1950
President Truman ordered development of the hydrogen bomb. Grand Coulee Dam in
Washington was dedicated. The Brooklyn-Battery vehicular tunnel was opened in New York
City. After North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea in June, Truman
ordered the mobilization of the National Guard, and sent US troops to fight in the Korean
"Police Action." The Chinese Reds entered the war. Florence Chadwick swam the English
Channel in a record 13 hours and 20 minutes. The 26,000-ton ocean liner "Constitution" was
launched in Quincy, Mass. The Yankees defeated the Phillies in four straight World Series
games. A US jet fighter, the F-86, saw its first combat when it downed a Korean MIG-15. This
was the year of rapid development of shopping centers, supermarkets, motels, and drive-in
theaters. The census revealed a population of 150 million in the United States. Alger Hiss was
sentenced to five years in prison for perjury in denying he had passed top secret government
papers to Whittaker Chambers. Ted Williams signed a record baseball contract with the Boston
Red Sox for $125,000. Cadillac cars introduced one-piece windshields. RCA demonstrated the
three-color TV picture tube. Eighty people died in Wales in the world's worst airplane crash.
The first black won a Nobel Prize when an American, Ralph Bunche, won the Peace Prize.
William Faulkner won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
All About Eve
, starring Bette Davis, won
the Oscar.
• Commencement • Ski Slope and Tow
• Signal Corps Unit • Menu Cover
• Five Faculty Honored • Pi Tau Sigma
• Student Wives Honored • Channeling Rivalry
• Golden Knights Named •
Who's Who
Commencement.
At a June Commencement held on Snell Field, 467 degrees were awarded- a
number that would not be surpassed until 1968. Included were nine master's degrees in the
departments of business administration, chemistry, electrical engineering, and civil engineering.
These were Clarkson's first master's degrees since 1937.
Signal Corps Unit.
A signal corps unit of the ROTC was established at Clarkson in fall 1950,
and supplemented the senior engineer unit that had been on campus since 1936. This new unit
enabled electrical engineering students to obtain specialized training while in college. The
College's engineer unit was the largest of the five engineer battalions in the New York-New
Jersey district, and was cited by army officials this year for its steady rate of increase and its
general excellence.
Early in December, the Army Signal Corps "Peace and War" exhibit came to
Potsdam. Using narration and extensive equipment, three officers, 15 WACs, and three enlisted
technicians highlighted the history of the Signal Corps from the Civil War to its current military
activities in the Korean War.
Five Faculty Honored.
Certificates for "meritorious service as a teacher and a leader"
revealing special recognition from their fellow members were awarded as a surprise by
