1952: A Very Good Year

Kudos to 1952, the year of my birth.

Seventy-two years ago, things were a lot less expensive. The average cost of a new house was just over $9,000, a new car would set you back $1700. Renting an apartment? $80 a month on average.

In 1952 you could expect to pay .$53 for a pound of hamburger or bacon, and 25 cents for a dozen eggs. Gas was $.20/gal, bread $.16/loaf, and it cost 3 cents to mail a letter. (Remember those? Snail mail?)

But wait: Before you start yearning for the good old days you should know that the average wage in 1952 was $3,850.00. (In 2023 it was $59,384)

Lots of events happened in 1952 as well. Some of them might surprise you.

Elizabeth II was crowned as the Queen of England and the United Kingdom after the death of her father King George VI
The first Chevrolet Corvette prototype was completed
The Guiding Light, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and the Today show made their television debuts
Albert Einstein was offered the Presidency of Israel—he declined
American Bandstand debuted in Philadelphia
Retired General Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected President of the United States, the first Republican president in twenty years

The first issue of Mad magazine was published
The first 3-D feature film was released
The Mr. Potato Head toy was first sold; It was the first toy to be advertised in a television commercial
The American Bowling Congress officially approved the use of the automatic pin-setter
The Kentucky Derby was televised nationally for the first time
The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, was published.
The Korean War began when North Korea invaded South Korea
The United States successfully detonated the first large hydrogen bomb
Christine Jorgensen became the first notable case of sexual reassignment surgery.
In the United States, a mechanical heart was used for the first time in a human patient.
The Winter Olympics were held in Oslo, Norway.
The first Miss Universe pageant was held.
The Summer Olympics were held in Helsinki, Finland. (Scandinavia was on a roll!)
The first open-heart surgery was performed
The CBC went on air launching television in Canada.
Albert Schweitzer was awarded the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize.
The first successful surgical separation of Siamese twins was performed
Curly Howard, of the Three Stooges died (nyuck, nyuck, nyuck)

People born in 1952 include Amy Tan, George Strait, Mr. T, John Goodman, Patrick Swayze, Jimmy Connors, Vladimir Putin, Ludmilla Tourischeva, Sharon Osbourne, Jeff Goldblum, Annie Potts, Roseanne Barr, Bill Walton, Alfre Woodard, S. Epatha Merkerson, Mandy Patinkin–and moi!

Not a bad year at all.