Sir Alfred Jules Ayer
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© National Portrait Gallery, London
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Sir Alfred Jules Ayer
by Walter Stoneman
bromide print, 1952
5 3/4 in. x 4 1/8 in. (147 mm x 104 mm) image size
Commissioned, 1952
Photographs Collection
NPG x45736
Artistback to top
- Walter Stoneman (1876-1958), Photographer. Artist or producer associated with 18527 portraits, Sitter in 8 portraits.
Events of 1952back to top
Current affairs
King George VI is found dead in his bed in Sandringham; he had been suffering from lung cancer. His daughter Elizabeth, who was in Kenya at the time, became Queen, the only monarch not to know the precise moment of her accession as her father was alone when he died. Elizabeth was crowned the following year.Art and science
Samuel Beckett's play, Waiting for Godot is performed for the first time in Paris. The play belongs to the Theatre of the Absurd style, which influenced playwrights such as Harold Pinter and Tom Stoppard.Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap opens in London. It is still going.
International
Mau Mau rebels in Kenya rise up against the British colonial administration. The rebellion was sparked by the growing poverty of the native farmers under the rule of white settlers and called for Kenyan independence. The violence of the rebels, who often murdered settlers and loyalists, was met by the indiscriminate suppression by the British Military, who executed hundreds of suspects.Comments back to top
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