The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

30 days to go

mood: I'm dying ... I'v got a cold!!





Events and news of 1930



Collectivisation of all Soviet farms announced by Stalin



February 15th - Professor W Scheffer explains the mysteries of his invention the Zip fastener



February 18th - Planet Pluto discovered by US astronomer Clyde Tombaugh



March 6th - Marchers clash with police on left wing marches for work on Tower Hill, London



April 24th - Amy Johnson completed her solo flight from England to Australia



May 5th - Gandhi arrested at Surat and conveyed to Poona,where he is being detained, as civil disobedience campaign spread in India



June - In Australia the new Sydney Harbour Bridge is under construction with a 1,650 ft single span, 170ft above the water cost £8m



June 13th - Major Henry Seagrave won the World motorboat speed record on Lake Windermere in Miss England at 98.76 mph but the boat overturned and he was killed



June 22nd - Wimbledon begins, Bill Tilden and Helen Moody were the champions, men still played in long trousers



June 30th - French troops left Rhineland, as agreed after First World War



July 7th - Death of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes



July 30th - First World Cup won by Uruguay in Montevideo



August 7th - British unemployment exceeded 2 million as the depression deepened



The Church of England gave cautious backing to birth control



September 15th - Over 100 Reichstag seats gained by the Nazis in German election, from 6 people in 1919 to 6 million now



October 5th - The world's biggest airship, the British R101, crashed Near Beauvais in France

and was totally destroyed by fire, 48 people on board died



The worlds tallest building The Empire State Building in New York is being built 1,222 ft high



December - Unemployment in Britain had reached 2,500,000 and employers said wages must be cut!



Germany unemployment was now 4,500,000 and the struggle between the Communists and the Nazis was intensifying



Fascist Italy - Mussolini spoke about machine guns, war ships and rifles being very fine things



Nylon was invented in the USA



Marlene Deitrich became famous through her appearance in The Blue Angel



Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence appeared as Amanda and Elyot in Private Lives which opened at the Phoenix Theatre, the comedy was written by Coward for Lawrence



Donald Bradman (batsman) continued to astound cricket crowds with an aggregate of 974 runs in the England V Australia test series



The Aga Khan's horse Blenheim won the Derby



Another series proposal was examined (the first in the 1880s) to build a Channel Tunnel but was rejected again, mainly for defence reasons



Thoughts were turning to planning a new London airport to replace cosy Croydon



Frank Whittle takes out first patent for jet aircraft engine



Don Bradman hits 334 runs in Leeds test match

31 days to go

mood: bad, be warned





News headlines of 1931



January - The great Russian Ballerina Anna Pavlova died



February 28th - Fascist 'New Party' launched by Sir Oswald Moseley in the UK (he left the Labour Party)



April 14th - Spain declared a Republic after the abdication of King Alfonso



August 24th - National coalition government formed in the UK to fight financial crisis



September 15th - Royal Navy mutiny at Invergordon over servicemen's pay cuts



September 20th - Pound devalued as Britain leaves the gold standard



November 4th - Gandhi received by King George V on a visit to Britain



Al Capone sent to prison for income tax evasion



America gets an official National anthem



The Empire State building in New York is finished



Auguste Piccard's balloon reaches the stratosphere



The Christ monument was built on Rio De Janeiro hilltop



Statute of Westminster defines Dominion status

32 days to go

mood: helpless





2,700,000 unemployed in Britain this meant 7 million people depended on the dole. The North of Britain suffered mostly



January 28th - Shanghai captured by advancing Japanese forces



March 14th - Ivar Kreuger killed himself in Paris with liabilities of £50,000,000 and caused panic in the stock markets again



March 18th - Sydney Harbour Bridge opened - the worlds largest single-arch span



March - The remains of the kidnapped Lindbergh baby are found after a ransom of $50,000 was paid



April 24th - Mass trespass on Kinder Scout, by hikers to gain public access to the Peak District



May 14th - President Doumer of France was shot by Paul Gorguloff



May 21st - Miss Amelia Earhart flew the Atlantic solo from Newfoundland landing at Culmore, nr Londonderry



July - Los Angeles Olympics, Mildred 'Babe' Didrikson won Gold Medal in 80 mtr hurdles, Gold in the Javelin and silver in High Jump



October 30th - Riots in many cities in Britain provoked by hunger marchers



November 8th - Landslide victory for Franklin Delano Roosevelt after promise of New Deal



November - After general elections in Germany, Hitler's National Socialist Party was now the largest in the Reichstag



December 25th - First Royal Christmas radio broadcast to the Empire by George V



Aldous Huxley published Brave New World



Sir Thomas Beecham founded the London Philharmonic Orchestra



Franklin D Roosevelt elected 32nd US President



Indian National Congress Party is declared illegal and Gandhi was arrested



Cockcroft and Walton split the Atom



The neutron was discovered

33 days to go

mood: optimistic





Headlines of 1933



January 10th - Martial Law declared in Spain after attempted revolution



January 30th - President von Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor of Germany



February 16th - England won the Ashes at end of the controversial 'Bodyline' tour. Harold Larwood in a team captained by Douglas Jardine was accused by the Australians of 'body line' bowling, some said that opinion was so strong that Australia might withdraw from the Commonwealth!



February 25th - Japan left the League of Nations after censure over Manchuria



February 27th - Reichstag fire used by Hitler to crush political opposition



March - Franklin Delano Roosevelt was sworn in as President of the USA, the banking system had collapsed and 13 million Americans were unemployed and Mr Joseph Kennedy (father of John F Kennedy) was given power to curb the excesses of speculation



March - New Land speed record set by Sir Malcolm Campbell of 272mph , in Florida



March 15th - Third Reich proclaimed by Hitler against background of terror, Gestapo established.



March 23rd - Powers of dictator adopted by Hitler through Enabling Act, all political parties in Germany, except Nazi party, banned.

Reichstag (German Parliament) burnt down.



March 28th - The persecution of the Jews in Germany entered a new phase when it was decreed that Jewish shop goods and professions should be boycotted.



May - Monaco grand prix Alfa Romeo driven by Nuvolari (he lost the race to a Bugatti)



May 8th - In Nevada, USA the first execution by Gas Chamber took place



May 10th - Nazis burn books judged to be 'un-German' in Berlin



May 21st - Non-aggression pact agreed by Britain,Italy, Germany and France



October 14th - Germany left League of Nations



December 5th - Prohibition ended in USA



Japan leaves the League of Nations.



Wiley Posts becomes the first pilot to fly solo around the world.



Albert Einstein moves to the USA.



Construction of Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco.



Super 1933 homes, Barnehurst Park Estate, Kent - £395 freehold 9/6 weekly



The death of Sir Frederick Royce



Wimbledon - Helen Wills Moody won the women's singles for the sixth time in seven years, defeating Dorothy Round over 3 sets



Prohibition repealed in the USA

34 days to go

mood: bemused





Major Events of 1934



February 23rd - After a long illness Sir Edward Elgar, our greatest composer, died at his Worcestershire home - 'Land of Hope and Glory'



April 30th - Chancellor Dollfuss made Dictator of Austria. He is only 4 feet 11 inches but very energetic!



May - Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were shot to death in Louisiana (Bank robbers come folk heroes "Bonnie and Clyde"



June - Venice meeting between Hitler and Mussolini



June - Wimbledon, Fred Perry form Stockport, Cheshire wins mens singles. He goes on to 34, 35 and 36. he also captained 4 successive Davis cup victories



August 19th - After the death of President Hindenburg, Hitler became President and Chancellor of Germany by referendum , rivals were eliminated in "Night of the long knives"



August 29th - Prince George became engaged to Princess Marina of Greece



September 22nd - Gresford Colliery, near Wrexham, mining disaster . More than 200 men lost their lives



September 26th - The Queen Mary launched at Clydebank



October 7th - Fierce fighting in Spain crushed Catalonian bid for independence



October 9th - King of Yugoslavia assassinated in Marseilles



December 1st - The Purges in Russia begin after murder of Stalin's associate, Sergei Kirov



Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers star in the film The Gay Divorcee



Later this year Mrs Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee and friend of the Prince of Wales, was presented at Court



Italy wins soccer World Cup.



US Federal prison opened at Alcatraz Island.

35 days to go

mood: hyper





Major Events of 1935



Hitler violates Treaty of Versailles by introducing conscription.



German Jews stripped of their citzenship rights by Nuremberg Race Laws.



Italy invades Abyssinia (Ethiopia).



Persia formally changes its name to Iran.



Huey Long finishes a fifteen and half hour speech in the US Senate.



Parker Brothers release the board game Monopoly.

36 days to go

mood: nostalgic





Major Events of 1936



January 20th - Death of King George V at Sandringham, 11.55pm, aged 70



February 20th - Left wing government took power in Spain under Manuel Azana



March 7th - Rhineland occupied by Germany in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles



May 9th - King Victor Emmanuel of Italy had been proclaimed Emperor of Abyssinia by Mussolini.



May 27th - The RMS Queen Mary left Southampton on her maiden voyage to New York



June 3rd - Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia arrived in London in exile



June 6th - Gatwick airport came into operation



July 17th - Civil war began in Spain between Republicans and Nationalists



July - he Berlin Olympics. Much to Hitler's displeasure the hero of the games was black American athelete Jesse Owens who took 4 Gold medals (100 metres 200 metres , long Jump and 400 metre relay



August 16th - 16 of Stalin's opponents were executed after a show trial



October 5th - Start of the Jarrow march (Jarrow Crusade) to publicise the plight of the jobless, 200 unemployed miners from Jarrow on Tyne marched to hand a petetion (11,572 signatures) to Downing Street about the plight of the jobless in the North East of England, where 80 per cent of the population were without work.



October 23rd - German 'Condor' Legion sent to Spain to help Franco's forces



November 21st - Roosevelt was elected for a second term - the New Deal was proving successful



November 29th - Crystal Palace destroyed by fire, the glow could be seen from Brighton



December 10th - Abdication of Edward VIII ended constitutional crisis his eldest brother Albert, the Duke of York became King George VI



December 19th - This year GK Chesterton gave up his weekly Our Note Book page in the Illustrated London News to be succeeded by the historian Arthur Bryant. His final column said The Crown though sometimes it may divide, in the end unites... What the soil of France is to a Frenchman, the Crown is to Britain. There is scarecly one of us who would not sooner die than see it fail.



The BBC inaugurates the TV service



Life magazine begins publication



Allan Lane starts Penguin Books

37 days to go

mood: tolerant





Major Events of 1937



May 12th - Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (The Queen Mother). The ceremony was broadcast to the 8 million people in the UK who had wireless sets. There was TV coverage outside the Abbey and the audience was measured as a few Thousand.



The Duke of Windsor married Mrs Wallis Simpson (a divorced woman) in France



Hollywood star the Blonde Bombshell Jean Harlow died aged 26



Nazi Rally at Nuremberg (Nuremburg)



Amelia Earhart is lost while flying across the Pacific



Golden Gate Bridge completed in San Francisco.



Lincoln Tunnel opens in New York City.



Stalin begins purge of Red Army Generals.



China and Japan go to war.



The Hindenburg disaster: The German airship, Hindenburg is destroyed by fire, 36 are killed.



The German Luftwaffe bombs Guernica in the Spanish civil war.



Neville Chamberlain becomes British Prime Minister.



An ivory head 30,000 years old found in Vestonice

38 days to go

mood: lazy



London News 1938



* January 3rd - Announcement that all British schoolchildren to be given gas masks

* March 11th - German Anschluss of Austria at von Seyss-Inquart's invitation

* April - Britain formally recognised Italy's sovereignty over Abyssinia - aggression paid off!!

* May - The opening of the Empire Exhibition Scotand in Glasgow by King George VI

* August - Britain starts the Air Raid Protection Service manned by volunteers

* September 30th - 'I believe it is Peace for our Time' claim by Neville Chamberlain after Munich Agreement!

* October 1st - German invasion of Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia) began

* October 31st - War of the Worlds broadcast on radio, by Orson Welles, causes panic in the USA

* November 8th - Kristallnacht pogrom against the jews in Germany

* In Hollywood David O Selznick chooses an obscure British actress to play Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with Wind

* Anthony Eden and Duff Cooper resign

* The Liner Queen Elizabeth was launched

* The Picture Post begins publication

* Len Hutton scores 364 runs in Oval test match

39 days to go

mood: intellectual



1939 - the papers say it all.

40 days to go

mood: tired...so tired





1940

The escalating war in Europe will dominate the headlines.



January 8

Strict food rationing begins in Britain.



April 9

Germany attacks Denmark and Norway.



May 6

President Roosevelt, reacting to developments in Europe and Asia, asks Congress for an immediate appropriation of $896,000,000 for defense spending, including the production of 50,000 warplanes per year.



May 10

Mechanized divisions of the German army, supported by the Luftwaffe launch a Blitzkrieg attack along the entire Western Front: Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg. France expects a head-on attack on its eastern border with Germany, along the fortified Maginot Line. The Germans simply move around it and invade from the north.



May 13

Winston Churchill replaces Neville Chamberlain; declares in his first speech as British Prime Minister to the House of Commons, "I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." Churchill will also serve as Minister of War, an unprecedented and bold



May 28

King Leopold of Belgium surrenders his army of 500,000 soldiers to the advancing Germans.



May 26 – June 3

Dunkirk in northwestern, France. Over 900 private boats, sloops, yachts, steamers, sailboats and fishing boats come to the aid of the Royal Navy and help rescue and evacuate 340,000 soldiers, including over 100,000 French and Belgian troops, to the relative safety of Dover, England.



June 4

Churchill : "We shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."



June 5 - 22

With the main British Army out of the way, German troops sweep southward and enter Paris on June 14. France surrenders on June 22.



June 9-10

Norway surrenders to Germany. Italy declares war on France and Britain.



July 1

At a press conference, Japanese Prime Minister Matsuoka Yosuke announces the adoption of a foreign policy he calls the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere." The phrase turns out to be a euphemism for replacement of European colonial powers in Asia by the forces of Imperial Japan.



July 3

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello debut on NBC radio.



July 27

An anonymous screwball rabbit co-stars in Warner Brothers' animated cartoon "A Wild Hare" opposite Elmer Fudd. This wascally wabbit, outfoxing hunters for two years, finally gets a screen credit as Bugs Bunny in 1941's "Elmer's Pet Rabbit."



August 8

Battle of Britain begins. Struggle for air supremacy fought high above southern England between the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe ends in November with a British victory. Of the RAF airmen who drove off the Nazis, Churchill later declares in a speech in the House of Commons, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."



September 7 1940 through May 1941

Though soundly defeated in the Battle of Britain, Hitler’s Luftwaffe moves on to another plan. The Blitz is the name given to wholesale bombing raids on major British cities, principally London, in an effort to destroy civilian morale and force either a surrender or truce. Nearly nightly raids occur over populated areas and incendiary bombs ignite warehouses and homes, lighting the way for following bombers, who drop high explosives in an indiscriminant manner. By May of 1941, over 43,000 will be killed across Britain and 1,400,000 people will be made homeless. Large numbers of children will be evacuated to the countryside. Coventry and Plymouth are also particularly badly bombed and most of Britain’s cities will also be attacked, including Manchester, Glasgow, and Liverpool.



September 16

Selective Service Act passed by Congress. First peacetime draft for military service.



October 9

John Winston Lennon is born in Liverpool, England.



November 5

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is reelected; the first president to be elected three times.



ALSO IN 1940:



Walt Disney’s "Fantasia" opens in theatres. The breakthrough animated film features an eight-track streophonic classical music soundtrack, and is notable for an appearance by famed conductor Leopold Stokowski. Arguably the most famous scene in the film is a day dreaming Mickey Mouse battling an invincible and never-ending parade of anthropomorphic mops, buckets, and water in his title role of The Sorceror’s Apprentice.



The first automatic dishwasher is manufactured in the US.

41 days to go

mood: well its Monday, what do you think!!



Popular Music Of 1941

1 Stardust Artie Shaw

2 String of Pearls Glenn Miller

3 God Bless The Child Billie Holiday

4 You Are My Sunshine Wayne King

5 Dancing In The Dark Artie Shaw

6 Take The A Train Duke Ellington

7 You Made Me Love You Harry James

8 The Band Played On Guy Lombardo

9 Chattanooga Choo Choo Glenn Miller

10 Piano Concerto In B Flat Freddy Martin

11 We Three (My Echo, My Shadow, and Me) Ink Spots

12 Green Eyes Jimmy Dorsey

13 Summit Ridge Drive Artie Shaw

14 You and I Glenn Miller

15 Piano Concerto in B Flat Freddy Martin

16 Daddy Sammy Kaye

17 I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire Horace Heidt

18 Amapola Jimmy Dorsey

19 There I Go Vaughn Monroe

20 There'll Be Some Changes Made Benny Goodman

42 days to go

mood: HAPPY





Top hit records of 1942



* "A String of Pearls" by Glenn Miller

* "Be Careful, It's In My Heart" by Bing Crosby

* "Blues In the Night" by Woody Herman

* "Cow Cow Boogie" by Freddie Slack

* "Deep In The Heart Of Texas" by Alvino Ray

* "Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree" by Glenn Miller, also The Andrews Sisters

* "Flying Home" by Lionel Hampton

* "For Me And My Gal" by Judy Garland and Gene Kelly

* "He Wears a Pair of Silver Wings" by Kay Kyser

* "He's My Guy" by Harry James

* "I Don't Want To Walk Without You" by Harry James

* I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen" by Sammy Kaye

* "Jersey Bounce" by Benny Goodman

* "Jingle, Jangle, Jingle" by Kay Kyser

* "Kalamazoo" by Glenn Miller

* "Manhattan Serenade" by Harry James

* "Mister Five by Five" by Harry James

* "Moonlight Cocktail" by Glenn Miller

* "My Devotion" by Vaughn Monroe

* "One Dozen Roses" by Harry James

* "Sleepy Lagoon" by Harry James

* "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place" by Benny Goodman

* "Strictly Instrumental" by Harry James

* "Strip Polka" by Johnny Mercer

* "Tangerine" by Jimmy Dorsey

* "Trav'lin' Light" by Paul Whiteman

* "White Christmas" - Bing Crosby (The best selling song of all time from a film)

* "Who Wouldn't Love You?" by Kay Kyser

43 days to go

mood: Musical





1942 HIT PARADE WINNERS



FIRST PLACE SONGS - (TOTAL WEEKS)



WHITE CHRISTMAS (36)

Irving Berlin

Introduced by Bing Crosby in Paramount film: Holiday Inn

I DON'T WANT TO WALK WITHOUT YOU (12)

Lyrics: Frank Loesser; Music: Jule Styne

Introduced in Paramount film: Sweater Girl

HE WEARS A PAIR OF SILVER WINGS (15)

Eric Maschwitz and Michael Carr

THERE ARE SUCH THINGS (18)

Lyrics: Abel Baer and Stanley Adams; Music: George W. Meyer

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS (12)

Lyrics: June Hershey; Music: Don Swander

MY DEVOTION (16)

Roc Hillman and Johnny Nafton

I'VE GOT A GAL IN KALAMAZOO (11)

Lyrics: Mack Gordon; Music: Harry Warren

JINGLE, JANGLE, JINGLE (14)

Lyrics: Frank Loesser; Music: Joseph J. Lilley

Introduced in the Non-Musical Film: Forest Rangers

DON'T SIT UNDER THE APPLE TREE (12)

Lyrics: Lew Brown and Charles Tobias; Music: Sam Stept

Introduced in the Musical Theatre: Yokel Boy

ONE DOZEN ROSES (14)

Lyrics: Roger Lewis, Country Washburn;

Music: Dick Jurgens, Walter Donavan

BLUES IN THE NIGHT (13)

Lyrics: Johnny Mercer; Music: Harold Arlen

Introduced in the Musical Film: Blues in the Night

SOMEBODY ELSE IS TAKING MY PLACE (12)

Bob Ellsworth, Richard Howard and Russ Morgan

Introduced in the Musical Film: Strictly in the Groove

SLEEPY LAGOON (18)

Lyrics: Jack Lawrence; Music: Eric Coates

Written in 1930, revived in 1942

43 days to go

mood: relaxed





Top Hit Songs of 1943:



Top hit records



* "As Time Goes By" by Rudy Vallee

* "Boogie Woogie" by Tommy Dorsey

* "Brazil" by Xavier Cugat

* "Comin' in on a Wing and a Prayer" by The Song Spinners

* "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" by The Ink Spots

* "I Had The Craziest Dream" by Harry James

* "I've Heard That Song Before" by Harry James

* "I'm Old Fashioned" by Fred Astaire

* "In the Blue of the Evening" by Tommy Dorsey

* "Juke Box Saturday Night" by Glenn Miller

* "Let's Get Lost" by Vaughn Monroe

* "Moonlight Becomes You" by Bing Crosby

* "Paper Doll" by Mills Brothers

* "People Will Say We're in Love" by Frank Sinatra

* "Pistol Packin' Mama" by Al Dexter

* "Stormy Weather" by Lena Horne

* "Sunday, Monday or Always" by Bing Crosby

* "Taking a Chance On Love" by Benny Goodman

* "That Old Black Magic" by Glenn Miller

* "There Are Such Things" by Tommy Dorsey

* "Velvet Moon" by Harry James

* "When the Lights Go On Again" by Vaughn Monroe

* "Why Don't You Do Right?" by Benny Goodman

* "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" by Dinah Shore

* "You'll Never Know" by Dick Haymes

* "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" by Judy Garland

44 days to go

mood: tired



Major Events of 1944



Allies land in France (D-Day).



Hitler survives assassination attempt.



Rommel forced to commit suicide for alleged involvement in plot to assassinate Hitler.



Polish Home Army rises against Germans.



Rome liberated by allies.



Germans use V1 and V2 rockets against the UK.



Battle of the Bulge (German attack in the Ardennes) won by Allies.



United States forces invade Philippines.

Anne Frank and her family betrayed and sent to concentration camps. She will die in 1945.

45 days to go

mood: excited



Major Events of 1945



Soviets liberate Auschwitz concentration camp.



US President, Franklin D. Roosevelt dies.



Hitler dies in his Berlin Bunker.



Allies and Soviets defeat Germany.



United States forces retake Philippines.



United States test first atomic bomb (Trinity Test), then later drops the first atomic bombs used in warfare on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, ending World War II.



Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal begin.



Indonesia proclaims independence from the Netherlands.

46 days to go

mood: still smiling





Major Events of 1946



First General Assembly of the United Nations opens in London, England.



The Philippines becomes independent from the USA.



Syria becomes independent from France.



Winston Churchill delivers "Iron Curtain" speech.



Juan Peron elected president of Argentina.



The bikini introduced by Louis Reard in Paris.



First Cannes Film Festival is held.

47 days to go

mood: 'suns out'!



This for me was probably the most important event of 1947.



The Dead Sea Scrolls



A young Bedouin searching for a lost goat near the north-western shore of the Dead Sea in the summer of 1947 happened onto one of the century's most sensational archaeological finds. Noticing a narrow opening in the surrounding limestone cliffs, he hoisted himself inside and discovered several large earthenware jars. One contained three leather scrolls wrapped in decaying linen and covered with ancient script.



The first of the Dead Sea Scrolls, as they were soon to be known, provided an unprecedented glimpse into the crucial "intertestamentary' period some 2,000 years ago, when Judaism was roiled by competing sects, and primitive Christianity was just taking shape.



The manuscripts - including eight scrolls and tens of thousands of fragments - date from approximately the mid-third century BC to the period of the second Jewish revolt against Rome, in AD 132-135 and include biblical texts nearly 1,000 years older than any previously known.



Other Major Events of 1947



Aviator, Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier in the X-1.



Greek Civil War (1947-1949).



India and Pakistan independent from Britain.



Newfoundland and Labrador joins Canada.



Invention of transistor.



Marshall Plan for reconstruction in Europe.



Jackie Robinson is the first African-American to play in modern major league baseball.



Japan's post-war constitution comes into effect.



Some people claim that a UFO crashed at Roswell, New Mexico.



Tennessee Williams' play, "A Streetcar Named Desire", opens on Broadway.



Howdy Doody makes its TV debut.

48 days to go

mood: happy, happy, happy



1948 HEADLINES



Israel:

In May 1948, Israel became an independent state after Israel was recognised by the United Nations as a country in its own right within the Middle East. If relations in pre-war Palestine had been fraught with difficulties, these difficulties paled into insignificance after Israel became a state in its own right. Immediately on being granted its independence, Israel was attacked by a number of Arab nations. If Israel had faltered at this first hurdle, she would have ceased to exist as a state regardless of what the United Nations had decreed.



Truman Upsets Dewey:

Thanks to voting by blacks (grateful for executive edicts against lynching and segregation), labor (upset by the Taft-Hartley bill), and farmers (who feared a reduction in subsidies), Harry Truman trumped the pollsters and in 1948 was elected to a full term.



Gandhi Assassinated:

Throughout his career, Gandhi played a spiritual as well as a political role. Mahatma, he was called, the great soul. On January 30, 1948, Gandhi succumbed to the violence he had spent a lifetime repudiating, assassinated by a Hindu fanatic outraged by his placation of Muslims.



Instant Pictures:

The Polaroid Land Camera became a huge success upon hitting the market in 1948. First demonstrated the year before by its inventor, Edwin Herbert Land, the Polaroid acted as an instant darkroom, producing finished pictures within 60 seconds.



Selected Service Act:

This 1948 Act required registration of all U.S. men between the age of 18 and 25.

49 days to go

mood: sad



1949 in music



Events



* Mitch Miller begins his career as one of the 20th century's most successful record producers at Mercury

* Eddie Fisher signs with RCA

* Bob Hope suggests that Anthony Benedetto change his stage name from "Joe Bari" to "Tony Bennett"

* Frankie Laine cuts "Mule Train," the first modern pop record

* Les Paul and Mary Ford wed

* Teresa Brewer cuts her first record for the London label

* The Ames Brothers score their first hit with "You, You, You Are The One"

* Johnnie Ray performs at the Flame Show Bar in Detroit

* Frank Sinatra stars in "On The Town" with Gene Kelly, a sequel to their 1945 hit "Anchors Aweigh"

* The legendary Al Jolson records the soundtrack to "Jolson Sings Again," the sequel to his hugely successful biopic "The Jolson Story" (1946)

* Chart-topping crooner Buddy Clark dies in a plane crash on October 1

* Coral Records is formed as a subsidiary of Decca

* 45 rpm discs are introduced

* The Trio Carosone is formed

* Gorni Kramer starts working for musical impresarios Garinei and Giovannini

* Country singer Bill Haley enters into a partnership with musicians Johnny Grande and Billy Williamson to form Bill Haley and His Saddlemen; in 1952 the group is renamed Bill Haley & His Comets.

* Birdland jazz club opens in New York City.

50 days to go

mood: show me love



NEWSFLASH



ONGOING

Total world population: 2,518,629,000

Africa: 221,214,000

Asia: 1,398,488,000

Europe: 547,403,000

Latin-America: 167,097,000

Northern America: 171,616,000

Oceania: 12,812,000.





January 6 - The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with Britain in response.

January 31

President Harry S. Truman orders the development of the Nixon bomb in response to the detonation the Soviet Union's first atomic bomb in 1949





February 12

Pro-communist riots in Paris

European Broadcasting Union founded

Albert Einstein warns that nuclear war could lead to mutual destruction



March 3 - Poland states that it intends to exile all Germans.

March 22 - Egypt demands that Britain remove all its troops in Suez Canal.



April 24 - Jordan formally annexes West Bank.

April 27

Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed formally segregating races.

Britain formally recognizes Israel.



May 9

Robert Schuman presents his proposal on the creation of an organized Europe, indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations. This proposal, known as the "Schuman declaration", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union.

May 29 - St. Roch, first ship to circumnavigate North America arrives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.



June 25 - Beginning of Korean War: Americans begin hoarding supplies in case of rationing and shortages.

June 28 - Korean War - North Korean forces capture Seoul.



July 16 - Uruguay beat Brazil 2-1 to win the 1950 World Cup.



August 5

Florence Chadwick swims across English Channel in 13 hours, 22 minutes.

August 23 - Legendary singer-actor Paul Robeson, whose passport has recently been revoked because of his alleged Communist affiliations, meets with U.S. officials in an effort to get it reinstated. He is unsuccessful, and it is not reinstated until 1958.



September 15 - Allied troops land in Inchon, occupied by North Korea, to begin the Battle of Inchon.



October 2 - The comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz is first published in seven US newspapers.

October 7

The Chinese invasion of Tibet begins.

October 15 - In East Germany, communists win 99.7% of the vote.

October 26 - Sister Mary Teresa begins her charity work in Calcutta and becomes known as Mother Teresa.



November 8 - Korean War: While in an F-80, United States Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown intercepts two North Korean MiG-15s near the Yalu River and shoots them down in the first jet-to-jet dogfight in history.

November 10 - A US Air Force B-50 bomber, experiencing an in-flight emergency, jettisoned and detonated a Mark 4 nuclear bomb over Quebec, Canada. The device lacked its plutonium core.

November 11 - The Mattachine Society is founded in Los Angeles as the first Gay-liberation organization.

November 22

Anti-British riots in Egypt.

Shirley Temple announces her retirement from show business.

November 25 - Phenomenal winter storm ravages the Northeast United States, brings 30 to 50 inches of snow, temperatures below zero, and kills 323 people.

November 26 - Korean War: Troops from the People's Republic of China move into North Korea and launch a massive counterattack against South Korean and American forces, ending any thought of a quick end to the conflict.

November 28 - Greece and Yugoslavia reform diplomatic relations.

November 29

Korean War: North Korean and Chinese troops force a desperate retreat of United Nations forces from North Korea.

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA founded.

November 30 - Truman threatens to use nuclear weapons in Korea.



December 3 - Etna volcano erupts in Sicily

December 11-December 13 - The Maria Hertogh riots occur in Singapore, leaving 18 dead and 173 injured.

December 12 - Paula Ackerman becomes the first woman in the United States to serve a congregation as a Rabbi, a few weeks after the death of her husband.

December 16 - The Office of Defense Mobilization is established in the United States.

December 24-December 25 - Scottish nationalists take the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey.

December 28 - The Peak District becomes Britain's first National Park.



Undated

Ralph Schneider founds Diners Club - it initially only works in 27 restaurants in New York City.

United Nations building is finished.

First pagers are developed.

First TV remote control, Zenith Radio's Lazy Bones is marketed.

Myxomatosis is introduced into Australia in an attempt to control the escalating rabbit population.

IBM Israel begins operating in Tel Aviv.

Japanese soldier Yuichi Akitsu surrenders in the Philippines.

President Harry Truman sends United States military advisers to Vietnam to aid French forces.

France institutes a government guaranteed minimum wage.

51 days to go

mood: Fresh. lol



NO. 1 HITS

1951



7 Jan 1951 Tennessee Waltz (Patti Page)

3 Mar1951 If (Perry Como)

10 Mar 1951 Be My Love (Mario Lanza)

17 Mar 1951 Wheel of Fortune (Kay Starr)

21 Apr 1951 How High the Moon (Les Paul & Mary Ford)

23 June 1951 Too Young (Nat "King" Cole)

28 July 1951 Come on-a My House(Rosemary Clooney)

8 Sept 1951 Because of You (Tony Bennett)

3 Nov 1951 Cold, Cold Heart (Tony Bennett)

10 Nov 1951 Sin (Eddy Howard)

29 Dec 1951 Cry (Johnny Ray)

52 days to go

mood: puzzled



Popular DJ Songs For 1952



1. Blue Tango, Leroy Anderson

2. Wheel Of Fortune, Kay Starr

3. Cry, Johnnie Ray

4. You Belong To Me, Jo Stafford

5. Auf Wiederseh'n, Sweetheart, Vera Lynn

6. Half As Much, Rosemary Clooney

7. Wish You Were Here, Eddie Fisher & Hugo Winterhalter

8. I Went To Your Wedding, Patti Page

9. Here In My Heart, Al Martino

10. Delicado, Percy Faith

11. Kiss Of Fire, Georgia Gibbs

12. Any Time, Eddie Fisher & Hugo Winterhalter

13. Tell Me Why, Four Aces

14. Blacksmith Blues, Ella Mae Morse

15. Jambalaya, Jo Stafford

16. Botch-a-me, Rosemary Clooney

17. A Guy Is A Guy, Doris Day

18. The Little White Cloud That Cried, Johnnie Ray

19. High Noon, Frankie Laine

20. I'm Yours, Eddie Fisher & Hugo Winterhalter

21. Glow Worm, Mills Brothers

22. It's In The Book, Johnny Standley

23. Slow Poke, Pee Wee King

24. Walkin' My Baby Back Home, Johnnie Ray

25. Meet Mr. Callaghan, Les Paul

26. I'm Yours, Don Cornell

27. I'll Walk Alone, Don Cornell

28. Tell Me Why, Eddie Fisher & Hugo Winterhalter

29. Trying, Hilltoppers

30. Please, Mr. Sun, Johnnie Ray

53 days to go

mood: chuffed



NEWS HEADLINES FROM 1953



Dwight D. Eisenhower Becomes President Of The United States,

Senator Robert A. Taft Passes Away,

Russian Dictator Joseph Stalin Passes Away,

U.S. Tests Its First Atomic Cannon,

East Germans Riot Over Lack Of Food And Increased Work Quotas,

Italy And Yugoslavia Clash Over Trieste,

Southwest States Experience Drought,

Flood Waters Inundate Low Countries,

Earthquakes Rack Greek Islands,

Soldiers Perish In Transport Accident,

Tornadoes Slash Across The U.S.,

Queen Elizabeth II Is Crowned With Pomp And Ceremony,

Truce Signed In Korea,

P.O.W.'s Returned From Red Captivity

54 days to go

mood: Dreamy



Top 20 Hits for 1954



1 Little Things Mean A Lot [Kitty Kallen]

2 Wanted [Perry Como]

3 Hey There [Rosemary Clooney]

4 Sh boom [Crew Cuts]

5 Make Love To Me [Jo Stafford]

6 Oh My Pa Pa O Mein Papa [Eddie Fisher]

7 I Get So Lonely [Four Knights]

8 Three Coins In The Fountain [Four Aces]

9 Secret Love [Doris Day]

10 Hernando s Hideaway [Archie Bleyer]

11 Young At Heart [Frank Sinatra]

12 This Ole House [Rosemary Clooney]

13 I Need You Now [Eddie Fisher]

14 Cross Over The Bridge [Patti Page]

15 The Little Shoemaker [Gaylords]

16 That s Amore [Dean Martin]

17 The Happy Wanderer [Frank Weir]

18 Answer Me My Love [Nat King Cole]

19 Stranger In Paradise [Tony Bennett]

20 If I Give My Heart To You [Doris Day]

55 days to go

mood: getting there





Top 20 hits of 1955



1 Ain't That A Shame Pat Boone lyrics

2 Ballad Of Davy Crockett Bill Hayes lyrics

3 Dance With Me Henry (Wallflower) Georgia Gibbs lyrics

4 Hearts Of Stone The Fontane Sisters lyrics

5 Learnin' The Blues Frank Sinatra lyrics

6 Let Me Go, Lover Joan Weber lyrics

7 Love Is A Many Splendored Thing The Four Aces lyrics

8 Memories Are Made Of This Dean Martin lyrics

9 Rock Around The Clock Bill Haley & His Comets lyrics

10 Sincerely The McGuire Sisters lyrics

11 Sixteen Tons Tennessee Ernie Ford lyrics

12 Unchained Melody Les Baxter lyrics

13 The Yellow Rose Of Texas Mitch Miller lyrics

14 A Blossom Fell Nat King Cole lyrics

15 How Important Can It Be Joni James lyrics

16 I Hear You Knocking Gale Storm lyrics

17 Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So) Perry Como lyrics

18 Moments To Remember The Four Lads lyrics

19 Tweedlee Dee Georgia Gibbs lyrics

20 Melody Of Love The Four Aces lyrics

56 days to go

mood: Well I'm smiling :-D





1956 Top 10 Most Requested Music Hits



1. Love Me Tender - Elvis Presley

2. Hound Dog - Elvis Presley

3. Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino

4. Long Tall Sally - Little Richard

5. Why Do Fools Fall In Love - Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers

6. My Prayer - The Platters

7. Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins

8. My Blue Heaven - Fats Domino

9. Singing The Blues - Guy Mitchell

10. In The Still of the Night - the Five Satins

57 days to go

mood: fair to good





Popular DJ Songs For 1957



1. All Shook Up, Elvis Presley

2. Love Letters In The Sand, Pat Boone

3. Little Darlin', Diamonds

4. Young Love, Tab Hunter

5. So Rare, Jimmy Dorsey

6. Don't Forbid Me, Pat Boone

7. Singing The Blues, Guy Mitchell

8. Young Love, Sonny James

9. Too Much, Elvis Presley

10. Round And Round, Perry Como

11. Bye Bye Love, Everly Brothers

12. Tammy, Debbie Reynolds

13. Party Doll, Buddy Knox

14. Teddy Bear / Loving You, Elvis Presley

15. Banana Boat (Day-O), Harry Belafonte

16. Jailhouse Rock, Elvis Presley

17. A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Carnation), Marty Robbins

18. Come Go With Me, Dell-vikings

19. Wake Up Little Susie, Everly Brothers

20. You Send Me, Sam Cooke

21. Searchin', Coasters

22. School Day, Chuck Berry

23. Gone, Ferlin Husky

24. Diana, Paul Anka

25. A Teenager's Romance, Ricky Nelson

26. The Banana Boat Song, Tarriers

27. Honeycomb, Jimmie Rodgers

28. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On, Jerry Lee Lewis

29. Dark Moon, Gale Storm

30. That'll Be The Day, Crickets

58 days to go

mood: apathetic





1

At The Hop - Danny & The Juniors



2

It's All In The Gane - Tommy Edwards



3

The Purple people Eater - Sheb Wolley



4

All I have To Do Is Dream - The Everly Brothers



5

Tequila - The Champs



6

Don't - Elvis Presley



7

Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) - Domenico Modugno



8

Sugartime - The McGuire Sisters



9

He's Got The Whole World (In His Hands) - Laurie London



10

The Chipmonk Song - The Chipmonks



11

Witch Doctor - David Seville



12

To Know Him, Is To Love Him - The Teddy Bears



13

Poor Little Fool - Ricky Nelson



14

It's Only Make Believe - Conway Twitty



15

Get A Job - The Silhouettes



16

Hard Headed Woman - Elvis Presley



17

Patricia - Perez Prado



18

Tom Dooley - The Kingston Trio



19

Catch A falling Star - Perry Como



20

Twilight Time - The Platters