1950
Korean war – communist forces invade South Korea
Klaus Fuchs is convicted of spying for the Soviet Union (The Cold War)
Assassination attempt on President Truman by Puerto Rican people. ,
1950- More than 3 billion tickets sold at U.S. movie theaters.George VI of England dies; his daughter becomes Elizabeth II (Feb. 6).
First Broadcast from the House of Commons- 26/10/1950- The opening of the rebuilt Commons Chamber is the occasion for this inaugural broadcast.1950- Average UK annual salary £101. USA average annual salary $2992 - when dollars were $4 to £11951 - TV Cameras in 10 Downing Street-- Television cameras are allowed inside the PM's residence for the first time
1951World's First Colour Transmission- - CBS in the US transmits the first colour programme1952Debut of For Deaf Children- - The first programme for children with impaired hearing, it later becomes Vision On.1953- To counteract the threat of television, Hollywood thinks big and develops wide-screen processes such as CinemaScope, first seen in The Robe.1953- Playboy arrives, with Marilyn Monroe stretched out on the cover.
1953 The first issue of TV Guide magazine hits the newsstands on April 3 in 10 cities with a circulation of 1,560,000.
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II- 2/6/1953- Arguably the definitive event in the evolution of British television, the Queen's coronation is the first time that a TV broadcast draws a bigger audience than radio.Television Act 1954 Becomes Law- 30/7/1954- The introduction of commercial television is given Royal Assent, changing the face of British TV.1954- French power and dominance in Vietnam ended when French forces were defeated at Dien Bien Phu, and:US segregation made illegal in USA.1955 - US starts sending $216 million in aid to Vietnam.
First Eurovision Song Contest- The cornerstone event of the European Broadcasting Union airs for the first time, although the UK does not enter until the following year (thus having a perfectly acceptable reason for scoring 'nul points'). Nonetheless, the BBC covers the ceremony.
1960’s
1960- Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho terrifies audiences and becomes one of the year's most successful films, as well as one of the most memorable psychological thrillers.Kennedy Elected President- 9/11/1960- JFK becomes the 35th president of the United States after beating Richard Nixon by a slim margin. He is the youngest elected president in US history
1961 - There are 2,000 US military advisers in South Vietnam. Background: Vietnam War
Marilyn Monroe Found Dead- 5/8/1962- Millions mourn the death of everyone's favourite blonde bombshell. The 36-year-old actress' body is discovered in the early hours of this morning – drug overdose.
1962 - The first transatlantic television transmission occurs via the Telstar Satellite, making worldwide television and cable networks a reality.JFK Assassinated- 22/11/1963- President John F Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The Earl Warren Commission subsequently confirms that a lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, is responsible. Tex. Lyndon B. Johnson becomes President same day (Nov. 22).Lee Harvey Oswald, accused Kennedy assassin, is shot and killed by Jack Ruby (Nov. 24) - Viewers tuned into NBC witness Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald on camera – the first live telecast of a murder.
1963 - Beatlemania hits the U.K. The Beatles, a British band composed of John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, take Britain by storm. The Rolling Stones emerge as the anti-Beatles, with an aggressive, blues-derived style.
BBC Two Launch- 20/4/1964- The opening night of BBC Two is wrecked by a power failure that throws London into chaos and takes down Television Centre. A normal service resumes the following day, however, with Play School becoming the first proper broadcast on the BBC's second channel.Top of the Pops- 1964- Jimmy Saville hosts the first-ever edition from a disused church in Dickenson Road, Manchester. Guests include The Rolling Stones, Dusty Springfield and The Swinging Blue Jeans.
1964 - Nelson Mandela sentenced to life imprisonment in South Africa (June 11)
1965 - The first US combat troops arrive in Vietnam. By the end of the year, 190,000 American soldiers are in Vietnam.
1965 - Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and more than 2,600 others arrested in Selma, Ala., during demonstrations against voter-registration rules (Feb. 1) (Civil rights)
1966- In China, the Cultural Revolution.
1966 - CBS backs out of plans to broadcast Psycho, deeming the movie too violent for at-home viewing.
1968 - Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader, is slain in Memphis (April 4).
1969 - Apollo 11 astronauts—Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., —take first walk on the Moon (July 20).
1970’s
1970: Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch, adds to feminist literature.The Beatles Split- 10/4/1970- Millions mourn as the Fab Four decide to call it a day, symbolically ushering in the end of a decade of idealism and social change.1971: EmailThe Two Ronnies- /1971- The best comedy writers of the day work on The Two Ronnies (BBC), endowed with two funny-men rather than the usual straight/funny double-act. The old couple are revisiting the series later in 2005.The Generation Game- 2/10/1971- Bruce Forsythe and then-wife Anthea Redfern host the long-running game show which sees family couples compete in bizarre challenges. A 1979 episode is the most watched game show in history as 23.9 million viewers tune into the BBC during the ITV strike.Bloody Sunday- 30/1/1972- A peaceful civil-rights march in Derry descends into chaos as British paratroopers open fire, killing 14 Irish civilians. The army contests that the victims are snipers, while the local community claims their innocence. The government inquiry is ongoing.Newsround- 4/4/1972- In the first news programme specifically for children, John Craven presents the news in an informal and slightly sanitised manner for many years. The BBC programme continues to this day.
1972 - Women dominate the 1971 Grammy Awards, taking all four top categories. Carole King won Record, Album and Song of the Year, while Carly Simon takes the Best New Artist award.
1973- The Exorcist, Last Tango in Paris, American Graffiti.The World at War- 31/10/1973- In the days before it becomes hard to avoid documentaries about World War II, the Iandmark ITV series offers the first major examination of the war on television.Ceefax Test Transmission Begins- 4/1/1973- The world's first teletext system is devised by BBC technicians, who realised that digital signals could be broadcast with analogue transmissions. The system is still popular despite its dated format, but analogue switch-off in the coming decade will spell its farewell.
1973 - The Jamaican film The Harder They Come, starring Jimmy Cliff, launches the popularity of reggae music in the United States.
1975: Steven Spielberg's Jaws will be the first film to earn more than $100 millionThe Naked Civil Servant- 17/12/1975- Telling the life-story of persecuted homosexual Quentin Crisp, the programme is a defining moment in television's depiction of gay lifestylesFawlty Towers- 19/9/1975- John Cleese plays the beleagured Torquay hotelier who's in contant battle with his wife, staff and customers. Cleese's decision to only make 12 episodes helps preserve the series' monolithic stature
1976 - The Steadicam is used for the first time in Rocky.
1976 - NBC broadcasts Gone with the Wind and scores record-breaking ratings.
1977: Saturday Night Fever sparks the disco inferno and the popularity of movie soundtracks.
1977 - Elvis Presley dies at Graceland, his Memphis, Tenn. home. He was 42.Subtitling Begins- 2/9/1979- BBC's Ceefax service offers subtitling for programmes for the first time, available on the memorable page number 888.Margaret Thatcher Wins General Election- 3/5/1979- Britain's first female prime minister, the Iron Lady herself, comes to power amid a landslide victory for the Conservative Party. She becomes Britain's longest-serving PM of the 20th century.1979: Rap music goes beyond the streets of New York.
1980’s
1980 - John Lennon of the Beatles shot dead in New York City.Yes Minister- 25/2/1980- Debut of Margaret Thatcher's 'truly favourite programme.' In 1984, the PM performs in her own sketch with Nigel Hawthorne and Paul Eddington to mark the 20th anniversary of the National Viewers and Listeners Association.Children in Need- 21/11/1980- Telethons come to the UK for the first time with the BBC's appeal show. Comic Relief and ITV's Telethons both follow in 1988.1981: In Sri Lanka, Sinhalese police burn irreplaceable library of Tamil history.Brixton & Toxteth Riots- 25/11/1981- Lord Scarman's report following the Brixton race riots leads to the introduction of the Police Complaints Authority and other measures aimed at improving trust between the police and ethnic minority communities. More large-scale riots follow in 1985Prince Charles and Lady Diana Wed- 29/7/1981- A worldwide TV audience of 750 million watch the Royal wedding, which features the first Buckingham Palace 'balcony kiss'.
1981- MTV goes on the air running around the clock music videos, debuting with "Video Killed the Radio Star."
Falklands War- 2/4/1982- Argentina invades the Falkland Islands. A ceasefire is agreed in June. The war costs the lives of 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen. Channel 4 Launches- 2/11/1982- Word quiz Countdown launches the new channel. Other programmes on the first night include Stephen Frears' Walter, starring Ian McKellan as an institutionalised mental patient. Frears complained that the vogue for heritage dramas 'perpetuated myths about an England that no longer exists.
1982 - Michael Jackson releases Thriller, which sells more than 25 million copies, becoming the biggest-selling album in historyBrighton Bomb- 12/10/1983- An IRA bomb explodes at the Conservative Party conference in Brighton in a direct attack on the British Government.Miners' Strike- 5/3/1984- The longest industrial dispute in British history begins over proposed pit closures in Yorkshire. Miners return to work in 1985 after national campaigns of support, pitched battles with the police and 10,000 arrests
1984 - Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi assassinated by two Sikh bodyguards; 1,000 killed in anti-Sikh riots; son Rajiv succeeds her (Oct. 31).
1984 - The Supreme Court rules that taping television shows at home on VCRs does not violate copyright law.
1984 - Three hundred slain as Indian Army occupies Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar
1985: Worldwide mass communication harnessed for "Aid to Africa" appealEastEnders-
1985 - Madonna launches her first road show, the Virgin Tour.
1987: The Simpsons, animated cartoon, introduced on Fox TV.1987: Wall Street, Moonstruck,
Fatal Attraction, Lethal Weapon.'Yes' to Female Priests- 26/2/1987- The general synod approves women priests in the Church of England. Seven years later the BBC launches The Vicar of Dibley starring Dawn French.Desmond's- 5/1/1988- Channel 4 helps cement its reputation as the broadcaster most attuned to multicultural Britain with this sitcom set in a Peckham barbershop. The series runs for six years and spawns a spin-off, Porkpie (1995-96).Satellite
Television- 1989- Sky launches the UK's first satellite television service, with four channels: Sky Channel, Eurosport, Sky Movies and Sky News. Sky's rival, the government-backed British Satellite Broadcasting launches in March 1990. Doomed from the start, it merges with Sky in
November 1990.Fall of Berlin Wall- - The Wall comes down five days after the East German government resigned
Blackadder Goes Forth- 28/9/1989- The final Blackadder series, set in the First World War trenches, maintains the comic brio of its predecessors, but is more serious in tone as the characters live amid the madness of war. The final episode sees Blackadder and Baldrick going over the top to their deaths.
1990’s
1990: Many telephone, broadcasting monopolies move to competition, privatization.1990: Steven Spielberg wins his first directing Oscar for Schindler's List.BSB Launches- 29/4/1990- British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) makes its debut but the company is quickly hit by financial difficulties due to the expense of building and launching its own satellites. BSB subsequently merges with Sky TV on 2 November.1991: Motion Picture Association says only 16% of American movies fit for kids under 13.1991: For the first time a cartoon, Beauty and the Beast, is up for best picture Oscar1991: Thelma & Louise, Bugsy, City SlickersShopping Channel- 1/10/1993- QVC, based on the successful American QVC channel, becomes Britain's first home shopping channel. Standing for 'Quality, Value and Convenience', it offers retail goods to more than three million Sky subscribers.
1993 - A 13-year-old Los Angeles boy accuses Michael Jackson of fondling him. Jackson vehemently denies the charge. The two parties reach an out-of-court settlement
1994 - ER and Friends debut on NBC, establishing NBC's dominance of the Thursday-night lineup
1994- Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption (Great film – a must watch)
1995: Toy Story is the first totally digital feature-length film
1995 - US rescues Mexico's economy with $20-billion aid program (Feb. 21)
The Simpsons Arrive at the BBC- 23/11/1996- The Simpson family introduce themselves to a whole new audience with their first broadcast on terrestrial TV. It took a while, though: American viewers, and those with Sky, were first treated to the yellow ones' antics back in 1990.
1996 - President blocks ban on late-term abortions (April 10)
Channel 5 Launches- 30/3/1997- With a rendition of the song The Power of Five, performed by the Spice Girls, Channel 5 hits the airwaves – the first new terrestrial channel in 15 years.
Viagra Goes on Sale- 27/3/1998- Men across Britain get a new lease of life as the British-based firm Pfizer releases a new treatment for impotence. Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, it goes on to become the world's fastest-selling drug.Westminster Women-
1998- ITV screens a three-part series about the wave of women MPs that have arrived with the advent of Tony Blair's Labour government.
1999: The Blair Witch Project emerges as an instant cult classic and becomes the most profitable film of all time, grossing more than $125 million. The film cost $30,000 to make.
2000 - George W Bush is Declared President-elect-
US Terror Attacks- 11/9/2001- At approximately 8.43am EDT, the first of two planes crashes into the World Trade Center towers, beginning a day of terrorist attacks on US soil. 2001 - Bush signs new tax-cut law, the largest in 20 years (June 7).
2001 - Terrorists attack United States. Hijackers ram jetliners into twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
2002: Black actors won top Oscars. Denzel Washington and Halle Berry honored for Training Day and Monster's Ball, respectively (March 24)
2002 - Eminem, the controversial white rapper notorious for his hate-saturated lyrics, enters the mainstream with the release of his movie 8 Mile and its soundtrack, The Eminem Show, which was the year's top-selling album (Nov. 8).
Hutton Report Published- 28/1/2004- In May 2003, Radio 4's Andrew Gilligan claims that an unnamed source (Dr David Kelly) told him that the government's document on Iraq's WMDs had been 'sexed up'. After Kelly's suicide, the Hutton Report concludes that the BBC's allegations were 'unfounded'. The BBC chairman and director-general resign.
2004 - michael moore - documentary.
Desperate Housewives- - introducing Susan, Lynette, Gabrielle, et al. It receives the highest-ever audience share for a US series when it is first broadcast, peaking at 4.8 million viewers
