What Happened in 1949

Major Events

  • Jan 5 US President Harry Truman labels his administration the "Fair Deal"
  • Jan 25 First Israeli election won by David Ben-Gurion's Mapai party
  • Apr 4 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) treaty signed in Washington, D.C.
  • May 2 Arthur Miller wins Pulitzer Prize for "Death of a Salesman"
  • May 23 Federal Republic of [West] Germany created out of the American, British and French occupation zones
  • Jul 8 South Africa's Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act commences, prohibiting marriage or a sexual relationship between White people and people of other races [1]
  • Jul 29 Moscow ends the blockade of West Berlin
  • Aug 29 USSR performs its first nuclear test at Semipalatinsk, Kazakh SSR
  • Sep 14 India's Constituent Assembly adopts Hindi as an official language. Celebrated today as Hindi Day.
  • Sep 21 Chinese Communist leaders proclaim the People's Republic of China
  • Oct 6 US President Harry Truman signs Mutual Defense Assistance Act (for NATO)
  • Nov 2 The Netherlands recognizes its former colony Indonesia as a sovereign state at conclusion of the Round Table Conference at the Hague, Netherlands
  • Dec 27 Queen Juliana of the Netherlands grants independence to Indonesia
  • More 1949 Events

1949 in Film & TV

  • Jan 31 1st US daytime soap on TV "These Are My Children" (NBC in Chicago)
  • Jun 27 "Captain Video & His Video Rangers" debut on DUMONT-TV - Television's first sci-fi series
  • Sep 2 "The Third Man", directed by Carol Reed, starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli and Orson Welles, is released in the United Kingdom (Academy Awards Best Cinematography 1950)
  • Sep 15 "Lone Ranger" premieres on ABC-TV. Hi-yo, Silver! Away!

1949 in Music

  • Feb 11 "Lovesick Blues" single released by Hank Williams (Cashbox "Best Hillbilly Record of the Year", Billboard Song of the Year 1949)

1949 in Sport

  • Mar 5 Bradman plays his last innings in 1st-class cricket, gets 30
  • Aug 3 Basketball Association of America (BAA) & National Basketball League (NBL) merge to form National Basketball Association (NBA), Maurice Podoloff elected head of new league

More People Born in 1949
More 1949 Deaths

Famous Weddings in 1949

  • Jan 18 South African priest and politician Reverend Andries Treurnicht (27) weds Engela Dreyer in South Africa, until his death in 1993
  • Jan 28 NFL coach Tom Landry (24) weds Alicia Wiggs at St John the Divine Church in Houston, Texas
  • Feb 6 American diplomat Henry Kissinger (25) weds Ann Fleisher (23) in Washington Heights, Manhattan, NYC

Famous Divorces in 1949

  • May 31 American singer and actress Doris Day (27) divorces American saxophonist George Weidler (23) after 3 years of marriage
  • Jun 8 Actor Burgess Meredith (41) divorces actress Paulette Goddard (39) after 5 years of marriage
  • Sep 7 American actress Janet Leigh (22) divorces American sailor Stanley Reames after almost 4 years of marriage

More 1949 Weddings