January 3
January 3
Dragnet TV show debuts
“Just the facts, ma’am.” On this day in 1952, Sergeant Joe Friday’s famous catchphrase enters American homes via a new entertainment device: the television. A popular radio series since 1949,…
A Year In History: 1952
This Year in History:
1952
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
January 9
January 9
President Truman warns of Cold War dangers
In his 1952 State of the Union address, President Harry S. Truman warns Americans that they are “moving through a perilous time,” and calls for vigorous action to meet the…
January 19
January 19
PGA approves participation of Black golfers
On January 19, 1952, Professional Golfers Association president Horton Smith announces that a seven‑man committee “almost unanimously” votes to allow Black golfers to compete in PGA co‑sponsored events. With the…
February 6
February 6
King George VI dies; Elizabeth becomes queen
On February 6, 1952, after a long illness, King George VI of Great Britain and Northern Ireland dies in his sleep at the royal estate at Sandringham. Princess Elizabeth, the…
February 11
February 11
Avalanches plague central Europe
On this day in 1952, a series of deadly avalanches begins across central Europe. A storm stalled over the middle of Europe the first week of February 1952, dumping a…
February 19
February 19
Amy Tan’s birthday
Novelist Amy Tan is born on this day in 1952 to Chinese immigrants who came to Oakland in 1949. Tan studied English at San Jose State and Berkeley. Although she…
February 21
February 21
Dick Button wins second Olympic figure skating gold
On February 21, 1952, men’s figure skater Dick Button wins his second Olympic gold medal. Button captured his first gold prize at the 1948 Olympics, becoming the first American to…
February 29
February 29
Lattimore admits inaccuracies in previous testimony
Owen Lattimore, one of the more famous figures of the “Red Scare” in the United States during the 1950s, testifies before a Senate subcommittee that he might have been inaccurate…
March 3
March 3
Supreme Court rules on communist teachers
In handing down a 6‑3 decision in the case Adler v. Board of Education of City of New York, the U.S. Supreme Court upholds a New York state law that…
March 4
March 4
Ernest Hemingway finishes “The Old Man and the Sea”
Ernest Hemingway completes his short novel The Old Man and the Sea. He wrote his publisher the same day, saying he had finished the book and that it was the…
March 4
March 4
Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis marry
On March 4, 1952, actor and future President Ronald Reagan marries his second wife, actress Nancy Davis. The couple wed in Los Angeles at the Little Brown Church in the…
March 21
March 21
The Moondog Coronation Ball is history’s first rock concert
On March 21, 1952, Cleveland hosts an event now recognized as history’s first major rock‑and‑roll show: the Moondog Coronation Ball. Breathless promotion on the local radio station. Tickets selling out…
March 27
March 27
Kiichiro Toyoda, founder of the Toyota Motor Corporation, dies
Kiichiro Toyoda, founder of the Toyota Motor Corporation, which in 2008 surpassed America’s General Motors as the world’s largest automaker, dies at the age of 57 in Japan on March…
May 3
May 3
Joseph Fletcher lands first aircraft on the North Pole
A ski‑modified U.S. Air Force C‑47 piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph O. Fletcher of Oklahoma and Lieutenant Colonel William P. Benedict of California is among the first aircraft to land…
July 23
July 23
Military seizes power in Egypt
In Egypt, the Society of Free Officers seizes control of the government in a military coup d’etat staged by Colonel Gamal Abdal Nasser’s Free Officers. King Farouk, whose rule had…
July 26
July 26
Bob Mathias wins second Olympic decathlon
On July 26, 1952, at the XV Olympiad in Helsinki, Finland, American Bob Mathias wins his second straight gold medal in the Olympic decathlon. Bob Mathias was born on November…
August 11
August 11
Hussein succeeds to Jordanian throne
Prince Hussein is proclaimed the king of Jordan after his father, King Talal, is declared unfit to rule by the Jordanian Parliament on grounds of mental illness. Hussein was formally…
August 13
August 13
“Hound Dog” is recorded for the first time by Big Mama Thornton
On August 13, 1952, four years before Elvis Presley would make “Hound Dog” his longest running no. 1 hit, the song is recorded for the very first time by the…
August 28
August 28
“Red Scare” dominates American political news
As the presidential election of 1952 begins to heat up, so do accusations and counteraccusations concerning communism in America. The “Red Scare”—the widespread belief that international communism was operating in…
October 3
October 3
Britain successfully tests A‑bomb
Britain successfully tests its first atomic bomb at the Monte Bello Islands, off the northwest coast of Australia. During World War II, 50 British scientists and engineers worked on the…
