The current 50-star United States flag became official in 1960.
The change followed Hawaii’s admission to the Union in August 1959, which brought the number of states to 50. Alaska had entered the Union earlier that year, producing a short-lived 49-star flag. The 50-star design was adopted on July 4, 1960.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10834 on August 21, 1959, establishing the design for the 50-star flag. The flag was first flown officially at Fort McHenry in Baltimore on Independence Day in 1960.
The year is easy to confuse with 1959, when Hawaii became a state and the 49-star flag was introduced, or with 1976, the year of the United States Bicentennial. The 50-star flag remains the longest-used official U.S. flag design.