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 1949
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Year 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar.
[edit] Events of 1949
[edit] January
- January 2 - Luis Muñoz Marín becomes the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.
- January 4 - RMS Caronia of the Cunard Line departs Southampton for New York on her maiden voyage.
- January 4 - February 22 - Series of winter storms in Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah, Colorado and Nevada - winds of up to 72 mph - tens of thousands of cattle and sheep perish.
- January 5 - U.S. President Harry S. Truman unveils his Fair Deal program.
- January 11 - Los Angeles, California receives its first recorded snowfall.
- January 11 - KDKA-TV, Becomes the first local, on-air television station.
- January 17 - The first Volkswagen Beetle to arrive in the United States, a 1948 model, is brought over to New York by Dutch businessman Ben Pon. Unable to interest dealers or importers in the Volkswagen, Pon sells the sample car to pay his travel expenses. Only two 1949 models will be sold in America that year, convincing Volkswagen chairman Heinrich Nordhoff that the car has no future in the U.S. (The VW Beetle goes on to become the greatest automobile phenomenon in American history.)
[edit] February
[edit] March
- March 1 - World heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis retires.
- March 1 - Indonesia seizes Yogyakarta from the Dutch.
- March 2 - The B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II under Captain James Gallagher lands in Fort Worth, Texas, after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight(it was refueled in flight 4 times).
- March 17 - The Shamrock Hotel in Houston, Texas, owned by oil tycoon Glenn McCarthy, has its grand opening.
- March 20 - The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, Denver & Rio Grande Western and Western Pacific railroads inaugurate the California Zephyr passenger train between Chicago and Oakland, California, as the first long distance train to feature Vista Dome cars as regular equipment.
- March 25 - An extensive deportation campaign is conducted in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Soviet authorities deport more than 92,000 people from the Baltics to remote areas of the Soviet Union.
- March 26 - The first half of Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida, conducted by legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini, and performed in concert (i.e. no scenery or costumes), is telecast by NBC, live from Studio 8H at Rockefeller Center. The second half is telecast a week later. This is only complete opera that Toscanini ever conducts on television.
- March 28 - United States Secretary of Defense James Forrestal resigns suddenly.
- March 29 - The 21st Academy Awards ceremony is held.
- March 31 - The former British colony of Newfoundland and Labrador joins Canada as its 10th province.
[edit] April
- April 1 - Éire leaves the British Commonwealth and becomes the Republic of Ireland.
- April 1 - The Tokyo Stock Exchange is founded.
- April 4 - The North Atlantic Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C., creating the NATO defense alliance.
- April 7 - Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific, starring Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza, opens on Broadway and goes on to become R&H's second longest-running musical. It becomes an instant classic of the musical theatre. The score's biggest hit is the song Some Enchanted Evening.
- April 14 - The day the N'Ko alphabet is held to have been completed by Solomana Kante.
- April 18 - Éire formally becomes the Republic of Ireland.
- April 20 - The Royal Navy frigate HMS Amethyst (U16) goes up the Yangtze River to evacuate British Commonwealth refugees escaping the advance of Mao's communist forces. Under heavy fire it runs aground off Rose Island. After an aborted rescue attempt on April 26 it anchors 10 miles upstream. Negotiations with the communist forces to let the ship leave drag on for weeks.
- April 23 - Chinese communist troops take Nanking.
- April 28 - India issues the London Declaration, enabling it (and, thereafter, any other nation) to remain in the British Commonwealth despite becoming a republic, creating the position of 'Head of the Commonwealth', and renaming the organisation as the 'Commonwealth of Nations'.
- April 28 - Former Philippine First Lady Aurora Quezon, 61, is assassinated while en route to dedicate a hospital in memory of her late husband; her daughter and 10 others are also killed.
- April 29 - The News Review reveals that neither Selhurst College nor its headmaster H. Rochester Sneath exist.
[edit] May
[edit] June
- June 2 - Transjordan becomes the Kingdom of Jordan.
- June 6 - With the passage of the Bodh Gaya Temple Act by the Indian government, Mahabodhi Temple is restored to partial Buddhist control.
- June 8 - Red Scare: Such celebrities as Helen Keller, Dorothy Parker, Danny Kaye, Fredric March, John Garfield, Paul Muni and Edward G. Robinson are named in an FBI report as Communist Party members.
- June 8 - George Orwell's book Nineteen Eighty-Four is published.
- June 19 - Glenn Dunnaway wins the inaugural NASCAR race at Charlotte Speedway, a 3/4 mile oval in Charlotte, North Carolina, but is disqualified due to illegal springs. Jim Roper is declared the official winner.
- June 24 - The first television western, Hopalong Cassidy, airs on NBC.
- June 29 - The last U.S. troops withdraw from South Korea.
- June 29 - Dock workers strike in the UK.
- June 29 - Apartheid: The South African Citizenship Act suspends the granting of citizenship to British Commonwealth immigrants after 5 years and imposes a ban on mixed marriages.
[edit] July
[edit] August
[edit] September
- September 5 - A former sharpshooter in World War II, Howard Unruh kills 13 neighbors in Camden, New Jersey with a souvenir Luger to become America's first single-episode mass murderer.
- September 6 - Allied military authorities relinquish control of former Nazi Germany assets back to Germany.
- September 7 - The Federal Republic of Germany is officially founded. Konrad Adenauer is the first federal chancellor.
- September 9 - Albert Guay affair: A dynamite bomb destroys Canadian Pacific Airlines Douglas DC-3 in Quebec.
- September 9 - Notorious World War II veteran Edwin Alonzo Boyd commits his first career bank robbery in Toronto.
- September 13 - The Soviet Union vetoes United Nations membership for Ceylon, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Jordan and Portugal.
- September 17 - The Canadian steamship SS Noronic burns in Toronto Harbour with the loss of over 118 lives.
- September 19 - The United Kingdom government devalues the pound sterling from $4.03 to $2.80, leading to many other currencies being devalued.
- September 24 - Laszlo Rajk, ex-foreign minister of Hungary, is sentenced to death.
- September 29 - The First Plenary Session of the National People's Congress approves a design for the Flag of the People's Republic of China.
- September 29 - Mrs. Iva Toguri D'Aquino is found guilty of broadcasting for Japan as "Tokyo Rose" during World War II.
- September - Mervyn's reveals their first logo, used until 1994.
[edit] October
[edit] November
[edit] December
[edit] Undated
[edit] Ongoing
[edit] Births
[edit] January–February
- January 2 - Christopher Durang, American playwright
- January 3 - Sylvia Likens, American murder victim (d. 1965)
- January 7 - Steven Williams, American actor
- January 7 - Chavo Guerrero, American wrestler
- January 8 - Wolfgang Puck, Austrian chef
- January 10 - George Foreman, American boxer
- January 10 - James Lapine, American stage director and librettist
- January 10 - Linda Lovelace, American actress (d. 2002)
- January 11 - Kalev Ots, Estonian statesman
- January 12 - Haruki Murakami, Japanese author
- January 12 - Michael W. Vannier, American radiologist
- January 12 - Wayne Wang, Hong Kong-born film director
- January 13 - Brandon Tartikoff, American television executive (d. 1997)
- January 14 - Nadezhda Ilyina, Soviet athlete
- January 14 - Lawrence Kasdan, American director and screenwriter
- January 14 - Mary Robison, American writer
- January 17 - Andy Kaufman, American comedian and actor (Taxi) (d. 1984)
- January 18 - Philippe Starck, French designer
- January 19 - Robert Palmer, English musician (Addicted To Love) (d. 2003)
- January 19 - Dennis Taylor, Irish snooker player
- January 20 - Göran Persson, former Prime Minister of Sweden
- January 22 - Steve Perry, American rock singer (Journey)
- January 24 - John Belushi, American actor (Saturday Night Live) (d. 1982)
- January 28 - Gregg Popovich, American basketball coach
- January 30 - Peter Agre, American biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- January 31 - Johan Derksen, Dutch footballer and sports journalist
- January 31 - Ken Wilber, American philosopher
- February 2 - Brent Spiner, American actor (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
- February 2 - Duncan Bannatyne, Scottish entrepreneur
- February 3 - Hennie Kuiper, Dutch cyclist
- February 9 - Jim Sheridan, Irish film director
- February 10 - Michael Weiss, jazz pianist and composer
- February 10 - Maxime Le Forestier, French singer
- February 10 - Harold Sylvester, American actor
- February 15 - Ken Anderson, American NFL player
- February 16 - Lyn Paul, English female singer
- February 17 - Dennis Green, American football coach
- February 18 - Gary Ridgway, American serial killer
- February 19 - Dan Bunten, American computer game designer (d. 1998)
- February 21 - Jerry Harrison, American new wave guitarist/keyboardist (Talking Heads)
- February 21 - Ronnie Hellström, Swedish footballer
- February 22 - Niki Lauda, Austrian race car driver
- February 25 - Ric Flair, American professional wrestler
[edit] March–April
- March 2 - Gates McFadden, American actress
- March 2 - Eddie Money, American rock singer (or March 21)
- March 2 - JPR Williams, Welsh rugby player
- March 3 - Jesse Jefferson, American baseball player
- March 6 - Shaukat Aziz, Prime Minister of Pakistan
- March 6 - Martin Buchan, Scottish footballer
- March 7 - Ghulam Nabi Azad, Indian politician
- March 9 - Tapani Kansa, Finnish singer
- March 10 - Larry Wall, American computer programmer
- March 12 - Bill Payne, American rock musician (Little Feat)
- March 12 - Natalia Kuchinskaya, Soviet gymnast
- March 13 - Julia Migenes, American soprano
- March 14 - Michael Stedman, British World War I historian and author
- March 16 - Erik Estrada, Puerto Rican actor
- March 16 - Victor Garber, Canadian actor (Godspell)
- March 17 - Patrick Duffy, American actor (Dallas)
- March 17 - Pat Rice, Irish footballer and football manager
- March 18 - Alex Higgins, Irish snooker player
- March 21 - Eddie Money, American rock singer
- March 22 - Fanny Ardant, French actress
- March 23 - Ric Ocasek, American rock musician (The Cars)
- March 24 - Nick Lowe, English musician
- March 26 - Patrick Süskind, German writer
- March 26 - Vicki Lawrence, American comedienne and game show hostess (The Carol Burnett Show)
- March 29 - Michael Brecker, American jazz musician (d. 2007)
- March 30 - Marcia Ball, American musician
- March 30 - Lene Lovich, American singer
- March 30 - Naomi Sims, African-American model and businesswoman
- March 30 - Elijah Harper, Canadian Aboriginal activist
- April 1 - Gérard Mestrallet, French businessman
- April 1 - Sammy Nelson, Irish footballer
- April 1 - Gil Scott-Heron, American musician and composer
- April 3 - Richard Thompson, English musician and songwriter
- April 6 - Horst Ludwig Störmer, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- April 7 - John Oates, American rock singer and guitarist (Hall & Oates)
- April 14 - John Shea, American actor
- April 15 - Alla Pugacheva, Russian musical performer
- April 15 - Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm, Polish born writer
- April 16 - Sandy Hawley, Canadian jockey
- April 18 - Geoff Bodine, American race car driver
- April 21 - Patti Lupone, American actress
- April 24 - Veronique Sanson, French singer and songwriter
- April 28 - Bruno Kirby, American actor (d. 2006)
[edit] May–June
- May 2 - Alan Titchmarsh, English gardener
- May 3 - Leopoldo Luque, Argentine soccer player
- May 4 - John Force, American race car driver
- May 9 - Billy Joel, American musician (Piano Man)
- May 13 - Zoë Wanamaker, English-American actress
- May 18 - Rick Wakeman, English rock musician and songwriter (Yes)
- May 18 - Bill Wallace, Canadian rock musician (The Guess Who)
- May 19 - Enrique Aguirre, Spanish gynecologist who discovered cervical cancer
- May 19 - Archie Manning, American football player
- May 20 - Dave Thomas, Canadian actor and comedian (SCTV)
- May 24 - Tomaž Pisanski, Slovenian mathematician
- May 25 - Prahladananda Swami, ISKCON religious leader
- May 26 - Philip Michael Thomas, African-American actor (Miami Vice)
- May 26 - Hank Williams Jr., American country singer
- May 29 - Francis Rossi, English rock guitarist/singer (Status Quo)
- May 31 - Tom Berenger, American actor (Platoon)
- June 2 - Heather Couper, British astronomer
- June 4 - Mark B. Cohen, Pennsylvania legislative leader
- June 8 - Emanuel Ax, Polish-born pianist
- June 11 - Benjamin Vasserman, Estonian artist
- June 13 - Ann Druyan, American writer
- June 14 - Jimmy Lea, English rock musician (Slade)
- June 14 - Harry Turtledove, American historian and novelist
- June 15 - Jim Varney, American actor (Ernest Goes To Camp) (d. 2000)
- June 17 - Andrei Fursenko, Russian politician, scientist and businessman
- June 18 - Chris Van Allsburg, American author and illustrator
- June 18 - Lech Kaczyński, President of Poland
- June 18 - Jarosław Kaczyński, Polish Prime Minister
- June 18 - Prince Lincoln Thompson, Jamaican musician (d. 1999)
- June 21 - John Agard, British writer
- June 21 - Jane Urquhart, Canadian author
- June 22 - Alan Osmond, American pop singer
- June 22 - Meryl Streep, American actress (Kramer vs. Kramer)
- June 27 - Vera Wang, American fashion designer
[edit] July–August
- July 2 - David Eaton, American composer/conductor/producer
- July 3 - Jan Smithers, American actress
- July 3 - Johnnie Wilder, Jr., African-American R&B singer (Heatwave) (d. 2006)
- July 7 - Shelley Duvall, American actress (Popeye)
- July 11 - Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
- July 11 - Émerson Leão, Brazilian footballer
- July 15 - Carl Bildt, Prime Minister of Sweden
- July 15 - Trevor Horn, British singer and producer
- July 16 - Dennis Young, American skier
- July 17 - Charlie Steiner, American sportscaster
- July 22 - Alan Menken, American composer
- July 26 - Roger Taylor, English rock musician (Queen)
- August 4 - John Riggins, American football player
- August 6 - Alan Campbell, Northern Irish clergyman
- August 7 - Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Lebanese Druze
- August 12 - Mark Knopfler, British rock guitarist (Dire Straits)
- August 12 - Fernando Collor de Mello, President of Brazil
- August 15 - Richard Deacon, Welsh sculptor
- August 15 - Beverly Lynn Burns, American pilot, first woman in the world to captain the Boeing 747
- August 20 - Philip Lynott, Irish rock musician (Thin Lizzy) (d. 1986)
- August 21 - Loretta Devine, African-American actress (Woman, Thou Art Loosed)
- August 23 - Shelley Long, American actress (Cheers)
- August 23 - Rick Springfield, Australian rock singer and actor (Jessie's Girl)
- August 25 - Martin Amis, English novelist
- August 25 - Gene Simmons, American rock musician (Kiss)
- August 27 - Jeff Cook, American country vocalist, guitar, keyboards, bass, fiddle, banjo, and mandolin player (Alabama)
- August 28 - Svetislav Pešić, Serbian basketball player and coach
- August 31 - Richard Gere, American actor (American Gigolo)
- August 31 - H. David Politzer, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
[edit] September–October
- September 1 - P.A. Sangma, Indian politician
- September 3 - Patriarch Peter VII of Alexandria (d. 2004)
- September 7 - Lee McGeorge Durrell, American author, television presenter, and zookeeper
- September 7 - Gloria Gaynor, African-American singer (I Will Survive)
- September 9 - Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, current President of Indonesia
- September 9 - Joe Theismann, American football player
- September 10 - Bill O'Reilly, American conservative radio and television commentator
- September 13 - John Henry, American foreign exchange advisor, Boston Red Sox owner
- September 14 - Fred "Sonic" Smith, American guitarist
- September 14 - Eikichi Yazawa, Japanese singer
- September 15 - Joe Barton, American politician
- September 17 - Cassandra Peterson, American actress
- September 18 - Mo Mowlam, British politician (d. 2005)
- September 18 - Peter Shilton, English goalkeeper
- September 19 - Twiggy Lawson, English model
- September 23 - Bruce Springsteen, American singer and songwriter (Born In The USA)
- September 24 - Pedro Almodóvar, Spanish filmmaker
- September 26 - Jane Smiley, American novelist
- September 27 - Mike Schmidt, American baseball player
- October 1 - Isaac Bonewits, American author and occultist
- October 2 - Annie Leibovitz, American photographer
- October 4 - Armand Assante, American actor
- October 7 - Ronnie Mund, American television personality
- October 8 - Sigourney Weaver, American actress (Alien)
- October 12 - Carlos the Jackal, Venezuelan-born mercenary
- October 12 - Stan Hansen, American professional wrestler
- October 14 - Katy Manning, British actress
- October 14 - Katha Pollitt, American writer
- October 17 - Bill Hudson, American musician
- October 20 - Valeri Borzov, Ukrainian athlete
- October 21 - Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel
- October 22 - Stiv Bators, American rock musician (The Dead Boys) (d. 1990)
- October 22 - Arsene Wenger, French football (soccer) manager
- October 26 - Antonio Carpio, Filipino Supreme Court jurist
[edit] November–December
- November 2 - Simon Augustini, Albanian politician
- November 3 - Larry Holmes, African-American World Heavyweight Boxing Champion
- November 5 - Armin Shimerman, American actor
- November 5 - Jimmie Spheeris, American singer-songwriter (d. 1984)
- November 6 - Nigel Havers, British actor
- November 7 - Aiswarya, Queen of Nepal (d. 2001)
- November 7 - Judi Bari, American environmental activist (d. 1997)
- November 8 - Bonnie Raitt, American country singer and guitarist
- November 13 - Terry Reid, English singer
- November 19 - Ahmad Rashad, American sports host and commentator
- November 15 - David Rubinstein, American pianist and composer
- November 24 - Nicholas Richard Ainger, British politician
- November 25 - Kerry James O'Keeffe, Australian cricketer and commentator
- November 26 - Juanin Clay, American actress (d. 1995)
- November 26 - Shlomo Artzi, Israeli singer
- November 28 - Alexander Godunov, Russian-born dancer and actor (d. 1995)
- November 28 - Paul Shaffer, Canadian-American musician (Late Night With David Letterman)
- November 29 - Jerry Lawler, American professional wrestler and commentator
- November 29 - Stan Rogers, Canadian musician (d. 1983)
- November 29 - Garry Shandling, American comedian
- December 1 - Kurt Schmoke, African American Dean, Howard Law School, Mayor of Baltimore
- December 3 - John Akii-Bua, Ugandan hurdler (d. 1997)
- December 4 - Jeff Bridges, American actor (Starman)
- December 4 - Pamela Stephenson, New Zealand-born comedienne, actress, and singer
- December 7 - Tom Waits, American singer, composer, and actor
- December 8 - Mary Gordon, American writer
- December 11 - Teri Garr, American actress (The Sonny and Cher Show)
- December 12 - Rajinikanth, Indian actor
- December 13 - Robert Lindsay, English actor
- December 13 - Randy Owen, American country lead vocalist, rhythm guitar player (Alabama)
- December 13 - Tom Verlaine, American rock singer/guitarist (Television)
- December 14 - Bill Buckner, American baseball player
- December 15 - Don Johnson, American actor (Miami Vice)
- December 16 - Billy Gibbons, American guitarist (ZZ Top)
- December 17 - Paul Rodgers, British singer (Free)
- December 19 - Sebastian, Danish musician
- December 22 - Maurice Gibb, British rock musician (The Bee Gees) (d. 2003)
- December 22 - Robin Gibb, British rock musician (The Bee Gees)
- December 24 - Randy Neugebauer, American politician
- December 25 - Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira, Brazilian singer
- December 25 - Sissy Spacek, American actress (Carrie)
- December 25 - Joe Louis Walker, American musician
- December 26 - José Ramos-Horta, President of East Timor, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- unknown date - Brian Calvin Hartnell, Zodiac killer survivor
- unknown date - Suthep Po-ngam, Thai comedian, actor, film director and screenwriter
- unknown date - Mu Tiezhu, Chinese basketball player and coach (d. 2008)
[edit] Deaths
[edit] January–June
- January 6 - Victor Fleming, American director (b. 1883)
- January 11 - Nelson Doubleday, American publisher (b. 1889)
- January 14 - Joaquín Turina, Spanish composer (b. 1882)
- January 28 - Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (b. 1908)
- February 12 - Imam Hassan al Banna, Egyptian founder of the Muslim Brotherhood (b. 1906)
- February 21 - Tan Malaka, Indonesian nationalist activist and communist leader (b. 1894)
- March 7 - Bradbury Robinson, American who threw the first forward pass in American football history in 1906 (b. 1884)
- March 25 - Jack Kapp, president of the U.S. branch of Decca Records (b. 1901)
- March 28 - Grigoraş Dinicu, Romanian composer (b. 1889)
- March 30 - Friedrich Bergius, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1884)
- March 30 - Prince Harald of Denmark (b. 1876)
- April 18 - Will Hay, English comedian and actor (b. 1888)
- April 19 - Ulrich Salchow, Swedish figure skater (b. 1877)
- April 28 -
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