We Didn't Start the Fire - What I Think - Part 4

This is the fourth post in my blog series about the song We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel. I am writing about the significance of each item mentioned in the song. That is, what significance I THINK they have. I am not doing any research or looking anything up, so I could be totally wrong. And if I have no clue, I am just taking my best guess - so don't use anything here for a U.S. history report source.

More information about this blog series can be found in the series' first post.

Eisenhower - Dwight D. Eisenhower was the 35th president of the United States. He was preceded in office by Harry Truman and followed by John F. Kennedy. He oversaw the U.S.'s involvement in the Korean war while he was in office. The famous "I like Ike." campaign slogan is his.

vaccine - During the 1950s Dr. Jonas Sulk perfect the Polio vaccine. Soon after, a massive vaccination campaign took place in the United States. Polio was quickly conquered in the U.S.

England's got a new queen - In the late 1950s Princess Elizabeth became the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II. She is still the queen today.

Marciano - This refers to another boxer, Rocky Marciano. Who at first thought, I would pinpoint as the fictional boxer in the Rocky movies. However, the movie doesn't fit the timeline of the song. So, I am going to say that Marciano was an actual boxer who was quite the knockout king. As a matter of fact, he had a career record of 53 - 2, with 37 knockouts.

Liberace - Liberace was the sequined piano player. His talent with the ivories was only upstaged by his flamboyance.

Santayana goodbye - Manuel Santayana was the freely elected president of Cuba who was overthrown during the revolution in 1953 that brought communism and Fidel Castro to power in Cuba.