1950—Althea Gibson is first black woman to play in the U.S. Open. She later wins Wimbledon.
1950—writer Hisaye Yamamoto publishes “The Legend of Miss Sasagawara” based on her experience as a Japanese-American placed in a detention camp during WWII.
1951—I Love Lucy starring Lucille Ball first airs.
1951—artist Bette Nesmith Graham [mother of Mike Nesmith of The Monkees] invents Mistake Out in her kitchen. She sells it to Gillette for $47 million and it is renamed Liquid Paper.
1952—flutist Doriot Anthony Dwyer becomes the first woman appointed to a principal chair in any major orchestra—Boston Symphony Orchestra.
1952—Southern writer Flannery O’Connor, known best for her short stories, publishes her first novel, Wise Blood.
1952—Barbara Holdridge and Marianne Mantell cofound Caedmon Records and record spoken voices of famous poets and writers like Dylan Thomas.
1953—Mary Steichen Calderone becomes medical director of Planned Parenthood.
1955—opera singer Beverly Sills joins New York City Opera.
1955—actress Shirley MacLaine appears in her first film, The Trouble with Harry.
1956—singer Tina Turner begins her career.
1957—country-western singer and songwriter Patsy Cline sings “Walking After Midnight” on the television talent show, Talent Scouts.
1958—chef Joyce Chen opens a Chinese restaurant in Cambridge, Mass. She also writes cook books and hosts a cooking show on public television. She popularized Mandarin Chinese food in the U.S.
1959—writer Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun makes its Broadway debut.
SOURCE: Her Story: A Timeline of the Women Who Changed America
Posted by Amy Steele 
