1949

World Events

• The Communist People's Republic of China is founded under the direction of Mao Tse Tung.
• NATO is formed.
• The Soviet Union conducts atomic bomb tests, heating up the Cold War.

San Diego History

• The last electric streetcar makes its departure from the Union Depot in downtown San Diego.
• San Diego celebrates the opening of Mission Bay Park with the lively "Fiesta Bahia."
• San Diego Skyhawks win the first Pacific Coast Hockey League championship.
• A sailplane, launched from the glider port at Torrey Pines, soared to a record 33,000 feet with pilot John Robinson.

Arts

• Eames house completed.
• James Orwell writes 1984.
• All the King's Men starring Broderick Crawford is released. This grim and graphic classic set in the Depression follows the rise of a Louisiana farm-boy from angry and honest political hopeful to powerful but corrupt governor. Loosely based on the life of Huey Long in the Robert Penn Warren book.

• Living in a glass house becomes more than a metaphor when the Philip Johnson House is built New Canaan, Connecticut. This house, designed by Philip Johnson, has completely transparent glass walls.

American Life

• Raymond Allen, President of the University of Washington, Seattle, publishes the essay "Communists Should Not Teach in American Colleges" in the Educational Forum.
• The Samba, a Latin American dance, becomes wildly popular.

• Volkswagen Beetles come to America. Although they ended up being the most popular car in the world, only 2 bugs were sold in their first year in this country. Volkswagen also introduces the world to the first minivan with the Transporter, commonly known as the VW Bus.