1954
1954 (
MCMLIV) was a
common year starting on Friday of the
Gregorian calendar.
January
*
January 1 -
Soviet Union no longer demands
war reparations from
East Germany*
January 12 - Large-scale
avalanches in
Austria - over 20 dead
*
January 14 - The
Hudson Motor Car Company merges with
Nash-Kelvinator Corporation forming the
American Motors Corporation*
January 14 -
Marilyn Monroe weds
Joe DiMaggio.
*
January 15 -
Mau Mau leader
Waruhiu Itote is captured in
Kenya*
January 17 - In
Yugoslavia,
Milovan Djilas,
Tito's second-in-command, is relieved of his duties
*
January 20 - The
National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member
radio stations
*
January 21 - The first nuclear-powered
submarine, the
USS Nautilus, is launched in
Groton, Connecticut, by
First Lady of the United States Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower.
*
January 25 - The foreign ministers of the
United States,
Britain,
France and the
Soviet Union meet at the
Berlin Conference.
*
January 26 -
Milpitas,
California was
incorporated as a city.
February
*
February 3 - Queen
Elizabeth II is the first reigning
monarch to visit
Australia*
February 10 -
President Dwight Eisenhower warns against
United States intervention in
Vietnam*
February 18 - The first Church of
Scientology is established in
Los Angeles, California.
*
February 23 - The first mass
vaccination of children against
polio begins in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania*
February 25 - Lt. Col.
Gamal Abdel Nasser is made premier of
Egypt.
March
*
March 1 -
Nuclear testing: Officials announce that an American
hydrogen bomb test had been conducted on
Bikini Atoll in the
Pacific Ocean.
*
March 1 - Four
Puerto Ricans open fire on
United States House of Representatives and wound five. Security guards apprehend them.
*
March 8 -
PR Newswire founded in
New York by
Herb Muschel.
*
March 9 -
Edward Murrow and
Fred W. Friendly produce a 30-minute
See It Now special entitled "A Report on Senator
Joseph McCarthy".
*
March 12 -
Finland and
Germany officially end the
state of war.
*
March 13 - French troops begin battle against
Vietminh in
Dien Bien Phu.
*
March 19 -
Joey Giardello knocks out
Willie Tory in round seven at
Madison Square Garden in the first
televised prize
boxing fight shown in color.
*
March 22 - The
London bullion market reopens (it was closed in
1939).
*
March 23 -
Viet Minh capture the main airstrip of
Dien Bien Phu - French forces are partially isolated.
*
March 25 -
RCA manufactures first color
TV set (12" screen; price: $1,000).
*
March 25 -
Soviet Union recognizes
sovereignty of
East Germany but Soviet troops remain in the country.
*
March 29 -
C-47 with
Genevieve de Galard on board is incapacitated on
Dien Bien Phu runway.
*
March 30 -
Canada's first subway opens in
Toronto.
April
*
April 1 - President
Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the
United States Air Force Academy in
Colorado.
*
April 3 -
Vladimir Petrov defects from the
Soviet Union and asks to seek
political asylum in
Australia.
*
April 7 -
Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his "
domino theory" speech during a news conference.
*
April 12 - Original recording of "Rock Around the Clock" by
Bill Haley and the Comets.
*
April 14 -
Aneurin Bevan resigns from the
UK Labour shadow cabinet.
*
April 22 -
Senator Joseph McCarthy begins hearings investigating the
United States Army for being "soft" on
Communism.
May
*
May 1 -
Taku (city in
Japan) founded
*
May 6 -
Roger Bannister runs the first
four minute mile*
May 7 - Construction started on
Michigan's
Mackinac Bridge.
*
May 7 -
Vietnam War: The
Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a
French defeat (the battle began on
March 13).
*
May 14 -
Boeing 707 released after about two years of development.
*
May 17 -
United States Supreme Court hands down its decision in
Brown v. Board of Education of
Topeka, Kansas 347 US 483 1954
*
May 17 -
Petrov Royal Commission in
Australia begins its inqury
*
May 20 -
Chiang Kai-shek is reelected
president of the Republic of China by the
National Assembly.
*
May 20 -
Radio Free Europe/
Radio Liberty launches
Belarusian language programming (see also
Piotra Sych).
*
May 29 -
Robert Menzies Government re-elected for 4th term in
Australia.
June
*
June 1 - Radio station
Sender Freies Berlin begins broadcasting
*
June 7 - Mathematician
Alan Turing commits suicide.
*
June 9 -
McCarthyism:
Joseph Welch, special counsel for the
United States Army, lashes out at
Senator Joseph McCarthy during hearings on whether
Communism has infiltrated the Army
*
June 14 - On
United States Flag Day, the words "under God" added to the
Pledge of Allegiance*
June 15 -
UEFA (the Union of European Football Associations) is formed in
Basel,
Switzerland*
June 17 -
Military coup in
Guatemala*
June 18 -
Pierre Mendès-France becomes prime minister of
France*
June 19 - The last regular-service
streetcar operated by
Twin City Rapid Transit runs in
Minneapolis.
*
June 27 -
Guatemalan President
Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán steps down in a
CIA-sponsored military coup–
Operation PBSUCCESS–triggering a bloody civil war that would continue for more than 35 years.
*
June 27 - The world's first
atomic power station opened at
Obninsk, near
Moscow.
July-August
*
July 3 -
Food rationing ends in
Britain*
July 4 - End of
rationing of
meat ends all the
food rationing in Britain*
July 4 -
West Germany beat
Hungary 3-2 to win the
1954 FIFA World Cup*
July 5 -
Andhra Pradesh High Court is established.
*
July 7 - In
Memphis, Tennessee,
WHBQ becomes the first
radio station to air an
Elvis Presley record
*
July 15 - Maiden flight of
Boeing 707*
July 21 -
First Indochina War: The
Geneva Conference partitions
Vietnam into
North Vietnam and
South Vietnam*
July 28 - Foundation of the
Situationist International.
*
July 31 - First ascent of
K2, by an
Italian expedition. Which is celebrated in both
Pakistan and
Italia as the 50th anniversary of the official day of
K2 since 2004.
* August - First flight of a
B-52 Stratofortress.
*
August 6 - Emilie Dionne, one of the
Dionne Quintuplets, dies of
asphyxiation following a
epileptic seizure at Sainte Agathe,
Quebec.
*
August 16 - Volume 1, Issue 1 of
Sports Illustrated is published
*
August 24 - President of
Brazil,
Getulio Vargas, commits suicide; he's been accused of conspiracy to murder an air force officer.
September-October
*
September 3 - The last new episode of
The Lone Ranger is aired on
radio after 2,956 episodes over a period of 21 years
*
September 6 -
SEATO treaty signed in
Manila,
Philippines KOVR went on the air.
*
September 8 - The
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is established in
Bangkok,
Thailand*
September 9 - An earthquake centered on the city of
Oleansville in
Algeria - 1500 dead and thousands homeless
*
September 11 - First
Miss America Pageant broadcast on
television*
September 14 -
USSR tests
nuclear weapon*
September 30 -
USS Nautilus, 1st atomic-powered vessel (
submarine), commissioned by the
US Navy*
October 11 -
Vietnam War: The
Viet Minh takes control of
North Vietnam.
*
October 18 -
Texas Instruments announces the worldwide first
Transistor radio.
*
October 20 -
Dock workers'
strike expands in
England*
October 23 -
West Germany joins
NATO*
October 26 - Member of
Muslim Brotherhood Abdul Munim Abdul Rauf tries to kill
Gamal Abdal Nasser*
October 31 -
Algerian War of Independence: The
Algerian National Liberation Front begins a revolt against
French rule.
November-December
* November - The main immigration port-of-entry in
New York Harbor at
Ellis Island closes.
*
November 1 - The
FLN attacks Representative and public buildings of the france colonial power.
*
November 2 - Dock workers' strike in England ends
*
November 3 - The first in the
Godzilla series of films is released in Japan.
*
November 10 - US President
Dwight D. Eisenhower dedicates the
USMC War Memorial (Iwo Jima memorial) in
Arlington National Cemetery*
November 13 - Don Estes invents the disrupter (a part to help combines work)
*
November 14 -
Egyptian president
Mohammed Naguib is deposed -
Gamal Abdel Nasser replaces him
*
November 23 - The
Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at an all-time high of 382.74. More significantly, this is the first time the Dow has surpassed its
1929 peak level reached just before that year's
crash.
*
November 30 - In
Sylacauga, Alabama, a 4 kg
meteorite crashes through the roof of a house and hits
Ann Hodges, badly bruising her, in the first documented case of an object from
outer space hitting a person.
*
December 2 -
Red Scare: The
United States Senate votes 67 to 22 to condemn
Joseph McCarthy for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute."
*
December 24 -
Laos becomes independent.
unknown dates
* The first
organ transplants are done in
Boston and
Paris.
*
Battle of Dien Bien Phu between
French and
Viet Minh forces in
Indochina*The
Boy Scouts of America desegregates on the basis of race.
*
Stop signs are changed from
black-on-
yellow to
white-on-
red*Gerbils (
Meriones Unguiculatus), brought to the United States by Dr. Victor Schwentker.
*
Unification Church founded.
* Case of
Lothar Malskat, who had admitted that he had painted the
frescoes in
Marienkirche himself, goes into trial
* The
TV Dinner is introduced by
American,
Gerry Thomas.
* Foundation of
Université de SherbrookeJanuary
*
January 2 -
Henry Bonilla, American politician
*
January 4 -
Dave "The Devilfish" Ulliott, English professional poker player
*
January 6 -
Anthony Minghella, British film director
*
January 12 -
Howard Stern, American radio host
*
January 14 -
Tom Cheney, American cartoonist
*
January 17 -
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., son of
Robert F Kennedy *
January 22 -
Peter Pilz, Austrian politician
*
January 23 -
Franco De Vita, Venezuelan singer and songwriter
*
January 29 -
Oprah Winfrey, American actress, talk show hostess, producer, and publisher
*
January 29 -
Yukinobu Hoshino, Japanese cartoonist
February
*
February 1 -
Bill Mumy, American actor and musician
*
February 2 -
Christie Brinkley, American model
*
February 6 -
Argusto Emfazie, American occultist and author
*
February 12 -
Philip Zimmermann, American cryptographer
*
February 13 -
Donnie Moore, baseball player (d.
1989)
*
February 15 -
Matt Groening, American cartoonist
*
February 18 -
John Travolta, American actor
*
February 19 -
Socrates, Brazilian footballer
*
February 20 -
Anthony Stewart Head, English actor
*
February 20 -
Patty Hearst, American heiress and kidnapping victim
*
February 23 -
Viktor Yushchenko,
President of Ukraine *
February 25 -
John Doe, American musician
March-April
*
March 1 -
Ron Howard, American actor, director, producer
*
March 4 -
Catherine O'Hara, Canadian actress
*
March 8 -
David Wilkie, Scottish swimmer
*
March 9 -
Bobby Sands, Irish Republican, Long Kesh hunger striker
*
March 13 -
The Baroness Amos, British politician
*
March 15 -
Craig Wasson, American actor
*
March 16 -
Nancy Wilson, American singer, musician, and actress
*
March 17 -
Lesley-Anne Down, British actress
*
March 24 -
Robert Carradine, American actor
*
March 26 -
Kazuhiko Inoue, Japanese
seiyu (voice actor)
*
March 29 -
Karen Ann Quinlan, American right-to-die cause célèbre (d.
1985)
*
April 7 -
Jackie Chan, Hong Kong-born actor
*
April 7 -
Tony Dorsett, American football player
*
April 8 -
John Schneider, American actor ("Dukes of Hazzard")
*
April 9 -
Dennis Quaid, American actor
*
April 10 -
Anacani, Mexican-born American singer
The Lawrence Welk Show *
April 10 -
Peter MacNicol, American actor
*
April 15 -
Seka, American actress
*
April 16 -
Ellen Barkin, American Actress
*
April 17 -
Riccardo Patrese, Italian race car driver
*
April 18 -
Rick Moranis, Canadian actor and comedian
*
April 28 -
Robert Sargent Shriver III, son of
Eunice Kennedy Shriver *
April 29 -
Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian
May-June
*
May 1 -
Archie Norman, British politician and businessman
*
May 5 -
Dave Spector, American television personality and commentator
*
May 7 -
Philippe Geluck, Belgian cartoonist
*
May 7 -
Amy Heckerling, American film director
*
May 8 -
David Keith, American actor
*
May 19 -
Phil Rudd, Australian drummer (
AC/DC)
*
June 9 -
John Hagelin, American physicist and U.S. Presidential candidate
*
June 9 -
Elizabeth May, Former executive director of
Sierra Club of Canada*
June 15 -
James Belushi, American actor
*
June 20 -
Michael Anthony, American Bassist and Founding member of the hard rock group
Van Halen*
June 20 -
Ilan Ramon,
Israeli Air Force,
Israel first
astronaut (d.
2003)
*
June 22 -
Freddie Prinze, American actor and comedian (d.
1977)
*
June 26 -
Steve Barton, American actor (d.
2001)
*
June 27 -
Ron Kirk, Mayor of Dallas, Texas
*
June 28 -
Ava Barber, country singer
The Lawrence Welk Show*
June 30 -
Pierre Charles,
Prime Minister of Dominica (d.
2004)
July-August
*
July 5 -
John Wright,
New Zealand cricket captains*
July 10 -
Neil Tennant, British musician
*
July 13 -
Sezen Aksu, Popular
Turkish female singer
*
July 17 -
Angela Merkel,
Chancellor of Germany*
July 25 -
Walter Payton, American football player (d.
1999)
*
July 27 -
Philippe Alliot, French Formula One driver
*
August 1 -
Michael J. Badnarik, software engineer and U.S. Presidential candidate
*
August 2 -
Sammy McIlroy, Northern Irish footballer and football manager
*
August 11 -
Joe Jackson, British singer
*
August 12 -
Sam J. Jones, American actor
*
August 13 -
Nico Assumpção, Brazilian bass player
*
August 14 -
Mark Fidrych, baseball player
*
August 16 -
James Cameron, Canadian-born film director
*
August 20 -
Al Roker, American television broadcaster
*
August 21 -
Ivan Stang, American author and publisher
*
August 23 -
Charles Busch, American director, writer, actor and drag queen
*
August 25 -
Elvis Costello, British singer
*
August 26 -
Pauline Hanson, Australian politician
September-October
*
September 3 -
Luis Murillo, Ecuadorian musician
*
September 13 -
Steve Kilbey, Australian musician
*
September 17 -
Joël-François Durand, French composer
*
September 21 -
Shinzo Abe, Japanese politician
*
September 23 -
Charlie Barnett, American actor (d.
1996)
*
September 26 -
Kevin Kennedy, baseball manager and television host
*
September 30 -
Barry Williams, American actor
*
October 1 -
Martin Strel, Slovenian swimmer
*
October 3 -
Dennis Eckersley,
Major League Baseball player
*
October 3 -
Stevie Ray Vaughan, American musician (d.
1990)
*
October 3 -
Al Sharpton, American politician and minister
*
October 9 -
Scott Bakula, American television actor
*
October 10 -
David Lee Roth, American singer
*
October 13 -
Mordechai Vanunu, Israeli nuclear technician
*
October 15 -
Peter Bakowski, Australian poet
*
October 23 -
Ang Lee, Taiwanese film director
*
October 24 -
Mike Rounds, Governor of South Dakota
November-December
*
November 2 -
Pat Croce, American entrepreneur
*
November 3 -
Brigitte Lin, Actress
*
November 3 -
Adam Ant, English singer
*
November 3 -
Kathy Kinney, American actress and comedienne
*
November 6 -
Catherine Crier, American television journalist
*
November 7 -
Kamal Haasan, Indian actor
*
November 8 -
Michael D. Brown, U.S. Undersecretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response
*
November 13 -
Chris Noth, American actor
*
November 14 -
Condoleezza Rice,
U.S. Secretary of State*
November 14 -
Yanni, Greek musician
*
November 14 -
Willie Hernández, Puerto Rican
Major League Baseball player
*
November 15 -
Aleksander Kwaśniewski,
President of Poland*
November 16 -
Bruce Edwards, golf caddy (d.
2004)
*
November 23 -
Bruce Hornsby, American singer
*
November 27 -
Patricia McPherson, American actress
*
December 1 -
Bob Goen, American television personality and game show host
*
December 2 -
Dan Butler, American actor
*
December 2 -
Stone Phillips, American television journalist
*
December 7 -
Mark Hofmann, American forger and murderer
*
December 11 -
Jermaine Jackson, American singer
*
December 14 -
Ib Andersen, Danish dancer
*
December 14 -
Alan Kulwicki, American race car driver (d.
1993)
*
December 20 -
Michael Badalucco, American actor
*
December 21 -
Chris Evert, American tennis player
*
December 25 -
Annie Lennox, English singer
*
December 26 -
Susan Butcher, American dog-sled racer
*
December 28 -
Denzel Washington, American actor
Unknown dates
*
Nenad Prokic, Serbian playwright
*
Sid Meier, American computer game designer
January-June
*
January 18 -
Sydney Greenstreet, English actor (b.
1879)
*
January 31 -
Edwin Armstrong, Electrical Engineer (b.
1890)
*
February 12 -
Dziga Vertov, Russian filmmaker (b.
1896)
*
March 7 -
Otto Diels, German chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1876)
*
March 31 -
Edwin Howard Armstrong, American electrical engineer and inventor (b.
1890)
*
May 6 -
B.C. Forbes, Scottish-born publisher (b.
1880)
*
May 19 -
Charles Ives, American composer (b.
1874)
*
May 25 -
Robert Capa, Hungarian-born photojournalist (b.
1913)
*
April 10 -
Auguste Lumière, French inventor (b.
1862)
*
April 28 -
Léon Jouhaux, French labor leader, recipient of the
Nobel Peace Prize (b.
1879)
*
June 7 -
Alan Turing, British mathematician (b.
1912)
July-December
*
July 11 -
Henry Valentine Knaggs, English physician and author (b.
1859)
*
July 13 -
Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter (b.
1907)
*
July 14 -
Jacinto Benavente, Spanish writer,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1866)
*
July 29 -
Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (b.
1879)
*
August 24 -
Getúlio Vargas,
President of Brazil (b.
1882)
*
September 21 -
Kokichi Mikimoto, Japanese pearl farm pioneer (b.
1858)
*
November 3 -
Henri Matisse, French painter (b.
1869)
*
November 28 -
Enrico Fermi, Italian physicist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1901)
*
November 29 -
Dink Johnson, American musician (b.
1892)
*
November 30 -
Wilhelm Furtwängler, German conductor (b.
1886)
*
December 8 -
Claude Cahun, French photographer and writer (b.
1894)
*
December 23 -
René Iché, French sculptor (b.
1897)
*
December 30 -
Archduke Eugen of Austria, Austrian field marshal (b.
1863)
*
Physics -
Max Born,
Walther Bothe*
Chemistry -
Linus Carl Pauling*
Medicine -
John Franklin Enders,
Thomas Huckle Weller,
Frederick Chapman Robbins*
Literature -
Ernest Hemingway*
Peace - The Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
*
Kunihiko Kodaira,
Jean-Pierre Serrends-nl:1954
