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January 1 - Sir Adrian Boult is appointed principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra

January 5 - U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver introduces a resolution calling for examination of organized crime in the U.S.

January 6 - The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with Britain in response.

January 9 - The Israeli government recognizes the People's Republic of China.

January 11 - Huk guerrillas attack the town of Hermosa in Bataan, Philippines.

January 12 - Huk guerillas attack the town of Tuyn, kill two and torch the city of Staingnacan.

January 12 - British submarine Truculent collides with a Swedish oil tanker in River Thames - 64 dead.

January 13 - Finland forms diplomatic relations to People's Republic of China

January 15 - Volcanic cloud kills 5000 in Mount Lamington, New Guinea

January 17 - The Great Brinks Robbery - 11 thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car in Boston, Massachusetts

January 21 - Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury

January 23 - The Knesset passes a resolution that states Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.

January 24 - Cold War: Klaus Fuchs, a German émigré and physicist, walked into London's War Office and confessed to being a Soviet spy. For seven years, he had passed top secret information on U.S. and British nuclear weapons research to the Soviet Union. - formally charged February 2

January 26 - India promulgates its constitution forming a republic and Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first president.

January 28 - Somaliland is put under Italian mandate

January 29 - Lord Balfour criticizes the fact that rationing is still in force in Britain

January 31 - President Harry S. Truman orders the development of the hydrogen bomb in response to the detonation the Soviet Union's first atomic bomb in 1949

January 31 - Last Kuomintang troops surrender in continental China

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February - British Labour Party forms a new government.

February 1 - Chiang Kai-shek re-elected as a president of the Republic of China

February 4 - Ingrid Bergman's illegitimate child arouses ire in USA

February 9 - Red scare: In his speech to the Republican Women's Club at the McClure Hotel in Wheeling, West Virginia, Senator Joseph McCarthy accuses the United States Department of State of being filled with 205 Communists.

February 11 - Two Vietcong battalions attack a French base in Indochina

February 11 - Finland recognizes Indonesia

February 12 - Pro-communist riots in Paris

February 12 - European Broadcasting Union founded

February 12 - Albert Einstein warns that nuclear war could lead to mutual destruction

February 13 - The USA army begins to deploy anti-aircraft cannons to protect nuclear stations and military targets

February 14 - The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China sign a mutual defense treaty

February 15 - Juho Kusti Paasikivi re-elected president of Finland

February 19 - Konrad Adenauer tries unsuccessfully to negotiate with East Germany to begin unification.

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March 1 - Klaus Fuchs is convicted of spying for the Soviet Union by giving them top secret atomic bomb data.

March 1 - Acting Chinese President Li Tsung-jen ends his term in office

March 1 - Chiang Kai-shek resumes his duties as Chinese president after moving his government to Taipei, Taiwan

March 3 - Poland states that it intends to exile all Germans.

March 8 - The Soviet Union claims to have an atomic bomb.

March 8 - The first Volkswagen Type 2 van - also known as the Volkswagen Microbus - rolls off the assembly line in Wolfsburg, Germany.

March 12-March 13 - In Belgium, the referendum over the monarchy shows 57.7% support the return of king Léopold III, 42.3% against.

March 14 - Ship Cygnet hits mine off the Dutch coast.

March 17 - University of California, Berkeley researchers announce the creation of element 98 which they have named "californium".

March 20 - Government of Poland decides to confiscate the property of Polish church

March 22 - Egypt demands that Britain remove all its troops in Suez Canal

April 15 - King Léopold III of Belgium announces that he is ready to abdicate in favor of his son Baudouin

April 24 - Jordan formally annexes West Bank

April 27 - Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed formally segregating races.

April 27 - Britain formally recognizes Israel

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May 6 - "Cazin uprising" in town of Cazin (Bosnia)against Communist and their agrar reforms

May 6 - Tollund Man found

May 9 - Robert Schuman presents his proposal on the creation of an organized Europe, indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations. This proposal, known as the "Schuman declaration", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union.

May 9 - L. Ron Hubbard publishes "Dianetics, The Modern Science of Mental Health". The book quickly becomes a bestseller, selling out of its first two editions immediately.

May 11 - Kefauver Committee hearings about US organized crime begin

May 25 - Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel is formally opened to traffic

May 29 - St. Roch, first ship to circumnavigate North America arrives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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June 3 - First ascent of Annapurna I, 10th highest mountain in the world.

June 6 - Turkey: The Adhan in Arabic is legalized

June 8 - Sir Thomas Blamey becomes the only Field Marshal in Australian history.

June 10 - French police capture escaped murderer Emile Buisson in Paris restaurant

June 24 - 58 persons were killed when a commercial airliner crashed into Lake Michigan. The reason for the disaster is unknown. Only fragments of the plane and the bodies of passengers were ever found.

June 25 - Beginning of Korean War. In the USA, people began to hoard supplies in case of rationing and shortages.

June 25 - NSC-68 enacted by President Truman, setting US foreign policy for the next twenty years.

June 28 - Korean War - North Korean forces capture Seoul

June 29 - United States defeats England 1-0 in the 1950 FIFA World Cup. For more details, see England v United States (1950).

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July 16 - Uruguay beat Brazil 2-1 to win the 1950 World Cup.

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August 5 - Florence Chadwick swims across English Channel in 13 hours, 22 minutes

August 5 - A bomb-laden B-29 Superfortress crashes into a residential area in California. 17 dead, 68 injured.

August 6 - Riot in Brussels in monarchist demonstrations

August 8 - Winston Churchill supports idea of pan-European army allied with Canada and USA

August 15 - Earthquake and floods in Assam, India - 574 deaths, 5,000,000 believed homeless

September 1 - Hungarian major general Laszlo Viragen defects to Austria and applies for political asylum

September 3 - Beetle Bailey comic strip started.

September 4 - Darlington Raceway is the site of the inaugural Southern 500, the first 500-mile NASCAR race.

September 7 - Coal mine collapses in New Cumnock, Scotland - 13 miners dead. 116 rescued.

September 7 - The gameshow Truth or Consequences debuts on television.

September 12 - Communist riots in Berlin

September 12 - Dallas Christian College opened for classes

September 13 - First main-line diesel-electric locomotives run in Australia

September 15 - Allied troops land in Inchon, occupied by North Korea, to begin the Battle of Inchon.

September 19 - West Germany decides to fire all its communist officials

September 26 - Indonesia admitted to the United Nations

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October 1 - The comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz is first published in seven US newspapers.

October 3 - Getúlio Dornelles Vargas, elected president of Brazil, for a five-year term.

October 5 - Indonesian government quells riots in the Moluccas.

October 7 - The Chinese invasion of Tibet begins.

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 - In East Germany, communists win 99.7% of the vote

October 20 - Australia passes the Communist Party Dissolution Act, later struck down by the High Court.

October 26 - Sister Mary Teresa begins her charity work in Calcutta and becomes known as Mother Teresa

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November 1 - Pope Pius XII witnesses the "Miracle of the Sun" at the Vatican"

November 1 - Pope Pius XII defines a new dogma of Roman Catholicism: that God assumed Mary's body into Heaven after her death.

November 1 - Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate US President Harry S. Truman, who is staying at the Blair-Lee House in Washington, D.C. during White House repairs.

November 4 - United Nations ends the diplomatic isolation of Spain

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 11 - The Mattachine Society founded in Los Angeles as the first Gay liberation organization

November 13 - Colonel Carlos Delgado Chalbaud is kidnapped and murdered in Caracas.

November 18 - United Nations accepts the formation of Libyan national council

November 20 - T. S. Eliot speaks against television in the UK

November 22 - Anti-British riots in Egypt

November 22 - Shirley Temple announces her retirement from show business

November 25 - Phenomenal winter storm ravages the Northeast 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, ending any thought of a quick end to the conflict.

November 28 - Greece and Yugoslavia reform diplomatic relations

November 29 - Korean War: North Korean and Chinese troops force a desperate retreat of United Nations forces from North Korea.

November 29 - National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA founded.

November 30 - Truman threatens to use nuclear weapons in Korea

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December 3 - Etna volcano erupts in Sicily

December 11-December 13 - The Maria Hertogh riots occur in Singapore, leaving 18 dead and 173 injured.

December 12 - Paula Ackerman becomes the first woman in the United States to serve a congregation as a Rabbi, a few weeks after the death of her husband.

December 24-December 25 - Scottish nationalists take the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey

December 28 - The Peak District becomes Britain's first National Park.

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Ralph Schneider founds Diners Club - it initially only works in 27 restaurants in New York City.

United Nations building finished.

First pagers developed.

Antihistamine discovered.

First TV remote control, Zenith Radio's Lazy Bones is marketed.

IBM Israel begins operating in Tel Aviv

Japanese soldier Yuichi Akitsu surrenders in the Philippines

President Harry Truman sends United States military personnel to Vietnam to aid French forces.

France institutes a government guaranteed minimum wage

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January 5 - John Manley, Canadian politician

January 5 - Charlie Richmond, Canadian entrepreneur and inventor

January 12 - Sheila Jackson Lee, American politician

January 16 - Debbie Allen, American actress, dancer, and choreographer

January 17 - Cristina Galbo, Spanish actress

January 17 - Luis López Nieves, Puerto Rican writer

January 18 - Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver

January 21 - Billy Ocean, West Indian-born musician

January 23 - Richard Dean Anderson, American actor

January 24 - Benjamin Urrutia, Ecuadoran author and scholar

January 26 - Janet Lupo, American model

January 27 - Amos Grunebaum, Israeli-born obstetrician and gynecologist

January 29 - Jody Scheckter, South African race car driver

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February 3 - Morgan Fairchild, American actress

February 4 - Pamela Franklin, British actress

February 6 - Natalie Cole, American singer

February 10 - Mark Spitz, American swimmer

February 12 - Michael Ironside, American actor

February 13 - Peter Gabriel, British musician

February 16 - Peter Hain, British politician

February 18 - John Hughes, American film director, producer, and writer

February 19 - Andy Powell, British musician (Wishbone Ash)

February 20 - Ken Shimura, Japanese television performer and actor

February 22 - Julius Erving, American basketball player

February 22 - Julie Walters, English actress

February 22 - Miou-Miou, French actress

February 22 - Ellen Greene, American actress

February 25 - Neil Jordan, Irish film director, writer, and producer

February 25 - Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina

February 26 - Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand

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March 2 - Karen Carpenter, American singer and drummer (d. 1983)

March 4 - Rick Perry, Governor of Texas

March 9 - Doug Ault, baseball player (d. 2004)

March 9 - Danny Sullivan, American race car driver

March 11 - Bobby McFerrin, American singer

March 11 - Jerry Zucker, American film producer, director, and writer

March 13 - William H. Macy, American actor

March 18 - Brad Dourif, American actor

March 20 - William Hurt, American actor

March 26 - Teddy Pendergrass, American singer

March 29 - Bud Cort, American actor

March 30 - Robbie Coltrane, British actor and comedian

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April 3 - Sally Thomsett, British actress

April 4 - Christine Lahti, American actress

April 5 - Agnetha Fältskog, Swedish singer and songwriter (ABBA)

April 10 - Steven Seagal, American actor

April 10 - Ken Griffey, Sr., baseball player

April 12 - Kari Palaste, Finnish architect

April 20 - Steve Erickson, American novelist

April 22 - Peter Frampton, English musician

April 25 - Lenora Branch Fulani, American Presidential candidate

April 28 - Jay Leno, American comedian and talk show host

April 29 - Paul Holmes, New Zealand radio and television broadcaster

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May 1 - Danny McGrain, Scottish footballer

May 1 - Dann Florek, American actor

May 3 - Howard Ashman, American lyricist (d. 1991)

May 7 - Randall 'Tex' Cobb, American boxer and actor

May 12 - Bruce Boxleitner, American actor

May 12 - Gabriel Byrne, Irish actor

May 13 - Stevie Wonder, American singer and musician

May 16 - Johannes Georg Bednorz, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

May 16 - Ray Condo, Canadian rockabilly musician (d. 2004)

May 17 - Janez Drnovšek, Slovene politician

May 17 - Valeria Novodvorskaya, Russian politician and dissident

May 18 - Thomas Gottschalk, German television host

May 18 - Rodney Milburn, American athlete (d. 1997)

May 18 - Mark Mothersbaugh, American composer and musician (Devo)

May 22 - Bernie Taupin, English songwriter

May 22 - Mary Tamm, British actress

May 28 - Jim Harris, American professional wrestler

May 30 - Bertrand Delanoë, French politician

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June 1 - Tom Robinson, English singer and musician

June 3 - Suzi Quatro, American singer and actress

June 6 - John Byrne, American comic book creator

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July 18 - Sir Richard Branson, British entrepreneur

July 18 - Glenn Hughes, American vocalist (d. 2001)

July 19 - Per-Kristian Foss, Norwegian Minister of Finance

July 19 - Simon Cadell, British actor.

July 26 - Susan George, British actress

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August 11 - Gennidy Nikonov, Russian weapon designer

August 14 - Bob Backlund, American professional wrestler

August 15 - Anne, Princess Royal of England

August 16 - Hasely Crawford, West Indian athlete

August 27 - Charles Fleischer, American actor

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September 2 - Rosanna DeSoto, American actress

September 7 - Julie Kavner, American actress

September 14 - Paul Kossoff, British guitarist (Free) (d. 1976)

September 14 - Masami Kuwashima, Japanese race car driver

September 16 - Loyd Grossman, American television presenter and chef

September 17 - Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat

September 21 - Charles Clarke, British politician

September 21 - Bill Murray, American actor and comedian

September 22 - Kirka, Finnish singer

September 28 - John Sayles, American director and screenwriter

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October 1 - Randy Quaid, American actor

October 5 - Jeff Conaway, American actor

October 5 - Edward P. Jones, American writer

October 9 - Jody Williams, American teacher and aid worker, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize

October 12 - Kaga Takeshi, Japanese actor

October 18 - Wendy Wasserstein, American playwright (d. 2006)

October 20 - Tom Petty, American singer

October 22 - Bill Owens, Governor of Colorado

October 28 - Sihem Bensedrine, Tunisian human rights activist

October 31 - John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (d. 1994)

October 31 - Jane Pauley, American television broadcaster and journalist

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November 1 - Robert B. Laughlin, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

November 3 - Joe Queenan, American humorist and social critic

November 4 - Charles Frazier, American author

November 10 - Bob Orton, Jr., American professional wrestler

November 13 - Mary Lou Metzger, American singer and dancer

November 21 - Alberto Juantorena, Cuban athlete

November 22 - Lyman Bostock, baseball player (d. 1978)

November 28 - Russell Alan Hulse, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

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December 1 - Keith Thibodeaux, American actor and musician

December 5 - Camarón de la Isla, Spanish singer (d. 1992)

December 15 - Don Johnson, American actor

December 16 - Roy Schuiten, Dutch cyclist (d. 2006)

December 17 - Laurence F. Johnson, American futurist and educator

December 18 - Leonard Maltin, American film critic

December 23 - Michael C. Burgess, American politician

December 19 - Manny Trillo, baseball player

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January 21 - George Orwell, English author (b. 1903)

February 6 - Georges Imbert, Alsatian chemist (b. 1884)

February 25 - George Minot, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1885)

March 5 - Sid Grauman, American restaurateur (b. 1895)

March 19 - Walter Haworth, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)

March 19 - Edgar Rice Burroughs, American author (b. 1875)

March 24 - James Rudolph Garfield, American politician (b. 1865)

March 30 - Joe Yule, Scottish-born comedian (b. 1894)

May 1 - Lothrop Stoddard, American eugenicist (b. 1883)

May 9 - Esteban Terradas i Illa, Catalan mathematician, scientist, and engineer (b. 1883)

May 10 - Belle da Costa Greene, American librarian, bibliographer, and archivist (b. 1883)

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July 12 - Elsie de Wolfe, American socialite and interior decorator (b. 1865)

July 17 - Evangeline Booth, General of The Salvation Army (b. 1865)

July 22 - William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canadian politician (b. 1874)

August 23 - Frank Phillips, American oil executive (b. 1873)

August 26 - Ransom E. Olds, American automotive pioneer (b. 1864)

September 10 - Raymond Sommer, American race car driver (b. 1906)

September 11 - Jan Christian Smuts, Prime Minister of South Africa (b. 1870)

September 21 - Arthur Milne, British physicist (b. 1896)

October 13 - Ernest Haycox, American writer (b. 1899)

October 23 - Al Jolson, American musician (b. 1886)

October 29 - King Gustaf V of Sweden (b. 1858)

November 2 - George Bernard Shaw, Irish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1856)

November 3 - Koiso Kuniaki, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1880)

November 25 - Johannes Vilhelm Jensen, Danish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1873)

December 2 - Dinu Lipatti, Romanian pianist (b. 1917)

December 5 - Shri Aurobindo, Indian guru (b. 1872)

December 5 - Osvaldo Golijov, Argentine-born composer

December 11 - Leslie Comrie, New Zealand astronomer and computing pioneer (b. 1893)

December 12 - Peter Fraser, former Prime Minister of New Zealand b. 1884)

December 15 - Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Indian political leader (b.1875)

December 27 - Max Beckmann, German painter (b. 1884)

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Ernest Cherrington, American temperance movement leader (b. 1877)

William E. Johnson, American temperance movement leader (b. 1862)

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Physics - Cecil Frank Powell

Chemistry - Otto Paul Hermann Diels, Kurt Alder

Medicine - Edward Calvin Kendall, Tadeus Reichstein, Philip Showalter Hench

Literature - Earl (Bertrand Arthur William) Russell

Peace - Ralph Bunche

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Laurent Schwartz, Atle Selberg