1955
Jonas Salk with his beloved wife. He was working on an AIDS vaccine when he died in 1995 at age 85.
When news of the discovery was made public on April 12, 1955, Salk was hailed as a miracle worker. He further endeared himself to the public by refusing to patent the vaccine. He had no desire to profit personally from the discovery, but merely wished to see the vaccine disseminated as widely as possible.
IBM introduces the
concept of "supercomputing". The company
began work on their contribution to the
national effort by producing a machine
that was promised to be 100 times faster
than the fastest machine of the day.
IBM'S "supercomputer" - not for the desktop!
This machine was to expand the state-of-the-art and thus was named STRETCH.
A great year for movies. James
Dean the rebellious teen.
East of Eden
Elia Kazan directed the film version of
John Steinbeck's novel. Jo
Van Fleet won an Oscar, but the star
here is clearly James Dean in an
impressive major-role debut.
Neon signs were big in the '50's & '60's, not to mention drive-ins! Everyone went to see James Dean in "Rebel Without A Cause".
Rebel Without a Cause
James Dean will most be remembered for
his role in this one. Movies like this
and 1955's Blackboard Jungle were
emblematic of
the adolescent disfavor with the
"establishment" that would manifest
itself as the Beat Generation [see
p10,11] in the
late '50s and subsequently the student
radical/revolutionary movements of the
'60s.
Oklahoma!, the Rodgers and Hammerstein
musical is a big hit.
Rosa
Parks becomes the first black person to
refuse to give up her bus seat to 
Rosa Parks sits in the front of the bus, a courageous and important event in the history of civil rights.
a white man, an important milestone in the civil rights movement.
1956
The Dow Jones Industrial Average peaks at 521.06.
Libya's first oil well goes into production.
Procter & Gamble introduces Comet to compete against Ajax.
Clairol introduces the "Does She or Doesn't She" advertising campaign. "Only her hairdresser knows for sure."
Budweiser Brewery introduces Busch beer, giving itself a decade or so to get ready for the boomers.
Chinese citizens who resist communism continue to be "liquidated" by the government.
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. organizes a boycott of Montgomery, Ala., public transportation.
"My Fair Lady" opens on Broadway starring Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle and Rex Harrison as Professor Higgins.
On May 21 The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission explodes the world's first airborne hydrogen bomb.
At a reception for Western ambassadors in November in Moscow, Nikita Khrushchev says, "History is on our side. We will bury you!"
Republican President Eisenhower wins re-election with 57% of the vote, despite concern about his health. The Democrats retain control of the Congress.
At age 21, Floyd Patterson knocks out 42 year-old Archie Moore to become the heavyweight champion of the world.
Don Larsen pitches the first "perfect" game in World Series history, and the Yankees win the World Series.
July 24: 52 people die when the Italian
passenger liner S.S. Andrea Doria
collides off Nantucket Island, Mass.
with the Swedish liner S.S.
Stockholm.
The ill-fated Andrea Doria, 52 died
June 29: The Federal Aid Highway Act passes in Congress authorizing construction of a 42,500-mile network of roads to link major U.S. urban centers.
The Academy award for Best Picture goes to "Around the World in 80 Days." Yul Brenner won for Best Actor in "The King and I."
1957
The Academy award for Best Picture goes to "The Bridge on the River Kwai."
The Wankel rotary engine, which uses only 2 moving parts, will be used in some German and Japanese engines. This engine could revolutionize automobile manufacturing.
In October and November, the Russians launch Sputnik I and Sputnik II, signaling the beginning of the "space race." Sputnik I weighs 184 pounds, Sputnik II carries a live dog into space.
Route 66, the scenic highway from Chicago to L.A, is enjoying the height of its popularity.
Where there's travel, there are certain needs!
After the war, people bought cars and travelled the country. Motels and diners along the way do a booming business.
For the first time, U.S. consumption of margarine overtakes that of butter.[Note from MOE-I can recall those first margarine "blocks", pure white with a little plastic packet of coloring included, which you mixed in a bowl with the margarine to produce an scary-looking orangy mix. Help! Where's my butter!]
China takes a "Great Leap" forward: China puts more than half a billion peasants into 24,000 "people's communes." The people are guaranteed food, clothing, shelter, and child care, but deprived of all private property.
General Motors introduces one
of the most popular
Customized '57 Chevy. Yeow!
cars of automobile history, the '57 Chevrolet, sporting stylish tailfins and much chrome. To this day, the car is a collector's dream.
The first U.S. civil rights bill since the Civil War reconstruction days passes Congress, establishing a Civil Rights Commission and providing safeguards for voting rights.
President Eisenhower uses federal troops to control demonstrations against integration in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Dr. Seuss offers boomers "How the Grinch
Stole Christmas." May of 1954, Life
published a report concerning illiteracy
among school children. The report said,
among other things, that children were
having trouble to read because their
books were boring. This inspired
Geisel's publisher, and prompted him to
send Geisel a list of 400 words he felt
were important, asked him to cut the
A rare "Self-portrait of a young man shaving". Dr. Seuss won two Academy awards and a Pulitzer prize.list to 250 words (the publishers idea of how many words at one time a first grader could absorb), and write a book.
Nine months later, Geisel, using 220 of the words given to him published The Cat in the Hat, which went on to instant success.. This popular series combines engaging stories with outrageous illustrations and playful sounds to teach basic reading skills. In 1960 Bennett Cerf bet Geisel $50 that he couldn't write an entire book using only fifty words. The result was Green Eggs and Ham. Cerf never paid the $50 bet.
The beloved Dr Theodore Geisel [Seuss] died in 1991.Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and two Academy Awards, Seuss was the author and illustrator of 44 children's books, some of which have been made into audio cassettes, animated television specials, and videos for children of all ages. Even after his death in 1991, Dr. Seuss continues to be the best-selling author of children's books in the world.
"West Side Story" premieres on Broadway. A few months later, "The Music Man" opens.
Barry Gordy, Jr. invests $700 to found "Motown Records." And the rest, as they say... is history."
Israel rejects a United Nations resolution calling for her to withdraw from Egypt's Gaza Strip and other occupied Egyptian territory unless she receives more UN assurance that her own territory will be protected.
Doctors begin testing the birth control pill to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
4.3 million boomers are born this year, more than in any year before... or since.
Just in time for the boomers, the Wham-O company introduces the Frisbee.
Over 1,000 computers are built in 1957.... up from 20 in 1954.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is thrown out of the AFL-CIO on charges of corruption. Jimmy Hoffa becomes head of the Teamsters.
Ford spends $250 million to market the Edsel.
New York takes its last trolley car out of service.
1958
For the first time in 26 years, the U.S. Postal rates go up. It now costs 4 cents to mail a first class letter.
VISA and the American Express credit cards are introduced.
The median U.S. family annual income is just over $5,000.
Uncle Sam calls; 
Elvis listens: Our
first mega-rock star is inducted into
the Army.
The U.S. experiences an economic recession, as unemployment goes over 5%.
Sweet n' Low is introduced as an artificial Sweetener, using saccharin instead of sugar. Meanwhile, Cocoa Puffs is introduced; it contains 43% sugar.
The first Pizza Hut opens in Kansas City.
The first Grammy Award is given to the song, "Volare."
The Wham-O company introduces the Hula Hoop; over 100 million are sold.
The New York Yankees win the World Series, defeating Milwaukee.
The Brooklyn Dodgers become the Los Angeles Dodgers and play their first season at the L.A. Coliseum.
Arnold Palmer wins the U.S. Masters' golf tournament.
The Boeing 707 goes into production.
The Academy award for Best Picture goes to "Gigi."
1959
Sony introduces the first transistorized TV set.
Vice President Nixon opens an American exhibit in Moscow and engages Premier Khrushchev with what will become known as the "kitchen debate."
Mattel introduces Barbie to 20 million baby boomers.
Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper die in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.
Carol Burnett and Jack Gilford star on Broadway in "Once Upon a Mattress."
"Gypsy" opens on Broadway, starring Ethel Merman. A few weeks later, "The Sound of Music" opens. This is truly the golden age of Broadway.
Alaska and Hawaii are admitted to the U.S.
Fidel Castro takes over the leadership of Cuba.
The L.A. Dodgers win the World Series.
Swedish fighter Ingemar Johansson wins the world heavyweight crown by knocking out Floyd Patterson in New York.
Two U.S. engineers invent the microchip, which will lead to the founding of Intel Corporation.
Patty Duke and Ann Bancroft star on Broadway in "The Miracle Worker."
Japan automakers produce 79,000 automobiles in 1959. Ford introduces the Falcon, and American Motors offers the Rambler.
The Academy award for Best Picture goes to "Ben-Hur." Charlton Heston wins the Best Actor award. Other movies in 1959 include "North by Northwest" and "Anatomy of a Murder."
Xerox introduces the first production paper copier machine.
The U.S. launches Echo I, the world's first communication satellite.
The soviets shoot down a U.S. U-2 spy plane and capture the pilot, Capt. Gary Powers. The U.S. is thus forced to admit to spying on the Soviet Union. In response, Premier Khrushchev cancels a Paris summit meeting with President Eisenhower.
Television may have given Senator Kennedy the edge he needed to defeat Vice President Nixon in the first televised presidential debate. Kennedy wins by a margin of 113,000 votes (out of 69 million votes cast).
Outgoing-President Eisenhower warns against the "military-industrial-complex" that attempts to maintain high levels of defense spending.
95% of soft drinks sold in the U.S. are furnished in reusable bottles. But in 1960 aluminum cans are used for the first time.
In 1960 Howard Johnson had 607 independently owned restaurants, making it the largest private food distributor in the country.
Thomas S. Monaghan, borrows $500 to buy a pizza parlor in Detroit, and renames it "Domino's."
In February, U.S. blacks begin "sit-in" demonstrations at Greensboro, N.C., lunch counters. The city desegregates eating places in July.
Chubby Checker introduces The Twist at the Peppermint Lounge in New York.
"Camelot," "The Fantastics" and "Oliver" open in New York.
Castro nationalizes all banks and most industrial and commercial enterprises. This is Castro's communism.
The Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Yankees to win the 1960 World Series.
Floyd Patterson defeats Ingemar Johansson to regain the heavyweight championship.
2,000 computers are delivered in the U.S.
The Academy award for Best Picture goes to "The Apartment."
