What was making the news in 1951? Just watch the various newsreels from the year. "Attack Of The 50 ft. Woman", "Creature From The Black Lagoon", "Vertigo", "The Day The Earth Stood Still", "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "An Affair To Remember" were in the theaters. I Love Lucy debuts on CBS TV, making Lucille Ball the first major female televsion star. Dragnet debuts. CBS airs it's first color broadcast and the first color broadcast of a baseball game is seen. Reclusive author J.D.Salinger publishes "The Catcher In The Rye". Frankie Lane inks a contract with Columbia Records, becoming the highest paid singer of his day. He scores big hits with Jezebel and Rose, Rose, I Love You. Ray Charles begins his musical career. Disc jockey Alan Freed uses the term "Rock and Roll" to describe R & B.
BORN IN 1951: Kirstie Alley, Phil Collins, Dale Earnhardt, Tommy Hilfiger, Anjelica Huston, Anatoly Karpov, John Mellencamp, Queen Noor of Jordan, Sally Ride, Kurt Russel, Steven Seagal, Dave Winfield.
DIED IN 1951: William Randolph Hearst, Arnold Schoenberg.
1951 Newsreels
The Forgotten War: On June 25, 1950 North Korea, with material backing from the Soviet Union, crosses the geographic demarcation known as the 38th parallel to launch a successful surprise attack on South Korea and seize the city of Seoul. Thus begins the Korean War, the first armed confrontation of the Cold War. Determined to halt communist aggression, U.S. President Harry S. Truman quickly marshals a United Nations mandate and General Douglas MacArthur is named UN commander-in-chief. On September 15, MacArthur famously leads the amphibious assault at Inchon, cutting enemy supply lines, sealing off the southern peninsula and recapturing Seoul. Little territory changes hands for the remainder of the war, resulting in a stalemate and a cease-fire on July 27, 1953. An estimated 2 million die in total: U.S. troops suffer 169,365 casualties, including 36,574 fatalities.
The Red Scare: The first half of the decade finds Americans building backyard bomb shelters, fearful of communist aggression. Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy capitalizes on the apprehension to launch a series of zealous attacks and accusations "exposing" communist infiltrators and sympathizers - a campaign widly considered a "witch hunt." McCarthy's downfall is hastened by the famous rebuke directed at him by Army attorney general, Joseph Welch: "Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"
Andrea Doria Sinks: The Italian liner Andrea Doria sinks after a collision with Sweden's Stockholm in a crowded shipping lane off the coast of Nantucket Island, July 25, 1956. The world follows the drama intently on television and radio, as the rescue operation saves the majority onboard. 52 die, however, and cameras are rolling as the ship finally goes down in 225 feet of water.