January 17, 1949
«The Goldbergs», the first sitcom on American television, first airs.
«The Goldbergs» is a comedy-drama broadcast from 1929 to 1946 on American radio, and from 1949 to 1956 on American television. It was adapted into a 1948 play, «Me and Molly», and a 1973 Broadway musical, «Molly».
Deaths
January 6, 1949
Victor Lonzo Fleming was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were
The Wizard of Oz (1939), and
Gone with the Wind (1939), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director.

January 16, 1949
Vasily Alekseyevich Degtyaryov was a Russian weapons designer, Major General of the Engineering and Artillery Service, Doctor of Technical Sciences (1940), and Hero of Socialist Labor (1940; he received the second such award in the history just two weeks later than Joseph Stalin himself). He became a CPSU member in 1941.

August 16, 1949
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937 for her epic novel «Gone with the Wind», her only major publication. This novel is one of the most popular books of all time, selling more than 30 million copies (see list of best-selling books).

October 28, 1949
Marcellin "Marcel" Cerdan was a French pied noir world boxing champion who was considered by many boxing experts and fans to be France's greatest boxer, and beyond to be one of the best to have learned his craft in Africa. His life was marked by his sporting achievements, social lifestyle and ultimately, tragedy.