Important 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)
- Mar 26 Dr Jonas Salk announces vaccine to prevent polio
- 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 Historical 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, features on the cover the new born baby of actors Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz Jr.
- Apr 10 "House of Wax" 1st color 3-D movie, premieres in New York
1953 in Sport
Did You Know?
Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his "Atoms for Peace" speech at the United Nations in New York
On December 8, 1953
Benazir Bhutto
George Brett
Hulk Hogan
Pierce Brosnan
Tim Allen
Xi JinpingWorld Leaders in 1953
Dwight D. Eisenhower
34th US President & WWII General- Mao Zedong
Chinese Revolutionary and Chairman of the Communist Party - Nikita Khrushchev
Soviet First Secretary
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Mao Zedong
Nikita KhrushchevFamous People in 1953
- Audrey Hepburn
Oscar for Best Actress - Konrad Adenauer
Time Person
of the Year - William Holden
Oscar for Best Actor
Audrey Hepburn
Konrad Adenauer
William HoldenWould You Believe?
The first U.S. experimental 3D-TV broadcast showed an episode of Space Patrol on Los Angeles ABC affiliate KECA-TV
On April 29, 1953
Famous Weddings
- Jan 15 Cricketer Richie Benaud (22) weds Marcia Lavender at the Wesley Church in Sydney, Australia
- Feb 14 Actress Agnes Moorehead (52) weds actor and film director Robert Gist (35)
- Apr 6 MLB baseball player Ernie Banks (22) weds Mollye Louise
Famous Divorces
- Jul 7 Actor José Ferrer divorces dancer and actress Phyllis Hill after 5 years of marriage
- Aug 28 Jazz musician Ella Fitzgerald (36) divorces bass player Ray Brown (27) after 6 years of marriage
More Weddings & Divorces
Edwin Hubble
Ethel Rosenberg
Hank Williams
James J. Jeffries
Jim Thorpe
Joseph StalinArticles and Photos
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, 1953TV Guide's First Issue
TV Guide's first edition with Desi Arnaz Jr. on the cover
April 3, 1953Tenzing Norgay on the Summit of Mount Everest
Tenzing Norgay brandishes his ice axe on the summit of Mount Everest
May 29, 1953The 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, 1953Korean War Ends
Signing of the armistice which ended the active fighting phase of the Korean War
July 27, 1953Bare 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, 1953
