1950s Technology: Gadgets, Computers And Tech Trends

Television arrives properly, the transistor radio shrinks it all, and the LP changes music.

Below: the gadgets in ordinary 1950s homes, what computing looked like at the time, what changed across the decade, and the details anyone who was there will remember.

Useful for a reminiscence session, a quiz round, or working out what someone grew up using.

Years covered in the 1950s

• 1950 - Petrol came off the ration, the Festival of Britain was being built and there was no chart yet. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1950
• 1951 - The Festival of Britain, a Conservative return and still no singles chart. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1951
• 1952 - A new Queen, the Great Smog and the first ever singles chart in November. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1952
• 1953 - The coronation, Everest, the Matthews final and sweets off the ration. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1953
• 1954 - Rationing finally ended and Roger Bannister ran a mile in under four minutes. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1954
• 1955 - ITV launched, rock and roll arrived and Britain got its first television adverts. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1955
• 1956 - Suez, Elvis arriving in the chart and the start of skiffle. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1956
• 1957 - You've never had it so good, the Munich disaster still to come and skiffle everywhere. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1957
• 1958 - Munich, the first motorway and Cliff Richard's 'Move It'. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1958
• 1959 - The Mini, the M1 and the last year before the sixties. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1959
• That is every 1950s year we have written up so far: 1950 to 1959.

Gadgets of the 1950s

• Television sets bought or rented for the 1953 Coronation.
• ITV launches in 1955 and gives most people a second channel.
• Transistor radios - small, portable and cheap enough for teenagers.
• The 45rpm single and the 33rpm LP replacing shellac 78s.
• Twin-tub washing machines and the first affordable fridges.

Computers in the 1950s

• The Ferranti Mark 1 in 1951 - the first commercially sold general-purpose computer.
• LEO, built by J. Lyons, runs business jobs from 1951 - a tea shop company leading the world.
• Computers filled rooms, needed their own cooling and belonged to governments and banks.
• Programming meant paper tape, punched cards and machine code.

Tech trends of the 1950s

• Renting the television rather than buying it, from Radio Rentals or DER.
• Hire purchase - the never-never - putting appliances in ordinary homes.
• Records becoming the teenage technology.
• The valve giving way to the transistor in new equipment.

What people remember

• Getting up to change the channel, because there was no other way.
• The white dot that shrank in the middle of the screen at switch-off.
• A neighbour's telly and half the street watching the Coronation on it.
• Radiograms in a wooden cabinet that were furniture as much as equipment.

How to use this

• Reminiscence: ask what the first one they owned was, and what it cost - the price always gets a reaction.
• Quiz round: read a gadget and ask for the decade.
• Themed party: put the 1950s playlist on and lay a few old gadgets out on a table.
• Present: a print of the machine they learned on lands better than a generic card.

Shop prints and posters

How to write it so it lands

• Prices are the best prompt - work out what a gadget cost in a week's wages and the room goes quiet.
• Ask what broke and how it was fixed; repairs get better stories than purchases.
• Check the dates before using these in a quiz - launch year and the year it reached most homes are rarely the same.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 1950
• Look back to 1951
• Look back to 1952
• Look back to 1953
• Look back to 1954
• Look back to 1955
• Look back to 1956
• Look back to 1957
• Look back to 1958
• Look back to 1959
• 1950s calendar: year by year
• 1950s trivia: fun facts
• 1950s holidays and travel
• 1950s food and recipes
• 1950s music: albums, artists and songs
• 1950s fashion: clothes, hair and accessories
• 1950s books, films and TV
• 1950s party playlist
• The 1950s: the whole decade
• Retro gift guide: the 1950s
• Wartime and 1950s party games
• Playground games by region
• Clapping games and skipping rhymes
• Seaside and beach games
• Sweets that disappeared
• Decade history: key events, politics and culture by era
• Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade tech: gadgets and computers by era
• Decade travel: destinations and holidays by era
• Decade recipes: dishes and food trends by era
• Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
• Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
• Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
• Decade calendar: every year from 1920
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Guess the year quiz
• Milestone birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What gadgets did people have in the 1950s?

Television sets bought or rented for the 1953 Coronation. The full list above covers the equipment found in ordinary homes that decade.

What were computers like in the 1950s?

The Ferranti Mark 1 in 1951 - the first commercially sold general-purpose computer. The computing section above covers the machines and how they were used.

What were the big tech trends of the 1950s?

Renting the television rather than buying it, from Radio Rentals or DER. The trends section above lists what changed across the decade.

Do you sell technology or retro gadgets?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read, print and copy for a quiz or a care-home session.