What happened in 1952
43 entries recorded for 1952, listed by date. That was 74 years ago.
1952 at a glance
- Years ago
- 74 (as of 2026)
- Century
- 20th century
- Decade
- 1950s
- Generation born
- Baby Boomers
- Entries here
- 43
- Breakdown
- 43 historical events
January
- January 14
NBC
NBC's long-running morning news program Today debuts, with host Dave Garroway.
- January 26
Cairo fire
Spontaneous anti-British riots erupted in Cairo following the killings of 50 Egyptian auxiliary police officers the previous day.
February
- February 6
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II becomes Queen of the United Kingdom and her other Realms and Territories and Head of the Commonwealth upon the death of her father, George VI. At the exact moment of succession, she was in a tree house at the Treetops Hotel in Kenya.
- February 20
Emmett Ashford
Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League.
- February 21
Winston Churchill
The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes identity cards in the UK to "set the people free".
- February 21
Bengali language movement
A number of student protesters demanding the establishment of Bengali as an official language were killed by police in Dhaka, East Pakistan.
- February 26
Vincent Massey
Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada.
March
- March 12
Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay
British diplomat Lord Ismay was appointed the first secretary general of NATO.
- March 21
Alan Freed
Alan Freed presents the Moondog Coronation Ball, the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio.
- March 21
Moondog Coronation Ball
The Moondog Coronation Ball, generally considered to be the first major rock and roll concert, took place at the Cleveland Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
April
- April 1
Israeli citizenship law
Israel enacted a citizenship law, prior to which the country technically had no citizens.
- April 15
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered, strategic bomber operated by the U.S. Air Force for most of the aircraft's history, made its first flight.
- April 28
Treaty of San Francisco
The Treaty of San Francisco comes into effect, restoring Japanese sovereignty and ending its state of war with most of the Allies of World War II.
- April 28
Treaty of Taipei
Japan and the Republic of China signed the Treaty of Taipei, officially ending the Second Sino-Japanese War seven years after fighting ended due to World War II.
- April 28
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower resigns as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in order to campaign in the 1952 United States presidential election.
- April 29
Pan Am Flight 202
Pan Am Flight 202 crashes into the Amazon basin near Carolina, Maranhão, Brazil, killing 50 people.
May
- May 7
Integrated circuit
The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey Dummer.
- May 18
First Indochina War
First Indochina War: Viet Minh forces overran a French and Laotian garrison at Muong Khoua, leaving only four survivors.
June
- June 13
Catalina affair
Soviet aircraft shot down a Swedish military plane carrying out signals-intelligence gathering operations, followed three days later by the shootdown of a second plane searching for the first one.
- June 17
Decree 900
Guatemala passes Decree 900, ordering the redistribution of uncultivated land.
- June 17
Guatemalan Revolution
Guatemalan Revolution: The Guatemalan Congress passed Decree 900, redistributing unused land greater than 224 acres (0.91 km2) in area to local peasants.
- June 29
Miss Universe
The first Miss Universe pageant is held. Armi Kuusela from Finland wins the title of Miss Universe 1952.
July
- July 3
Constitution of Puerto Rico
The Constitution of Puerto Rico is approved by the United States Congress.
- July 3
SS United States
SS United States (pictured) departed New York Harbor on her maiden voyage, on which completion she became the fastest ocean liner to cross the Atlantic.
- July 21
1952 Kern County earthquake
An earthquake registering 7.3 Mw struck the southern San Joaquin Valley in California, causing 12 deaths and an estimated $60 million in property damage.
August
- August 11
Talal of Jordan
King Talal of Jordan was forced to abdicate due to mental illness and was succeeded by his eldest son, Hussein.
- August 12
Night of the Murdered Poets
Thirteen Jewish poets were executed in Moscow for espionage based on false confessions.
September
- September 1
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway's novel The Old Man and the Sea, which later won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, was first published.
- September 6
Farnborough Airshow crash
A prototype aircraft crashed at the Farnborough Airshow in Hampshire, England, killing the pilot and test observer on board, and 29 spectators.
- September 12
Flatwoods, West Virginia
Three boys in Flatwoods, West Virginia, U.S., reported seeing a ten-foot-tall (3 m) monster in the woods while investigating a UFO.
- September 23
Richard Nixon
U.S. vice-presidential candidate Richard Nixon delivered the Checkers speech, one of the first political uses of television to appeal directly to the populace.
October
- October 3
Operation Hurricane
The United Kingdom successfully conducted its first nuclear test, becoming the world's third state with nuclear weapons.
- October 8
Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash
Three trains collided (aftermath pictured) at Harrow & Wealdstone station in London, killing 112 people and injuring 340 others.
- October 9
Knowsley Hall shootings
A footman shot and killed two colleagues and wounded the lady of the house at Knowsley Hall, England.
- October 17
Indonesian Army
Indonesian Army elements surrounded the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, demanding that President Sukarno disband the Provisional People's Representative Council.
- October 20
Evelyn Baring, 1st Baron Howick of Glendale
The Governor of Kenya Evelyn Baring declares a state of emergency and begins arresting hundreds of suspected leaders of the Mau Mau Uprising.
November
- November 4
Robert A. Lovett
Robert A. Lovett, United States Secretary of Defense, issued a memorandum establishing the National Security Agency, with responsibility for all communications intelligence for the government.
- November 5
1952 Severo-Kurilsk earthquake
An earthquake struck the Kamchatka Peninsula, triggering a major tsunami that affected the Kuril Islands and other parts of the Pacific Ocean.
- November 22
Douglas C-124 Globemaster II
A Douglas C-124 Globemaster II crashes into Mount Gannet, Alaska, killing all 52 aboard.
- November 25
Korean War
Korean War: After 42 days of fighting, the Battle of Triangle Hill ended as American and South Korean units abandoned their attempt to capture the "Iron Triangle".
- November 29
Dwight D. Eisenhower
U.S. President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower fulfills a campaign promise by traveling to Korea to find out what can be done to end the conflict.
December
- December 5
Great Smog of London
The "Great Smog of London" (pictured) began and lasted for five days, causing 12,000 deaths and leading to the Clean Air Act 1956.
- December 30
Avro Lancaster
An RAF Avro Lancaster bomber crashes in Luqa, Malta after an engine failure, killing three crew members and a civilian on the ground.
Questions about 1952
What happened in 1952?
This site records 43 entries for 1952, including NBC on January 14. They are listed below by date.
How long ago was 1952?
74 years ago, counting from 2026. Anyone born in 1952 turns 74 this year.
Which century is 1952 in?
1952 falls in the 20th century, in the 1950s.
Which generation was born in 1952?
Baby Boomers (1946–1964). Born in the post-war birth surge.
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