1949

1845–1958	Germany [earth sciences]	German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt lays the basis of modern geography with the publication of Kosmos/Cosmos, in which he arranges geographic knowledge in a systematic fashion.
1940–1949	USA [statistics and demography]	Immigration into the USA for the period 1940–49 stands at 856,608.
1949	China [education]	Following the communists' victory in the Chinese civil war between communists and nationalists, the Common Programme establishes the right of all citizens to education and the responsibility of the state to provide it.
1949	France [women's rights]	The French writer and philosopher Simone de Beauvoir publishes Le Deuxième Sexe/The Second Sex, a classic of feminist literature.
1949	South Africa [human rights]	Social legislation in South Africa begins to implement apartheid, suspending the automatic granting of citizenship to Commonwealth immigrants after five years, outlawing marriage between Europeans and non-Europeans, and banning sexual intercourse between Europeans and coloureds. The Population Registration Act starts the process of defining people as white, coloured, or African.
1949	Germany [clothing and fashion]	Adolf Dassler designs the prototype training shoe, which is sold in Germany by Addas (which later changes its name to Adidas).
1949	England [football]	Football as a spectator sport is more popular than ever before in England; a record total attendance figure for Football League of 41,271,424.
1949	England [fiction]	The English writer Enid Blyton publishes the first of her Noddy children's books.
1949	England [fiction]	The English writer George Orwell publishes his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, a darkly pessimistic vision of the future.
1949	UK [food and drink]	Meat, sugar, and dairy produce are still scarce in the UK, and sales are restricted.
1949	USA [ballet]	The ballet The Age of Anxiety by US choreographer Jerome Robbins and US composer Leonard Bernstein, is first performed, in New York City. It is based on a poem of that title by the English-born US poet W H Auden.
1949	world, USA, Czechoslovakia [charities]	The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) issues the first charity Christmas card, based on a design by the seven-year-old Czechoslovakian girl Jitka Samkova.
1949	USA [cinema and film]	The film musical On the Town, directed by Gene Kelly, is released in the USA. He also stars in it, along with Frank Sinatra and Jules Munshin.
1949	France [magazines]	Paris-Match, an illustrated news magazine, begins publication in France.
1949	USA [musicals]	In New York City, the musical South Pacific, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein and music by Richard Rodgers, is first performed.
1949	France [painting]	The French artist Georges Braque paints Atelier II, one of the Ateliers/Studios series he paints between the late 1940s and 1956.
1949	USA [painting]	The US artist Robert Motherwell begins his series Elegy to the Spanish Republic.
1949	England [philosophy]	The English philosopher Gilbert Ryle publishes The Concept of Mind.
1949	France [philosophy]	L'Enracinement/The Need for Roots by the French philosopher and mystic Simone Weil is published posthumously.
1949	USA [plays]	The play Death of a Salesman, by the US writer Arthur Miller, is first performed, in New York City.
1949	USA [information technology]	The US engineer John W Mauchly develops the Short Code, the first high-level programming language, which allows computers to recognize two-digit mathematical codes.
1949	USA [everyday life]	Ballpoint pens become established in the USA, with sales exceeding those of fountain pens for the first time.
20 January 1949	USA [administration]	Making his inaugural address, President Harry S Truman of the USA announces his Fair Deal: a liberal domestic reform programme that extends social security, raises the minimum wage, and increases public housing legislation. He also announces a four-point programme that includes economic aid for underdeveloped countries.
25 January 1949	USSR, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Albania,Yugoslavia [international organizations]	The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon) is formed in Moscow to further economic cooperation between the USSR and its satellites (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Albania, with Yugoslavia as an associated member).
25 January 1949	USA [television]	Awards for television are inaugurated in the USA: the first Emmy awards are presented by Walter O'Keefe in Hollywood, California.
1 February 1949	UK [clothing and fashion]	Clothes rationing ends in the UK.
27 February - 2 March 1949	USA [aircraft]	The US B-50 bomber Lucky Lady II is the first aeroplane to fly nonstop around the world, refuelling in midair and completing 37,734 km/23,452 mi in 94 hr 1 min.
4 April 1949	USA, Canada, UK, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Iceland, Norway [international organizations]	The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is founded to provide mutual support against the Soviet military presence in eastern Europe. The treaty is signed by the USA, Canada, Britain, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Iceland, and Norway.
9 April 1949	USA [charities]	In the USA, the first telethon is presented by Milton Berle in aid of cancer research. It runs for 14 hours and raises more than $1 million.
18 April 1949	Ireland, Eire [political events]	Eire is formally proclaimed the Republic of Ireland and leaves the Commonwealth.
May 1949	England [television]	EMI sets up the first permanent closed-circuit television system in Britain, in Guy's Hospital in London, England.
9 May 1949	England [everyday life]	The first self-service launderette in Britain opens in London, England, with Bendix Home Appliances Ltd supplying the fully automatic washing machines.
23 May 1949	West Germany [political events]	The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) comes into being, with Bonn as its capital. West Berlin is excluded from the new state but associated with it.
4 June 1949	UK [horse-racing]	For the first time photo-finish cameras are used to decide the winner of the Epsom Derby. Nimbus, ridden by Charlie Elliott, beats Amour Drake, ridden by Rae Johnstone, by a head.
29 July 1949	UK [television]	The first weather forecast is broadcast on British television: it consists of a voice-over only.
August 1949	USA [information technology]	BINAC (acronym for binary automatic computer) is built by US scientists John W Mauchly and John Presper Eckert. It is the first electronic stored-program computer to store data on magnetic tape.
3 August 1949	USA [basketball]	In the USA, the Basketball Association of America merges with the National Basketball League to form the National Basketball Association (NBA).
1 October 1949	China [legislation]	China's communist leader Mao Zedong proclaims the establishment of a People's Republic, with its government based in Beijing and with Zhou Enlai as prime minister and foreign minister.
7 October 1949	East Germany [legislation]	The Soviet-occupied zone of Germany (East Germany) is proclaimed a Democratic Republic.
9 October 1949	USA [universities and colleges]	Harvard Law School announces that it will enrol women.
16 October 1949	Greece [wars]	The civil war in Greece between the monarchists and the rebel communists (ELAS) ends with the defeat of the rebels.
8 December 1949	China [diplomacy]	Chinese Nationalists, driven by communist military forces from the mainland, declare Taipei on the island of Formosa (Taiwan) to be the capital of the Republic of China.
27 December 1949	Indonesia, Netherlands [political events]	An Indonesian republic, known as the ‘United States of Indonesia’, is established, comprising all the former Netherlands East Indies territories except western New Guinea and having a nominal union with the Netherlands.