1950s Timeline: Key Dates, Events And Milestones

The 1950s in order, one year at a time, from 1950 to 1959.

Each year gives the headline of the year, the news that mattered, and the music, screen and sport people remember.

Useful for quizzes, school projects, reminiscence sessions and milestone birthday cards.

1950

• Petrol came off the ration, the Festival of Britain was being built and there was no chart yet.
• A general election in February returned Labour with a tiny majority.
• Petrol rationing ended in May, though food rationing continued.
• The Korean War began in June and British troops were sent.
• There was no official singles chart until November 1952, so popularity was measured by sheet music sales.
• Cinema attendance was near its peak, with most people going at least once a week.
• England lost 1-0 to the United States at the World Cup in Brazil, one of the biggest upsets in the game.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1950

1951

• The Festival of Britain, a Conservative return and still no singles chart.
• The Festival of Britain opened on the South Bank in May, with the Skylon and the Dome of Discovery.
• Winston Churchill returned as Prime Minister after the October general election.
• Rationing of most foods continued.
• Popularity was still measured by sheet music, with no record chart until the following year.
• The Lavender Hill Mob and The Man in the White Suit were released by Ealing Studios.
• Tottenham Hotspur won their first league title.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1951

1952

• A new Queen, the Great Smog and the first ever singles chart in November.
• King George VI died on 6 February; Princess Elizabeth was in Kenya and returned as Queen.
• The Great Smog settled over London in December and is estimated to have killed thousands.
• The Lynmouth flood in August killed 34 people.
• Identity cards were abolished in February.
• The first official UK singles chart was published on 14 November, with Al Martino's 'Here in My Heart' at number one.
• Television coverage of the King's funeral drew large audiences.
• Manchester United won the league.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1952

1953

• The coronation, Everest, the Matthews final and sweets off the ration.
• Elizabeth II was crowned on 2 June, and the news that Everest had been climbed arrived the same morning.
• Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Everest on 29 May.
• The North Sea flood of 31 January killed more than three hundred people in eastern England.
• Sweet rationing ended in February.
• Frankie Laine spent a remarkable amount of the year at number one, including eighteen weeks with 'I Believe'.
• The coronation was the first mass television event in Britain, watched by an estimated twenty million.
• Stanley Matthews finally won an FA Cup medal as Blackpool beat Bolton 4-3.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1953

1954

• Rationing finally ended and Roger Bannister ran a mile in under four minutes.
• All food rationing ended on 4 July.
• Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four-minute mile at Iffley Road, Oxford, on 6 May.
• The first supermarket-style self-service shops were spreading.
• Doris Day's 'Secret Love' and David Whitfield's 'Cara Mia' were among the year's number ones.
• The Nineteen Eighty-Four television adaptation in December caused questions in Parliament.
• Wolverhampton Wanderers won the league.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1954

1955

• ITV launched, rock and roll arrived and Britain got its first television adverts.
• Anthony Eden became Prime Minister in April after Churchill resigned.
• Ruth Ellis was the last woman hanged in Britain, in July.
• A national rail strike in the spring disrupted the country for weeks.
• Bill Haley's 'Rock Around the Clock' reached number one in November and again the following year.
• ITV launched on 22 September; the first advert was for Gibbs SR toothpaste.
• Chelsea won their first league title.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1955

1956

• Suez, Elvis arriving in the chart and the start of skiffle.
• The Suez crisis in the autumn led to petrol rationing that lasted into 1957.
• The Clean Air Act was passed after the Great Smog.
• Calder Hall, the world's first commercial nuclear power station, opened in October.
• The Hungarian uprising was crushed in November.
• Elvis Presley reached the UK chart for the first time with 'Heartbreak Hotel'.
• Rock Around the Clock in cinemas led to seats being ripped out in some towns.
• Manchester United won the league with the young side that became the Busby Babes.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1956

1957

• You've never had it so good, the Munich disaster still to come and skiffle everywhere.
• Harold Macmillan became Prime Minister in January and told the country most people 'have never had it so good' in July.
• The Wolfenden report recommended decriminalising homosexual acts between consenting adults.
• Sputnik was launched in October and the space age began.
• The Lewisham rail crash in December killed 90 people.
• Elvis Presley's 'All Shook Up' and Paul Anka's 'Diana' were among the biggest sellers.
• The Bridge on the River Kwai was the film of the year.
• Manchester United retained the league title.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1957

1958

• Munich, the first motorway and Cliff Richard's 'Move It'.
• The Munich air disaster on 6 February killed 23 people, including eight Manchester United players.
• The Preston bypass, Britain's first stretch of motorway, opened in December.
• The Notting Hill disturbances took place in August and September.
• The first Aldermaston march against nuclear weapons was held at Easter.
• Cliff Richard's 'Move It' arrived in the autumn and is often called the first real British rock and roll record.
• Blue Peter began on 16 October.
• Manchester United reached the FA Cup final months after Munich and lost to Bolton.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1958

1959

• The Mini, the M1 and the last year before the sixties.
• Harold Macmillan won the October general election with an increased majority.
• The M1 opened on 2 November, with no speed limit, no crash barriers and no lighting.
• The Obscene Publications Act was passed, setting up the Lady Chatterley trial the following year.
• Cliff Richard's 'Living Doll' was one of the year's biggest sellers.
• Juke Box Jury began on the BBC in June.
• Wolverhampton Wanderers retained the league title.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1959

How to use this timeline

• Quiz round: read an event and ask for the year, or read a year and ask for what happened.
• Reminiscence: start at the year someone left school and read forwards.
• Milestone birthday: read the timeline from their birth year to the year they turned 18.
• Anyone born in 1950 turns 50 in 2000, 60 in 2010 and 70 in 2020.

Shop prints and posters

How to write it so it lands

• Read the timeline alongside the decade history guide: one gives the order, the other gives the story.
• For a birthday card, pick the one event from their birth year that still gets a reaction.
• Years rarely change neatly at the decade line. Check the year either side before setting a quiz question.

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 history: events, politics and culture
• 1950s calendar: year by year
• 1950s music: songs, genres and trends
• 1950s films and directors
• 1950s books, films and TV
• 1950s books: novels and authors
• 1950s art: artists and styles
• 1950s fashion: styles, designers and trends
• 1950s food: dishes, restaurants and trends
• 1950s travel: destinations and holidays
• 1950s technology: gadgets and computers
• 1950s shopping guide: what to buy
• 1950s games: board, card and video
• 1950s trivia: fun facts
• 1950s quiz: questions and answers
• 1950s party playlist
• The 1950s: the whole decade
• Retro gift guide: the 1950s
• The decade before: the 1940s
• The decade after: the 1960s
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• Decade history by era
• Decade calendars: every year from 1920
• Decade timelines: key dates and events by era
• Decade music: songs, genres and trends
• Decade films: best movies and directors
• Decade books: novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade art: artists, styles and trends
• Decade fashion: styles, designers and trends
• Decade food: dishes, restaurants and eating trends
• Decade travel: destinations and holidays
• Decade technology: gadgets and computers
• Decade shopping guides
• Decade games: board, card and video games by era
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Frequently asked questions

What are the key dates of the 1950s?

The timeline above runs from 1950 to 1959, with the headline events of each year in order. Petrol came off the ration, the Festival of Britain was being built and there was no chart yet.

What happened in 1950?

Petrol came off the ration, the Festival of Britain was being built and there was no chart yet. There is a full page for 1950 at /blogs/news/look-back-to-1950.

Are the dates accurate?

Yes. Every date, name and event on this page is real and comes straight from our year-by-year pages, so the timeline and the year pages always agree.

Can I use this for a quiz or a school project?

Yes, freely. Print it, read it out, copy it - no permission needed. We make greeting cards, prints and pin badges; these pages are free.