I was 12 years old and about to become a teenager. When on …
Jan. 14 – Joe DiMaggio married Marilyn Monroe.
Feb. 10 – President Eisenhower warned against U.S. intervention in Vietnam.
Feb. 23 – Salk vaccine was used for first mass inoculation against polio.
Mar. 1 – U.S. exploded first 15 megaton hydrogen bomb on Bikini Atoll.
Mar.25 – RCA manufactured first color TV set. Was 12 ½ inch and cost $1,000.
Apr. 12 – Bill Haley & the Comets recorded “Rock around the Clock.”
Apr. 18 – Col. Nasser seized power and became Egypt’s Prime Minister.
May 17 – U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed “separate but equal” 1896decision for the nation’s public schools.
June 14 – President Eisen-hower signed order adding “under God” to the pledge of allegiance.
June 17 – Rocky Marciano beat Ezzard Charles in 15 rounds for heavyweight title.
July 6 – Elvis recorded first hit “That’s All Right Mama.”
July 12 – President Eisen-hower introduced plan for interstate highway system.
July 15 – The first commercial jet plane, a Boeing 707, had its first test flight.
Sept. 21- The first nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus, was commissioned.
Nov. 23 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the peak reached in 1929 just before the crash ... and my little brother, Dwight, turned 6 years old.
