1952 in the United States
Events from the year 1952 in the United States of America.
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Incumbents
Federal Government
- President: Harry S. Truman (D-Missouri)
- Vice President: Alben W. Barkley (D-Kentucky)
- Chief Justice: Fred M. Vinson (Kentucky)
- Speaker of the House of Representatives: Sam Rayburn (D-Texas)
- Senate Majority Leader: Ernest McFarland (D-Arizona)
- Congress: 82nd
Events
January
- January 14 – The Today Show premieres on NBC, becoming one of the longest-running television series in America.
February
- February 2 – A tropical storm forms just north of Cuba moving northeast. The storm makes landfall in southern Florida the next day. It is the earliest reported landfall from a tropical storm, and the earliest formation of a tropical storm on record in the Atlantic basin.
- February 6 – In the United States, a mechanical heart is used for the first time in a human patient.
- February 20 – Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball, by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League.
March
- March 20 – The United States Senate ratifies a peace treaty with Japan.
- March 21 – Tornadoes ravage the lower Mississippi River Valley, leaving 208 dead, through March 22.
- March 22 – Wernher von Braun publishes the first in his series of articles entitled Man Will Conquer Space Soon!, including ideas for manned flights to Mars and the Moon.
- March 29 – U.S. President Harry S. Truman announces that he will not seek reelection.
April
- April 8 – Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer: The U.S. Supreme Court limits the power of the President to seize private business, after President Harry S. Truman nationalizes all steel mills in the United States, just before the 1952 steel strike begins.
- April 15 – The United States B-52 Stratofortress flies for the first time.
- April 23 – A nuclear test is held in the Nevada desert.
- April 28 – The Treaty of San Francisco goes into effect, formally ending the occupation of Japan.
- April 29 – Lever House officially opens in New York City, heralding a new age of commercial architecture in the United States.
May
- May 3 – U.S. lieutenant colonels Joseph O. Fletcher and William P. Benedict land a plane at the geographic North Pole.
June
- June 14 – The keel is laid for the U.S. nuclear submarine USS Nautilus.
- June 19 – The United States Army Special Forces is created.
July
- July 19–26 – Washington D.C. UFO incident. Several alleged UFOs tracked on multiple radars. Jets scramble on several occasions and the objects take evasive action, only to return after the jets leave the area.
- July 21 – The 7.3 Mw Kern County earthquake strikes Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 12 and injuring hundreds.
- July 25 – Puerto Rico becomes a self-governing commonwealth of the United States.
August
- August 22 – A 5.8 Mw aftershock affects Bakersfield with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing two and causing an additional $10 million in damage.
- August 29 – John Cage's 4' 33" premieres in Woodstock, New York.
September
November 1: Ivy Mike
- September 2 – Dr. C. Walton Lillehei and Dr. F. John Lewis perform the first open-heart surgery at the University of Minnesota.
- September 23 – Republican vice presidential candidate Richard Nixon gives his Checkers speech.
October
- October 7 – The New York Yankees defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4 games to 3, to win their 15th World Series Title.
- October 12 – The Gamma Sigma Sigma National Service Sorority is founded in New York City at Panhellenic Tower.
- October 14 – The United Nations begins work in the new headquarters of the United Nations in New York City.
- October 16 – Limelight opens in London; writer/actor/director/producer Charlie Chaplin arrives by ocean liner; in transit his re-entry permit to the USA is revoked by J. Edgar Hoover.
- October 1 to 31 – With an average coast-to-coast precipitation of 0.54 inches or 13.7 millimetres,[1] this is easily the driest month over the contiguous United States since reliable records began in 1895[2] (The second-driest, November 1917, averaged as much as 0.95 inches or 24.1 millimetres.)
November
November 4: Eisenhower elected in a landslide
- November 1 – Nuclear testing: Operation Ivy: The United States successfully detonates the first hydrogen bomb, codenamed "Mike", at Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, with a yield of 10.4 megatons.
- November 4
- 1952 United States presidential election: Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower defeats Democratic Governor of Illinois Adlai Stevenson (correctly predicted by the UNIVAC computer). The Constitution Party nominates candidates.
- The U.S. National Security Agency is founded.
- November 20 – The first official passenger flight over the North Pole is made from Los Angeles to Copenhagen.
- November 29 – Korean War: U.S. President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower fulfills a political campaign promise, by traveling to Korea to find out what can be done to end the conflict.
December
- December 1 – The New York Daily News carries a front-page story announcing that Christine Jorgensen, a transsexual woman in Denmark, has become the recipient of the first successful sexual reassignment operation.
- December 14 – The first successful surgical separation of Siamese twins is conducted in Mount Sinai Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio.
- December 20 – The crash of a U.S. Air Force C-124 Globemaster at Moses Lake, Washington kills 86 servicemen.
Undated
- Nearly 58,000 cases of polio are reported in the U.S.; 3,145 die and 21,269 are left with mild to disabling paralysis.[3]
- The National Prohibition Foundation is incorporated in Indiana.
Ongoing
- Cold War (1947–1991)
- Second Red Scare (1947–1957)
- Korean War (1950–1953)
Births
- January 2 – Wendy Phillips, actress
- January 6 – Moondog Spot, wrestler (died 2003)
- January 8 – Mel Reynolds, academic and politician
- January 9 – Mike Capuano, lawyer and politician
- January 16
- L. Blaine Hammond, colonel, pilot and astronaut
- Julie Anne Peters, engineer and author
- January 20 – Stanley Eisen, co-founder of hard rock band KIϟϟ
- February 2 – John Cornyn, U.S. Senator from Texas from 2002
- February 16 – James Ingram, R&B singer-songwriter, record producer and instrumentalist (died 2019)
- February 22
- Robert Bauer, attorney
- Albert Bryant, Jr., general
- Cyrinda Foxe, model and actress (died 2002)
- Bill Frist, U.S. Senator from Tennessee from 1995 to 2007
- Wayne Levi, golfer
- March 8 – George Allen, U.S. Senator from Virginia from 2001 to 2007
- March 22 – Bob Costas, sportscaster
- March 23 – Rex Tillerson, 69th United States Secretary of State, CEO of ExxonMobil
- April 1 – Rey Robinson, sprinter and coach
- April 16
- David Hann, politician
- Billy West, voice actor
- May 2 – Christine Baranski, actress
- May 11
- Warren Littlefield, businessman
- Mike Lupica, sports journalist
- May 13 – John Kasich, Governor of Ohio
- May 14 – Robert Zemeckis, film director, producer and screenwriter
- May 21 – Mr. T, actor
- May 25 – Gordon H. Smith, U.S. Senator from Oregon from 1997 to 2009
- June 8 – Dave Jennings, American football player and sportscaster (died 2013)
- June 12 – Spencer Abraham, U.S. Senator from Michigan from 1995 to 2001
- June 20 – John Goodman, actor
- July 4 – Paul Rogat Loeb, author and activist
- July 8 – Jerry Hertaus, politician and businessman from Minnesota
- July 12 – Philip Taylor Kramer, rock musician (died 1995)
- July 14
- Bob Casale, rock keyboardist (Devo) (died 2014)
- Franklin Graham, evangelist, son of Billy Graham
- Ken Hutcherson, American football player (died 2013)
- Stan Shaw, actor
- July 15
- Terry O'Quinn, actor
- Marky Ramone, musician
- Johnny Thunders, guitarist and singer, co-founder of the New York Dolls, inspiration for punk and glam metal; also founder of The Heartbreakers (who toured the United Kingdom on the infamous Anarchy Tour)
- July 17
- David Hasselhoff, actor, singer, producer and businessman
- Nicolette Larson, pop singer (died 1997)
- Billy Sprague, Christian musician
- July 21 – John Barrasso, U.S. Senator from Wyoming from 2007
- July 31
- Chris Ahrens, ice hockey player
- Michael Wolff, jazz pianist
- August 8 – Robin Quivers, African American radio personality (The Howard Stern Show)
- August 9 – Vicki Morgan, model (died 1983)
- August 10 – Daniel Hugh Kelly, actor
- August 11 – Bob Mothersbaugh, rock composer and guitarist (Devo)
- August 12 – Daniel Biles, associate justice of the Kansas Supreme Court
- August 13
- Gary Gibbs, football coach
- Herb Ritts, photographer (died 2002)
- August 18 – Patrick Swayze, actor (died 2009)
- August 24 – Bob Corker, U.S. Senator from Tennessee from 2007 to 2019
- August 25 – Charles M. Rice, virologist, Nobel Prize recipient
- August 26 – Michael Jeter, actor (died 2003)
- September 25 – Christopher Reeve, actor and activist (died 2004)
- October 22
- Julie Dash, director, producer and screenwriter
- Jeff Goldblum, actor, a spouse of actress Geena Davis
- Greg Hawkes, musician
- November 2 – Laurence D. Fink, business investor
- November 3 – Jim Cummings, voice actor
- November 7 – David Petraeus, U.S. Army general
- November 9 – Sherrod Brown, U.S. Senator from Ohio from 2007
- November 12 – Ronald Burkle, entrepreneur
- November 19 – Stephen Soldz, psychoanalyst and activist
- December 2
- Rob Mounsey, keyboard player, composer and producer
- Carol Shea-Porter, social worker, academic and politician
- December 7 – Susan Collins, U.S. Senator from Maine from 1997
Deaths
- January 8 – Antonia Maury, astronomer (born 1866)
- January 18 – Curly Howard, vaudevillian (The Three Stooges) (born 1903)
- January 24 – Duke York, film actor (born 1908)
- January 25 – Polly Moran, actress (born 1883)
- January 26 – André Cheron, film actor (born 1880 in France)
- January 27 – Fannie Ward, actress (born 1872)
- January 28 – Thomas Hicks, marathon runner (born 1876)
- February 7
- Philip G. Epstein, screenwriter (born 1909)
- Pete Henry, American football player and coach (born 1897)
- February 14
- Molly Malone, silent film actress (born 1888)
- John Sheehan, actor (born 1885)
- February 21 – Francis Xavier Ford, Roman Catholic bishop, missionary, servant of God and reverend (born 1892)
- March 1 – Gregory La Cava, film director (born 1892)
- March 2 – Ole E. Benson, politician (born 1866)
- March 12 – Hugh Herbert, actor and comedian (born 1887)
- March 22 – Uncle Dave Macon, vaudeville banjoist (born 1870)
- March 31
- Bo McMillin, American football player and coach (born 1895)
- Roland West, film director (born 1885)
- Wallace H. White, Jr., U.S. Senator from Maine (born 1877)
- April 23 – Julius Freed, inventor and banker (born 1887)
- May 9 – Canada Lee, African American actor (born 1907)
- May 10 – Clark L. Hull, psychologist (born 1884)
- May 21 – John Garfield, screen actor (born 1913)
- June 1
- John Dewey, philosopher (born 1859)
- Malcolm St. Clair, filmmaker (born 1897)
- June 6 – Thomas Walsh, Roman Catholic archbishop and reverend (born 1873)
- June 10 – Frances Theodora Parsons, naturalist (born 1861)
- June 13 – Emma Eames, soprano (born 1865)
- June 17 – Jack Parsons, rocket engineer and occultist (born 1914)
- June 27 – Elmo Lincoln, film actor (born 1889)
- July 1 – A. S. W. Rosenbach, book collector (born 1876)
- July 4 – Walter Long, film character actor (born 1879)
- July 20 – Isabelle LaMal, film actress (born 1886)
- July 22 – Harry Carter, silent film actor (born 1879)
- July 26 – Edward Ellis, actor (born 1870)
- August 1 – Andrew Higgins, boatbuilder and industrialist (born 1886)
- August 2
- Charles K. French, film actor, director and screenwriter (born 1860)
- J. Farrell MacDonald, film character actor and director (born 1875)
- August 11 – Riccardo Martin, tenor (born 1874)
- August 16 – Lydia Field Emmet, painter (born 1866)
- August 30 – Arky Vaughan, baseball player (Pittsburgh Pirates) (born 1912)
- September 5 – Fernando Luis García, Puerto Rican marine, killed in action (born 1929)
- September 9 – Jonas H. Ingram, admiral (born 1886)
- September 23 – Ray Mala, Nastive American film actor (born 1906)
- September 26 – George Santayana, philosopher, died in Italy (born 1863 in Spain)
- September 30 – Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor, businessman and politician (born 1879)
- October 11 – Jack Conway, film producer and director (born 1887)
- October 17 – Julia Dean, actress (born 1878)
- October 19 – Edward S. Curtis, photographer, ethnologist and film director (born 1868)
- October 23 – Susan Peters, actress (born 1921)
- October 24 – Frederick Jacobi, composer (born 1891)
- October 26
- Myrtle McAteer, tennis player (born 1878)
- Hattie McDaniel, African American actress (born 1893)
- November 1 – Dixie Lee, singer (born 1911)
- November 8 – Hugh Prosser, film actor (born 1900)
- November 10 – John Roche, actor (born 1893)
- November 21 – William D. Upshaw, temperance leader (born 1866)
- December 4 – Karen Horney, psychoanalyst (born 1885 in Germany)
- December 12 – Billy Cook, spree killer, executed (born 1928)
- December 15 – Emmanuel Boleslaus Ledvina, Roman Catholic prelate, bishop and reverend (born 1868)
- December 19 – Pehr G. Holmes, politician (born 1881 in Sweden)
- December 29 – Fletcher Henderson, African American jazz bandleader and pianist (born 1897)
- December 30 – Luke McNamee, admiral and Governor of Guam (born 1871)
References
- Contiguous U.S. Precipitation – October
- Winston, Jay S.; ‘The Weather and Circulation of October 1952: The Driest Month on Record in the United States’; Monthly Weather Review; 80(10); pp. 190-194
- Zamula, Evelyn (June 1991). "A New Challenge for Former Polio Patients". FDA Consumer. Food and Drug Administration. 25 (5). Archived from the original on January 26, 2008. Retrieved August 29, 2009.
External links
Media related to 1952 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons
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