The 1950s were a decade in which much of the world was recovering from years of war. Even so, some steps of solid, political, and technical progress were made.
1950
1951
• Swedish citizens given the right to withdraw from the state church (Lutheran), into which they are born.
• Spanish-Portuguese-Italian Herald inaugurated.
• Remington Rand produces UNIVAC, the first large-scale, general purpose computer.
1952
• Amsterdam-Rhine Canal (Netherlands).
• European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), precursor to the European Community, begins operating.
• Elizabeth II becomes Queen of England
1953
• France recognizes sovereignty of Laos.
• Armistice signed ending Korean War.
• Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay are first to climb Mt. Everest.
1954
1960
1954
• Cambodia given independence from France.
• Partition of Vietnam.
• Roger Bannister becomes first to run a mile in less than four minutes.
1956
• Morocco and Tunisia granted independence from France.
1957
• Sputnik I, the first of several unmanned satellites launched by the USSR between 1957 and 1961.
1958
• Women in Mexico receive the right to vote in all elections.
1959
• Separate quarterly Heralds in Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian are issued for the first time.
• St. Lawrence Seaway opens.
