What happened in 1950
52 entries recorded for 1950, listed by date. That was 76 years ago.
1950 at a glance
- Years ago
- 76 (as of 2026)
- Century
- 20th century
- Decade
- 1950s
- Generation born
- Baby Boomers
- Entries here
- 52
- Breakdown
- 52 historical events
January
- January 26
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India comes into force, forming a republic. Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as the first President of India. Observed as Republic Day in India.
- January 26
Indian independence movement
Indian independence movement: India became a republic under a new constitution, with Rajendra Prasad as president and Jawaharlal Nehru as prime minister.
February
- February 8
Stasi
The Stasi, the secret police of East Germany, is established.
March
- March 1
Klaus Fuchs
In a trial lasting less than 90 minutes, German–British physicist Klaus Fuchs was convicted of violating the Official Secrets Act by supplying information from the Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union.
- March 8
Volkswagen Type 2
The iconic Volkswagen Type 2 "Bus" begins production.
- March 12
Llandow air disaster
The Llandow air disaster kills 80 people when the aircraft they are travelling in crashes near Sigingstone, Wales. At the time this was the world's deadliest air disaster.
- March 17
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory announced the synthesis of californium, a radioactive transuranium element.
- March 30
Usmar Ismail
Usmar Ismail began shooting Darah dan Doa, widely recognised as the first Indonesian film.
May
- May 1
Gwendolyn Brooks
Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
- May 8
Tollund Man
The Tollund Man, a naturally mummified corpse, was discovered in a peat bog near Silkeborg, Denmark.
- May 9
Robert Schuman
Robert Schuman presents the "Schuman Declaration", considered by some to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union.
June
- June 3
Maurice Herzog
Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal, members of the French Annapurna expedition, became the first climbers to reach the summit of a peak higher than 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) above sea level.
- June 8
Thomas Blamey
Thomas Blamey became the only Australian to attain the rank of field marshal.
- June 14
1950 Bahrain Air France Douglas DC-4 crashes
An Air France Douglas DC-4 crashes near Bahrain International Airport, killing 40 people. This came two days after another Air France DC-4 crashed in the same location.
- June 25
Korean War
The Korean War began with North Korean forces launching a pre-dawn raid over the 38th parallel into South Korea.
- June 25
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 82 condemning the North Korean invasion of South Korea.
- June 26
Douglas DC-4
A Douglas DC-4 Skymaster aircraft crashed after departing from Perth, becoming the worst peacetime aviation accident in Australia's history.
- June 27
Korean War
Korean War: Five North Korean aircraft attacked an American air convoy above Suwon Air Base in the first air engagement of the Korean War.
- June 28
Hangang Bridge bombing
Korean War: Packed with its own refugees fleeing Seoul and leaving their 5th Division stranded, South Korean forces blow up the Hangang Bridge in an attempt to slow North Korea's offensive. The city falls later that day.
- June 28
Korean People's Army
Korean War: The Korean People's Army kills almost a thousand doctors, nurses, inpatient civilians and wounded soldiers in the Seoul National University Hospital massacre.
- June 28
Korean War
Korean War: South Korean forces began the Bodo League massacre, summarily executing tens of thousands of suspected North Korean sympathizers.
- June 29
Korean War
Korean War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman authorizes a sea blockade of Korea.
- June 29
United States men's national soccer team
The United States defeated England during the FIFA World Cup in one of the greatest upsets in the competition's history.
July
- July 5
Korean War
Korean War: In the first encounter between North Korean and American forces, an unprepared and undisciplined U.S. Army task force was routed at the Battle of Osan.
- July 8
Korean War
Korean War: American troops withdrew from Cheonan, in modern-day South Korea, after suffering heavy casualties from a North Korean attack.
- July 14
Korean War
Korean War: North Korean troops began attacking the headquarters of the American 24th Infantry Division in present-day Daejeon, South Korea.
- July 16
Korean War
Korean War: A Korean People's Army unit massacred 31 prisoners of war of the U.S. Army on a mountain near the village of Tuman.
- July 16
Uruguay national football team
Uruguay won the decisive match of the fourth FIFA World Cup, defeating Brazil 2–1 at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
- July 16
Chaplain–Medic massacre
Chaplain–Medic massacre: American POWs are massacred by North Korean Army.
- July 20
Korean War
Korean War: After a month-long campaign, much of the North Korean air force was destroyed by United Nations forces.
- July 25
Korean War
Korean War: After American troops withdrew, North Korean forces captured the village of Yongdong in South Korea.
- July 29
Korean War
Korean War: Over fears that North Korean soldiers were infiltrating refugee columns, U.S. forces concluded a four-day massacre of hundreds of civilians through shootings and air attacks near the village of Nogeun-ri.
- July 30
Royal question
At the height of a political crisis known as the royal question, four workers were shot dead by the Belgian Gendarmerie at a strike in Grâce-Berleur.
August
- August 17
Korean War
Korean War: Forty-two American prisoners of war were massacred by the Korean People's Army on a hill above Waegwan, South Korea.
- August 19
766th Independent Infantry Regiment (North Korea)
The 766th Independent Infantry Regiment of North Korea was disbanded after fighting for less than two months in the Korean War.
- August 20
Korean War
Korean War: United Nations forces repelled an attempt by North Korea to capture the city of Taegu.
- August 28
Althea Gibson
American tennis player Althea Gibson became the first African-American woman to compete at the U.S. National Championships.
September
- September 3
Giuseppe Farina
"Nino" Farina becomes the first Formula One Drivers' champion after winning the 1950 Italian Grand Prix.
- September 18
Korean War
Korean War: The Korean People's Army retreated from the Battle of the Pusan Perimeter after six weeks of fighting, marking the farthest that the KPA would advance in the war.
- September 19
Korean War
Korean War: A North Korean attack was repelled by Allied forces at the Battle of Nam River.
- September 24
Chinchaga fire
The "Great Smoke Pall", generated by the Chinchaga fire, the largest recorded fire in North American history, was first recorded in present-day Nunavut and may eventually have circled the entire globe.
October
- October 11
Field-sequential color system
A field-sequential color system developed by Hungarian-American engineer Peter Goldmark became the first color television system to be adopted for commercial use, only for it to be abandoned a year later.
- October 11
CBS
CBS's field-sequential color system for television was the first to be licensed for broadcast by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
- October 16
The Chronicles of Narnia
The first novel of the The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was published in the United Kingdom.
- October 25
People's Volunteer Army
The People's Volunteer Army ambushed the South Korean II Corps at the Battle of Onjong, and elsewhere engaged the 1st Infantry Division at the Battle of Unsan, marking China's entry into the Korean War.
November
- November 5
Korean War
Korean War: The 27th British Commonwealth Brigade succeeded in preventing a Chinese breakthrough at the Battle of Pakchon.
- November 17
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama (pictured) assumed full temporal power as ruler of Tibet at the age of 15.
- November 21
Canoe River train crash
Two trains collided near Valemount, Canada, killing 21 people; the subsequent trial brought future prime minister John Diefenbaker to greater political attention.
- November 24
Great Appalachian Storm of 1950
The "Great Appalachian Storm", a large extratropical cyclone, struck the east coast of the United States before moving northeast.
- November 27
Korean War
Korean War: The Chinese People's Volunteer Army launched multiple attacks against United Nations forces, beginning the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.
December
- December 2
Korean War
Korean War: UN forces began a retreat from North Korea following defeat at the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River.
- December 31
Korean War
Korean War: North Korean troops attacked United Nations forces in the first of two battles at Wonju.
Questions about 1950
What happened in 1950?
This site records 52 entries for 1950, including Constitution of India on January 26. They are listed below by date.
How long ago was 1950?
76 years ago, counting from 2026. Anyone born in 1950 turns 76 this year.
Which century is 1950 in?
1950 falls in the 20th century, in the 1950s.
Which generation was born in 1950?
Baby Boomers (1946–1964). Born in the post-war birth surge.
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