1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's discus throw
The men's discus throw at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Heysel Stadium on 24 and 26 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's discus throw, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 18 athletes from 14 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's hammer throw
The men's hammer throw at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Heysel Stadium on 26 and 27 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's hammer throw, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 13 athletes from 10 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's high jump
The men's high jump at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Heysel Stadium on 25 and 27 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's high jump, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 11 athletes from 7 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's javelin throw
The men's javelin throw at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Heysel Stadium on 26 and 27 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's javelin throw, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 16 athletes from 12 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's long jump
The men's long jump at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Heysel Stadium on 25 and 26 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's long jump, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 17 athletes from 12 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's marathon
The men's marathon at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, on 23 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's marathon, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 22 athletes from 13 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's pole vault
The men's pole vault at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Heysel Stadium on 24 and 26 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's pole vault, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 15 athletes from 11 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's shot put
The men's shot put at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Heysel Stadium on 25 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's shot put, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 13 athletes from 11 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's triple jump
The men's triple jump at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Heysel Stadium on 23 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Men's triple jump, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 16 athletes from 14 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's 100 metres
The women's 100 metres at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Heysel Stadium on 24 and 25 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's 100 metres, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 15 athletes from 7 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's 200 metres
The women's 200 metres at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Stade du Heysel on 26 and 27 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's 200 metres, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 14 athletes from 6 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's 4 × 100 metres relay
The women's 4 x 100 metres relay at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Stade du Heysel on 27 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's 4 × 100 metres relay, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 24 athletes from 6 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's 80 metres hurdles
The women's 80 metres hurdles at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Heysel Stadium on 25 and 26 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's 80 metres hurdles, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 15 athletes from 8 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's discus throw
The women's discus throw at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Heysel Stadium on 25 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's discus throw, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 12 athletes from 7 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's high jump
The women's high jump at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Heysel Stadium on 26 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's high jump, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 10 athletes from 6 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's javelin throw
The women's javelin throw at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Heysel Stadium on 23 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's javelin throw, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 13 athletes from 10 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's long jump
The women's long jump at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Heysel Stadium on 24 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's long jump, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 14 athletes from 7 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's pentathlon
The women's pentathlon at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Heysel Stadium on 25 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's pentathlon, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 11 athletes from 9 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's shot put
The women's shot put at the 1950 European Athletics Championships was held in Brussels, Belgium, at Heysel Stadium on 23 August 1950.


1950 European Athletics Championships – Women's shot put, Participation
According to an unofficial count, 12 athletes from 8 countries participated in the event.


1950 European Figure Skating Championships
The 1950 European Figure Skating Championships were held at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway from February 17 to 19. Elite senior-level figure skaters from European ISU member nations competed for the title of European Champion in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and pair skating.


1950 European Rowing Championships
The 1950 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on the Idroscalo in the Italian city of Milan. The competition was for men only, they competed in all seven Olympic boat classes (M1x, M2x, M2-, M2+, M4-, M4+, M8+).


1950 European Rowing Championships, Background
With rowing officials from around the world coming to the regatta, the International Rowing Federation (FISA) held an ordinary congress on 30 August 1950 in Milan. It was at that congress that it was decided that women's rowing would be trialled. The first test event over the shorter agreed 1,000 m distance was run at the 1951 European Rowing Championships in Mâcon a day prior to the men's competition starting.


1950 FA Charity Shield
The 1950 FA Charity Shield was the 28th FA Charity Shield, an early season exhibition football match hosted by The Football Association. The 1950 match was held between the England squad that had competed at the 1950 World Cup, and the squad that had participated in an exhibition tour of Canada in the same summer. While in its early years the format of the Charity Shield had varied, by 1950 the match was an unusual variation from the normal game between the league champion and the FA Cup winner.


1950 FA Charity Shield
England had entered the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 1950, having previously missed the tournament due to the FA (and other Home Nations football associations) boycott of FIFA. The tournament had gone badly, with an under-prepared England team eliminated in the first round, including suffering from a 1–0 defeat to the United States, whose team was largely made up of amateurs.


1950 FA Charity Shield
The decision to send a team on a goodwill tour — a fairly common practice by the FA at the time — to Canada at the same time as the World Cup is now seen as evidence of this poor preparation, with key players such as Stanley Matthews and Nat Lofthouse unavailable for all or part of the World Cup due to their selection for the tour.


1950 FA Charity Shield
This was the last time to date that the Charity Shield was held between two FA teams (in 1913, 1923–26 and 1929 it had been between an England Professional XI and the England amateur team), though an FA XI would later compete in the 1961 FA Charity Shield against the double-winning Tottenham Hotspur team.


1950 FA Charity Shield
The match itself finished 4–2 to the World Cup squad. Matthews, who had been part of both squads, played for the Touring XI. Liverpool F.C. defender Laurie Hughes was badly injured in the match, and never played for England again. He remained at Liverpool for the rest of his career, but the injury is seen as having prevented him from fulfilling his potential.


1950 FA Cup Final
The 1950 FA Cup Final was the 69th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 29 April 1950 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Arsenal and Liverpool.


1950 FA Cup Final
Arsenal won the match 2–0 to win the FA Cup for the third time, with both goals scored by Reg Lewis. The Arsenal team also featured cricketer Denis Compton, who played alongside his brother Leslie. Liverpool dropped future manager Bob Paisley for the match, even though he had scored against Merseyside rivals Everton in the semi-final.


1950 FC Dinamo București season
The 1950 season was Dinamo București's second season in Divizia A. Because of the system's switch to spring-autumn, between 1948 and 1949 and 1950 championships, Dinamo participated in the Fall Cup. The team played in the 5th Serie, and they won eight matches, draw one and lose one, at home with CFR București.


1950 FC Dinamo București season
Dinamo finished the championship in 8th place with 21 points. Constantin Popescu ranked third in the top scorer with 14 goals scored.


1950 FC Dinamo București season, Squad
Standard team: Petre Ivan – Florian Ambru, Caius Novac – Gheorghe Băcuț, Constantin Marinescu, Angelo Niculescu (Ion Șiclovan) – Nicolae Voinescu (Iuliu Farkaș), Carol Bartha, Titus Ozon, Nicolae Dumitru, Constantin Popescu (Vasile Naciu).


1950 FC Dinamo București season, Squad, Transfers
Gheorghe Băcuț (UTA), Constantin Marinescu (Jiul Petroşani), Nicolae Dumitru, Nicolae Voinescu and Constantin "Titi" Popescu were brought from Metalul București, along with the coach Iuliu Baratky. Simionescu was transferred to Locomotiva București, and Farkaș to Partizanul Petroşani.


1950 FC Steaua București season
The 1950 season was FC Steaua București's 3rd season since its founding in 1947.


1950 FC Steaua București season
This year the club changed the name again, for the third season in a row. It changed to CCA București (Casa Centrală a Armatei – Central House of the Army).


1950 FIBA World Championship
The 1950 FIBA World Championship, also called the 1st World Basketball Championship – 1950, was an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 22 October to 3 November 1950. Ten nations participated in the inaugural tournament. All competition was held at the Luna Park, Buenos Aires. Argentina claimed the gold medal, by beating the United States 64–50.


1950 FIBA World Championship, Competing nations
FIBA determined the requirements to qualify for the World Championship as follows: the three best teams in the previous Olympic tournament (France, Brazil and the United States), the two best teams from South America (Uruguay and Chile, the top two teams in the 1949 South American Basketball Championship), Europe (Egypt, the winner of EuroBasket 1949) and Asia (South Korea), plus the host country (Argentina).


1950 FIBA World Championship, Competing nations
As South Korea withdrew due to travel difficulties, and Uruguay withdrew after being refused visas to enter Argentina, FIBA extended invitations to Ecuador, Yugoslavia, Spain and Peru.


1950 FIFA World Cup
The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were cancelled due to World War II. This tournament ended the  hiatus. Uruguay, who had won the inaugural competition in 1930, defeated the host nation, Brazil, in the deciding match of the four-team group of the final round. This was the only tournament not decided by a one-match final. It was also the inaugural tournament where the trophy was referred to as the Jules Rimet Cup, to mark the 25th anniversary of Jules Rimet's presidency of FIFA.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Host selection
Because of World War II, the World Cup had not been staged since 1938; the planned World Cups of 1942 and 1946 were both cancelled. After the war, FIFA were keen to resurrect the competition as soon as possible, and they began making plans for a World Cup tournament to take place. In the aftermath of the war, much of Europe lay in ruins. As a result, FIFA had some difficulties finding a country interested in hosting the event, since many governments believed that their scarce resources ought to be devoted to more urgent priorities than a sporting celebration.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Host selection
The World Cup was at risk of not being held for sheer lack of interest from the international community, until Brazil presented a bid at the 1946 FIFA Congress, offering to host the event on condition that the tournament take place in 1950 rather than the originally proposed year of 1949. Brazil and Germany had been the leading bidders to host the cancelled 1942 World Cup; since both the 1934 and 1938 tournaments had been held in Europe, football historians generally agree that the 1942 event would most likely have been awarded to a South American host country. Brazil's new bid was very similar to the mooted 1942 bid and was quickly accepted.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Qualification
Having secured a host nation, FIFA would still dedicate some time to persuading countries to send their national teams to compete. Italy was of particular interest as the long-standing defending champions, having won the two previous tournaments in 1934 and 1938; however, Italy's national team was weakened severely as most of its starting line-up perished in the Superga air disaster one year before the start of the tournament. The Italians were eventually persuaded to attend, but travelled by boat rather than by plane.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Qualification
Brazil (the host country) and Italy (the defending champion) qualified automatically, leaving 14 places remaining. Of these, seven were allocated to Europe, six to the Americas, and one to Asia.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Qualification, Former Axis powers
Both Germany (still occupied and partitioned) and Japan (still occupied) were unable to participate. The Japan Football Association (suspended for failure to pay dues in 1945) and the German Football Association (disbanded in 1945 and reorganized in January 1950) were not readmitted to FIFA until September 1950, while the Deutscher Fußball-Verband der DDR in East Germany was not admitted to FIFA until 1952. The French-occupied Saarland had been accepted by FIFA two weeks before the World Cup.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Qualification, United Kingdom nations
The "Home" nations were invited to take part, having rejoined FIFA four years earlier, after 17 years of self-imposed exile. It was decided to use the 1949–50 British Home Championship as a qualifying group, with the top two teams qualifying. England finished first and Scotland second.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Qualification, Teams refusing to participate
A number of teams refused to participate in the qualifying tournament, including most nations behind the Iron Curtain, such as the Soviet Union, 1934 finalists Czechoslovakia, and 1938 finalists Hungary. Ultimately, Yugoslavia was the only Eastern European nation to take part in the tournament.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Qualification, Withdrawals during qualification
Argentina, Ecuador, and Peru in South America withdrew after the qualifying draw, in Argentina's case because of a dispute with the Brazilian Football Confederation. This meant that Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay qualified from South America by default. In Asia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Burma all withdrew, leaving India to qualify by default. In Europe, Austria withdrew, claiming its team was too inexperienced. Belgium also withdrew from the qualification tournament. These withdrawals meant that Switzerland and Turkey qualified without having to play their final round of matches.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Qualification, Qualified teams and withdrawals after qualification
The following 16 teams originally qualified for the final tournament. After the withdrawals, only 13 teams would participate in the World Cup.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Qualification, Qualified teams and withdrawals after qualification
Before the qualification competition, George Graham, chairman of the Scottish Football Association (SFA), had said that Scotland would only travel to Brazil as winners of the Home Championship (England, by contrast, had committed to attending, even if they finished in second place). After Scotland ended up in second place behind England, the Scottish captain George Young, encouraged by England captain Billy Wright, pleaded with the SFA to change its mind and accept the place in Brazil; however, Graham refused to change his position and so Scotland withdrew from the tournament.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Qualification, Qualified teams and withdrawals after qualification
Turkey also withdrew, citing financial conditions that included the cost of travelling to South America. FIFA invited Portugal, Ireland (FAI), and France, who had been eliminated in qualifying, to fill the gaps left by Scotland and Turkey. Portugal and Ireland refused, but France initially accepted and was entered into the draw.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Qualification, Draw and withdrawals after the draw
The draw, held in Rio on 22 May 1950, allocated the fifteen remaining teams into four groups:


1950 FIFA World Cup, Qualification, Draw and withdrawals after the draw
After the draw, the Indian football association AIFF decided against going to the World Cup, citing travel costs (although FIFA had agreed to bear a major part of the travel expenses), lack of practice time, team selection issues, and valuing the Olympics over the FIFA World Cup. Although FIFA had imposed a rule banning barefoot play following the 1948 Summer Olympics, where India had played barefoot, the Indian captain at the time, Sailen Manna, claimed that this was not part of the AIFF's decision.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Qualification, Draw and withdrawals after the draw
France also withdrew, citing the amount of travel that would be required in Group 4. There was not enough time to invite further replacement teams or to reorganise the groups, so the tournament featured only thirteen teams, with just two nations in Group 4.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Qualification, Draw and withdrawals after the draw
Of the thirteen teams that competed, only one, England, was making its debut. Several of the Latin American teams were competing for the first time since the inaugural 1930 tournament – this included undefeated Uruguay, as well as Mexico, Chile, Paraguay, and Bolivia. Yugoslavia was also making its appearance following a hiatus from 1930. This would be the United States' last appearance at the World Cup finals until 1990, and Bolivia's last until 1994.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Format
A new playing format was proposed by the Brazilian organisers of the tournament to maximize matches and ticket sales since the stadium and infrastructure were so costly. The 13 teams were divided into four first-round groups (or "pools" as they were then called) of four teams, with the winner of each group advancing to a final group stage, playing in round-robin format to determine the cup winner.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Format
A straight knockout tournament, as had been used in 1934 and 1938, would feature only sixteen games (including the third-place playoff), while the proposed two rounds of the group format would guarantee thirty games, and thus more ticket revenue. In addition, this format would guarantee each team at least three games, and thus provide more incentive for European teams to make the journey to South America and compete. FIFA originally resisted this proposal, but reconsidered when Brazil threatened to back out of hosting the tournament if this format was not used.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Format
In each group, teams were awarded 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. Had there been a tie on points for first place in a group, a playoff would have been held to determine the group winner.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Format
The entire tournament was arranged in such a way that the four first-round groups had no geographical basis. Hence, several teams were obliged to cover large distances to complete their programme, although Brazil was allowed to play two of its three group matches in Rio de Janeiro while its other group game was held in the relatively nearby city of São Paulo.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Summary
A combined Great Britain team had recently beaten the rest of Europe 6–1 in an exhibition match and England went into the competition as one of the favourites; however, they went crashing out after a shock 1–0 defeat by the United States and a 1–0 defeat by Spain. Italy, the defending champions, lost their unbeaten record at the World Cup finals with a 3–2 defeat by Sweden in its opening match and failed to progress to the second round.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Summary
The final match in Group 1 between Switzerland and Mexico was the second time a national team did not play in their own kit, the first being 1934 match between Austria and Germany when both teams arrived with white kits, and the Austrians borrowed blue kits from club side Napoli. Both teams arrived with only their red kits, so the Brazilian Football Confederation tossed a coin, with Mexico thus earning the right to play in their own kit, a right they waived as a friendly gesture, allowing the Swiss to wear their own kit while Mexico changed. The local team that lent their shirts was Esporte Clube Cruzeiro from Porto Alegre. The shirts had vertical blue and white stripes.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Summary
The final group stage involved the teams that had won their groups: Brazil, Spain, Sweden and 1930 FIFA World Cup champions Uruguay, who were making their first World Cup appearance since winning the inaugural tournament. The World Cup winner would be the team that finished on top of this group. The final group's six matches were shared between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Brazil played all its final group matches at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio while the games that did not involve the host nation were played in São Paulo.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Summary
Brazil won their first two matches with a 7–1 thrashing of Sweden and 6–1 rout of Spain, putting them on top of the group with one game left to play against Uruguay; in second and only a point behind. Brazil had scored 23 goals in the tournament and only conceded four, and so were strong favourites. The two teams had played three matches against each other in the Copa Río Branco, played in Brazil two months previously, with one match won by Uruguay 4-3 and two by Brazil (2-1 and 1–0), who won the tournament. Thus the difference in quality between the teams was not excessive; unlike Spain and Sweden the Uruguayans were used to the challenges in the big South American stadiums.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Summary
On 16 July, before a huge home crowd of 199,954 (some estimated as 205,000) in the Estádio do Maracanã, the host nation only had to draw against Uruguay and the trophy would be theirs. After such crushing victories over Spain and Sweden, it looked certain they would take the title, and the home nation duly went ahead in the second minute of the second half, thanks to a goal from Friaça. However, Uruguay equalised and then, with just over 11 minutes left to play, went ahead 2–1 when Alcides Ghiggia squeaked a goal past Moacyr Barbosa, so Uruguay was crowned World Cup champions for a second time. This stunning defeat surprised Brazil and is referred to as the Maracanazo.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Summary
The average attendance of nearly 61,000 per game, aided greatly by eight matches (including five featuring hosts Brazil) held in the newly built Maracanã, set a record that would not be broken until 1994. Not counting the Maracanã matches, the average attendance was a still-impressive 37,500; however, the only venues that saw crowds comparable to or greater than those in recent World Cups were the Maracanã and São Paulo. Other venues saw considerably smaller crowds.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Venues
Six venues in six cities around Brazil hosted the 22 matches played for this tournament. The Maracanã in the then-capital of Rio de Janeiro hosted eight matches, including all but one of the host's matches, including the Maracanazo match in the second round-robin group that decided the winners of the tournament. The Pacaembu stadium in São Paulo hosted six matches; these two stadiums in São Paulo and Rio were the only venues that hosted the second round-robin matches.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Venues
The Estádio Sete de Setembro in Belo Horizonte hosted three matches, the Durival de Britto stadium in Curitiba and the Eucaliptos stadium in Porto Alegre each hosted two matches, and the Ilha do Retiro stadium in far-away Recife only hosted one match. In order to present itself as a modern country, Brazil invested a today's equivalent of 290 million US-Dollars into new stadiums. The newly-built Maracanã cost around 275 million US-Dollars alone.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Group stage, Group 3
India was also drawn into this group, but withdrew before playing.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Group stage, Group 4
France was also drawn into this group, but withdrew before playing.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Goalscorers
With eight goals, Brazil's Ademir was the tournament's top scorer. In total, 88 goals were scored by 48 players, with only one of them credited as an own goal.


1950 FIFA World Cup, Goalscorers
Alcides Ghiggia of Uruguay became the first player ever to score in every game: Jairzinho would be the second (and, as of 2020, the last) in 1970.


1950 FIFA World Cup, FIFA retrospective ranking
In 1986, FIFA published a report that ranked all teams in each World Cup up to and including 1986, based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition. The rankings for the 1950 tournament were as follows:


1950 FIFA World Cup Group 1
Group 1 of the 1950 FIFA World Cup took place from 24 June to 2 July 1950. The group consisted of Brazil, Mexico, Yugoslavia, and Switzerland. The group winners advanced to the final round.


1950 FIFA World Cup Group 2
Group 2 of the 1950 FIFA World Cup took place from 25 June to 2 July 1950. The group consisted of England, Spain, Chile, and the United States. The group winners advanced to the final round.


1950 FIFA World Cup Group 3
Group 3 of the 1950 FIFA World Cup took place from 25 June to 2 July 1950. The group consisted of Sweden, Italy, Paraguay, and India. However, India later withdrew from the group. The group winners advanced to the final round.


1950 FIFA World Cup Group 4
Group 4 of the 1950 FIFA World Cup took place on 2 July 1950. The group consisted of Uruguay, France, and Bolivia. However, France later withdrew from the group. The group winners advanced to the final round.


1950 FIFA World Cup final round
The final round of the 1950 FIFA World Cup took place from 9 to 16 July 1950. The final round consisted of Brazil, Spain, Sweden, and Uruguay. The winner of the final round was declared champions of the World Cup.


1950 FIFA World Cup final round
Uruguay won the tournament, defeating hosts Brazil in the decisive match for their second World Cup title.


1950 FIFA World Cup final round, Qualified teams
The top placed team from each of the four groups qualified for the final round.


1950 FIFA World Cup qualification
A total of 34 teams entered the qualification rounds of the 1950 FIFA World Cup, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Brazil, as the hosts, and Italy, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.


1950 FIFA World Cup qualification
The remaining 32 teams were divided into 10 groups, based on geographical considerations, as follows:


1950 FIFA World Cup qualification
However, due to the withdrawals of India, Scotland and Turkey after qualifying, only 13 teams actually competed in the final tournament.


1950 FIFA World Cup qualification
A total of 19 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 26 qualifying matches were played, and 121 goals were scored (an average of 4.65 per match).


1950 FIFA World Cup qualification
Listed below are the dates and results of the qualification rounds.


1950 FIFA World Cup qualification, Group 2, Final round
Austria withdrew, so Turkey qualified automatically. But Turkey later also withdrew, and FIFA offered the place to Portugal, the runner-up of Group 6, but they declined. FIFA decided not to allow anyone else to qualify, leaving the World Cup two teams short.


1950 FIFA World Cup qualification, Group 3, Final round
France 2–2 Yugoslavia on aggregate, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would qualify.


1950 FIFA World Cup qualification, Group 3, Final round
Yugoslavia qualified while France were also offered a place by FIFA. France initially accepted, but later declined.


1950 FIFA World Cup qualification, Group 5
Sweden qualified. Finland withdrew before the group was completed. Ireland (FAI) were subsequently invited to enter competition but declined the opportunity because of traveling costs.


1950 FIFA World Cup qualification, Group 5
Sweden beat Finland 8–1 on 2 October 1949 in Malmö. However, FIFA's website does not include this match in the list of matches or in the group standings. RSSSF's website lists the match with the note "Sweden played B-team", and does not provide group standings.


1950 FIFA World Cup qualification, Group 6
Spain qualified. Portugal were also invited to take part but they declined.


1950 FIFA World Cup qualification, Group 8
Ecuador and Peru withdrew, so Uruguay and Paraguay qualified automatically.


1950 FIFA World Cup qualification, Group 10
Burma, Indonesia and the Philippines all withdrew before the draw, so India qualified automatically. But India later also withdrew "because of the expense of traveling such a long way to play," and the AIFF wanted to concentrate on the 1952 Olympics. Although according to some reports, it was caused by a FIFA ruling that players were not allowed to play barefoot. FIFA decided not to invite anyone else, leaving the World Cup three teams short.


1950 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualified teams
6 of the 13 teams subsequently failed to qualify for the 1954 finals: Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Spain, Sweden and United States.


1950 FIFA World Cup squads
Below are the squads for the 1950 FIFA World Cup final tournament in Brazil. This was the first World Cup where the players' jerseys featured back numbers (allowed in football since 1944), though no teams had fixed numbers for each player. (That would only be compulsory from the next World Cup, in 1954.) Thus, the players are ordered by name.


1950 FIFA World Cup squads
The only national team player who played his regular league football with a foreign club was George Robledo of Chile, who played in England's Football League First Division.


1950 FIFA World Cup squads, Group 1, Switzerland
Felice Soldini travel with the team but was ineligible to play


1950 FIFA World Cup squads, Notes
Each national team had to submit a squad of 22 players. All the teams included 2 goalkeepers, except Switzerland, Spain, Sweden and Italy who called three. Jorge 'George' Robledo of Newcastle United was the only player to play for a club outside of his country in the tournament.


1950 FIFA Youth Tournament Under-18
The FIFA Youth Tournament Under-18 1950 Final Tournament was held in Austria.


1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash
Northeast of San Francisco, California, on 5 August 1950, a United States Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber carrying a Mark 4 nuclear bomb crashed shortly after takeoff from Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base with 20 men on board. Twelve men were killed in the crash, including the commander of the 9th Bombardment Wing, Brigadier General Robert F. Travis, and another seven were killed on the ground when the aircraft exploded. The base was later renamed for Travis.


1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash, Accident
In July 1950, soon after the outbreak of the Korean War, the Joint Chiefs of Staff resolved to send ten Silverplate (nuclear-capable) Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers to Guam as a deterrent to a People's Republic of China (PRC) attack on Taiwan, (Republic of China), and for possible future use in Korea, each loaded with a Mark 4 nuclear bomb without the fissile pit.


1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash, Accident
There were twenty passengers and crewmen on board B-29 44-87651 of the 99th Bombardment Squadron when it commenced takeoff from runway 21L at Fairfield-Suisun at 22:00 on Saturday, 5 August 1950, including the commander of the 9th Bombardment Wing, Brigadier General Robert F. Travis; ten men in the forward compartment and ten in the rear. The aircraft was piloted by Captain Eugene Q. Steffes, with First Lieutenant Carter W. Johnson as his co-pilot and Technical Sergeant Donald W. Moore as his flight engineer.


1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash, Accident
As the aircraft reached a speed of 125 miles per hour (109 kn; 201 km/h) about three-quarters of the way down the 8,000-foot (2,400 m) runway with the propellers rotating at 2,800 rpm, the number two (port inboard) propeller suddenly went up to 3,500 rpm. Steffes ordered the propeller feathered and the aircraft lifted off at an airspeed of 155 mph (135 kn; 249 km/h), then number three (starboard inboard) propeller suddenly went to 3,500 rpm. Moore reduced its speed to 2,800 rpm by reducing the manifold pressure.


1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash, Accident
Steffes attempted to retract the landing gear by moving the gear switch to the "up" position but the gear did not respond; with the undercarriage still extended, drag reduced the aircraft's airspeed to 145 mph (126 kn; 233 km/h). Steffes checked the landing gear fuse; finding it satisfactory, he attempted to raise the gear again, but the gear motors did not operate. Unable to accelerate, the aircraft would not be able to clear terrain ahead, so Steffes initiated a 180-degree turn to head back for an emergency landing.


1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash, Accident
The tower cleared him to land on runway 21L, and crash crews were alerted. The aircraft turned around but lost altitude, Steffes asked Johnson to help him with the controls, and Moore reported more trouble with number three engine. Steffes allowed the aircraft to drift to the left to avoid a nearby trailer park, and the aircraft struck the ground at 120 mph (100 kn; 190 km/h).


1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash, Accident
The aircraft broke apart in the crash, and burst into flames, the entire nose section breaking off. The escape hatches there were jammed and would not open, but passengers and crew were able to exit through a hole in the nose caused by the crash, and through a window from which the commander and co-pilot removed the plexiglas. Travis was thrown clear from the wreckage but died from his injuries on his way to hospital. One other man in the forward section, Staff Sergeant Joseph Prachniak, was also fatally injured. All ten people in the rear compartment died in the crash. Only one of the twenty aircraft occupants, First Lieutenant C.E. Boyce, escaped uninjured.


1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash, Accident
Four men were on duty in the base bake shop near where the forward section came to rest. They immediately ran to assist. They heard cries for help from the nose section, and helped to remove eight men from the wreckage. Firefighters arrived on the scene, as did military police and spectators. When .50 caliber ammunition started to cook off, Sergeant Lewis Siqueira, who was in charge of the bake shop detail, ordered his men out of the area. Sergeant Paul P. Ramoneda started to do so, but then turned back to help men still trapped in the burning aircraft.


1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash, Accident
Lieutenant Colonel Raymond E. Holsey, the highest-ranking officer on the scene, feared the 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) of explosives in the Mark 4 would explode. He ordered the large crowd of rescuers and onlookers to get clear, and told the firefighters to let it burn. The firefighters and onlookers did not comply.


1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash, Accident
About 20 minutes after the crash, the high explosives in the bomb detonated, spreading wreckage and burning fuel over a 2-square-mile (5.2 km2) area. The explosion blew a crater in the ground 20 yards (18 m) across and 6 feet (1.8 m) deep. An additional seven people who were not part of the crew died on the ground in the explosion, including Ramoneda and five firefighters. All of the base's fire trucks were destroyed, along with dozens of private vehicles in the nearby trailer park, which was set on fire. Some 49 people were admitted to the hospital, while another 124 were treated for minor injuries. Two women had their right foot amputated.


1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash, Aftermath
The crash investigators found that the number two propeller was indeed feathered. The cause of the problem was improper adjustment during maintenance on 22 July 1950, when all four propellers were changed. A problem was detected with number two during a test flight, and the ground crew was instructed to install new contactors. There was no paperwork indicating that this was done, and the entire maintenance crew was killed in the crash. The number three engine and propeller were not found. The generators were found to be working, so there was sufficient electrical power to retract the landing gear. No crew members recalled hearing the landing gear motors. The switches could not be checked due to the degree of destruction of the aircraft, but the fuse was intact. It was noted that there were only six seat belts for the ten men in the forward compartment.


1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash, Aftermath
USAF B-29 operating procedures were changed as a result of the investigation; aircraft with the same type of propellers as 44-87651 were required to be test-flown after corrective maintenance, and the number of persons permitted aboard an operational flight was reduced to 16, as it was felt that overloading and an inadequate number of safety belts in the accident aircraft contributed to the high loss of life.


1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash, Aftermath
The 19 bodies were taken to the McCune Garden Chapel in Vacaville. The Air Force announced that the aircraft was on a "training mission". Ramoneda was posthumously awarded the Soldier's Medal, the Purple Heart and the Cheney Award. Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base was officially renamed Travis Air Force Base in honor of the dead general on 20 October 1950. A formal renaming ceremony was held on 20 April 1951, presided over by the Governor of California, Earl Warren, which was attended by Travis's family.


1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash, Aftermath
Only in 1994 was it revealed that an atomic bomb was involved, when an interview with Holsey was published posthumously. The Mark 4 nuclear bomb contained a depleted uranium tamper as well as radioactive material inside the electronics making up the arming and firing circuits. There was also some radium in the dials in the cockpit. A public health assessment found no detectable levels of uranium at the crash site.


1950 Faroese general election
General elections were held in the Faroe Islands on 8 November 1950. The People's Party remained the largest party in the Løgting, winning 8 of the 25 seats.


1950 Fijian general election
General elections were held in Fiji in August 1950. Voting took place in most locations on 26 August, and in the Lau and Lomaiviti Islands between 21 and 28 August.


1950 Fijian general election, Electoral system
The Legislative Council consisted of 32 members, including 16 'official' members who were civil servants, fifteen 'unofficial' members (five Europeans, five Fijians and five Indo-Fijians), and the Governor sitting as President of the Council.


1950 Fijian general election, Electoral system
For Europeans and Indo-Fijians, three of the five representatives were elected from single-member constituencies, with the other two appointed by the Governor. All five Fijian members were appointed from a list of candidates submitted by the Great Council of Chiefs; usually ten names were submitted, but as there was a tie for tenth place in the vote carried out by the Council of Chiefs in July, a list of eleven was put forward.


1950 Fijian general election, Electoral system
Voting for Europeans remained restricted to men aged 21 or over who had been born to European parents (or a European father and was able to read, speak and write English), who were British subjects and had been continuously resident in Fiji for 12 months, and who either owned at least £20 of freehold or leasehold property or had an annual income of at least £120. For Indo-Fijians, eligibility was also restricted to men aged 21 or over.


1950 Fijian general election, Electoral system
They had to be a British subject or from British India, have lived continuously in the Fiji for at least two years, be able to read or write in English, Gujarati, Gurmukhi,  Hindi, Tamil, Telegu or Urdu, and for the previous six months, have either owned property with an annual value of five years, had a net annual cash income of at least £75, or held a Government or municipal licence worth at least £5 annually.


1950 Fijian general election, Results
In the Eastern European constituency, Harold Brockett Gibson defeated the incumbent Fred Archibald by eleven votes, whilst in the Eastern Indian constituency James Madhavan beat J. B. Tularam by a margin of 368 votes.


1950 Fijian general election, Aftermath
Edward Cakobau resigned from the Council in 1952 and was replaced by Tiale Vuiyasawa.


1950 Finnish presidential election
Two-stage presidential elections were held in Finland in 1950, the first time the public had been involved in a presidential election since 1937 as three non-popular elections had taken place in 1940, 1943 and 1946. On 16 and 17 January the public elected presidential electors to an electoral college. They in turn elected the President. The result was a victory for Juho Kusti Paasikivi, who won on the first ballot. The turnout for the popular vote was 63.8%. President Paasikivi was at first reluctant to seek re-election, at least in regular presidential elections.


1950 Finnish presidential election
He considered asking the Finnish Parliament to re-elect him through another emergency law. Former President Ståhlberg, who acted as his informal advisor, persuaded him to seek re-election through normal means when he bluntly told Paasikivi:  "If the Finnish people would not bother to elect a President every six years, they truly would not deserve an independent and democratic republic." Paasikivi conducted a passive, "front-porch" style campaign, making few speeches. By contrast, the Agrarian presidential candidate, Urho Kekkonen, spoke in about 130 election meetings.


1950 Finnish presidential election
The Communists claimed that Paasikivi had made mistakes in his foreign policy and had not truly pursued a peaceful and friendly foreign policy towards the Soviet Union. The Agrarians criticized Paasikivi more subtly and indirectly, referring to his advanced age (79 years), and speaking anecdotally about aged masters of farmhouses, who had not realized in time that they should have surrendered their houses' leadership to their sons. Kekkonen claimed that the incumbent Social Democratic minority government of Prime Minister K.A. Fagerholm had neglected the Finnish farmers and the unemployed.


1950 Finnish presidential election
Kekkonen also championed a non-partisan democracy that would be neither a social democracy nor a people's democracy. The Communists hoped that their presidential candidate, former Prime Minister Mauno Pekkala, would draw votes away from the Social Democrats (who quietly supported Paasikivi), because Pekkala was a former Social Democrat. The Agrarians lost over four per cent of their share of the vote compared to the 1948 parliamentary elections. This loss ensured Paasikivi's re-election.


1950 Finnish presidential election
Otherwise Kekkonen could have been narrowly elected President - provided that all the Communist and People's Democratic presidential electors would also have voted for him (see, for example, Lauri Haataja, "A Reconstructing Finland" (Jälleenrakentava Suomi), pgs. 745, 799-801, 803 in Seppo Zetterberg et al., eds., A Small Giant of the Finnish History / Suomen historian pikkujättiläinen. Helsinki:  WSOY, 2003;  Pentti Virrankoski, A History of Finland / Suomen historia, volumes 1&2. Helsinki:  Finnish Literature Society (Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura), 2009, pgs. 947 -948;  Tuomo Polvinen, J.K. Paasikivi - A Statesman's Life Work / Valtiomiehen elämäntyö 1948-1956, volume 5. Helsinki:  WSOY, 2003).


1950 Five Nations Championship
The 1950 Five Nations Championship was the twenty-first series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the fifty-sixth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played between 14 January and 25 March. It was contested by England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Wales won his 11th title, and also the Grand Slam and the Triple Crown.


1950 Florida A&M Rattlers football team
The 1950 Florida A&M Rattlers football team was an American football team that represented Florida A&M University as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) during the 1950 college football season. In their sixth season under head coach Jake Gaither, the Rattlers compiled an 8–1–1 record. The team's sole loss was to Wilberforce State in the Orange Blossom Classic. The team played its home games at Bragg Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.


1950 Florida A&M Rattlers football team
The team was recognized as the black college national co-champion. The team played a scoreless tie with Ace Mumford's national co-champion 1950 Southern Jaguars football team. In the final Dickinson rankings, three undefeated black colleges received the following point totals: Florida A&M (28.76); Southern (28.50); and Maryland State (28.00). However, Florida A&M lost to Wilberforce State in the Orange Blossom Classic, after the final Dickinson rankings were released.


1950 Florida Gators football team
The 1950 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1950 college football season. The season was Bob Woodruff's first of ten as the new head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Woodruff was a former college football player and assistant for coach Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers, who made his name as an up-and-coming young head coach leading the Baylor Bears for three seasons in the late 1940s. Like Neyland, Woodruff emphasized stout defense, the kicking game and a ball control offense.


1950 Florida Gators football team
In Woodruff's first season of 1950, the Gators offense, led by quarterback Haywood Sullivan and offensive coordinator Frank Broyles, posted record numbers. Sullivan was the first sophomore in SEC history to throw for more than 1,000 yards in a season. He set nine school records. The highlights of the season included two Southeastern Conference (SEC) victories over the Auburn Tigers (27–7) and the thirteenth-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores (31–27)—the first season since 1940 in which the Gators won two or more SEC games. The Gators' twentieth ranking after the Vanderbilt game marked their first-ever appearance in the top twenty of the weekly Associated Press Poll. Woodruff's 1950 Florida Gators finished 5–5 overall and 2–4 in the SEC, placing tenth among twelve conference teams.


1950 Florida Gators football team
Also of note, lights were installed at Florida Field during the summer of 1950, and the Gators opened the season with their first home night game, a 7–3 win over The Citadel.


1950 Florida State Seminoles football team
The 1950 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University in the 1950 college football season. Led by third-year head coach Don Veller, Florida State finished the season with a record of 8–0. It was the first undefeated season for the program. The second game, a victory against Randolph–Macon, was the first played at Doak Campbell Stadium.


1950 Football Championship of the Ukrainian SSR
The 1950 Football Championship of UkrSSR were part of the 1950 Soviet republican football competitions in the Soviet Ukraine.


1950 Fordham Rams football team
The 1950 Fordham Rams football team represented Fordham University during the 1950 college football season. The Rams went 8–1 and scored 174 points while their defense allowed 123 points. Despite an 8-1 record, Fordham finished the season unranked and were left out of any postseason play, although they did get strong consideration from the Gator Bowl.


1950 Fordham Rams football team
Ultimately, a poor strength of schedule—Fordham's opponents combined for a dismal 28–53–4 mark–in what was a weak year for the entire Eastern region and a belief that Fordham would not travel well—Fordham only averaged about 10,000 fans per home game—kept them home during bowl season. Still, their .889 win percentage (the 1937 team had a .933 win percentage while going 7–0–1) is tied for second best in school history.


1950 Formula One season
The 1950 Formula One season was the fourth season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing. It featured the inaugural FIA World Championship of Drivers which commenced on 13 May and ended on 3 September, as well as a number of non-championship races. The championship consisted of six Grand Prix races, each held in Europe and open to Formula One cars, plus the Indianapolis 500, which was run to AAA National Championship regulations. Giuseppe Farina won the championship from Juan Manuel Fangio and Luigi Fagioli.


1950 Formula One season, Championship summary
The inaugural World Championship of Drivers saw Alfa Romeo dominate with their supercharged 158, a well-developed pre-war design which debuted in 1938; this car won all six championship Grands Prix in 1950. All of the Formula One regulated races in the championship were run in Europe. The Indianapolis 500 (which, unlike all the other races, was staged on an oval) was run to American AAA regulations, not to FIA Formula One regulations and none of the regular drivers who competed in Europe competed in the 500, and vice versa.


1950 Formula One season, Championship summary
Alfa Romeo drivers consequently dominated the championship with Italian Giuseppe "Nino" Farina edging out Argentine teammate Juan Manuel Fangio by virtue of his fourth place in Belgium. Although the Indianapolis 500, which ran to different regulations, was included in the World Championship each year from 1950 to 1960, it attracted very little European participation and, conversely, very few American Indianapolis drivers entered any Grands Prix.


1950 Formula One season, Championship summary
Championship points were awarded to the top five finishers in each race on an 8–6–4–3–2 basis, and 1 point was awarded for the fastest lap of each race. Points for shared drives were divided equally between the drivers, regardless of how many laps each driver completed during the race. Only the best four results from the seven races could be retained by each driver for World Championship classification.


1950 Formula One season, Championship summary, Race 1: Britain
The Alfa Romeo team dominated the British Grand Prix at the fast Silverstone circuit in England, locking out the four-car front row of the grid. With King George VI in attendance, Giuseppe Farina won the race from pole position, also setting the fastest lap. The podium was completed by his teammates Luigi Fagioli and Reg Parnell, while the remaining Alfa driver, Juan Manuel Fangio, was forced to retire after experiencing problems with his engine. The final points scorers were the works Talbot-Lagos of Yves Giraud-Cabantous and Louis Rosier, both two laps behind the leaders.


1950 Formula One season, Championship summary, Race 2: Monaco
Scuderia Ferrari made their World Championship debut around the streets of Monaco. Their leading drivers, Luigi Villoresi and Alberto Ascari had to settle for the third row of the grid, however, while the Alfa Romeos of Fangio and Farina again started from the front row, alongside the privateer Maserati of José Froilán González. Polesitter Fangio took a comfortable victory, also setting the race's fastest lap, a whole lap ahead of Ascari, with the third-placed Louis Chiron a further lap back in the works Maserati.


1950 Formula One season, Championship summary, Race 2: Monaco
A first-lap accident, caused by the damp track, had eliminated nine of the nineteen starters—including Farina and Fagioli—while González, who had incurred damage in the pile-up, retired on the following lap. Villoresi, although delayed by the accident, had made his way through the field to second place, but was forced to retire with an axle problem. Fangio's win brought him level with Farina in the points standings.


1950 Formula One season, Championship summary, Race 3: Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, the third round of the inaugural World Championship of Drivers held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana in the United States was won by the Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser of Johnnie Parsons, ahead of the Deidt-Offenhausers of Bill Holland and Mauri Rose. The race was stopped after 138 of the scheduled 200 laps due to rain.


1950 Formula One season, Championship summary, Race 4: Switzerland
Alfa Romeo's dominance continued when the World Championship returned to Europe for the Swiss Grand Prix at the tree-lined Bremgarten circuit just outside Bern. Fangio, Farina and Fagioli locked out the front row of the grid for Alfa, while the Ferraris of Villoresi and Ascari started from the second row. Fangio was the initial leader, starting from pole position, but he was passed by Farina on lap seven. Ascari and Villoresi were both able to compete with the third Alfa of Fagioli in the early stages, although both had retired by the ten-lap mark.


1950 Formula One season, Championship summary, Race 4: Switzerland
Farina took the win and the fastest lap, finishing just ahead of Fagioli, while Rosier, in third place as a result of Fangio's retirement, took Talbot-Lago's first podium. Farina's second win of the season put him six points clear of the consistent Fagioli, while Fangio was a further three points behind, having only scored points in one race (in Monaco, where he won).


1950 Formula One season, Championship summary, Race 5: Belgium
Alfa Romeo took their third front row lockout of the season at the Belgian Grand Prix at the very fast 8.7 mile (14.1 km) Spa-Francorchamps circuit, while the Ferrari of Villoresi shared the second row with the privateer Talbot-Lago of Raymond Sommer. The Alfas were once again untouchable at the start of the race, but when they stopped for fuel, Sommer emerged as an unlikely race leader. His lead, however, was short-lived and he was forced to retire when his engine blew up. Fangio ultimately took the victory, ahead of Fagioli, who again finished second.


1950 Formula One season, Championship summary, Race 5: Belgium
Rosier again made the podium in his Talbot-Lago. He had been able to pass the polesitter Farina when the Italian picked up transmission problems towards the end of the race. It was not all bad for Farina, however, as he picked up the point for fastest lap. Both Fagioli and Fangio closed the gap to Farina in the points standings—Fagioli was just four points adrift, while Fangio was a further point behind.


1950 Formula One season, Championship summary, Race 6: France
At Reims-Gueux, Alfa Romeo were largely unchallenged at the French Grand Prix at the very fast Reims-Gueux circuit, due to the withdrawal of the works Ferraris of Ascari and Villoresi. The Alfas produced yet another lockout of the front row of the grid, with Fangio taking pole for the third time in six races. The power of the Alfas suited this public road circuit- made up entirely of long straights, and Farina, starting from second, led for the first quarter of the race before fuel problems put him to the back of the field.


1950 Formula One season, Championship summary, Race 6: France
He fought his way back to third before he was forced to retire (he was ultimately classified seventh). Fangio picked up the fastest lap on his way to his second consecutive victory. Fagioli finished second for the fourth time out of five starts, while Peter Whitehead, in a privateer Ferrari, took a maiden podium in his first start of the season. Fangio took the championship lead as a result of his victory. Fagioli remained in second, while Farina dropped to third, four points behind his Argentinian teammate.


1950 Formula One season, Championship summary, Race 7: Italy
The final championship round of the season was the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza Autodrome near Milan, and all three of the regular Alfa Romeo drivers were in contention for the title. If Fangio finished first or second, he would win the title, regardless of what his teammates achieved. If Farina failed to score at least five points, he would be unable to take the title. Fagioli's only chance of becoming World Champion was if he won the race and set the fastest lap; even then he would need Farina to finish no higher than third, and Fangio would have to score no points at all.


1950 Formula One season, Championship summary, Race 7: Italy
Fangio again took pole position, but Alfa Romeo could not make it a fifth front row lockout of the season, as Ascari qualified second for Ferrari. Farina started from third, while Consalvo Sanesi completed the front row in an additional Alfa Romeo. Fagioli could only manage fifth on the grid, alongside the fifth Alfa of Piero Taruffi, the second Ferrari of Dorino Serafini, and Sommer in a Talbot-Lago. Farina took the lead early on, with Ascari and Fangio not far behind. Ascari briefly held the lead, but was forced to retire when his engine overheated.


1950 Formula One season, Championship summary, Race 7: Italy
Two laps later, problems with his gearbox meant that Fangio also retired. Taruffi's car, which was now running in second, was taken over by Fangio, although the Argentinian was forced to retire for the second time in the race, this time with engine problems. Ascari took over Serafini's car and ultimately finished second behind Farina, whose victory clinched the title by taking him three points clear of Fangio. Fagioli finished third in the race, and ended up in the same position in the Drivers' Championship standings.


1950 Formula One season, Championship review
In this first World Championship of Drivers, 14 teams (4 works and 10 independent) participated, along with a number of privately entered cars, in the six European Grands Prix. Only US teams, constructors and drivers participated in the Indianapolis 500. The chassis, engine and car numbers varied from race to race.


1950 Formula One season, Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1950 FIA World Championship of Drivers.


1950 Formula One season, World Championship of Drivers standings
Points were awarded on an 8–6–4–3–2 basis to the first five finishers at each Grand Prix, with an additional point awarded for setting the fastest lap. Only the best four results counted towards the championship. Numbers without parentheses are championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.


1950 Formula One season, Non-championship races
The following Formula One races, which did not count towards the World Championship of Drivers, were also held in 1950.


1950 French Annapurna expedition
The 1950 French Annapurna expedition, led by Maurice Herzog, reached the summit of Annapurna I at 8,091 metres (26,545 ft), the highest peak in the Annapurna Massif. The mountain is in Nepal and the government had given permission for the expedition, the first time it had permitted mountaineering in over a century. After failing to climb Dhaulagiri I at 8,167 metres (26,795 ft), the higher peak nearby to the west, the team attempted Annapurna with Herzog and Louis Lachenal, reaching the summit on 3 June 1950. It was only with considerable help from their team that they were able to return alive, though with severe injuries following frostbite.


1950 French Annapurna expedition
Annapurna became the highest mountain to have been ascended to its summit, exceeding that achieved by the 1936 expedition to Nanda Devi, and the mountain was the first eight-thousander to be climbed. The feat was a great achievement for French mountaineering and caught the public imagination with front-page coverage in a best-selling issue of Paris Match. Herzog wrote a best-selling book Annapurna full of vivid descriptions of heroic endeavour and anguished suffering – but which much later was criticised for being too self-serving.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Background, Himalayan mountaineering after World War II
Annapurna is in the Eastern Himalaya in Nepal, and no one had attempted to climb the mountain before 1950. All pre–World War II Himalayan mountaineering expeditions had avoided Nepal and had travelled via Tibet or India, but in 1949, alarmed that the communists seemed to be gaining control in China, Tibet expelled all Chinese officials and closed its borders to foreigners. In October 1950 Tibet was occupied by the People's Republic of China and its borders remained closed indefinitely.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Background, Himalayan mountaineering after World War II
For over one hundred years Nepal, ruled by the Rana dynasty, had not allowed explorers or mountaineers into the country. However, by 1946 a possible communist-sponsored revolution was even less welcome than Western influence so Nepal opened diplomatic discussions with the United States. Privately hoping to be able to use Nepal as a Cold War launching point for missiles, the United States welcomed the new situation. Scientific expeditions became permitted but two requests in 1948 from Switzerland and Britain for purely mountaineering expeditions were refused. A year later mountaineers were allowed if they were accompanying scientific travellers. Nepal first gave permission for a full mountaineering expedition for a French attempt in 1950 on Dhaulagiri or Annapurna.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Background, French mountaineering
Alpine mountaineering was immensely popular in France – the Fédération Française des clubs alpins et de montagne had 31,000 members in 1950 – and the top mountaineers were second only to footballers in their celebrity. Although French mountaineers included some of the leading alpinists in the world, they had not ventured much beyond the Alps whereas their British counterparts, with little truly mountainous terrain of their own and less skill on rock faces, had been reconnoitring Himalaya via an India that was no longer British. After the travails of war a mountaineering success would be good for the public mood.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Planning the expedition
In 1949 the French Alpine Club requested permission from the Nepalese government to carry out a major expedition. The timing turned out to be ideal, and they were given permission to attempt to climb either Dhaulagiri or Annapurna in remote northwestern Nepal. The two mountain ranges, each consisting of many high peaks, are on each side of the great Kali Gandaki Gorge – Dhaulagiri I and Annapurna I, the highest in each range, are over 8,000 metres (26,000 ft) and there had been no previous attempts to climb these mountains.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Planning the expedition
The region had only been casually explored previously and the mountain heights had been determined by surveyors with precision theodolites based far away in India. Other nations felt that they should have been given priority but Nepal had favoured France. In Britain there had been the hope that international rivalry would cease after the war but this was not the view of the French government (who were providing one third of the resources) or of the banking and industrial sponsors, so the enterprise was to be strictly French.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Planning the expedition
Lucien Devies, the most influential person in French mountaineering, was responsible for gathering together a team and he chose Maurice Herzog, an experienced amateur climber, to be the leader of the expedition. Accompanying him were to be three younger Chamonix professional mountain guides, Louis Lachenal, Lionel Terray and Gaston Rébuffat, and two amateurs Jean Couzy and Marcel Schatz. The doctor was Jacques Oudot and the interpreter and transport officer Francis de Noyelle, a diplomat. The only person who had previously been to the Himalaya was Marcel Ichac who was the expedition's photographer and cinematographer. The three mountain guides would have preferred an international approach whereas Herzog welcomed climbing for national prestige. None were paid, not even the professional guides. The Maharajah of Nepal appointed G.B. Rana to accompany the expedition for local liaison, translation and general organisation.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Planning the expedition
Two days before the expedition departed, Devies gathered the French team together and required them to swear an oath that they would obey their leader in everything.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Embarking on expedition and reconnaissance, Departure and march-in
On 30 March 1950 the French Annapurna Expedition flew on an Air France DC-4 from Paris to New Delhi (with several refuelling stops). They took 3.5 tons of supplies which included ropes and outer clothing of nylon, down-filled jackets and felt-lined leather boots with rubber soles – all innovative equipment. Most of their food was to be bought locally and they had decided not to take bottled oxygen.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Embarking on expedition and reconnaissance, Departure and march-in
Another aircraft took them to Lucknow where they met Ang Tharkay, the expedition's highly experienced sirdar A train took them to Nautanwa where they met up with the other sherpas and entered Nepal to travel on by truck through jungle and then grassy fields to Butwal where the road ended. On the march-in Lachenal and Terray would keep going on ahead as a scouting party while the rest followed with 150 porters carrying the supplies on their backs.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Embarking on expedition and reconnaissance, Departure and march-in
Porters were paid according to the weight of their loads and they scorned the work they were being offered where the packs averaged about 40 kilograms (88 lb). However, they were willing to accept double loads of 80 kilograms (180 lb). Terray estimated the heaviest porter would not have had a body weight of over 80 kilograms.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Embarking on expedition and reconnaissance, Reconnaissance of region
Dhaulagiri and Annapurna are 34 kilometres (21 miles) apart on either side of the gorge of the Kali Gandaki river, a tributary of the Ganges. As the expedition approached from the south Dhaulagiri was clearly visible as a white pyramid to the west whereas Annapurna to the east was hidden behind the Nilgiri mountains. On first seeing Dhaulagiri on 17 April the immediate impression was that it was unclimbable.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Embarking on expedition and reconnaissance, Reconnaissance of region
They could not see Annapurna but there was a break in the Nilgiris where the Miristi Kola flows into the Kali Gandaki through a deep and narrow gorge with an impenetrable entrance. The 1920s Survey of India map they were using (see left-hand Annapurna map below) showed a path leading up the gorge and over "Tilicho Pass" that might provide a route to the north face of Annapurna. However, none of the local inhabitants they spoke to knew of a path or had any further information.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Embarking on expedition and reconnaissance, Reconnaissance of region
Continuing up the Kali Gandaki Gorge the team reached the market town of Tukusha at 2,600 metres (8,500 ft) on 21 April. The people lived there in primitive conditions – Terray described the place as having "biblical charm". Couzy climbed a 4,000-metre (13,000 ft) Nilgiri peak to the east of Tukusha to inspect the eastern Dhaulagiri terrain and he concluded the southeast ridge was "absolutely frightful". Even so, Herzog decided that they should first focus on Dhaulagiri, the higher mountain, since they would only have to investigate possible routes to the summit and would not have to reconnoitre to find the mountain itself.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Embarking on expedition and reconnaissance, Dhaulagiri exploration
Starting from Tukusha, the climbers Lachenal and Rébuffat headed for an initial exploration of Dhaulagiri's eastern glacier, while Herzog, Terray and Ichac went to the north where they found their 1920s map was seriously defective (see above). Unlike Annapurna, Dhaulagiri is well separated from its neighbouring peaks and it is steep on all sides. They found an unmapped region they called the "Hidden Valley" but from there they were unable to see the mountain at all.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Embarking on expedition and reconnaissance, Dhaulagiri exploration
Over the next two weeks small groups examined the southeast and northeast ridges while Terray and Oudot reached a 5,300-metre (17,500 ft) pass (called French Pass) beyond the Hidden Valley but, although they were able to see Dhaulagiri, they decided the north face could not be climbed. They were also able to see across to Annapurna in the distance where there were steep cliffs to the south but the northern profile did not look to be more than 35°.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Embarking on expedition and reconnaissance, Annapurna exploration
During this Dhaulagiri reconnaissance, Schatz, Couzy, Oudot and Ang Tharkay had been back south to explore the deep canyon of the Miristi Kola river. When they had previously passed that river on the march-in it seemed to have a greater flow than would be likely for the limited drainage basin shown on the map. To avoid the entrance to the gorge, the party climbed to the ridge of the Nilgiris from where they could see the ravine below was indeed impassable.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Embarking on expedition and reconnaissance, Annapurna exploration
However, traversing beside the ridge by following a slight path marked with cairns, they reached a point from which Schatz and Couzy were able to descend 910 metres (3,000 ft) to the river and from there they reached the base of Annapurna's northwest spur. They could not tell whether the spur, or the ice fields on either side of it, might provide a feasible route to the summit.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Embarking on expedition and reconnaissance, Annapurna exploration
With everyone back in Tukusha and with poor prospects of attaining either summit from the east, west or south, Herzog acted on the advice of a Buddhist lama that they should travel towards Muktinath on a route to the north and then east.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Embarking on expedition and reconnaissance, Annapurna exploration
Hoping they might be able to approach "Tilicho Pass" from the east along the track marked on their map, Rébuffat, Ichac and Herzog set off on 8 May crossing two passes north of a peak (now called Tilicho Peak) at each end of a frozen ice lake and discovering an unmapped wall of mountains to their south continuing beyond the lake and still blocking any view of Annapurna. This part of the Nilgiri range looping right round the north of Annapurna they called the "Great Barrier".


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Embarking on expedition and reconnaissance, Annapurna exploration
Ichac and Ang Tharkay stayed back to do accurate surveying and to climb north to a point at about 6,200 metres (20,300 ft) on a ridge, hoping the see the mountain over the Great Barrier – but everywhere was shrouded in mist. The main party reached the village of Manangbhot and explored slightly further before returning to Tukucha on the road via Muktinath. The expedition had been unable even to see Annapurna from the north, let alone discover a route to it. The map they had was so inaccurate that it was useless.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Embarking on expedition and reconnaissance, Annapurna exploration
With the start of the monsoon predicted for the first week in June, back in Tukusha on 14 May they held a meeting to discuss which mountain to attempt and along which particular route. Terray wrote: "In full awareness of his terrible responsibility Maurice chose the more reasonable but uncertain course: we would attempt Annapurna." The route would be the one reconnoitered by Schatz and Couzy's team.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Approach to Annapurna and summit, Finding a location for base camp
Most of the party set out for the Miristi Kola as an advance reconnaissance group leaving most of the porters to bring the rest of stores and equipment later. They took with them the medical supplies deemed necessary by Oudot including Maxiton (the equivalent amphetamine preparation in Britain was Benzedrine). In three separate groups they crossed the Nilgiri range, traversed east above the Miristi Kola, and descended the gorge. Crossing the river they set up a base camp at the foot of a glacier below Annapurna's northwest spur. Two teams moved up the spur, a feat of considerable technical climbing, but even after repeated attempts over five days they were unable to get higher than about 6,000 metres (20,000 ft).


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Approach to Annapurna and summit, Finding a location for base camp
Meantime Lachenal and Rébuffat on their own initiative had moved round the foot of the spur to below Annapurna's north face, to a point they decided gave the best prospects for success. They sent a note back to the main party saying there was a likely route up the side of the north face glacier leading to the plateau above. However, they could see no higher. Fortunately Terray and Herzog had been able to see the plateau from their high point on the northwest spur and could tell the route across the plateau to the top was not technically difficult.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Approach to Annapurna and summit, Finding a location for base camp
Compared with the northwest spur, the north face of Annapurna is at a relatively low angle and does not require rock climbing skills, but the risk of avalanches makes it extremely dangerous. Annapurna may well be the most dangerous 8,000-metre peak – as of 2000 for 38 successful ascents there had been 57 deaths.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Approach to Annapurna and summit, Intermediate camps
The party moved their base camp to the furthest point that could be reached by porters in the direction of the newly identified starting point – to the right bank of the North Annapurna glacier at 4,400 metres (14,500 ft) while Couzy was left to organise moving the supplies up. Camp I was set up on the glacier at 5,110 metres (16,750 ft) with a relatively gentle slope up to the mountain but with a considerable risk of avalanches. From here on the first sunny afternoon in weeks they could survey the mountain easily.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Approach to Annapurna and summit, Intermediate camps
Herzog decided that the expedition's support should now move from Tukucha and so sent Sarki back with the order. Camp II was in the middle of a plateau above the north Annapurna glacier, fairly well sheltered from avalanches. Each morning brought 0.30 metres (1 ft) or more of snow – making for slow progress – but after crossing an avalanche corridor they were able to establish Camp III among some seracs on the far side of the glacier and by 28 May they had established Camp IV below a curving cliff of ice that they called the "Sickle".


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Approach to Annapurna and summit, Intermediate camps
Terray was amazed by the energy he and the team showed, considering how long they had been at high altitude and how little they had eaten. He wondered if this was due to the drugs Oudot had insisted on them taking regularly. On 25 May the porters arrived at Base Camp with supplies and equipment to support what would turn out to be a very fast, alpine-style assault on the mountain.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Approach to Annapurna and summit, Intermediate camps
Herzog's plan had been that he and Terray should rest before attempting the summit but the other four climbers became too exhausted to do their part of a carry to Camp IV so Terray (disobeying the orders he had received to go down from Camp III to Camp II) climbed with Rébuffat and a team of sherpas to carry up these loads.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Approach to Annapurna and summit, Intermediate camps
This unselfish act by Terray led to Herzog (who had acclimatised the best) and Lachenal, accompanied by Ang Tharkay and Sarki, being the ones who set out from Camp II on 31 May for an attempt on the summit. Next day Herzog's team moved Camp IV to a better site at the top of the Sickle cliff (Camp IVA) and then on 2 June they climbed a gully through the Sickle to establish Camp V, their assault camp, on the snow fields above. With the monsoon now forecast for 5 June, time was extremely tight. Herzog offered Ang Tharkay and Sarki the opportunity to accompany them to the summit but they turned down what would have been a great honour. The two sherpas headed back to Camp IVA.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Approach to Annapurna and summit, Reaching the summit
Not understanding that being at high altitude without additional oxygen induces apathy, in a severe gale the climbers spent the night without eating anything or sleeping, and in the morning they did not bother lighting their stove to make hot drinks. At 06:00 it was no longer snowing and they ascended farther. Finding that their boots were proving to be inadequately insulated, Lachenal, fearing losing his feet to frostbite, contemplated going down. He asked Herzog what he would do if he did turn back and Herzog replied that he would go on up alone.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Approach to Annapurna and summit, Reaching the summit
Lachenal decided to continue on with Herzog. A last couloir led them to the summit which they reached at 14:00 on 3 June 1950. Herzog estimated the height as 8,075 metres (26,493 ft) – his altimeter read 8,500 metres (27,900 ft). They had climbed the highest summit ever reached, the first eight-thousander, on their first attempt on a mountain that had never before been explored. Herzog, writing in his characteristically idealistic way, was ecstatic: "Never have I felt happiness like this, so intense and pure." On the other hand, Lachenal only felt "a painful sense of emptiness".


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Approach to Annapurna and summit, Reaching the summit
Lachenal was anxious to go down as soon as possible but he obliged Herzog by photographing his leader holding the Tricolour on the summit and then a pennant from Kléber, his sponsoring employer. After about an hour on the summit, not waiting for Herzog in his euphoric state to load another roll of film, Lachenal set off back down at a furious pace. Herzog, swallowing the last of his food – from a nearly empty tube of condensed milk – threw the tube down on the summit as that was the only memorial he could leave and he trailed behind Lachenal into a gathering storm.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Descent to Base Camp
At some stage Herzog took his gloves off and laid them down to open his pack. Catastrophically they slid away down the mountain so he had to continue bare-handed, not thinking to use the spare socks he had with him. At Camp V he was met by Terray and Rébuffat who had brought up a second tent hoping to make their own summit attempt the next day and who were horrified at the state of Herzog's frostbitten hands. Lachenal was missing but Herzog, unable to think clearly, said he would be arriving soon.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Descent to Base Camp
Later they heard Lachenal calling for help – he had taken a long fall to below the camp, had lost his ice axe and a crampon, and his feet were seriously frostbitten. Terray scrambled down to him and he pleaded to be taken down to Camp II and medical help. At last Terray persuaded him to go back up to Camp V, the only responsible decision. Terray plied everyone with hot drinks through the night and whipped Lachenal's toes with the end of a rope for hours to try and restore the blood circulation – in the other tent Rébuffat did likewise for Herzog's fingers and toes.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Descent to Base Camp
Next morning Lachenal's feet would not fit into his boots so Terray gave him his larger ones and then slit the uppers of Lachenal's so he could wear them himself. Descending with the storm still raging they could not find Camp IVA anywhere and they were desperate to avoid a bivouac out in the open. While they were frantically trying to dig a snow hole Lachenal fell through some snow covering a crevasse.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Descent to Base Camp
Fortunately, he landed in a snow cave that could provide some slight shelter for them all in the night though they had no food or water and only one sleeping bag. In the night snow poured in on them burying their boots and cameras. Next morning they took a long time to find their boots but their cameras, with the only photographs taken at the summit, could not be found. They climbed out of the crevasse but by now Terray and Rébuffat were snowblind so the pair crippled with frostbite led the blind pair slowly down until by extreme good fortune they were met by Schatz who guided them back down to Camp IVA.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Descent to Base Camp
Couzy was at the camp so he and Schatz were able to assist Herzog, Rébuffat and Lachenal down the Sickle cliff to Camp IV where there were some sherpas sheltering. Meanwhile, Terray had chosen to stay at IVA trying to get the blood circulation back into his feet. Schatz climbed back up to help him descend, also taking the opportunity to recover the still camera from the crevasse shelter – the cine camera he could not find.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Descent to Base Camp
As the six climbers descended below Camp IV the air temperature rose rapidly and a crack appeared in the snow right under Herzog's roped group. An avalanche swept them down about 150 metres (500 ft) until their rope caught on a ridge. Herzog was left dangling upside down with his rope round his neck while his two sherpas were caught on their end of the rope. Descending further in agony Herzog was becoming reconciled to being close to death. Eventually they reached the comparative safety of Camp II. Herzog now felt he had succeeded as leader – even if he now died his companions would be safe and the mountain had been conquered.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Descent to Base Camp
At Camp II Oudot, the physician, injected Herzog and Lachenal to help improve their blood flow. The injections in the arteries of legs and arms were excruciatingly painful and they needed to be repeated for many days afterwards. On 7 June everyone started descending again with Herzog, Lachenal and Rébuffat lying on sledges. Needing to hurry before the monsoon made the Miristi Kola impassable through flooding, they reached Camp I as the sky clouded over and heavy rains started.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Descent to Base Camp
From here, on 8 June, they wrote a telegram, announcing that Annapurna had been climbed, to be taken by a runner for sending to Devies in Paris. The route to Base Camp was over terrain unsuitable for sledges so Herzog and Lachenal were carried on the backs of sherpas. Once at base, and just at the right time, a large team of porters arrived to transport the whole expedition back to Lete on the Gandaki River.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Leaving the mountain
Specially for the expedition, All India Radio broadcast a report that the monsoon would be reaching them the next day, 10 June. The heavy rain would become torrential and the rivers would rise. A team led by Schatz built a makeshift bridge over the Miristi Kola and everyone hurried towards the bridge along paths that required Lachenal to be carried in a human cacolet and Herzog in a wicker basket. They became stranded in the open when it became too dark to carry the casualties safely.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Leaving the mountain
Next morning they reached a camp by the bridge but the river had risen to only 0.30 metres (1 ft) below the span so they needed to undertake the difficult crossing immediately. Everyone got across and camped for the night – by morning the bridge had been swept away. They had hoped to follow the river down to where it joined the Kali Gandaki but a reconnaissance showed this would be impossible and so they were forced to climb the Nilgiri ridge to return the way they had come.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Leaving the mountain
Now down in the jungle, Herzog developed a fever and reached a very low ebb: "... I implored death to come and deliver me. I had lost the will to live, and I was giving in – the ultimate humiliation ...", he wrote afterwards in his book Annapurna. The casualties could now be carried in wicker chairs made to a design of Terray and they eventually reached the Gandaki.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Leaving the mountain
Stretchers could be used on the track heading south beside the Gandaki but at Beni they took a detour because there was cholera in the area ahead. Oudot was having to start trimming dead flesh from Herzog's fingers using a rugine but by July he was needing to amputate as well as to continue trimming. Eventually he had to remove all of Lachenal's toes and, for Herzog, his fingers and toes.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Leaving the mountain
Because it was the rice planting season porters were abandoning the expedition all the time and it became impossible to find new recruits so they felt forced to adopt press gang tactics to be able to keep going. At last, on 6 July, they reached Nautanwa where they boarded a train that took them to Raxaul at the Indian border.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Leaving the mountain
On 6 July the climbers went on to Delhi to wait there while Herzog and a select group including two sherpas travelled to Kathmandu to be received on 11 July by the Maharajah of Nepal who greeted them as national heroes. There were a few cars in Kathmandu even though no roads led there – the vehicles had been carried in manually by hundreds of porters along the mountain trails.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Reception in France
The telegram giving news of the success was reported by Le Figaro on 16 June but it was only on 17 July that the team arrived home at Orly Airport in Paris to be greeted by a wildly cheering crowd. Herzog was carried off the aircraft first. Paris Match printed a special edition for 19 August with articles about the expedition and the cover photo, taken by Lachenal but credited to Ichac, showing Herzog with his ice axe and Tricolour at the summit (see image at head of article).


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Reception in France
The magazine sold in record numbers and the photo remained an iconic image for years to come. Herzog, Lachenal and Ang Tharkay were awarded the Légion d'honneur. On 17 February 1951 Paris Match again ran the expedition on its front cover, this time focusing on the cinema premiere (attended by the President of France) of the film made by Ichac. The cover described Herzog as "our number one national hero" – in the accompanying six-page article Lachenal was not mentioned at all.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Reception in France
Herzog was kept at the American hospital at Neuilly-sur-Seine for the best part of a year where he dictated his book Annapurna, premier 8000 which sold over 11 million copies worldwide to become the best selling mountaineering book in history. He became the first international mountaineering celebrity after George Mallory and went on to be a successful politician. Fifty years later in France he was still as famous as Jacques Cousteau or Jean-Claude Killy whereas few remembered Lachenal or any of the others.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Reception in France
In June 2000, the French national postal services issued a 3 franc stamp (0.46 euro) celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the climb, designed by Jean-Paul Cousin and engraved by André Lavergne.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Annapurna and other expedition books, Books written by (and for) the members of the team
Over the following years several members of the expedition wrote about their experiences[bibliography] and the varied accounts eventually led to controversy. At the airport, before setting off on the expedition, Herzog had required each member of the team to sign an undertaking not to publish or publicly communicate anything about the expedition for five years so initially Herzog's was the only version of events to be known. However, in 1996 two very different accounts were published and "a storm of controversy seized France". Herzog responded in 1998. After speaking to many of the people involved who were still alive, in 2000 David Roberts, the American mountaineer and writer, published True Summit, discussing the whole issue.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Annapurna and other expedition books, Books written by (and for) the members of the team, Herzog (1951): Annapurna, premier 8000 and Regards vers l'Annapurna
For some years Herzog's Annapurna was the only account and it became a worldwide best-seller with over 11 million sales, a record for a mountaineering book. All the royalties from the publication (in France it remained the best-selling work of non-fiction for nearly a year) went to the Himalayan Committee and were used to fund future expeditions – in a direct sense Herzog did not benefit financially at all. The description of the expedition above in this article has generally been drawn from Herzog's book complemented by the "Annapurna" chapter from Terray's Conquistadors of the Useless.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Annapurna and other expedition books, Books written by (and for) the members of the team, Herzog (1951): Annapurna, premier 8000 and Regards vers l'Annapurna
James Ramsey Ullman wrote in the New York Herald Tribune that Annapurna was "a gallant and moving story, in some ways a terrible story" predicting it would become a mountaineering classic. Time wrote that the first half was like "a boy camper's letter to a chum" but what followed was a "harrowing ordeal-by-nature calculated to shiver the spirit of the toughest armchair explorer." Herzog and Ichac published a photographic book in 1951 Regards vers l'Annapurna and in 1981 Herzog published a historical work Les grandes aventures de l'Himalaya which had a section on Annapurna.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Annapurna and other expedition books, Books written by (and for) the members of the team, Herzog (1951): Annapurna, premier 8000 and Regards vers l'Annapurna
In the preface to the 1951 book Devies concentrates almost exclusively on the leader of the team: "The victory of the whole party was also, and above all, the victory of its leader". Herzog told of a happy team, all pulling together although at times Lachenal could be impetuous. Rarely did he mention any disagreement between team members and he, as leader, could resolve any spats quite easily. He very often quoted as direct speech the jaunty sort of remarks members of the team might have made, even on occasions when he was not present to have heard them.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Annapurna and other expedition books, Books written by (and for) the members of the team, Lachenal (1956): Carnets du vertige
Lachenal had kept notes and a diary and he was about to publish a book, Carnets du vertige, when he was killed in a skiing accident in 1955. Herzog took over Lachenal's work and he and Lucien Devies marked in many editorial suggestions for deletions before passing it to Herzog's brother, Gérard Herzog, for full editing.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Annapurna and other expedition books, Books written by (and for) the members of the team, Lachenal (1956): Carnets du vertige
As published, the book comprised chapters about Lachenal's life written by Gérard Herzog from Lachenal's notes and material written by a journalist Philippe Cornuau who had been helping Lachenal with his draft – Cornuau said that when he had handed over the typescripts he had no idea of what was going to happen. None of what Lachenal or Cornuau had written appeared in the eventual publication. The book also included extracts from Lachenal's diary but only after many redactions – it was mostly the more congenial remarks that remained.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Annapurna and other expedition books, Books written by (and for) the members of the team, Lachenal (1956): Carnets du vertige
Lachenal had also left a typescript of some "Commentaires", intended to be published along with his diary. Herzog is commended as being as good as the professional guides for his stamina and technique, but, less agreeably for Herzog and Devies, he characterised the descent from the summit as a "débandade" (disorderly retreat) beside which on the typescript Devies jotted down "But no" and Maurice Herzog "Is this the place to say so?". When Lachenal had wanted to turn back before the summit Herzog thought it was his encouragement that had enabled Lachenal to continue.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Annapurna and other expedition books, Books written by (and for) the members of the team, Lachenal (1956): Carnets du vertige
However Lachenal wrote that he agreed to go on because he thought that Herzog would not succeed in getting back down again alone. Herzog wrote in the margin of the typescript: "I didn't sense this. Perhaps after all I was unfair." On the other hand, Devies noted: "This must all be rewritten". In the event Gérard Herzog did not include any of the "Commentaires". The book was published in 1956 and Cornuau was shocked by what he read.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Annapurna and other expedition books, Books written by (and for) the members of the team, Terray (1961): Les conquérants de l'inutile
Terray's 1961 book, Les conquérants de l'inutile (published in English as "The Conquistadors of the Useless") included a long chapter about the Annapurna expedition. It was deliberately written to complement Herzog's book. He provided a great deal of additional information but finishing with the avalanche on the way down to Camp II. Generally the book did not disagree with Herzog but did commend Lachenal's climbing ability: he said "Lachenal was by far the fastest and most brilliant climber I have ever known on delicate or loose terrain" but he could however lack patience and stamina.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Annapurna and other expedition books, Books written by (and for) the members of the team, Ballu (1996): Gaston Rébuffat: une vie pour la montagne
In association with Rébuffat's wife Françoise the journalist Yves Ballu wrote the first biography of the mountaineer. Rébuffat had become very disillusioned by the expedition and afterwards he restricted his climbing to the Alps. Françoise had persuaded him not to write about Annapurna during his lifetime because it would come across as too bitter so Ballu had interviewed him with a view to an eventual biography. Rébuffat had also prepared his own notes, and Françoisehad kept his many letters to her during the expedition. Gaston Rébuffat: une vie pour la montagne was published in 1996.


1950 French Annapurna expedition, Annapurna and other expedition books, Books written by (and for) the members of the team, Ballu (1996): Gaston Rébuffat: une vie pour la montagne
The book contained many revelations. Rébuffat had been shocked by the requirement for an oath of obedience and he described it as "a certain Nazification". He considered it had been his initiative that led to the discovery of the eventual climbing route to the summit and that Herzog had not given him the credit for this. When in 1951 Lachenal had told Rébuffat that when he had been considering publishing an account of the expedition, someone from the official Himalayan Committee had threatened him that he might lose his job at the École Nationale de Ski et d'Alpinisme.