1949
Connecticut becomes the first in the Union to extend the jurisdiction of the Civil Rights Commission into the domain of public housing.
1949
Congressman William L. Dawson becomes the first black to head a Congressional committee, when he is named Chairman of the House Committee on Government Operations.
1949
Jackie Robinson is voted most valuable player in the National League. Joe Louis retires from boxing after holding the heavyweight championship for 11 years.
1949
The Western powers consolidate their sectors into the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), a constitutional democracy. The Soviets establish the Communist-run German Democratic Republic in their eastern zone.
1949
The recently launched anti-Semitic campaign in the Soviet Union continues to arrest members of the Jewish Antifascist Committee (JAC). (Britannica)
1949
The Weizmann Institute of Science, incorporating the Sieff Institute, is founded at Rehovot, Israel. Chaim Weizmann is appointed director.
1949 January
Harry S Truman is inaugurated as president of the United States.
1949 January 31
The first daytime TV soap opera in the U.S., "These Are My Children," is broadcast from the NBC station in Chicago, Illinois.
1949 February
Chaim Weizmann is elected as the first president of Israel.
1949 April 18
The Republic of Ireland is formally proclaimed in Dublin.
1949 May 4
The Russians agree to officially lift the blockade of Berlin, and the grueling Berlin airlift soon comes to an end.
1949 May 22
Former Secretary of Defense James V. Forrestal plunges to his death from the sixteenth floor of the Bethesda Naval Hospital. Forrestal’s bathrobe cord was found tightly tied around his neck.
1949 October 31
Former Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius dies an untimely death at the age of 49. His sudden death is said to have been caused by a heart attack, but rumors have persisted that it may not have been by natural causes. His interest in the Liberia Corporation and other holdings in Liberia will soon be worth millions. (see Liberia, International Bank pf Washington)
1949 November
The widow of General Ludendorff, on trial at Nuremberg, explains why her husband broke with Hiter, stating, "...as early as the summer of 1929 James P. Warburg had undertaken an assignment from financial circles in America, which desired to exercise solitary influence on Germany in the unleashing of a national revolution. Warburg's task," she said, "was to find the suitable man in Germany, and he entered into contract with Adolph Hitler who subequently received sums of money amounting to 27 million dollars up to January 30, 1932, and still another seven million thereafter, enabling him to finance his movement." (Williams Intelligence Summary, Feb. 1950)
1949 November 9
The East German Parliament in Berlin unanimously passes a law restoring full citizenship rights to ex-Nazis and army officers. From now on any Russian Zone Nazi - unless he has been convicted of war crimes - can vote, hold public office, and pursue almost any profession. East German Deputy Premier Walter Ulbricht explaining the civil rights law for Nazis and militarists, said that "anti-Fascist forces were sufficiently consolidated," and besides, "many have repented." (International Herald Tribune, Nov. 10, 1949, Nov. 10 1999.)
1949 November 9
Costa Rica adopts a new, democratic Constitution.
