July 31, 2014

The years 1946 to 1964 define the post-war baby boomer generation, when the United States saw a spike in its birth rate. The American economy flourished and supported larger families, advances in technology made it easier to share ideas and culture, and space exploration took off. But the boomers’ era was also marked by great unrest. Americans born during this period were shaped by a world ravaged by a World War that included unimaginable mass genocide and the atom bomb. The hypocrisy of American freedom and democracy was exposed by African-Americans who stood up against shameful racial injustice and inequality. And just as boomers were coming of age into adulthood, drafts for the Vietnam War began.

This timeline looks at events and people that made the news in each year of the boomer generation.

1946

President Truman proclaims end of World War II (combat ended in 1945 but the hostilities were considered over once war crime trials in 1946 ended)

Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces he is not a god

Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded with approximately 20 employees

ENIAC (for “Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer”), the first general-purpose electronic computer, is unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania

AT&T announces their first car phones

Benjamin Spock’s influential The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care is published

1947

The V-2 rocket launched into space

Kenneth Arnold makes first widely reported UFO sighting near Mount Rainier, Washington; a downed extraterrestrial spacecraft is reportedly found near Roswell, New Mexico

The first practical electronic transistor is demonstrated

Edwin Land, founder of the Polaroid Corporation, makes first “instant camera”, the Polaroid Land Camera