1949

Events

Dated Events

• Real World: January 5. U.S. President Harry S Truman first reveals his Fair Deal program.

• Real World: January 25. David Ben-Gurion becomes the first elected Prime Minister of Israel. The first Emmy Awards are presented.

• Real World: March 2. The Lucky Lady II, a B-50 Superfortress, lands in Fort Worth, Texas, after completing the world's first non-stop flight around the world. (The plane was refueled four times in mid-flight.)

• Real World: March 28. U.S. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal resigns abruptly, citing a "mental breakdown." He checks into the Bethesda Naval Hospital.

• Real World: April 1. Newfoundland becomes part of Canada. Southern Ireland breaks from the British Commonwealth.

• Real World: April 4. NATO is formed.

• Real World: April 18. Southern Ireland officially becomes the Republic of Ireland.

• Real World: April 23. Communist forces in China seize Nanking.

• Real World: May 11. Israel is admitted to the United Nations. Siam changes its name to Thailand. The Berlin Blockade is lifted.

• Real World: May 22. James Forrestal is found dead outside his 16th-floor window at the Bethesda Naval Hospital, apparently having committed suicide by jumping out a window.

• Real World: June. EDSAC, the first computer to efficiently store programs, is brought online at Cambridge University.

• Real World: June 29. Apartheid begins in South Africa with the enactment of the South African Citizenship Act.

• Real World: August 29. The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb.

• Real World: September 7. The Federal Republic of Germany is officially established.

• Real World: October 1. The People's Republic of China is formed.

• Real World: October 7. The "German Democratic Republic" is officially established.

• Real World: October 16. The civil war in Greece ends with the communist forces' surrender.

• Real World: December 8. The last members of the Republic of China evacuate to Taiwan.

Undated Events

• DC (Generations): Lex Luthor rescues the Joker from a Soviet prison camp; they team up in an attempt to kill Batman and strip Superman of his powers. They fail, but Superman and Lois Kent's unborn child is exposed to gold kryptonite, stripping him of his Kryptonian heritage. Superman and Lois decide to conceal Clark's secret identity from their son. (Superman & Batman: Generations)

• DC (Generations): Bruce Wayne marries. Robin quits to go to college. (Superman & Batman: Generations)

• DC (Generations): Former Commissioner James Gordon is captured by Ra's al Ghul during a Wayne Foundation junket, and is held by his organization for the next four years. (Superman & Batman: Generations II)

New Fictional Works

Notable Books

Beyond Earth's Gates by C.L. Moore, Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.

Notable Films

Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, The Adventures of Batman and Robin (serial), The Adventures of Don Juan, Black Magic, Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum, D.O.A., The Fall of the House of Usher, King of the Rocketmen (serial), The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Mighty Joe Young, Samson and Delilah.

Notable Television Series

• Beginning: Captain Video and His Video Rangers.

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