December 1949 Explained
The following events occurred in December 1949:
- A note from the US State Department was delivered to the Chinese Nationalist government protesting the shelling of the merchant ship Sir John Franklin in the Yangtze River approaches on November 28, denouncing the action as "unjustifiable". The note concluded: "The government of the United States is constrained to point out to the Chinese Nationalist government the seriousness with which it views this attack upon American life and property. It is therefore requested that the Chinese Nationalist government immediately issue such orders as will preclude the possibility of any future incident of this nature."[2]
- The University of Sarajevo was established.
- Died: Eugene Neeley, 53, American football player
- A Congressional investigation was ordered into allegations that the late Harry Hopkins, a close advisor of President Roosevelt, had helped the Soviets get atomic secrets and materials out of the United States during World War II.[3]
- Born: John Akii-Bua, Olympic hurdler, in Abako, Uganda (d. 1997); Heather Menzies, model and actress, in Toronto, Canada (d. 2017)
- Died: Philip Barry, 53, American dramatist; Maria Ouspenskaya, 73, Russian actress
- Czechoslovakia's Roman Catholic bishops warned the Communist government that they could not submit to church control laws which eliminated religious freedom in the country.[4]
- KPHO-TV signed on the air in Phoenix as the first television station in Arizona.
- Born: Jeff Bridges, actor, in Los Angeles, California; Pamela Stephenson, actress, comedian and psychologist, in Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand
- Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion told the Knesset that Israel would not give up its control of Jerusalem. After his statement the body unanimously voted in support of this policy.[5]
- Composer Arturo Toscanini was made a lifetime senator of the Italian Republic for his contributions to music.[6]
- Actress Shirley Temple divorced actor John Agar, accusing him of excessive drinking and having affairs with other women.[7]
- Died: Arthur Bedford, 67 or 68, Royal Navy officer
- The Chinese Nationalist government rejected the US protest against the shelling of American merchant vessels and warned that blockade runners must suffer the consequences if they tried to evade Nationalist warships.[8]
- Died: Lead Belly, 61, American folk and blues musician
- Manhattan Project director Leslie Groves told the House Un-American Activities Committee that within a month of taking charge of the atomic program, he learned that Russian spies were active in atomic laboratories in the United States. Groves testified that he knew of only one batch of atomic materials that were bought by the Russians and shipped out of the country, but that he did not know "how many more leaked through."[9]
- Born: Tom Waits, singer-songwriter, composer and actor, in Pomona, California; Cathy Wayne, entertainer, in Arncliffe, New South Wales, Australia (d. 1969)
- Died: Rex Beach, 72, American novelist, playwright and Olympic water polo silver medalist
- The event commonly referred to as the Číhošť miracle occurred in the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in the village of Číhošť, Czechoslovakia, when churchgoers reported seeing an iron cross on the main altar move several times on its own.
- The embalmed body of Bulgarian Communist leader Georgi Dimitrov, who died July 2, was placed on view in a white stone mausoleum in Sofia.[14]
- The Israeli government moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, although Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion avoided proclaiming Jerusalem the "capital".[16]
- Saint Lucy's Day celebrations in Sweden turned tragic when three festival queens in Norrköping were killed by a train that struck their festival chariot.[17]
- The White House Reconstruction began without fanfare. Over the next three years the historic structure would be gutted, expanded and rebuilt while President Harry S. Truman and his family lived in Blair House across the street.
- Born: Robert Lindsay, actor, in Ilkeston, England; Randy Owen, lead singer of country music band Alabama, in Fort Payne, Alabama; Tom Verlaine, singer, songwriter and guitarist (Television), in Denville, New Jersey (d. 2023)
- The Indonesian Parliament ratified the Dutch-Indonesian agreement to establish a sovereign United States of Indonesia by a vote of 226 to 62.[18]
- Former vice-prime minister of Bulgaria Traicho Kostov was found guilty of all treason charges against him and sentenced to death.[19]
- The Guangxi Campaign ended.
- In an interview with The New York Times in Rome, actress Ingrid Bergman and director Roberto Rossellini confirmed reports that they planned to marry as soon as Bergman's divorce from her first husband was finalized. When asked about rumors that Bergman was pregnant, Rossellini replied, "Whether she is or not is nobody's affair."[20]
- The war film Sands of Iwo Jima starring John Wayne premiered in San Francisco.[21]
- Born: Bill Buckner, baseball player, in Vallejo, California (d. 2019); Cliff Williams, bassist of the rock band AC/DC, in Romford, England
- Mao Zedong arrived in Moscow to confer with Joseph Stalin.[24]
- Sukarno was elected first 1st president of the United States of Indonesia by electors from all sixteen states of the East Indian islands.[25]
- The Parliament Act 1949 received Royal Assent in the United Kingdom.
- The Voortrekker Monument outside Pretoria in South Africa was inaugurated.
- An auto parts product and sales brand, Denso was founded in Kariya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, under the predecessor's name of Nippon Denso.
- Born: Billy Gibbons, lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band ZZ Top, in Houston, Texas
- Died: Traicho Kostov, 52, Bulgarian politician (executed by Communist authorities for treason); Sidney Olcott, 76, Canadian-born filmmaker; Lee White, 61, American actor
- Joseph Stalin was awarded the Order of Lenin as part of celebrations of his 70th birthday. The creation of the Stalin Peace Prize (later renamed the Lenin Peace Prize) was also announced, to be given to between five and ten people every December 21 starting in 1950.[32] Press dispatches from the Eastern Bloc reported that Stalin had received millions of congratulatory messages, but his birthday was not mentioned in Yugoslavian newspapers.[33]
- At a Four Power Allied meeting in Tokyo, Soviet representative Kuzma Derevyanko walked out with his delegation rather than answer to an American charge that Russia was forcing thousands of Japanese prisoners into forced labor in Siberia.[34]
- The romantic religious epic film Samson and Delilah directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Hedy Lamarr and Victor Mature was released.
- The war film Twelve O'Clock High starring Gregory Peck premiered in Los Angeles.
- Born: Thomas Sankara, revolutionary and President of Burkina Faso, in Yako, French Upper Volta (d. 1987)
- Pope Pius XII invited all Protestants and Jews to "return to the one true church" to unite against militant atheism.[36] Protestant and Jewish leaders who commented said they had no intention of accepting the invitation.[37]
- The New York Stock Exchange rose to its highest levels since August 1946.[38]
- Born: Adrian Belew, guitarist, songwriter and producer, in Covington, Kentucky
Soldiers of the South Korean Army killed 86 to 88 unarmed civilians in Mungyeong on suspicion of being communists or communist supporters.
- The Czech government outlawed as "traitors" all persons who fled the country after the Communist coup of February 1948.[42]
- The Khabarovsk War Crime Trials began in the Soviet city of Khabarovsk. Twelve members of the Japanese Kwantung Army were put on trial for manufacturing and using biological weapons during World War II.
- Actors Cary Grant and Betsy Drake were married in a private home in Phoenix, Arizona. Howard Hughes flew the couple in from Hollywood and served as best man.[43]
- Born: Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira, singer, in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil; Nawaz Sharif, three-time prime minister of Pakistan, in Lahore, Pakistan; Sissy Spacek, actress, in Quitman, Texas; Joe Louis Walker, blues musician, in San Francisco, California
- Died: Leon Schlesinger, 65, American film producer
- The Hungarian government issued a sweeping decree ordering the nationalization of all remaining businesses still in private hands or financed by foreign capital. American, British, Swiss, French and Dutch firms were affected by the order.[49]
- KC2XAK in Bridgeport, Connecticut became the first regularly operating UHF television station.
December 1939 was the twelfth and final month of the common year. It began on a Thursday and ended after 31 days on a Saturday. It was also the last month of the 1940s.
Notes and References
- Rosenthal . A. M. . December 2, 1949 . U. N., 53-5, Adopts Peace Plan Set Up By U.S. And Britain . . 1 .
- December 3, 1949 . U.S. Protests Chinese Attack . . 1 .
- December 4, 1949 . Charges That Hopkins Helped Reds Get Atom Secrets To Be Probed . . 2 .
- December 5, 1949 . Czech Bishops Give Warning To Red Regime . . 2 .
- December 6, 1949 . Israel Defies U.N. Over Rule of Jerusalem . . Chicago . 7 .
- December 7, 1949 . Toscanini Made Italian Senator . . 2 .
- December 6, 1949 . Shirley Temple Wins . . 40 .
- December 7, 1949 . China Turns Down American Protest . . 1 .
- December 7, 1949 . Gen. Groves Describes Red Spy Activities . . Bend, Oregon . 1 .
- Durdin . Tillman . December 9, 1949 . Chinese Nationalists Move Their Capital To Formosa; Now Plan A Guerrilla War . . 1 .
- December 10, 1949 . Three A.A.C. Teams Enter New Circuit . . 12 .
- Book: Ference . Gregory C. . 1994 . Chronology of 20th Century Eastern European History . Gale Research, Inc. . 173 . 0-8103-8879-0 . registration .
- Book: 1989 . Mercer . Derrik . Chronicle of the 20th Century . London . Chronicle Communications Ltd. . 694 . 9-780582-039193 .
- Book: Ference . Gregory C. . 1994 . Chronology of 20th Century Eastern European History . Gale Research, Inc. . 83 . 0-8103-8879-0 . registration .
- Web site: December 12, 1949 . PlaneCrashInfo . June 4, 2018 .
- Currivan . Gene . December 14, 1949 . Israel Is Speeding Transfers To Make Jerusalem Capital . . 1 .
- December 14, 1949 . Death Darkens Light Festival; 3 Queens Killed . . Chicago . 10 .
- December 14, 1949 . Indonese M.P.s Approve Dutch Pact, 226 to 62 . . Chicago . 7 .
- December 15, 1949 . Kostov Gets Death Verdict, Others Jail, in Bulgar Trial . . 1 .
- Cianfarra . Camille M. . December 15, 1949 . Bergman Nuptials Wait On Divorce . . 32 .
- Web site: Sands of Iwo Jima . . June 4, 2018 .
- Raymond . Jack . December 16, 1949 . Bonn Signs Accord As E. C. A. Member . . 10 .
- December 16, 1949 . Moros Kill 71 Troopers . . 18 .
- December 17, 1949 . Mao Sees Stalin, Pledges Close Tie Of China To Soviet . . 1 .
- December 17, 1949 . Indonesian States Elect Sukarno As First President of New Regime . . 1 .
- December 18, 1949 . Burma Recognizes Rule Of Communists in China . . 22 .
- December 19, 1949 . Ukrainian Elected To Key Soviet Unit . . 17 .
- Ross . Albion . December 20, 1949 . New Coup In Syria Ousts Army Chief . . 1, 21 .
- December 20, 1949 . 18 Years' Prison For Manstein . . Adelaide . 1 .
- December 21, 1949 . Clark Gablr Takes A Bride . . Chicago . 1, 10–11 .
- Book: Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series: Volume 3, Part 2, Number 2, Periodicals July-December 1949 . Library of Congress . 182 .
- Salisbury . Harrison E. . December 21, 1949 . Soviet Sets Up Peace Prizes In Honor of Stalin's Birthday . . 1 .
- December 22, 1949 . It Was Stalin's 70th Birthday Yesterday . . 3 .
- December 21, 1949 . Angered Russian Quits Tokyo Talk . . 14 .
- December 23, 1949 . B-50 Crashes in Swamp, 11 Dead . . 1 .
- December 24, 1949 . Pope Invites All Christians to Join Church . . Chicago . 4 .
- December 24, 1949 . Church Leaders Cool to Pope's Appeal to Join . . Chicago . 4 .
- December 24, 1949 . 40-Month Highs On Stock Market . . 20 .
- Cianfarra . Camille M. . December 25, 1949 . Pope Pius Starts Holy Year Jubilee In St. Peter's Rite . . 1 .
- Handler . M. S. . December 25, 1949 . U. S. And Belgrade Sign Civil Air Pact; Gain In Amity Seen . . 1 .
- December 25, 1949 . Greece Lifts Martial Law . . 12 .
- December 26, 1949 . Prague Outlaws Exiles . . 16 .
- December 26, 1949 . Cary Grant Weds Actress . . 2 .
- Handler . M. S. . December 27, 1949 . British, Yugoslavs Sign A Trade Pact Put At $616,000,000 . . 1 .
- Gruson . Sydney . December 28, 1949 . Indonesia Becomes Nation In Ceremony In The Netherlands . . 1 .
- December 28, 1949 . Peron Suit Opens Against Big Papers . . 15 .
- December 29, 1949 . U. S. Recognizes Indonesia; Cochran Made Ambassador . . 1 .
- December 29, 1949 . Man of Half-Century . . 27 .
- December 30, 1949 . Hungarians Seize Foreign Companies In Sweeping Move . . 1 .
- December 31, 1949 . India Follows Burma Lead . . 2 .
- January 1, 1950 . Israel Rejects U.N. Request To Move Jerusalem Offices . . 1 .
- Book: MacDonald, Peter . 2004 . Big Ben: The Bell, the Clock and the Tower . The History Press . 9780752495491 .
