- January 31
- US President Harry Truman reveals that he ordered the Atomic Energy Commission to develop the hydrogen bomb. [1]
- February 3
- American Nuclear physicist Klaus Fuchs arrested on spy charges. [1]
- February 7
- Senator Joe McCarthy finds "communists" in US Ministry of Foreign Affairs. [1]
- US and Great Britain recognize Bao Dai Vietnamese regime. [1]
- February 12
- Albert Einstein warns against hydrogen bomb. [1]
- US Senator Joe McCarthy claims to have list of 205 communist government employees. [1]
- February 15
- RKO Radio Pictures releases Disney's animated feature film Cinderella to theaters in the USA. [6]
- February 17
- 31 die in a train crash in Rockville Center, New York. [1]
- March 9
- Willie Sutton robs Manufacturers Bank of US$64,000 in New York City, New York. [1]
- March 12
- US Congress charters the Girl Scouts of the USA. [630.5]
- March 13
- General Motors reports 1949 net earnings of US$656,434,232 (record). [1]
- March 14
- American FBI's "10 Most Wanted Fugitives" program begins. [1]
- March 15
- New York City hires Dr Wallace E Howell as its official "rainmaker". [1]
- March 17
- Element 98 (Californium) announced. [1]
- March 23
- 22nd Academy Awards: All the King's Men, Broderick Crawford and Olivia de Havilland win. [1]
- March 30
- Phototransistor invention announced, in Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA. [1]
- April 6
- John F Dulles becomes advisor to US Secretary of State Dean Acheson. [1]
- April 9
- 4th Tony Awards: Cocktail Party and South Pacific win. [1]
- April 11
- US B-29 bomber shot down above Latvia. [1]
- April 20
- Baltimore's Memorial Stadium opens - Orioles of International League. [1]
- April 24
- The Desert Inn hotel and casino opens on the Las Vegas strip, Nevada, USA. [80.304] [187.298a,397]
- US President Harry Truman denies there are communists in US government. [1]
- April 26
- Last horse race at Havre de Grace Track in Maryland is run. [1]
- May 8
- China's Chiang Kai-shek asks US for weapons. [1]
- May 10
- First Netherlands-US telex is sent. [1]
- May 25
- Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel opens in New York City, New York. [1]
- June 5
- US Supreme Court undermines legal foundations of segregation. [1]
- June 17
- First kidney transplant (Chicago, Illinois, USA). [1]
- Julius Rosenberg is arrested in the US on suspicion of espionage, accused of heading a spy ring that passed top-secret information concerning the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. [129]
- June 27
- United Nations Security Council calls on members for troops to aid South Korea. [1]
- US President Harry Truman orders Air Force and Navy into Korean conflict. [1]
- US sends 35 military advisers to South Vietnam. [1]
- June 30
- US President Harry Truman orders US troops into Korea. [1]
- (month unknown)
- Voters in California, Montana, Arizona, and Massachusetts vote against legal casino gaming. [39]
- July 3
- First time US and North Korean forces clash in the Korean War. [1]
- July 4
- US President Harry Truman signs public law 600 (Puerto Ricans can write own consitution). [1]
- July 5
- Private Kenneth Shadrick of West Virginia becomes first US fatality in Korean War. [1]
- July 8
- US General Douglas MacArthur named commander-in-chief, United Nations forces in Korea. [1]
- Leroy Deans awarded first Order of Purple Heart in Korea. [1]
- July 9
- 13.15 inches (33.40 cm) of rainfall, York, Nebraska (state 24-hour record). [1]
- July 14
- RE Wayne awarded first Distinguished Flying Cross in Korea. [1]
- July 19
- RKO Radio Pictures releases Disney's first entirely live-action feature film, Treasure Island, to theaters in the USA. The film is based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. [6]
- July 24
- Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida begins operations with the launch of a Bumper rocket. [1] [5]
- August 1
- American Bowling Congress ends all-white-males rule. [1]
- US territory of Guam created. [1]
- August 19
- ABC begins Saturday morning kid shows (Animal Clinic and Acrobat Ranch). [1]
- August 25
- US President Harry Truman orders army to seize control of railroad to avert a strike. [1]
- August 27
- General Foods blacklists Jean Muir of Aldrich Family as a communist. [1]
- September 4
- First helicopter rescue of American pilot behind enemy lines. [1]
- September 11
- 33 die in a train crash in Coshocton, Ohio, USA. [1]
- Dick Tracy TV show sparks uproar concerning violence. [1]
- September 20
- In Murray, Kentucky, USA, several buildings are struck by falling meteorites. [521]
- September 22
- Omar N Bradley promoted to rank of five-star general. [1]
- October 2
- The comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz first appears, in nine American newspapers. [1] [5]
- October 7
- US forces invade Korea by crossing the 38th parallel. [1]
- November 1
- Puerto Rican nationalists (Collazo and Torresola) try to kill US President Harry Truman at the Blair House in Washington, DC. [1]
- November 7
- Louis E. Eliasberg Sr. purchases an 1873-CC Seated Liberty No Arrows dime for US$4000, completing the first complete set of all known regular-issue United States coins, by date and mint mark. [420.62] [421.122]
- November 22
- 79 die in a train crash in Richmond Hills, New York, USA. [1]
- November 29
- National Council of the Church of Christ in US established. [1]
- December 10
- In Saint Louis, Missouri, USA a falling meteorite strikes a car. [521]
- December 15
- New York City's Port Authority opens. [1]
- December 16
- US President Harry Truman proclaims state of emergency against "Communist imperialism". [1]
- December 19
- US General Dwight Eisenhower is named NATO commander. [1]
- December 22
- Two self-propelled trains of Long Island, New York, railroad collide, killing 77. [1]
- December 25
- The first Disney TV special, One Hour in Wonderland airs on NBC, sponsored by the Coca-Cola Company (cost US$100,000). Walt Disney and several Disney cartoon characters make their TV debut. Walt's daughter Sharon also appears. The show previews portions of the film Alice in Wonderland. About 20 million viewers watch the show. [6]
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