The 1950s - HISTORY

The 1950s were about more than just poodle skirts and rock and roll.

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Flashback: Mall Shopping in the 1950s

Hollywood starlet Marilyn Monroe weds Joe DiMaggio. The elopement takes place at San Francisco City Hall, and draws a record crowd.

Public acceptance of the VCR was not immediate, but it still had many enthusiasts, including the actor Tony Curtis, who speaks in 1971 of the device and its impact on his new television program "The Persuaders."

On March 1, 1954, five Congressmen were shot when a gang of Puerto Rican Nationalists opened fire on the House of Representatives. News coverage of the event reveals suspicions that the shooters are part of the same group that attempted the assassination of President Harry Truman in November 1950.

Scientists demonstrate a solar battery which converts light into power. Though it is a small amount of power, it is a big first for science.

In the wake of a payola scandal, Alan Freed, the disc jockey known as Moondog, bids farewell to his fans on his final broadcast from WABC on November 23, 1959.

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