Timeline May 1949

Events in May 1949 11

• 1862 – 1949 Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949) Died 6 May 1949, aged 86 Maurice Maeterlinck was a Belgian playwright and essayist who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. His symbolist play The Blue Bird remains his best-known work.
• 1864 – 1949 Richard Strauss Late Romantic & modern composer German composer known for his tone poems — Also sprach Zarathustra, Till Eulenspiegel — and operas Salome, Der Rosenkavalier and Elektra.
• 1890 – 1949 Robert Ripley (1890-1949) Died 27 May 1949, aged 58 Robert Ripley was an American cartoonist and entrepreneur who created Believe It or Not!, a franchise of cartoons, radio programs, and museums devoted to unusual facts and oddities. The brand remains active worldwide today.
• 1892 – 1949 James Forrestal (1892-1949) Died 22 May 1949, aged 57 James Forrestal served as the first United States Secretary of Defense, having earlier been Secretary of the Navy during World War II. He died shortly after resigning from office amid declining mental health.
• 1949 Council of Europe founded Ten states sign the Treaty of London Ten European states signed the Treaty of London, establishing the Council of Europe to promote human rights, democracy, and the rule of law across the continent. It later created the European Court of Human Rights.
• 1949 – present Billy Joel Singer-songwriter, pianist American singer-songwriter — Piano Man, Just the Way You Are, Uptown Girl — one of the best-selling solo artists in history.
• 1949 Billy Joel born in the Bronx William Martin Joel Raised in Hicksville, Long Island.
• 1949 Berlin Blockade ends Soviet Union lifts its blockade of West Berlin The Soviet Union lifted its blockade of West Berlin after nearly a year, during which the United States and Britain sustained the city through the Berlin Airlift. The crisis hardened Cold War divisions and spurred the formation of NATO.
• 1949 Federal Republic of Germany founded West Germany established The Federal Republic of Germany was founded in western occupied zones after World War II.
• 1949 Federal Republic of Germany founded West Germany formed from occupied zones The Basic Law was promulgated on 23 May 1949, establishing the Federal Republic of Germany from the American, British, and French occupation zones. Konrad Adenauer became its first Chancellor later that year, with Bonn as the provisional capital.
• 1949 Founding of the Two Germanies West and East The establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany (West) and the German Democratic Republic (East).