1949

Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century

Decades: 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s - 1940s - 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s

Years: 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 - 1949 - 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954

Events

• January 11 - Los Angeles, California receives its first recorded snowfall .
• January 25 - The first Emmy Awards are presented at the Hollywood Athletic Club[?].
• January 25 - In the first Israeli election, David Ben-Gurion becomes Prime Minister.
• January 26 - Australian Citizenship comes into being.
• February 8 - Cardinal Mindszenty[?] of Hungary is sentenced for treason.
• February 14 - The Knesset (Israeli parliament) first convenes.
• February 19 - Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize in poetry[?] by the Bollingen Foundation[?] and Yale University.
• March 2 - The B-50 Superfortress[?] Lucky Lady II[?] lands in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight.
• March 3 - The Tucker automobile Corporation folds.
• March 28 - United States Secretary of Defense James Forrestal resigns suddenly.
• April 1 - Newfoundland joins Canada.
• April 4 - NATO is formed.
• June - EDSAC, the first stored-program computer, begins operation at Cambridge University.
• May 9 - Rainier III of Monaco becomes Prince of Monaco.
• May 11 - Siam changes its name to Thailand.
• May 12 - Cold War: The Soviet Union lifts its Blockade of Berlin.
• May 20 - The AFSA (predecessor of the NSA) is established.
• May 22 - After two months in Bethesda Naval Hospital[?], James Forrestal commits suicide, under circumstances that seem suspicious to many.
• May 23 - The Federal Republic of Germany is established.
• August 29 - Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb.
• September 29 - First Plenary Session of the National People's Congress approves design for the Flag of the People's Republic of China.
• October 1 - Birth of the People's Republic of China.
• December 27 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands grants Indonesia sovereignty.
• Fourth Geneva Convention is signed.

Art, Culture & Fashion

• 1949 in film
  • February 10 - Death of a Salesman opens (Morosco Theatre in New York City).
  • All the King's Men
  • Twelve O'Clock High
  • Sands of Iwo Jima starring John Wayne
• 1949 in literature
• 1949 in music
• 1949 in sports[?]
  • March 1 - World heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis announces his retirement from boxing.
  • A form of drag racing, using a hand-held stop watch for timing, begins on the Bonneville Salt Flats[?].
  • Red Byron[?] won the inaugural NASCAR Championship.

• 1949 in television
  • January 3 - Colgate Theatre premieres on NBC.
  • January 11 - A 2 hour special on all networks celebrates the linking of the eastern and midwestern networks via coaxial cable
  • January 17 - The Goldbergs, the first sitcom on American television, airs.
  • January 31 - The first Emmy Awards[?] are presented and broadcasted on television from Los Angeles
  • May - The first telethon, benefitting the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund[?], is hosted by Milton Berle and lasts for 24 hours
  • August 25 - RCA announces the development of a compatible color TV system.
  • December 29 - KC2XAK[?] of Bridgeport, Connecticut becomes the first ultrahigh frequency (UHF) television station to operate a daily schedule.

Births

• January 8 - Wolfgang Puck[?], celebrity chef
• January 10 - George Foreman, boxer
• January 10 - James Lapine[?], stage director
• January 10 - Linda Lovelace, pornographic film actress (+ 2002)
• January 12 - Wayne Wang, director
• January 13 - Brandon Tartikoff[?], television executive (+ 1997)
• January 14 - Lawrence Kasdan[?], director, screenwriter
• January 17 - Andy Kaufman, comedian (+ 1984)
• January 18 - Philippe Starck, French designer
• January 19 - Robert Palmer[?], singer, guitarist[?]
• January 20 - Göran Persson, prime minister of Sweden.
• January 24 - John Belushi, actor (+ 1982)
• February 11 - Charlie Hargrett[?], rock guitarist.
• February 22 - Niki Lauda, Formula One driver
• March 2 - Eddie Money, singer
• March 13 - Julia Migenes[?], soprano
• March 16 - Erik Estrada, actor
• March 17 - Patrick Duffy[?], actor
• March 22 - Fanny Ardant, actress
• March 23 - Ric Ocasek[?], musician ("The Cars")
• March 24 - Nick Lowe, musician
• March 26 - Patrick Süskind[?], writer (The Perfume)
• March 30 - Lene Lovich, singer
• April 1 - Gil Scott-Heron, musician, composer
• April 3 - Richard Thompson, musician, songwriter
• April 7 - John Oates[?], musician ("Hall and Oates[?]")
• May 9 - Billy Joel, American[?] musician
• May 18 - Rick Wakeman, musician ("Yes"), composer
• May 18 - Bill Wallace[?], musician The Guess Who[?], Winnipeg
• May 26 - Philip Michael Thomas[?], actor
• May 26 - Hank Williams Jr., singer
• May 31 - Tom Berenger[?], actor.
• July 15 - Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden.
• August 12 - Mark Knopfler, musician
• August 15 - Richard Deacon, sculptor
• August 25 - Martin Amis, novelist
• September 7 - Gloria Gaynor, singer
• September 23 - Bruce Springsteen, singer, songwriter
• October 1 - Isaac Bonewits, author, occultist.
• November 6 - Arturo Sandoval, Jazz preformer
• November 24 - Nicholas Richard Ainger, British politician
• December 3 - John Akii-Bua Ugandan hurdler
• December 4 - Jeff Bridges, actor
• December 4 - Pamela Stephenson, Comedienne, actress and singer
• December 7 - Tom Waits, singer, composer, actor
• December 22 - Maurice Gibb, musician (The Bee Gees) (+ 2003)
• December 22 - Robin Gibb, musician (The Bee Gees)
• Judi Bari, activist (+ 1997)
• Tomaž Pisanski, mathematician

Deaths

• January 6 - Victor Fleming, director
• January 28 - Jean-Pierre Wimille[?], race car driver
• May 9 - Louis II of Monaco
• May 22 - James Forrestal, US secretary of Navy, Defense
• October 27 - Marcel Cerdan, World Champion Boxer
• December 16 - Sidney Olcott, pioneer film director
• Bhattacharya, Dr K C
• Sigrid Undset, Norwegian author

Nobel Prizes

• Physics - Hideki Yukawa
• Chemistry - William Francis Giauque[?]
• Medicine - Walter Rudolf Hess[?], Antonio Caetano De Abreu Freire Egas Moniz[?]
• Literature - William Faulkner
• Peace - Lord John Boyd Orr of Brechin[?]

Books