Remembering the 50s - Headlines Quiz

Answer: George VI

King George had come to the throne following the abdication of his brother Edward VIII, who gave up the crown to marry an American divorcee Wallis Simpson, and they became the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

Answer: Khrushchev

Josef Stalin died of a stroke at the age of 73 and was succeeded, after a power struggle with Georgy Malenkov and others, by Nikita Khrushchev. Stalin's repressive regime was responsible for thousands of political murders. One of the new government's acts was the execution of Lavrenti Beria, Stalin's head of Secret Police. After Stalin's death it took about two years for Khrushchev to emerge as the sole leader of the Soviet Union. He denounced some of Stalin's crimes in February, 1956, but de-Stalinization had begun earlier.

The office of leader was vacant for 9 months (Stalin was General Secretary, a position which ceased to exist; and Kruschev was First Secretary, a newly created positon, from 14th September 1953). Georgy Malenkov was Chairman from 6th March 1953 to 8th March 1955.

Answer: Espionage

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed after being convicted of espionage for selling atomic bomb secrets to Soviet agents. They were the first civilians put to death under the Espionage Act of 1917.

Answer: U.S. Army

McCarthy's Communist witch-hunt went too far when his investigating committee attempted to investigate the U.S. Army. The televised hearings showed the American people the true nature of McCarthy's malicious and groundless investigations.

Answer: Sputnik

The satellite launched by the Soviet, while a mere 22 inches in diameter, marked the beginning of the Space Age.

Answer: Little Rock, Arkansas

After local Little Rock authorities refused to implement court-ordered desegregation, President Eisenhower stated: "The Federal Constitution will be upheld by me, by every means at my command", and he ordered federal troops to do the job.

Answer: Explorer I

The Soviets had already successfully launched "Sputnik" a year earlier, and Americans feared that the Russians had a major lead in space, or as it later became known as "the missile gap".

Answer: Moscow

During a visit to the Soviet Union by Vice President Richard Nixon for the opening of the American National Exposition, he and Premier Nikita Khrushchev engaged in an impromptu discussion on the merits of Communism and Capitalism. This became known as the "kitchen debate" because it took place in the Exposition's food preparation facilities.

Answer: Batista

Castro had led a successful revolution against the dictator Fulgencio Batista, which was widely welcomed in the USA. However, Castro soon signed a friendship treaty with the USSR and confiscated large U.S. holdings. To the U.S. government he was no longer a freedom fighter but a Communist, and the U.S. put embargo against the island nation.

Answer: Rocket aircraft

The experimental aircraft made its first flight when it was dropped from a B-52 Bomber. The plane was used to test space program concepts, and set many speed records, including a top speed of Mach 6.