That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, one of the world’s worst ideas is back for another month. No, it’s not Some Geek Told Me’s The Tour of the Solar System. That hurt by the way. It’s Some Geek Told Me‘s We Didn’t Start the Fire’s historical references.

If you missed the previous entries of this colossal mistake, they include:

• We Didn’t Start the Fire: The Beginning 
• We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1948-1949.
• We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1950
• We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1951
• We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1952

I’ve been behind with writing the 1953 references to Billy Joel’s song, because the weather here has been terrible, and I’ve been trying to stay dry and warm in winter, so I’m fighting a losing battle.

Anyway, without any more time wasting; because that’s a striker’s or centre forward’s job, let’s dissect the We Didn’t Start the Fire’s historical references for 1953.

Can’t wait.

1953

Joseph Stalin:

This entry on the list is not one of the most well-liked people who have ever lived. Born Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, though known to the world as Stalin, was the brutal ruler of the Soviet Union from 1924-1953.

Stalin is a contentious figure in world history. He helped bring about the end of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, with the Soviet Union accounting for between 20-27 million people killed during the Second World War, the greatest death toll from any country. The bulk of these deaths came from fighting Nazi Germany.

However, before the war started, Stalin signed a non-aggression pact known as the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Hitler. The pact was a plan for Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to carve up Europe for themselves. And just like every villain team-up ever, there was betrayal when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, breaking the pact.

Viewed and regarded in the same shitty category as Hitler, Stalin seemed to look at Hitler’s crimes against humanity and said, “Hold my vodka.”

Through his leadership and regime known as Stalinism, some of Stalin’s crimes include, but not all: creating the Gulag system; the Great Famine; Collectivization, Dekulakization and Special Settlements; the Great Purge; Order No. 227; punishing Soviet prisoners of war; and refusing to punish Soviet soldiers’ war crimes.

Stalin’s direct actions like imprisonment and executions, but also his negligence, paranoia, and incompetency, caused the deaths of between 7-20 million Soviet citizens. When he died on 5th March 1953, people worldwide celebrated, after he was in power for 29 years.

Malenkov:

After Stalin died, there was a power vacuum that many people were trying to fill. The (un)lucky winner of that contest was Georgy Malenkov. Things did not go easily for Malenkov, because only after one week as leader, he was forced to give up control of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

After some time, Malenkov and Nikita Khrushchev, the party’s First Secretary, entered a power struggle over the leadership of the Soviet Union. History tells us that Malenkov lost and was removed from power, with Khrushchev becoming the new leader. Malenkov lasted only 186 days in power.

A modern equivalent would be Ex-British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, who only lasted 50 days as leader and failed to outlast a lettuce.

Nasser:

Nasser refers to Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, otherwise known as Gamal Abdel Nasser. Nasser was an Egyptian army officer, who along with Mohamed Naguib, led the 1952 Egyptian revolution, against the United Kingdom, and deposed the monarch, King Farouk I.

In 1953, Egypt was declared a republic, with Naguib becoming Egypt’s first president. Eventually, Nasser placed Naguib under house arrest and became the de facto leader of Egypt, until his election in 1956. He served as Egypt’s second president until he died in 1970.

In contemporary times, we only need to look at Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, Cuba’s Raúl Castro, or Eritrea’s Isaias Afwerki.

Prokofiev:

On 5th March 1953, (the same day Stalin died) Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev died at the age of 61. He had composed seven operas, seven symphonies, eight ballets, five piano concertos, two violin concertos, a cello concerto, a symphony concerto for cello and orchestra, and nine completed piano sonatas.

Some of his most beloved works were The Love for Three Oranges, the suite Lieutenant Kijé, the ballet Romeo and Juliet, and the eternal favourite, Peter and the Wolf.

For a modern composer, well, I don’t want to start a fight with anybody. If you want to choose someone for yourself, be my guest because we are blessed to live in a world full of amazing composers, and to choose one over another seems criminal, at least to me.

However, my wife added that John Williams is the cat’s pyjamas.

Rockefeller:

Winthrop and Barbara Rockefeller were married on 14th February 1948. Winthrop was part of the wealthy and famous Rockefeller dynasty, being John D. Rockefeller’s grandson, and John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s son. Not to be outdone, Barbara was also a successful Hollywood actress. Barbara gave birth to their son, Winthrop Paul “Win” Rockefeller, on 17th September 1948.

Fast forward to two years later, the happy couple were estranged. By 1953, divorce proceedings had started, with both parties haggling over a settlement. This was a very publicised celebrity divorce and was a constant story in the news cycle. By 1954, they had finally divorced, with Barbara receiving a $5.5 million settlement, which was a record for the time.

Three of the biggest publicised celebrity divorces in recent times would be Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie; Ye (Kanye West) and Kim Kardashian; and Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. There are others, but come on, I need to sleep.

Campanella: 

Making the 1953 list is our first and only sportsperson, Roy Campanella. Campanella was a baseball player, who mainly played as a catcher. He started his Major League Baseball career in 1948, when he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, until his early retirement in 1957 from a car accident.

In 1953, Campanella won the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award for the second time, after winning it in 1951, and for a third time in 1955. Campanella won the World Series in 1955 and was also inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.

Selecting a contemporary equivalent is difficult for me because even though I follow baseball to a certain extent, I don’t know it well enough to choose a player. I’m a rugby, cricket, football, and rugby league supporter, so baseball is not really in my wheelhouse. However, any followers and subscribers of New Zealand’s 5th least favourite website, who are also baseball fans, please let me know your opinions on the matter.

Communist Bloc:  

You may recall that during the 1950s, the Cold War had started, and 1953 was a flashpoint for Europe. “The Communist Bloc” refers to the Eastern Bloc, or the Soviet Bloc; which was a term given to the countries that were Communist states.

In the case of the song, we are looking at the 1953 East German uprising. This happened when construction workers rose in protest against government demands to increase productivity. The protests soon spread across East Germany, with people starting to demand better living standards and resisting the Sovietization way of life in East Germany.

At the height of the protests, one million people were on the streets, demanding more from the ruling government and the Socialist Unity Party. The main protest lasted only about two days before The Kasernierte Volkspolizei (a militarised police force) and Soviet forces rolled in and violently crushed the protests with tank support.

This was only three months after Stalin’s death, so the government wanted to stop the protests as quickly as possible. At least 125 people were killed during the crackdown.

A modern example of the 1953 East German Uprising; even though it’s not that modern, would be the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.

So for 1953, we covered a dictator’s death and his successor’s removal, an Egyptian political icon, a composer’s death, a celebrity divorce, a baseball player, and a failed uprising. 1953 was busy, but wait until we discuss 1954! Wow!

So, that’s it for another week. Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, watch the Paralympics Games¹ and I’ll see you next week, when we check in on the Coalition of Chaos.

¹ Seriously, go and watch the Paralympics Games. They deserve all the attention and support.

We are deep into winter at the moment, so what better way to bring some light into the world than to revisit events from 72 years ago, inspired by a 35-year-old song? Yes, it’s that time again for Some Geek Told Me to take a look at We Didn’t Start the Fire.

Previous entries on this terrible series have been:

• We Didn’t Start the Fire: The Beginning 
• We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1948-1949.
• We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1950
• We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1951

Surprisingly, Beetroot Awareness Aotearoa issued no statement about last month’s post, concerning 1951. Maybe they were too busy being knee-deep in beetroot to notice; though honestly, that sounds like a nightmare to me.

Before we start, 1952 is another special year for me, because that’s when my mother was born. So, without further fanfare, let’s give the non-ticket-paying audience what they want, and dive into We Didn’t Start the Fire’s historic references for 1952.

1952

Eisenhower:

Dwight D. Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, during the Second World War, but that’s not why he’s on the list. In 1952, Eisenhower ran as the Republican nominee in the US Presidential election, against Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson II.

In a landslide victory, Eisenhower won the presidency with 442 electoral votes to 89, becoming the 34th President of the United States of America. Some other recent landslide victories include Ronald Reagan, who won in 1980 with 489 electoral votes, and in 1984 with 525 electoral votes, as well as George H. W. Bush in 1988 with 426 electoral votes.

Vaccine:

This particular case highlights the incredible potential of humanity. Polio is a highly contagious infectious disease that can cause paralysis and even death, especially in children worldwide. In the 20th century, polio killed millions of people each year and became one of the most feared diseases.

A polio vaccine had been in development for several years, but it wasn’t until virologist and biomedical scientist, Jonas Salk and a team of researchers, developed the first effective one in 1952. By the end of the decade, the Salk vaccine had reached about 90 countries.

The legacy of Salk’s vaccine is that it has helped to eliminate polio from the majority of the world, saving millions of lives each year. Unlike smallpox, polio is not eradicated yet, but both IPV and OPV vaccines are helping to achieve that goal.

England’s got a new Queen: 

Some of the references in We Didn’t Start the Fire need some explanation and context. Others, like our next one, don’t.

England’s got a new Queen, is exactly what you think it’s about. On 6th February 1952, 56-year-old King George VI of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth died, leaving his 25-year-old daughter, Elizabeth as the monarch. Although Elizabeth was coronated in 1953, she became Queen Elizabeth II when her father died.

The obvious equivalent for this was when on 8th September 2022, Queen Elizabeth II died at 96 years old, having reigned for 70 years. Her son, Charles, Prince of Wales, became King Charles III, with his coronation in 2023.

Marciano:

Rocco Francis Marchegiano, otherwise known as Rocky Marciano, was a professional boxer in the heavyweight division. On 23rd September 1952, Marciano fought a title match against World Heavyweight Champion, Jersey Joe Walcott. Marciano knocked Walcott out, to become the new heavyweight champion of the world.

Marciano went on to hold the title from 1952 until 1956 when he retired from boxing at 32 years old. Marciano had 49 fights, with 49 wins, and 43 by knockouts; which included six title defence fights. He remains the only heavyweight champion to finish his career undefeated. Marciano died in a plane crash in 1969.

For modern times, there is a collection of boxers that we could compare to Marciano, but ultimately I won’t. I mean, why would you?

Liberace:

One of the great American TV entertainers was born Władziu Valentino Liberace, though he became known as just Liberace. He was a pianist, singer, actor and showman. In 1952, he was given a 15-minute network television programme, called The Liberace Show. The show displayed his many different abilities, and it quickly grew in popularity, along with Liberace.

The show ran from 1952-1969 and was made famous for the costumes, productions, performances, and Liberace’s flamboyance. The legacy of The Liberace Show was the promotion of musical variety shows, but also the creation an international cultural icon.

Santayana goodbye:

On 26th September 1952, Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, died aged 88. George Santayana, as he became known in English, was a famous essayist, novelist, philosopher, and poet. In academic circles, Santayana was a pillar of 20th-century thinking and coined the immortal phrase:

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Santayana was beloved around the world for his work and helped usher in a new understanding of the human condition. For a modern equivalent, I’m going out on a limb, but I would name Carl Sagan, but to each their own.

So for 1952, we covered a US President, the polio vaccine, a British queen, a boxer, a music variety show, and a philosopher. That’s not bad at all, so I’ll be covering 1953 next time if you didn’t guess.

So, that’s it for another week. Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, pat a goose, and I’ll see you next week. Look after yourself until I return.

When it comes to making terrible ideas, this blog has had some crackers over the last few years. However, the concept of talking about the historical references from a song that came out in 1989; after multiple people have already done it, ranks quite high on that list.

My previous entries in this terrible endeavour include:

• We Didn’t Start the Fire: The Beginning 

• We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1948-1949.

• We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1950

Beetroot Awareness Aotearoa seem to have a bee in the bonnet about this, because their press release about my We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1950 blog is downright mean.

“This human skid mark has done another We Didn’t Start the Fire, now there’s four of them! One was too many. We wonder what idiotic new idea, he’ll think of next. Listing how many people have puked on his $5 shoes, maybe? How about listing the number of times the All Blacks have won the World Cup? No, we have it; he will name the colours of the rainbow because nobody has done that before! This moron should be kept away from spoons because he’ll cut himself. What a joke.”

Is it my imagination, or do you think a Springboks supporter may have helped in drafting this release?

Haters are going to hate, I suppose. And with that, let’s check out the We Didn’t Start the Fire’s historic references for 1951.

1951

Rosenbergs:

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were a married couple, who were both born in Manhattan, New York. Being married or born in Manhattan does not automatically qualify you for this list, though. At this time, the Cold War had been established, and the Rosenbergs were part of that drama.

In 1950, Julius and Ethel were arrested and convicted in 1951 for espionage. They were spying for the Soviet Union by providing top-secret information about American technology, especially nuclear secrets. In 1953, both Julius and Ethel were executed by electrocution, at Sing Sing Prison.

The Rosenbergs are also infamous for being the first American civilians executed for espionage. Even though they’re not a 2024 equivalent for the Rosenbergs, I feel Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen would be the closest.

H-bomb:

This is an odd one to discuss because it isn’t about a person, place, or event, but rather an object; a very destructive object. No, I’m not talking about Hellboy’s right hand, but rather the H-bomb.

This weapon has been given various monikers over the last 70 years, such as H-bomb, thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon, or the most well-known, the hydrogen bomb.

In 1951, during the Cold War, the United States focused on developing the next generation of nuclear weapons. The goal was to combine atomic fission and nuclear fusion to create a more powerful nuclear explosion that could release more energy than a primary nuclear weapon. The first hydrogen bomb test took place in the Marshall Islands in 1952.

As a result, the design of the hydrogen bomb has had a lasting impact, with most of the world’s nuclear warheads being based on its design.

Sugar Ray:

Born Walker Smith Jr., Sugar Ray Robinson was a professional boxer, who fought across the Lightweight, Welterweight, Middleweight, and Light heavyweight divisions, becoming world champion six times (1 x welterweight and 5 x middleweight).

Robinson is in the song for his fight against Jake LaMotta, for the World Middleweight title in 1951. This was the sixth time the two men had fought, and the fight has been named the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” over Robinson’s combinations that beat the world champion, LaMotta to a bloody pulp.

In modern times, this is quite awkward. It could go either two ways; the first could be rematches between the same two boxers like Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier, Erik Morales vs. Marco Antonio Barrera, Pongsaklek Wonjongkam vs. Daisuke Naito, or Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez.

As for the second way, it could be because a particular boxer went on to become an icon and legend in their weight division. For that answer, the choice is yours.

Panmunjom:

Do you remember how I mentioned that I’ll be discussing the Korean War again, from last’s month 1950 blog? Well, here we are. Panmunjom is a former village that’s near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), along the North Korean and South Korean border. The Joint Security Area (JSA) is also referred to as Panmunjom, and vice versa.

Panmunjom makes this list because, during the Korean War in 1951, North Korean and Chinese officials first met United Nations forces at Panmunjom for truce talks.

In 2005, I was lucky enough to visit Panmunjom, and I made a badly written blog about it. The legacy of Panmunjom is that it still provides a point of contact and meetings for the leaders of North Korea, South Korea, and others.

Brando:

Brando refers to the Godfather himself, Marlon Brando, the great actor and activist. Brando starred in the 1951 film, A Streetcar Named Desire, as the lead male role, Stanley Kowalski. In certain circles, people say that Brando’s performance of Stanley was the best of his long career, which resulted in him being nominated for Best Actor at the 1952 Oscars.

The problem was that Brando didn’t win the award, instead, it went to Humphrey Bogart’s role as Charlie Allnut in The African Queen. This snub, as it’s been referred to, has been recorded as one of the biggest in the history of the Academy Awards.

A modern equivalent for a person being snubbed for acting at the Oscars can be somewhat subjective. However, in the spirit of the blog, maybe Margot Robbie (Barbie), Glenn Close (The Wife), Jim Carrey (The Truman Show), Amy Adams (Arrival), or Pam Grier (Jackie Brown). 

The King and I:

We’re back with another Rodgers and Hammerstein production, in the form of The King and I. The musical was based on Margaret Landon’s 1944 novel, Anna and the King of Siam, and also inspired the 1956 film.

The King and I first opened on Broadway in 1951, and it was a commercial and critical success, playing 1,246 performances. It also won five Tony Awards in 1952, including Best Musical. From there, the musical has been revived over the years, with the latest in 2015 (Broadway) and 2018 (West End). It remains a beloved story around the world.

The Catcher in the Rye:

For the first time in We Didn’t Start the Fire, a book has been mentioned. As you would expect, The Catcher in the Rye, was released in 1951, and it was written by J. D. Salinger. If you haven’t heard of the novel, then you may have heard of its protagonist, the teenager Holden Caulfield.

The novel makes the list because of the various themes it contains, like belonging, connection, sex, identity, loss, depression, innocence, and a whole lot of angst; which were unexplored topics for teenagers in early 1950s literature. The character of Holden Caulfield has become a symbol of rebellion and, you guessed it, teenage angst. Like I said before, this book has a whole lot of angst.

The Catcher in the Rye has sold more than 65 million copies, and remains a solid-selling book, even in 2024. This controversial novel has also been banned several times in various places around the world in the 20th century, which is sadly becoming a growing trend in the 21st century.

An unwanted caveat for the novel is that in 1980, a 25-year-old Mark David Chapman, shot and killed John Lennon, outside his apartment in New York. Chapman had developed an obsession with The Catcher in the Rye; among other things, and especially with Holden Caulfield, and tried to emulate his misadventures.

So for 1951, we covered two spies, the hydrogen bomb, a boxer, a Korean village, an actor, a musical, and a novel. A useless piece of information is that 1951 holds a special connection to me, because it’s the year my father was born.

Next month, I’ll look at 1952, and if I feel motivated enough, 1953 as well, but I don’t like the odds of that. I think it’s 34-1. Did I mention that I suddenly like the number 34?

Anyway, that’s it for another week. If you’re enjoying my We Didn’t Start the Fire project, or maybe you think I’m wasting my time, please let me know.

Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, watch the T20 World Cricket Cup, and I’ll see you next week, where I’m going to be petty and mean. You’ll love it.