North Korean MiG-15s near the Yalu River and shoots them down in the first jet -to-jet dogfight in history.
November 10 – A U.S. Air Force B-50 Superfortress bomber, experiencing an in-flight emergency, jettisons and detonates a Mark 4 nuclear bomb over Quebec, Canada (the device lacked its plutonium core ).
November 11 – The Mattachine Society is founded in Los Angeles as the first gay liberation organization.
November 22 – Shirley Temple announces her retirement from show business.
November 24–25 – Great Appalachian Storm of 1950 : A phenomenal winter storm ravages the northeastern United States, brings 30 to 50 inches of snow , temperatures below zero, and kills 323 people.
November 26 – Korean War : Troops from the People's Republic of China move into North Korea and launch a massive counterattack against South Korean and American forces at Chosin, dashing any hopes for a quick end to the conflict.
November 29
November 30 – Douglas MacArthur threatens to use nuclear weapons in Korea.
December 4 – The 1949 Smith Act trial of Communist Party leaders ("Foley Square trial") commences review in the Supreme Court of the United States , as Dennis v. United States
December 12 – Paula Ackerman becomes the first woman in the United States to serve a congregation as a Rabbi .
December 16 – The Office of Defense Mobilization is established in the United States.
January 1 – Steve Ripley , country singer (d. 2019 )
January 2
January 3 – Victoria Principal , actress (Dallas [ 5] January 4
January 6
January 7 – Ross Grimsley , baseball player and coach
January 8 – Michael Kearns , actor
January 9 – David Johansen , musician and actor
January 10
January 11 – Joel Seligman , author
January 12 – Sheila Jackson Lee , African-American politician (d. 2024 )
January 15 – Bob Krause , politician
January 19 – Jon Matlack , baseball player and coach
January 20 – Edward Hirsch , poet
January 23 – Suzanne Scotchmer , economist and academic (d. 2014 )
January 24 – Gennifer Flowers , actress, connected to Bill Clinton
January 26 – Jack Youngblood , American football player, sportscaster and actor
January 29
January 30 – Trinidad Silva , actor (d. 1988 )
January 31 – Fred Karger , political consultant
February 1 – Mike Campbell , musician
February 4 Laurence Bergreen , historian and author
February 5
February 6
February 7 – Karen Joy Fowler , author[ 6]
February 9
February 12 – Margaret Warner , Senior correspondent of PBS
February 15 – Donna Hanover , journalist
February 17
February 19 – Donald Sanborn , reactor
February 23 – Elizabeth Streb , choreographer
February 24 – Steve McCurry , photographer and journalist
February 26 – Bill Ritter , news anchor
March 2 – Karen Carpenter , pop singer and drummer (d. 1983 )
March 3 – Mark Ciavarella , judge
March 4 – Rick Perry , 47th Governor of Texas
March 6 – Al Milgrom , comic book writer
March 7
March 10 – Catherine Pugh , Democratic politician and mayor of Baltimore [ 8]
March 11 – Steven Nock , researcher, author, and university professor[ 9]
March 15
March 16 – Jed Babbin , lawyer
March 17
March 19
March 20
March 26 – Alan Silvestri , composer and conductor
March 27
March 28 – Jeffrey Miller , Kent State University shooting victim (d. 1970 )
March 31 – Ed Marinaro , American football player and actor (Hill Street Blues
April 1 – Samuel Alito , Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S. from 2006
April 2
April 7
April 8 – Carmen Twillie , actress and singer
April 9 – Kenneth Cockrell , astronaut
April 10 – Ken Griffey, Sr. , baseball player
April 12
April 16
April 17 – Bruce McNall , businessman
April 18 – Kenny Ortega , producer, director and choreographer
April 19 – Lani Guinier , law professor (d. 2022 )
April 20
April 21
April 25 – Lenora Fulani , African-American presidential candidate
April 26 – Glenn Patrick , ice hockey player
April 28 – Bruce H. Mann , legal scholar
April 29 – Debbie Stabenow , U.S. Senator from Michigan from 2001
April 30
May 1
May 2
May 3 – Jeffrey Sweet , writer and theater historian
May 4 – Hilly Hicks , character actor
May 5
May 6
May 7
May 8 – Mark Blankfield , actor
May 9
May 11
May 12
May 13
May 14 – Jill Stein , Green Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections
May 15
May 18 – Mark Mothersbaugh , musician
May 19 – George Leo Thomas , prelate of the Catholic Church
May 20 – Alan Zweibel , television writer
May 21 – Jeanne Moos , news correspondent
May 23
May 24 – Thomas DeSimone , gangster
May 25 – Ed Emery , politician, Missouri State Senate
May 26 – David Ignatius , journalist and novelist
May 28
May 29 – Rebbie Jackson , singer
May 31 – Gregory Harrison , actor and director[ 10]
June 1
June 3
June 6 – Andrew Napolitano , columnist
June 7 – Howard Finkel , ring announcer (d. 2020 )
June 8 – Kathy Baker , actress
June 9 – Keith Kauffman , race car driver
June 10 – Gary Westfall , physicist
June 12
June 16 – Jerry Petrowski , politician and farmer
June 17
June 18
June 19 – Ann Wilson , singer, musician ((Heart)
June 23
June 27 – Michael O'Brien , photographer
June 28 – Steve Downes , DJ and voice actor
June 29 – Don Moen , Christian musician
July 1
July 4 – Steven Sasson , electrical engineer
July 5
July 9 – Gwen Guthrie , pianist and singer-songwriter (d. 1999 )
July 11 – Michael C. Stenger , law enforcement officer (d. 2022 )[ 12]
July 16 – Gary Indiana , writer (d. 2024 )
July 17 – Peter Neufeld , lawyer
July 18
July 19 – Freddy Moore , musician (d. 2022 )
July 20 – William Knox Schroeder , Kent State University shooting victim (d. 1970 )
July 30 – Frank Stallone , actor
August 1
August 2 – Lance Ito , judge
August 3
August 7 – Alan Keyes , politician
August 8 – Mutulu Shakur , activist and convicted robber (d. 2023 )
August 11
August 12
August 15
August 21 – Arthur Bremer , attempted assassin of George Wallace
August 22
August 24
August 25 – Charles Fambrough , musician and composer (d. 2011 )
August 26
August 31 – Dean Barkley , U.S. Senator from Minnesota from 2002 to 2003
September 1 – Phil McGraw , psychologist and TV host
September 2
September 8 – James Mattis , 26th United States Secretary of Defense
September 11 – Amy Madigan , actress
September 15 – Mike Nifong North Carolina district attorney disbarred for misconduct in the Duke lacrosse case [ 14]
September 16
September 17 – Robert Slavin , psychologist (d. 2021 )
September 19 – Joan Lunden , television broadcaster and journalist (Good Morning America
September 21
September 23 – Tim Keller , pastor (d. 2023 )[ 15]
September 24 – Alan Colmes , TV/radio host and political commentator (d. 2017 )
September 28
September 29 – Leroy Jones , American footballer (d. 2021 )[ 17]
October 3
October 5 – Jeff Conaway , actor (Taxi 2011 )
October 9
October 11 – Patty Murray , U.S. Senator from Washington from 1993
October 12 – Edward Bloor , novelist
October 14 – Joey Travolta , actor
October 16
October 20 – Tom Petty , rock singer-songwriter (d. 2017 )
October 22
October 24
October 25 – Mark L. Taylor , actor
October 30 – Louise DuArt , comedian and impersonator
October 31 – Jane Pauley , television broadcast journalist (The Today Show
November 1
November 4 – Charles Frazier , novelist
November 6 – Kenny Marks , Christian musician
November 8 – Mary Hart , television personality
November 10
November 12 – Barbara Fairchild , singer-songwriter
November 13 – Mary Lou Metzger , singer and dancer
November 16 – David Leisure , actor
November 21 – David Williams , singer, songwriter, musician and producer (d. 2009 )
November 22
November 23 – Chuck Schumer , U.S. Senator from New York from 1999
November 24 – Stanley Livingston , actor
November 28
November 30 – Paul Westphal , basketball player and coach (d. 2021 )
December 1 – Richard Keith (b. Keith Thibodeaux), child actor
December 2 – Bob Kevoian , radio host
December 3 – Asa Hutchinson , 46th Governor of Arkansas
December 10
December 12 – Darleen Carr , actress
December 13
December 15 – Sylvester James Gates , theoretical physicist
December 17 – Laurence F. Johnson , futurist and educator
December 18 – Leonard Maltin , film critic
December 20 – Don Heffington , percussionist and songwriter (d. 2021 )
December 23 – Michael C. Burgess , politician
December 24 – Deborah J. Glick , democratic member
December 25 – Ed Hochuli , American football official
December 28 – Alex Chilton , rock musician (The Box Tops 2010 )
December 29 – Jon Polito , actor (d. 2016 )
January 2 – Anthony Prusinski , politician (b. 1901 )January 15 – Henry H. Arnold , five-star general (b. 1886 )January 22 – Alan Hale, Sr. , actor (b. 1892 )February 7 – William Murphy , Roman Catholic bishop (b. 1885 )February 11 – Kiki Cuyler , baseball player (Chicago Cubs ) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1898 )February 25 – George Minot , physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1885 )February 27 – Harold Clarke Goddard , Shakespearean scholar (b. 1878 )March 5 – Sid Grauman , theater entrepreneur (b. 1879 )March 11 – Heinrich Mann , German writer, died in Santa Monica, California (b. 1871 )March 26 – Dink Trout , actor (b. 1898 )April 1 – Charles R. Drew , African American physician, pioneer in blood transfusion , died as result of automobile accident (b. 1904 )April 7 – Walter Huston , actor (b. 1883 )April 11 – Bainbridge Colby , United States Secretary of State (b. 1869 )April 16 – Henry J. Knauf , politician (b. 1891 )April 26 – G. Murray Hulbert , politician (b. 1881 )April 27 – Hobart Cavanaugh , character actor (b. 1886 )May 1 – Lothrop Stoddard , eugenicist (b. 1883 )May 10 – Belle da Costa Greene , librarian, bibliographer and archivist (b. 1879 )[ 20] May 20 – John Gould Fletcher , poet (b. 1886 )May 24 – Lloyd French , film director (b. 1900 )June 22 – Jane Cowl , actress (b. 1883 )July 7 – Fats Navarro , jazz trumpet player (b. 1923 )July 8 – Helen Holmes , actress (b. 1893 )July 10 – Richard Maury , American naturalized Argentine engineer (b. 1882 )July 11 – Buddy DeSylva , songwriter (b. 1895 )July 12 – Elsie de Wolfe , socialite and interior decorator (b. 1865 )July 21 – Rex Ingram , director (b. 1892 )August 19 – Black Elk , Wičháša Wakȟáŋ (Medicine Man or Holy Man) of the Ogala Teton Lakota (Western Sioux) (b. 1863 )August 22 – Kirk Bryan , geologist (b. 1888 )August 23 – Frank Phillips , oil executive (b. 1873 )August 26 – Ransom E. Olds , automotive pioneer (b. 1864 )September 10 – Raymond Sommer , race car driver (b. 1906 )September 16 – Pedro de Cordoba , actor (b. 1881 )October 11 – Pauline Lord , actress (b. 1890 )October 13 – Ernest Haycox , writer (b. 1899 )October 19 – Edna St. Vincent Millay , poet (b. 1892 )October 20 – Henry L. Stimson , United States Secretary of State (b. 1867 )October 23 – Al Jolson , musician and actor (b. 1886 )October 28 – Maurice Costello , actor (b. 1877 )November 1 – Leslie Coffelt , White House police officer (b. 1910 )November 4 – Grover Cleveland Alexander , baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies ) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1887 )November 8 – Bernice Herstein , socialite (b. 1918 )November 9 – Maude Fulton , playwright and actress (b. 1881 )November 29 – Walter Beech , aviator and aircraft manufacturer (b. 1891 )December 4 – Jesse L. Brown , first African-American aviator in the United States Navy (killed in action) (b. 1926 )December 7 – Evelyn Selbie , actress (b. 1871 )December 11 – Dewey Robinson , actor (b. 1898 )December 27 – Max Beckmann , German painter and graphic artist, died in New York City, New York (b. 1884 )
^ Iowa. Inspection Bureau (1950). Mercy Hospital, St. Elizabeth's Ward Building Fire: Davenport, Iowa, January 7, 1950 ^ United States. Congress. House. Committee on Un-American Activities (1950). Annual Report for the Year ... ^ a b "Year by Year 1950" – History Channel International
^ Cleve, Craig. The Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster . ^ The Bulletin ^ Contemporary Authors ISBN 978-0-8103-5554-5 ^ Sandomir, Richard; Victor, Daniel (December 21, 2022). "Franco Harris, Steeler Who Caught 'Immaculate Reception,' Dies at 72" . The New York Times . Retrieved December 22, 2022 . ^ "Catherine E. Pugh, Mayor, Baltimore, Maryland" . msa.maryland.gov .^ "Steven Nock" . www.virginia.edu . Archived from the original on 2004-04-28.^ Brady, James (1990-02-25). "In Step With: Gregory Harrison" . Parade . Retrieved 2011-02-05 . ^ Variety.com (2015-04-01). " . Variety . Retrieved 2021-12-18 . ^ The man blamed for failing to prevent Capitol insurrection found dead ^ Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough Dies at 73 ^ "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Michael "Mike" Nifong" . www.ourcampaigns.com .^ Died: Tim Keller, New York City Pastor Who Modeled Winsome Witness ^ Payne, Leonard (October 22, 2019). A Glitch in the Matrix: Jordan Peterson and the Intellectual Dark Web ISBN 9780244229030 ^ NSU Mourns the Loss of 2-Sport Star Leroy Jones ^ G”sta Ekspong; Nobelstiftelsen (2002). Physics, 1996-2000 ISBN 978-981-238-003-6 ^ Editors of Chase's (30 September 2018). Chase's Calendar of Events 2019: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months ISBN 978-1-64143-264-1 ^ "Belle da Costa Greene | American librarian and bibliographer" . Encyclopedia Britannica . Retrieved 13 July 2020 .
Media related to 1950 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons