News 20 Amazing Things That Happened in the ’50s C.C. 0 © MANDEL NGAN/AFP / Getty Images – Getty Images 1951: A Runaway Hit On July 16, The Catcher in the Rye by then-31-year-old J.D. Salinger is published, giving a new hero to teens everywhere, ones who are just tired of all the phonies. Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 <123 4 56 ... 21>