Historical Events
- 19th Orange Bowl: #9 Alabama beats #14 Syracuse, 61-6
- 19th Sugar Bowl: #2 Georgia Tech beats #7 Mississippi, 24-7
- 39th Rose Bowl: #5 Southern California beats #11 Wisconsin, 7-0
"Suite Hebraique"
Ernest Blochs's work for viola and piano "Suite Hebraique,", part of his "Jewish Cycle", premieres in Chicago
- The Bantu Education Act (later renamed the Black Education Act) commenced, providing the legal underpinning of several aspects of the apartheid system, most importantly in education
- The first TV detector van, used to track down users of unlicensed television sets, begins operation in the UK
- WBRE TV channel 28 in Wilkes-Barre Scranton, PA (NBC) 1st broadcast
Famous Birthdays
- Alpha Blondy [Seydou Koné], Ivorian reggae singer-songwriter ("Jerusalem"; "Journalistes en danger"), born in Dimbokro, N'Zi Region, Ivory Coast
- Gary Johnson, American businessman, politician and Libertarian Party nominee for President in 2016, born in Minot, North Dakota
- Zenon Plech, Polish motorcycle speedway rider (World C'ship individual 1979, pairs 1980 runner-up), born in Zwierzyn, Poland (d. 2020)
Famous Deaths
Hank Williams (1923-1953)
American country singer-songwriter ("Cold Cold Heart"; "Hey, Good Lookin'"; "Your Cheatin' Heart"), dies of an alcohol and painkiller fueled heart attack at 29
- Ludomir Różycki, Polish composer and conductor (Eros i Psyche; Pan Twardowski), dies at 69
Died in 1953 1953 Highlights
About January 1, 1953
Day of the Week: Thursday
How Long Ago? 71 years, 3 months and 25 days
Leap Year: No
Generation: Baby Boomer
Chinese Zodiac: Dragon
Star Sign: Capricorn
Music Charts
#1 Song: Here In My Heart - Al Martino
