eve 1950's topic homework

An Introduction to the Past

During the 1950’s, a lot of big things were happening; from the royal family, to the safety

of vehicles, colour TV, to DNA. Overall, it was an interesting decade, with plenty of

information ready for us in the 21st century to explore and take in. Some say ‘what’s the

point of learning about the past while we live in the present’, but what they don’t

understand, is that if we didn’t know anything about before we were born, some things

may not be that easy to solve. For example, say there was a massive problem, and it had

happened once before, instead of having to try and try again until you can end it, a good

thing to do would to find out how people stopped it the first time. Grandparents are likely

to have said to you ‘we had none of this when we were children’ time and time again, so

read on to find out what was happening when some of them were children in the 1950’s.

Inventions and

Discoveries

First modern credit card

In 1949, Frank X. McNamara thought of a way for customers to have just one credit card that they could use at multiple stores. McNamara discussed the idea with two colleagues and the three pooled some money and started a new company in 1950 which they called the Diners Club.

The first Diners Club credit cards were given out in 1950 to 200 people (most were friends and acquaintances of McNamara) and accepted by 14 restaurants in New York. Amazingly, by the end of 1950, 20,000 people were using the Diners Club credit card. Considered the first modern credit card, the Diners club card was not originally made of plastic, but a paper stock with the accepting locations printed on the back.

Colour Television

On June 25th 1921, CBS broadcasted the very first commercial colour television program; simply called Premiere. Unfortunately, not many people were able to watch it, for their black and white television sets couldn’t show the colour.

Despite early successes with color programming, the adoption to color television was a slow one. It wasn't until the 1960s that the public began buying color TVs in earnest and in the 1970s the public finally started purchasing more color TV sets than black-and-white ones. However, sales of new black-and-white TV sets lingered on even into the 1980s.

SEAT BELTS

Invented by English engineer George Cayley, seatbelts have definitely developed over the years; at the point of their creation they were not too different compared to the ones in our cars today, but needed tweaking a bit to reach the modern seatbelt.

Seatbelts in the 1950’s:

1953 - Colorado State Medical Society publishes policy supporting installation of lap belts in all automobiles.

1954 - Sports Car Club of America requires competing drivers to wear lap belts.

1955 - National Safety Council, American College of Surgeons, International Association of Chiefs of Police vote to support installation of lap belts in all automobiles

1956 - Ford begins 2-year ad campaign based on safety, focusing heavily on belts

1957 - Special Subcommittee on Traffic Safety, U.S. House of Representatives, opens hearings on effectiveness of seat belts in automobiles

1958 - Nils Bohlin, a design engineer with Volvo in Sweden, patents the "Basics of Proper Restraint Systems for Car Occupants," better known as a three-point safety belt. The device comprises two straps, a lap strap and shoulder strap

DNA DISCOVERY

DNA is a long molecule made up of twisted strands of the bases A, T, C and G. Genes are sections of the DNA and each gene has the code for creating a specific protein. The sequence of bases in the gene controls which amino acids are created and joined to make a specific new protein or enzyme molecule.

Discovered by James Watson and Francis Crick, this is a molecule that encodes the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and many viruses.

Space(One section is in the

book)

SputnikIncredibly, history changed on the 4th October 1957, when the Soviet union successfully launched Sputnik, the worlds first artificial satellite, into orbit. Amazed I am, that something around the size of a beach ball could actually become something as important as what it was; only 58cm (22.8 inches) in diameter, and 83.6kg (183.9 pounds) in weight. This amazing launch, marked the start of the space age yet to come, and the race between the U.S and the U.S.S.R (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics).

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Interview from the 1950’s

My Grandma looks back at her teen days

“A big story in my day was the coronation of Queen Elizabeth the second; a member of my family, although I can’t quite remember who it was, specially rented a television set to watch our queen crowned. I spent most of my time playing out on the road, there was little traffic so it was safe enough, and there wasn’t all of the electronic gadgets that are around today. During 1953 there were massive floods along the east coast of England, resulting in sea walls being breached, and a few people lost there lives in that devastation. Steam trains were our holiday vehicles, we would travel down to the south of England with the gentle chugging of the trains filling your ears. Also, during the war there had been a lot of rationing, which all stopped in the 1950’s; me and my family loved baking cakes, but while people were still rationing we had to use vinegar instead of eggs – surprisingly they tasted exactly the same, so even when it stopped I carried on using vinegar. At the time restaurants were too expensive, but as we got to the later 50’s, more affordable Indian and Chinese eateries were opening.

MusicIn

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♩♪♫♬♭♮♯♩♪♫♬♭♮♯♩♪♫♬♭♮♯♩♪♫♬♭♮♯♩♪♫♬♭♮♯♩♪♫♬♭

The

Top of the charts!The fifties was home to a lot of people that many of us have heard of today; Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, and Frank Sinatra. The most popular genres of music back then were: rock, blues, early pop, and country. Leading pop was the black Nat King Cole, an American singer and musician who was first known for being a jazz pianist. Most of us now have heard of Elvis Presley, and he was just as famous back then, with his rock and roll music. Not many people today listen to country music, but it was popular back in the 50’s; people like Hank Williams, and Johnny Cash. Finally, Frank Sinatra was in the early pop too, and you still hear his name now and again in the present time because he was so famous. Dean Martin was another famous singer, an Italian/American film producer, comedian, actor, and musician.

+Nat King Cole

Well known for his love songs, Nat King Cole (Nathaniel Adams Coles) was born on March 17th, 1919, Alabama, USA, and died on February 15th, 1965, California, USA. Success with the ‘King Cole Trio’ (band), led to further fame, and in the end Nat even had his own television show, but, unfortunately, there weren’t enough sponsors to bring it money, so it shut down after just over a year; it was not NBC (the channel) who put the program of the air, but King Cole himself, for many people who helped out on the show had gone without money to help save money, and he could not bear to have people without pay. Throughout the 1950’s, Nat King Cole was working up his fame with huge hits such as; ‘Smile’, ‘Pretend’, ‘A Blossom Fell’, and ‘If I May’. During the late 50’s, Nat King Cole even sung hit songs in other languages, like Spanish, Portuguese, and many others; Nat was not stopping at the safety of the English language.

+Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley, is often known as the ‘King of Rock and Roll’, and many people agree that that is the exact truth of what he was in the music world; ‘a king’. Born on January 8th, 1935, Mississippi, USA, and died due to an overdose of drugs on August 16th, 1977 (aged 42), Memphis, Tennessee. Some of his biggest records include; Jailhouse Rock, Suspicious minds, and Love me tender. Moreover, as well as being a famous musician, Elvis starred in around thirty films, he wasn’t only a singer, but an actor too. In Memphis, Tennessee people still visit his house and see his gravestone outside.

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Entertainment in the 50’s

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer and model who, during 1954 – 1957, had major international fame and success. Born as Norma Jeane Mortenson, Monroe married three times and had several different names whilst she was alive. Marilyn was born in Los Angeles, USA, June 1st 1926, and died there on August 5th, 1962, aged 36. Marilyn Monroe also influenced a lot of fashion in the 1950’s.

Grace Patricia Kelly was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as wife of Rainer III, Prince of Monaco. Born in Philadelphia, USA, November 12th, 1929, Grace Kelly died as a result of a horrific car crash due to serious injury, September 14th, 1962, aged 52. During the 1950’s, Grace influenced the women’s fashion world.

Grace Kelly

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Fashion

Young Women’s Fashion in the

50’sTeenagers were the driving force behind fashion in the 1950s. Up until that time, clothing trends had largely been set by fashion houses that catered to the adult market and the dress style of young people had simply followed adult fashions. As cinema, television and rock 'n' roll swept the world, however, the youth market clambered to copy the 'style of the stars’ as some still do now. Teenage fashion quickly developed into a huge industry in its own right.Throughout the 1950s, young women's clothing was also influenced by the rock 'n' roll craze. Full skirts in bright colours become popular for dancing and skirts and pants were pinched in at the waist to emphasise the waist. Young women also wore tight-fitting blouses tucked into slim-line calf length trousers called 'Capri' pants or 'pedal pushers'. Short ankle socks, scarves tied around the neck and cropped cardigans were also popular.

Fashion all roundBig Film stars in the 1950’s influenced women’s fashion choices just as much as the music stars influenced the teenagers. Meanwhile, men were sticking to the suits as the fifties went on, along with the occasional sports coats, sweaters, and normal casual wear. During those times, teenagers became a bit more ‘rebellious’ with their clothing (that is, in the 1950’s style); tighter and shorter dresses came around, partnering with leather jackets and more rock’n’roll styles of clothing.Fifties fashion also helped to define a women’s place in society, especially for wives. For the first time there were different styles of clothing for women to wear; some for lounging around the house, some for going shopping and running errands.At the end of the 1950's, we started to see less traditional styles appear. Tighter skirts, shirts and dresses start to show up for women. Rebellious looks for men also emerge with leather motorcycle jackets, studded boots, and bolder patterned shirts and sweaters becoming popular at the latter end of the decade. Girls and women start to get more clothing options in terms of pants and shorts with pedal pushers, Bermuda shorts, and tapered leggings featuring prominently in style trends.

What Changed Since the War?

During World War II and the 1940s, clothing was greatly influenced by rationing and limited quantities of fabrics, threads and needles, so the most popular look was a simple outfit using as little of these much in demand resources as possible. Once World War II and rationing ended, a new availability of different types of fabrics and larger quantities of these fabrics allowed a new type of fashion to bloom during the fifties, especially in the United States. Women's dresses in particular exploded with excess fabric, showing off intricate gatherings, a multitude of pleats, poofy petticoats, and fabulous collars, all made of the best taffeta, nylon, rayon, wool and leather in the brightest and boldest patterns and colours. Stylish clothing became an important part of culture in the 1950s, with the country going through many societal and cultural changes. It would showcase one's place in society more so than ever before and became a way to express conformity and individual identity.

Buy New Empire Waist Dress!

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IN THE 1950’s

1950’s world cup1950 saw the start of the world cup for England: although it wasn’t a great start; England was knocked out by America.Turn to the next slide to see a table of the players, their positions, goals, age, and teams:

The mean average age of the England football team for the 1950 world cup was 28 years of age.The median average was 28 years of ageThe range was 12The mode was 28 years of age

Name of Player Position Team Goals Scored Age

Ted Ditchburn Goal Keeper Tottenham 0 28

Bert Williams Goal Keeper Wolves 0 28

Jack Aston Full Back Manchester United 0 28

Bill Eckersly Full Back Blackburn 0 23

Alf Ramsey Full Back Tottenham 0 30

Laurie Scott Full Back Arsenal 0 33

Jimmy Dickenson Half Back Portsmouth 0 25

Laurie Hughes Half Back Liverpool 0 24

Bill Nicholson Half Back Tottenham 0 31

Willie Watson Half Back Sunderland 0 30

Billy Wright Half Back (captain) Wolves 2 26

Eddie Bailey Forward Tottenham 0 23

Roy Bentley Forward Chelsea 2 27

Henry Cockburn Forward Manchester United 0 27

Tom Finney Forward Preston 18 28

Wilf Mannion Forward Middlesbrough 9 32

Stanley Matthews Forward Blackpool 10 35

Jackie Milburn Forward Newcastle 6 26

Stan Mortensen Forward Blackpool 15 29

Jimmy Mullen Forward Wolves 2 27

Jim Taylor Forward Fulham 0 32

1950’s Boxing: Not So Sweet For Sugar!

On the 10th July, twenty thousand Britons cheered at Earls Court, London, as the hand of 23 year old English man, Randolph Turpin, was raised in victory. The once invincible American, Sugar Ray Robinson, was beaten on points over 15 rounds. Randolph Adolphus Turpin was considered by some to be Europe’s best middleweight boxing champion. After his victory, he was crowned the worlds best middleweight boxer, but it didn’t last for long; shortly after his success he was beaten by Robinson with eight seconds left in the match.

Randolph Turpin

Sugar Ray Robinson

1952 brings success to the ice!

Jeanette Altwegg was our First Lady of the skating rink. Jeanette won Great Britons first gold medal at the winter Olympics in the Bislett Stadium, Oslo, Norway. With a near perfect exhibition in the woman's figure skating. Jeanette's points for the free skating were 63.938 - her aggregate was 161.760. The last time Britain won this event before 1952 was in 1908

1953; phew…what a year for sport!

Firstly, Stanley Matthews gains his only FA cup winners medal in a 4-3 win over Bolton. He played his first full season in Stokes City's senior team in 1932-3 and his final match at the age of 50 in 1965. Then, it was a year for mountaineering; Edmund Hilary and ‘Sherpa’ Tensing were the first to climb Mount Everest. I’m not sure if mountain climbing is a sport, but it must of taken a lot of stamina and determination to climb Everest.This year saw on the 6th June Sir Gordon Richards win the Derby on the horse Pinza. More importantly on the 19th August England regained the Ashes after twenty years. Denis Compton seen above showing everybody how to bat. The hero of the game was the great Freddie Trueman.

Race to the finish; 1954

1954 felt the need for speed, as it housed some big races; horseback and feet. Lester Piggot was 18 when he won his first Derby on a 33-1 outsider Never Say Die.‘Chris The Magnificent’ is what they called the great Chris Chatterway after he beat the Russian Iron Man, Vladimir Kuts, at the White City on the 13th October. The crowd of 40,00 watched as he broke the world record for the 5,000 meters (3 miles 188 yards) in the new record time of 13:51.6

The need for speed; 1955

In the 1950's Stirling Moss was synonymous for speed one of the great racing drivers. On the 1st May he and his navigator Denis Jenkinson drove their Mercedes in to the record books, by winning the Mille Miglia. A 1,000 mile race on public roads in Italy. A total time of 10 hours 7 min's 48 seconds this is an average speed of 98m.p.h. The race is now defunct, but nobody told Italian drivers…

Unfortunately, in 1962, Sir Stirling Moss was in a horrendous crash, and is lucky to still be alive today.

Cycling and Cricket; 1956

Who’s ever heard of Ray Booty?Ray Who? In 1956 the headlines read "Booty the Incomparable …Booty the Indomitable". What was it that this super man had done?He was the first man to cycle 100 miles in less than four hours.

Honestly, I’m not much of a sport person; whenever I walk into the lounge and see cricket on, I get out as fast as I can. What’s an inning? What does that mean? Those are the thoughts going through my head when I see it. But still, I am happy when England win a competition. For example, in 1956 England Thrashed Australia at cricket!

What a racket; in both ways, 1958

17 year old Christine Truman beat the Wimbledon champion Althea Gibson in the Wightman Cup. This resulted in Britain regaining the trophy after 28 years in America.

Mike Hawthorn became Britain’s first World Grand Prix Champion. British drivers won nine of the ten races this year. In the last race of the season in Casablanca Stirling Moss won setting the fastest lap, but Hawthorn was overall winner.

Quiz: What have you learnt about

the fifties??? (Make sure to read the newspaper report in

the book)

True or False?1) Seat belts were the complete opposite of what they are now?

2) The strands of DNA are A, B, C, D?

3) Sputnik was very small?

4) Laika was a Chihuahua

5) Some cakes were made with vinegar?

6) The streets were as quiet as anything?

7) Nat King Cole was African?

8) Elvis Presley died when he was fourty two?

9) Marilyn Monroe was called Sophia Jane Mortenson?

10) Grace Kelly was a famous singer?

11) Teenagers were leaders when it came to fashion?

12) There wasn’t much fabric left after WW2 due to rationing?

13)Randolph Turpin beat Sugar Rush Robinson?

14) Stirling Ross suffered a horrific crash during his career?

Wordsearch (words on next slide)

f t h v c b l d b y l o s y l l e k e c a r g d r

q i p s r t z g n w s b i f t l t j s d b u f s z

m g f g e g s r b i u q h l p d q v u g d d t s t

w t h t d f h l d r o c k n r o l l h j y s d v f

h s y v i f j d n o g s i m e f j x l f m s b r a

z h k l t e d i d c d n e t m o n r o a g y b e s

d j f j c l s g h k h d j o d s y m p a z x n l a

a h o b a v h d o e r j t a z y r o r r r q a o s

s t i r r i j g l r g h j l r f u n i o u e t c a

g n u r d d a v g a f h k i e i d r h g d i k g d

m f k i f x i f n l i h k u f b h o h h j i i n u

a h i h f s f d s x y k i h g c t e i r p s n i n

r f t u a p x y z a b c a g h i d a x j u r g k t

i h y w z o d g m i e e e v u d z s e a y t c t c

l v t s h r r a g r n u f k i n t u p s h w o a o

y f k d k t t d n o x l c s p u t n i c f u l n a

n w c f t n j i l p r i d l x n j u i p o s a l r

b s t i r l i n g m o s s g y m s u f p d n y e s

Words for the wordsearch:Fifties

Stirling Moss

DNA

Credit card

Premiere

Seatbelt

Laika

Sputnik

Marilyn

Monroe

Nat King Cole

Elvis

Grace Kelly

Rock ‘n’ roll

I HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED READING MY TOPIC, AND THAT IT HAS TAUGHT YOU MORE ABOUT WHAT THE FIFTIES WERE LIKE: AS I SAID IN MY INTRODUCTION, SOME PEOPLE DO NOT SEE WHAT THE POINT IS IN LEARNING ABOUT THE PAST WHILE YOU LIVE IN THE PRESENT, BUT THE BIRTH OF REGULAR THINGS TODAY, HAPPENED A WHILE AGO.