1952 History Events: What Happened in 1952

West Germany had nearly 7 million migrants within its borders by 1952. The Greatest Show on Earth, starring Betty Hutton and Cornel Wilde, was the highest-grossing picture of all time. André Gide’s writings were added to the Catholic Church’s list of banned publications by Pope Pius XII. Delicado by Percy Faith topped the charts in the United States and Europe.

On February 6, 1952, King George VI of the United Kingdom and its Dominions, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Ceylon, and Pakistan, died at the age of 56. During a tour to Kenya, his daughter Princess Elizabeth, the Duchess of Edinburgh, became queen immediately after the King’s death. The funeral of King George VI took place in Windsor Castle’s St. Georges Chapel.
She is currently known as Queen Elizabeth II, and she is one of the world’s oldest rulers.

The rock and roll genre had taken root in people’s hearts by the 1950s. Thousands of people, mostly teenagers, lined up outside the Cleveland Arena on March 21, 1952, to see the first major rock-and-roll concert. Tickets for the Moondog Coronation Ball sold out in a single day, setting the standard for an ever-expanding rock scene.

On December 4, London was blanketed with dense smog. By the time it was lifted, at least 4000 people had died. When cold air poured in from the west, a high-pressure air mass stalled above the River Thames Valley, according to meteorological records. As a result, the air in London became stagnant, resulting in extremely cold temperatures. Residents used more coal to stay warm, which, when combined with soot, smoke, and sulphur oxide from industry, resulted in an extremely thick smog that decreased vision to a few yards. This resulted in a train collision, rail mishaps, and human and animal respiratory problems.

Finally, the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Selman Abraham Waksman; the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Felix Bloch and Edward Mills Purcell; and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Archer John Porter Martin and Richard Laurence Millington Synge. The barcode was patented in the United States in this year by Norman J. Woodland.

Continue reading to discover more about the events of 1952.

Event
(February 06, 1952) Following the death of her father, King George VI, Elizabeth II gained the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on this day in 1952, and celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 2002.
Advertisements (March 07, 1952) Viv Richards, the best batsman of his generation and nicknamed "Master Blaster," was born in Antigua.
(June 29, 1952) The first Miss Universe pageant takes place. Armi Kuusela of Finland is crowned Miss Universe 1952.
(August 28, 1952) Rita Dove was born in Akron, Ohio. She was poet laureate of the United States (1993–1995) and winner of the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Thomas and Beulah (1986).
(October 03, 1952) A nuclear bomb is successfully tested by the UK, making it a third nuclear power in the world. photo source: wikimedia.org
Advertisements Happy Birthday! (October 07, 1952) Vladimir Putin, Russian colonel and politician, 4th President of Russia. photo source: wikimedia.org
(November 01, 1952) The United States has successfully detonated a nuclear device. At the Eniwetok atoll, Ivy Mike, Edward Teller, and other American scientists tested the first thermonuclear bomb. The blast produced ten megatons of TNT equivalent. photo source: wikimedia.org