Major Events
- Jan 7 US President Harry Truman announces American development of the hydrogen bomb
- Feb 28 Francis Crick and James Watson discover the chemical structure of DNA-molecule (double-helix polymer) using studies of x-ray diffraction developed by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins
- Mar 26 Dr. Jonas Salk announces that he has successfully tested a vaccine to prevent polio, clinical trials began the next year
- Apr 25 Francis Crick and James Watson's discovery of the double helix structure of DNA is published in "Nature" magazine
- May 29 Edmund Hillary (NZ) and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal) are first to reach the summit of Mount Everest as part of a British Expedition
- Jun 2 Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey, London, England
- Jul 26 Fidel Castro leads a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks, intended to spark a revolution in Cuba
- More 1953 Events
1953 in Film & TV
- Jan 1 The first TV detector van, used to track down users of unlicensed television sets, begins operation in the UK
- Mar 26 "Ugetsu", Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, starring Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyō and Kinuyo Tanaka, is released
- Apr 3 American magazine "TV Guide" publishes 1st issue; cover features photo of Lucille Ball's new born baby boy, Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV (later professionally known as Desi Arnaz, Jr.)
- Apr 10 "House of Wax" 1st color 3-D movie, premieres in New York
- Nov 3 "Tokyo Story", Japanese film directed by Yasujirō Ozu, starring Chishū Ryū, Chieko Higashiyama and Setsuko Hara, is released
- Dec 1 Hugh Hefner publishes 1st edition of Playboy magazine, featuring Marilyn Monroe as the magazine's 1st centerfold
- Dec 30 The first ever NTSC color television sets go on sale for about USD at $1,175 each from RCA.
1953 in Sport
- Feb 20 US Court of Appeals rules that Organized Baseball is a sport & not a business, affirming the 25-year-old Supreme Court ruling
- May 29 Edmund Hillary (NZ) and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal) are first to reach the summit of Mount Everest as part of a British Expedition
- Nov 19 US Supreme Court rules (7-2) baseball is a sport not a business
Did You Know?
Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his "Atoms for Peace" speech at the United Nations in New York
Jeb Bush
Tony Blair
Xi Jinping
Benazir Bhutto
Ahmad Shah Massoud
Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Pierce Brosnan
Tim Allen
Hulk Hogan
Sam Kinison
Kim Basinger
Bill Pullman
Chaka Khan
Danny Elfman
Cyndi Lauper
Geddy Lee
Paul Allen
George Brett
Graham Gooch
Grete Waitz
Pat DayMore People Born in 1953
Fun Fact About 1953
The first U.S. experimental 3D-TV broadcast showed an episode of Space Patrol on Los Angeles ABC affiliate KECA-TV
Joseph Stalin
Ethel Rosenberg
Francis Ford
Edwin Hubble
Ibn Saud
Eugene O'Neill
Hank Williams
Sergei Prokofiev
Django Reinhardt
Florence Price
James J. Jeffries
Jim Thorpe
Bill TildenMore 1953 Deaths
Articles About 1953
Mass Murderer Stalin Goes to His Grave
Countless millions of Russians were killed by the hand of Joseph Stalin, one of the most feared and brutal dictators of all time. He himself died on this day.March 5
TV Guide's First Issue
TV Guide's first edition with Desi Arnaz Jr. on the coverApril 3
Tenzing Norgay on the Summit of Mount Everest
Tenzing Norgay brandishes his ice axe on the summit of Mount EverestMay 29
The King is Dead; Long Live the Queen
Princess Elizabeth was in Africa when her father died and she became Queen. Her coronation, on this day in history, could be described as a magnificent washout.June 2
Korean War Ends
Signing of the armistice which ended the active fighting phase of the Korean WarJuly 27
Bare Bones of the Great Ape-Man Hoax
On this day the Piltdown Man skull, which had been hailed as the missing link proving an evolutionary relationship between man and apes, was revealed as a hoax.November 21
Famous Weddings in 1953
- Jan 15 Cricketer Richie Benaud (22) weds Marcia Lavender at the Wesley Church in Sydney, Australia
- Feb 14 Actress Agnes Moorehead (52) weds actor & film director Robert Gist (35)
- Apr 6 MLB baseball player Ernie Banks (22) weds Mollye Louise
Famous Divorces in 1953
- Jul 7 Actor José Ferrer divorces dancer and actress Phyllis Hill after 5 years of marriage
- Aug 28 American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (36) divorces American jazz bassist Ray Brown (27) after 6 years of marriage
More 1953 Weddings
Audrey Hepburn
Konrad Adenauer
William Holden
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Mao Zedong
Nikita Khrushchev