Decade by Decade: 1950s - Women of the Century

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	After Rosa Parks changes history by refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man, she becomes known as “the mother of the civil rights movement.”


	Bette Davis, one of the most popular actresses of her time, is shown in a scene from All About Eve.				In 1950, Althea Gibson is the first African American to play in the U.S. Nationals (known today as the U.S. Open). She wins the tournament in 1957 and 1958.


	Lucille Ball (left foreground) and fellow actors are shown in a scene from the popular 1950s television series I Love Lucy.



	• The Korean War begins.

	• Color television is introduced in the United States.

	• Jacqueline Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier.

	• In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court declares segregation in schools unconstitutional.

	• Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a bus, sparking the Montgomery bus boycott.

	• Althea Gibson is the first African American to win the All England title in tennis at Wimbledon.

	• The United States launches its first satellite, Explorer I, into space.

	• Alaska and Hawaii become the 49th and 50th states. *National and world events in red.


*	Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Pictures: Corbis \| Associated Press (3) \|

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