While They Were Born

A few events that shaped a generation.

July 27, 2008

1946
Dr. Benjamin Spock's
Baby and Child Care is published.

1947
Raytheon demonstrates the Radarange, the first microwave oven.

1948
Alfred Kinsey publishes Sexual Behavior in the Human Male.

Richard and Maurice McDonald close their barbecue restaurant in California and reopen as a hamburger stand, emphasizing speed.

1950
The ERA 1101, the first commercially produced computer, is built by Minneapolis's Engineering Research Associates.

1953
Physiologist Dr. Vernon Brooks finds that injecting botulinum toxin type A (later known as Botox) into muscles causes them to relax.

1955
Philip Morris Co. hires the Leo Burnett Co. ad agency to create a new campaign for its cigarettes and the Marlboro man is born.

1956
The Zenith Space Command, the first widely used TV remote control, is produced. Number of buttons: Four.

1958
Bank of America creates the first general-purpose credit card.

1960
Theodore H. Maiman builds and operates the laser.

1962
Andy Warhol exhibits, on 32 canvases, his work Campbell's Soup Cans.

1964
The Ford Mustang is unveiled at the New York World's Fair.