Top News Stories from 1952
World Events
World Statistics
Population: 4.378 billion
population by decade Nobel Peace Prize: Albert Schweitzer (French Equatorial Africa)
More World Statistics... - George VI of England dies; his daughter becomes Elizabeth II (Feb. 6).
- NATO conference approves European army (Feb.).
- King Farouk of Egypt is ousted by a military coup (July 23). General Mohammed Naguib assumes power.
- Britain announces its development of atomic weapons (Oct.). Background: nuclear weapons
- Greece and Turkey join NATO.
U.S. Events
U.S. Statistics
President: Harry S Truman
Vice President: Alben W. Barkley
Population: 157,552,740
Life expectancy: 68.6 years
Homicide Rate (per 100,000): 5.2
More U.S. Statistics... - US explodes first thermonuclear bomb at Enewetak Island (Nov. 1).
- President-elect Dwight Eisenhower follows through with his campaign promise to visit Korea (Dec. 2).
- 56 million watch Richard Nixon's "Checker's speech" on TV.
Economics
US GDP (1998 dollars): $358.6 billion
Federal spending: $67.69 billion
Federal debt $259.1 billion
Consumer Price Index: $26.5
Unemployment: 3.3%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.03
Sports
World Series
NY Yankees d. Brooklyn DodgersNBA Championship
Minneapolis Lakers d. New YorkStanley Cup
Detroit d. MontrealWimbledon
Women: Maureen Connolly d. L. Brough (7-5 6-3)Men: Frank Sedgman d. J. Drobny (4-6 6-2 6-3 6-2)
Kentucky Derby Champion
Hill GailNCAA Basketball Championship
Kansas d. St. John'sNCAA Football Champions
Michigan St. (AP, UP) (9-0-0) & Georgia Tech (INS) (12-0-0) 1952 Summer OlympicsEntertainment
Entertainment Awards
Pulitzer Prizes Music: Symphony Concertante, Gail Kubik
Drama: The Shrike, Joseph Kramm
Academy Award, Best Picture: An American in Paris, Arthur Freed, producer (MGM)
Nobel Prize for Literature: François Mauriac (France)
Miss America: Coleen Kay Hutchins (UT)
More Entertainment Awards... Events
- Jose Quintero's revival of Tennessee Williams's Summer and Smoke premieres at Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre and is the first major Off-Broadway success.
- Television's first magazine-format program, the Today Show, debuts on NBC with Dave Garroway hosting.
- The Jackie Gleason Show (The Honeymooners) debuts on CBS, beginning a two-decade run.
- Merce Cunningham forms his own dance company.
Movies
- Singin' in the Rain, High Noon, The Greatest Show on Earth, Moulin Rouge
Books
- Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
- Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea
- Bernard Malamud, The Natural
- Flannery O'Connor, Wise Blood
Science
Nobel Prizes in Science
Chemistry: Archer John Porter Martin and Richard Laurence Millington Synge (both UK), for development of partition chromatography
Physics: Edward Mills Purcell and Felix Bloch (US), for work in measurement of magnetic fields in atomic nuclei
Physiology or Medicine: Selman A. Waksman (US), for co-discovery of streptomycin
Physiology or Medicine: The Caine Mutiny, Herman Wouk
More Nobel Prizes in 1998... - G.W.A. Dummer (England) proposes the theoretical basis for the integrated circuit. Background: Computers and Internet
- Jonas E. Salk (US) develops the first experimentally safe dead-virus polio vaccine. Background: Major U.S. Epidemics
- The first plastic artificial heart valve is developed at Georgetown Medical Center. Background: Health & Nutrition
- First jetliner service inaugurated by BOAC between London and Johannesburg, South Africa (May 2).
- Capt. Vincent H. McGovern and 1st Lt. Harold W. Moore make first transatlantic helicopter flight (July 15–31). Background: Famous Firsts in Aviation
