1950 -       
         1958

By 1950 many of the hopes and dreams of the past two decades were finally becoming a reality. The transition to peace time was not without its challenges but by and large, advancements were realized in many areas. Medicine, education, technology, aviation and of course transportation improved by leaps and bounds.

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The United Staes had emerged from WWII as a world power and its influence was felt across the globe. With the establishment of the United Nations its military was called on again in Korea during the early '50s. But all-in-all its citizens were establishing a lifestyle of middle to upper class existence.

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No place was that more evident than in the cars Americans bought. Big, bright and beautiful best describes the automobiles of the 1950s. The photos of OPW members cars below prove it.

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1950 The Korean War begins when North Korea invades South Korea.

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1951 "I Love Lucy" premieres on television on the CBS network.

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1952 Elizabeth II becomes the Queen of England after her father, George VI, dies.

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1953 Jonas Salk develops the first polio vaccine.

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1954 The U.S. Supreme Court rules that racial segregation is unconstitutional with the Brown v. Board of Education decision.

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1954 Elvis Presley recorded and released his first single in July, a cover of Arthur Crudup’s “That’s All Right.” 

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1955 Rosa Parks is arrested in Alabama after she refuses to give up her bus seat to a white passenger.

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1956 The Suez Crisis begins after Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal.

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1957 The USSR successfully launches Sputnik 1, the very first artificial satellite.

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1958 NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is created.