Born in 1952

What things cost in 1952

1952 figures are annual averages of the published monthly (or quarterly) values. “Today’s dollars” uses the Consumer Price Index for September 2026; “latest” is the most recent published price. Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, via FRED. Average retail prices are only published from 1976 on; 1952 has the CPI alone.

Who was in charge in 1952

United States

Harry S. Truman (President)

United Kingdom

George VI (King); Elizabeth II (Queen); Winston Churchill (Prime minister)

Soviet Union

Nikolay Shvernik (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet); Joseph Stalin (Chairman of the Council of Ministers)

People's Republic of China

Mao Zedong (Chairman; Paramount Leader); Mao Zedong (Chairman); Zhou Enlai (Premier)

French Fourth Republic

Vincent Auriol (President); René Pleven, then Edgar Faure, then Antoine Pinay (Prime minister)

Allied-occupied Germany

John J. McCloy, then André François-Poncet, then Ivone Kirkpatrick, then Samuel Reber (High Commissioner)

East Germany

Wilhelm Pieck (President); Otto Grotewohl (Chairman)

West Germany

Theodor Heuss (President); Konrad Adenauer (Chancellor)

Japan

Hirohito (Emperor)

Republic of India

Rajendra Prasad (President); Jawaharlal Nehru (Prime minister)

From Wikipedia’s List of state leaders in the 20th century (1951–2000) (revision 1371751893), each name checked against Wikidata. Every country in 1952 →

Famous people born in 1952

• October 7 – Vladimir Putin, President of Russia source
• November 7 – David Petraeus, U.S. Army general source
• January 1 – Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar source
• October 5 – Imran Khan, former Prime Minister of Pakistan and cricketer source
• April 16 – Bill Belichick, American football coach source
• September 25 – Christopher Reeve, actor and activist (died 2004) source
• February 8 – Nora Miao, Hong Kong actress source
• 10 February – Lee Hsien Loong, 3rd Prime Minister of Singapore. source
• December 7 – Susan Collins, U.S. Senator from Maine from 1997 source
• January 25 – Peter Tatchell, Australian-born British human rights activist source
• December 1 – Rick Scott, American politician, 45th Governor of Florida, U.S. Senator (Florida) source
• November 5 – Bill Walton, American basketball player, commentator (died 2024) source
• December 29 – Külliki Saldre, Estonian actress source
• November 17 – Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa source
• November 16 - Shigeru Miyamoto, video game developer and designer source

What happened in 1952

• 27 January – Aly Maher Pasha became the Prime Minister of Egypt for the 3rd time. source
• February 21 – In Dhaka, East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) police open fire on a procession of students, killing 4 people and starting a country-wide protest, which leads to the recognition of Bengali as one of the national languages of Pakistan. The day is later declared "International Mother Language Day" by UNESCO. source
• 19 February – Knut Hamsun, author, Nobel Prize in Literature laureate (born 1859) source
• April 7 – The I Love Lucy episode "The Marriage License", aired this evening in the United States, is the first television show in history to be seen in around 10,000,000 homes, according to the American Research Bureau. source
• February 14 – The Gallego EDCOR farm in Buldon, Cotabato, the second EDCOR project, is opened. source
• January 10 - A Douglas C-47 Dakota operated by Aer Lingus crashes in Wales while flying from Northolt Royal Air Force Station to Dublin. All twenty-three occupants are killed. source
• February 14–25 – The Winter Olympics are held in Oslo, Norway. source
• April 8 – Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer: The U.S. Supreme Court limits the power of the President to seize private business, after President Harry S. Truman nationalizes all steel mills in the United States, just before the 1952 steel strike begins. source