When This Dropped

March 30, 1950

President
Truman
Dow (EOY)
235
Gas/gal
$0.27
Min Wage
$0.75

Gas cost $0.27 a gallon in the spring of 1950, and the Dow Jones stood at 235 — a tense standoff over the status of Trieste kept Western and Soviet diplomats at odds, with Moscow formally demanding the withdrawal of foreign troops from the contested territory. On the entertainment front, the animated film "Cinderella" was drawing families to theaters across the country, and Eileen Barton's "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake" was the song Americans couldn't get off the radio. In sports, the Minneapolis Lakers defeated the Syracuse Nationals to claim the NBA championship, and in New York City, the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel opened to traffic on May 25, connecting Brooklyn and lower Manhattan through more than a mile of roadway beneath the harbor.

On the cover

Magazine Covers — March 30, 1950

New York Times
Time
Nat. Geographic

NY Times Headlines — Week of March 30, 1950

Treason Law For 'Cold War' Urged In Report To Congress; Curbs On Communism Stressed

M'Cloy Says Crisis In Europe Is Pushed By Soviet Pressure; Recent Testimony To Congress Group Depicts Russians As Hoping For Early Success Germany Held Main Goal Communist 'March On Berlin' On May 28 Reported Cut To A Propaganda Drive

World Events — March 1950

Time Person of the Year — 1950

Winston Churchill
Person of the Year
Winston Churchill

On the radio

Billboard Charts — March 30, 1950

If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake
Eileen Barton with Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of Morty Craft
Best Sellers #1
"If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake"
Eileen Barton with Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of Morty Craft

On the bookshelf

The Cardinal
NYT Fiction #1
"The Cardinal"
Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book
NYT Non-Fiction #1
"Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book"
The Way West
A.B. Guthrie Jr.
Pulitzer Prize Fiction
"The Way West"
A.B. Guthrie Jr.
The Man with the Golden Arm
Nelson Algren
National Book Award Fiction
"The Man with the Golden Arm"
Nelson Algren
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph L. Rusk
National Book Award Nonfiction
"Ralph Waldo Emerson"
Ralph L. Rusk

On the television

At the movies

Box Office & Oscar Winners — March 30, 1950

Francis
Box Office #1
Francis
All About Eve
Oscar Best Picture
All About Eve
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
All About Eve
Oscar Best Director
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
All About Eve
José Ferrer
Cyrano de Bergerac
Oscar Best Actor
José Ferrer
Cyrano de Bergerac
Judy Holliday
Born Yesterday
Oscar Best Actress
Judy Holliday
Born Yesterday

On the field

Sports Champions — March 30, 1950

NFL Champion
Cleveland Browns
World Series
New York Yankees
def. Philadelphia Phillies
NBA Champion
Minneapolis Lakers
def. Syracuse Nationals
Stanley Cup
Detroit Red Wings
def. New York Rangers

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