Events 1 - 200 of 559
- Jan 1 KSLA TV channel 12 in Shreveport, LA (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Jan 1 Rose & Cotton Bowl are 1st sport colorcasts
- Jan 1 WWTV TV channel 9 in Cadillac-Traverse City, MI (CBS) 1st broadcast
Event of Interest
Jan 1 Yugoslav parliament chairman and Vice President Milovan Djilas criticizes communism
Milovan Djilas
Music Recording
Jan 4 Elvis Presley records his 1st demo for Sun Records at a recording studio in Memphis, "It Wouldn't Be The Same Without You" and "I'll Never Stand In Your Way"
Elvis Presley
- Jan 4 Soap Opera "The Brighter Day" premieres
- Jan 7 Georgetown-IBM experiment, 1st public demonstration of a machine translation system, is held at IBM's head office in New York
- Jan 8 Jerry Vivino, American rock and R&B saxophonist (Max Weinberg 7; Vivino Brothers), born in Paterson, New Jersey
- Jan 9 -87°F (-66°C), Northice Station, Greenland (Greenland record)
- Jan 9 Bert Olmstead of the Montreal Canadiens, ties NHL record of 8 points in game
- Jan 9 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Louise Bogan & Leonie Adams
- Jan 10 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to W H Auden
- Jan 10 A Comet jet airliner crashes in the Mediterranean; 35 people are missing
- Jan 11 2 ton locomotive swept into ravine by avalanche 10 die (Austria)
- Jan 12 Austria's worst avalanche-kills 200; 9hrs later 2nd one-kills 115
Event of Interest
Jan 12 Queen Elizabeth II opens New Zealand parliament
Elizabeth II
- Jan 13 Military rule in Egypt; 318 Muslim Brotherhood members arrested
- Jan 13 WEAR TV channel 3 in Pensacola-Mobile, FL (ABC) begins broadcasting
- Jan 14 Sandy Wilson's musical "Boyfriend" premieres in London
- Jan 14 The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation forming the American Motors Corporation
- Jan 16 "South Pacific" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 1928 performances
Television Debut
Jan 17 Jacques Cousteau's 1st network telecast airs on "Omnibus" (CBS)
Jacques Cousteau
Music Concert
Jan 20 Dmitri Shostakovich's "Concertino opus 94" premieres
Dmitri Shostakovich
NBA All-Star Game
Jan 21 4th NBA All-Star Game, Madison Square Garden, NYC: East beats West, 98-93 (OT); MVP: Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics, PG
Bob Cousy
Golden Globes
Jan 22 11th Golden Globes: The Robe, Spencer Tracy, & Audrey Hepburn win
Audrey Hepburn
Spencer Tracy
Boxing Title Fight
Jan 27 American boxer Archie Moore beats Joey Maxim in 15-round unanimous decision to retain his world light heavyweight title at the Orange Bowl, Miami; last of famous trilogy of fights, all won by Moore
Archie Moore
- Jan 28 1954 NFL Draft: Bobby Garrett from University of Stanford first pick by Cleveland Browns
Event of Interest
Jan 29 Arnold Schoenberg's "De Profundis" premieres in Cologne
Arnold Schoenberg
- Jan 30 Belgium ends trade agreement with USSR
- Jan 30 Fanfani government of Italy resigns
- Feb 1 1st TV soap opera "Secret Storm" premieres
- Feb 1 Scapino Ballet Studio in Amsterdam destroyed by fire
- Feb 1 Dutch soccer club De Graafschap "The County" forms in Doetinchem, Netherlands
- Feb 1 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: In an all-Australian final Thelma Coyne Long beats Jenny Staley 6-3, 6-4 for the 2nd of her 2 Australian singles titles
- Feb 1 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Mervyn Rose wins his first Grand Slam title; beats fellow Australian Rex Hartwig 6-2, 0-6, 6-4, 6-2
- Feb 2 Bevo Francis, Rio Grande College, scores 113 pts in basketball game
Event of Interest
Feb 2 President Eisenhower announces the detonation of the world's 1st hydrogen bomb (tested in 1952)
Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Feb 2 Snow falls on Gibraltar
Event of Interest
Feb 2 "The Nutcracker" ballet choreographed by George Balanchine with Maria Tallchief as the Sugar Plum Fairy opens in New York, establishes its popularity in the US
George Balanchine
Maria Tallchief
- Feb 3 Jeen van den Berg wins Dutch Eleven Cities Skating race (7:32)
- Feb 5 WCDC TV channel 19 in Adams, MA (ABC) begins broadcasting
- Feb 9 Mario Scelba forms new government in Italy
- Feb 10 President Dwight Eisenhower warns against US intervention in Vietnam
- Feb 10 World Figure Skating Championship at Oslo: Ice Dancing - won by Great Britain's team of Jean Westwood and Lawrence Demmy
- Feb 10 World Figure Skating Championship at Oslo: Pairs - won by Canadian team of Frances Dafoe and Norris Bowden
- Feb 10 World Figure Skating Championship in Oslo: Ladies - won by West Germany's Gundi Busch
- Feb 10 World Figure Skating Championship in Oslo: Men - won by American Hayes Alan Jenkins
- Feb 11 6th Emmy Awards: I Love Lucy, Donald O'Connor & Eve Arden win
- Feb 12 The UK government establishes an organisation to control atomic energy in the country under The Atomic Energy Authority Bill
- Feb 13 Frank Selvey scores 100 points for Furman beating Newberry 149-95
Event of Interest
Feb 14 Senator John F. Kennedy appears on "Meet the Press"
John F. Kennedy
- Feb 14 WTOC TV channel 11 in Savannah, GA (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Feb 15 1st Bevatron particle accelerator in operation at Berkeley, California
- Feb 15 WRDW TV channel 12 in Augusta, GA (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Feb 16 WNEM TV channel 5 in Bay City, MI (NBC) begins broadcasting
- Feb 17 WAST (now WNYT) TV channel 13 in Albany-Troy, NY (NBC) 1st broadcast
- Feb 18 The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles, California
- Feb 20 General Zahedi wins election in Persia
Polio
Feb 23 1st mass inoculation against polio with the Jonas Salk vaccine takes place at Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh
Learn More
- Feb 23 Syrian army drives out president Adib el-Shishakli
- Feb 25 Abdul Nasser appointed Egyptian premier
- Feb 26 1st typesetting machine (photo engraving) used, Quincy, Massachusetts
- Feb 26 Michigan rep Ruth Thompson (R) introduces legislation to ban mailing "obscene, lewd, lascivious or filthy" phonograph (rock & roll) records
- Feb 28 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island
- Mar 1 4 Puerto Ricans open fire in US House of Representatives injuring 5 members
Event of Interest
Mar 1 Future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Ted Williams fractures his collarbone on the first day of Boston Red Sox spring training; injury keeps him out of Boston lineup until May 15
Ted Williams
- Mar 1 Rebellion in Egypt during visit of president Naguib to Khartoum, Sudan, 30 die
Castle Bravo Nuclear Test
Mar 1 US explodes Castle Bravo, a 15 megaton hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll, which accidentally became the most powerful nuclear device ever detonated by the US
Learn More
- Mar 4 James E. Wilkins appointed 1st black US sub-cabinet member
- Mar 4 Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, announces the first successful kidney transplant.
- Mar 5 "Girl in Pink Tights" opens at Mark Hellinger NYC for 115 performances
- Mar 6 1st ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: NC State beats Wake Forest, 82-80 (OT)
- Mar 7 Russia wins their 1st international ice hockey competition
- Mar 8 Herb McKinley sets quarter mile record of 0:46.8 in Melbourne, Australia
- Mar 9 1st local color TV commercial WNBT-TV (WNBC-TV) NYC (Castro Decorators)
Event of Interest
Mar 9 Edward R Murrow criticizes Sen Joseph McCarthy (See it Now)
Joseph McCarthy
- Mar 9 WMUR TV channel 9 in Manchester, NH (ABC) begins broadcasting
- Mar 11 US Army charges Senator Joseph McCarthy used undue pressure tactics
- Mar 12 1st performance of Arnold Schoenberg's "Moses und Aaron"
Event of Interest
Mar 13 Braves' Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle, he is replaced by Hank Aaron
Hank Aaron
Event of Interest
Mar 13 Viet Minh General Võ Nguyên Giáp opens the assault on French forces at Dien Bien Phu, northwest Vietnam
Võ Nguyên Giáp
- Mar 14 Milwaukee Braves future home run king Hank Aaron homers in his debut exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox
- Mar 14 KDAL (now KDLH) TV channel 3 in Duluth-Superior, MN (CBS) begins
- Mar 14 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Louise Suggs wins her second Titleholders title by 7 strokes from Patty Berg
Event of Interest
Mar 15 "CBS Morning Show" premieres with Walter Cronkite & Jack Paar
Walter Cronkite
Jack Paar
- Mar 15 WSJV TV channel 28 in Elkhart-South Bend, IN (ABC) begins broadcasting
- Mar 19 1st color telecast of a prize fight, Giardello vs Troy in Madison Square Garden, NYC
- Mar 19 1st rocket-driven sled on rails tested in Alamogordo, NM
- Mar 19 US Ladies' Figure Skating championship won by Tenley Albright
- Mar 19 US Men's Figure Skating championship won by Hayes A Jenkins
- Mar 19 "The Three Ws" of West Indian cricket each score centuries in one innings; Clyde Walcott scores 124 following Everton Weekes (206) and Frank Worrell (167) in 1st innings of drawn 4th Test v England at Port of Spain
- Mar 20 "King & I" closes at St James Theater NYC after 1246 performances
- Mar 20 16th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: La Salle beats Bradley, 92-76; Explorers' small forward Tom Gola is named tournament Most Outstanding Player
- Mar 20 1st newspaper vending machine used (Columbia Pennsylvania)
- Mar 21 KFBB TV channel 5 in Great Falls, MT (ABC/CBS/NBC) begins broadcasting
- Mar 22 Northland Center, the world's largest shopping mall at the time, opens in Oakpark, Michigan
- Mar 22 Closed since 1939, the London bullion market reopens
- Mar 25 26th Academy Awards: "From Here to Eternity" best film, William Holden & Audrey Hepburn best actor, actress
- Mar 25 RCA manufactures 1st color TV set (12½" screen at $1,000)
- Mar 26 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island
- Mar 28 8th Tony Awards: Teahouse of the August Moon (Best Play) & Kismet (Best Musical) win
- Mar 28 WKAQ TV channel 2 in San Juan, PR (TM) begins broadcasting
- Mar 30 Test Cricket debut of Garry Sobers v England at Kingston
- Mar 31 USSR offers to join NATO
- Apr 1 US Air Force Academy established
- Apr 1 1st Dutch motorway, Amsterdam-Utrecht, opens
- Apr 1 1st US Army helicopter battalion forms, Fort Bragg, NC
- Apr 1 Earthquake/tsunami ravage Aleutians, 200 killed
- Apr 1 WQED TV channel 13 in Pittsburgh, PA (PBS) begins broadcasting
Event of Interest
Apr 1 Detroit Red Wings right wing Gordie Howe scores 2 goals and an assist, and sets a Stanley Cup playoff record for fastest goal from the start of a game (:09) in a 4-3 2OT win over Toronto in Game 5 of the Semi-Finals
Gordie Howe
- Apr 2 Plans to build Disneyland 1st announced [see Jan 26]
- Apr 3 "Me & Juliet" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 358 performances
- Apr 3 Don Perry climbs a 20' rope in under 2.8 seconds (AAU record)
- Apr 6 Montreal Canadiens score 3 goals in 56 sec in playoff game against Det
- Apr 6 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island
- Apr 7 German government refuses to recognize DDR
- Apr 7 US President Dwight D. Eisenhower in news conference is first to voice fear of a "domino-effect" of communism in Indo-China
- Apr 7 WALB TV channel 10 in Albany, GA (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
- Apr 8 "By the Beautiful Sea" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 270 performances
- Apr 9 WECT TV channel 6 in Wilmington, NC (NBC/CBS) begins broadcasting
- Apr 9 7th Cannes Film Festival: "Gate of Hell" directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa wins the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
- Apr 10 KRGV TV channel 5 in Weslaco, TX (ABC) begins broadcasting
- Apr 10 108th Grand National: Bryan Marshall wins aboard Royal Tan at 8/1; second consecutive GN victory for both Marshall and trainer Vincent O'Brien
- Apr 10 Wales beats Scotland, 15-3 at the St. Helen's Ground, Swansea to share Five Nations Rugby Championship with France and England; France's first title
Event of Interest
Apr 12 Bill Haley and the Comets record "Rock Around Clock"
Bill Haley
- Apr 12 Joe Turner releases "Shake, Rattle & Roll"
- Apr 13 Baltimore Orioles 1st game, loses to Tigers in Detroit 3-0
- Apr 13 Milwaukee Braves' Hank Aaron's 1st game
Event of Interest
Apr 13 Robert Oppenheimer accused of being a communist
Robert Oppenheimer
- Apr 14 Soviet diplomat Vladimir Petrov asks for politics asylum in Canberra
- Apr 15 KARK TV channel 4 in Little Rock, AR (NBC) begins broadcasting
- Apr 15 Orioles 1st game in Baltimore beat White Sox 3-1
- Apr 15 WHO TV channel 13 in Des Moines, IA (NBC) begins broadcasting
- Apr 15 Yankees dedicate a plaque to Edward Barrow
- Apr 16 KVAL TV channel 13 in Eugene, OR (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Apr 16 Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Detroit Red Wings beat Montreal Canadiens, 2-1 in OT for a 4-3 series victory
Event of Interest
Apr 18 Egyptian Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser seizes power and appoints himself Prime Minister
Gamal Abdel Nasser
- Apr 19 58th Boston Marathon won by Veikko Karvonen of Finland in 2:20:39
Boston Marathon
Apr 19 7-time winner of Boston Marathon, 65-year-old Clarence DeMar, runs his last race at Boston finishing 78th
Clarence DeMar
- Apr 20 "Golden Apple" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 125 performances
Georgy Malenkov
- Apr 21 USAF flies French battalion to Vietnam
- Apr 22 Achiel van Acker forms Belgian government
- Apr 22 NBA adopts 24-second shot clock & 6 team-foul rule
- Apr 22 US Senate Army-McCarthy televised hearings begin
- Apr 22 USSR joins UNESCO
- Apr 23 Hammerin' Hank Aaron hits 1st of his 755 homers
- Apr 24 1st American, civilian pilot, P.R. Holden, wounded in Indochina
- Apr 24 Australia & USSR break diplomatic relations
- Apr 24 WSEE TV channel 35 in Erie, PA (CBS) begins broadcasting
First Solar Battery
Apr 25 Bell labs announces the 1st solar battery made from silicon. It has about 6% efficiency.
Learn More
Event of Interest
Apr 26 Mass trials of Jonas Salk's anti-polio vaccine begin; the first shot is delivered in Fairfax County, Virginia; more than 443,000 children receive shots over three months
Jonas Salk
Film Release
Apr 26 "Seven Samurai", Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshiro Mifune, is released
Toshiro Mifune
Akira Kurosawa
- Apr 26 USSR Supreme Soviet transfer the Crimean oblast from Russian SFSR to Ukrainian SSR
Music Concert
Apr 30 Darius Milhaud's 4th Concert for piano and orchestra premieres in Haifa
Darius Milhaud
- May 1 80th Kentucky Derby: Raymond York wins aboard Determine, his only Derby success
- May 1 Bishops publish Mandement (member socialist org forbidden)
- May 1 HSA-UWC Forms (Unification Church) (Moonies)
- May 1 WAPA TV channel 4 in San Juan, PR (NBC/SFN) begins broadcasting
- May 1 Preston North End defender Joe Marston becomes the first Australian to play in an FA Cup Final, a 3-2 loss to WBA
Baseball Record
May 2 Stan Musial hits 5 HRs in a doubleheader
Stan Musial
- May 3 KTEN TV channel 10 in Ada-Ardmore, OK (ABC) begins broadcasting
Event of Interest
May 3 Pulitzer prize awarded to Charles A Lindbergh & John Patrick
Charles Lindbergh
Event of Interest
May 6 English athlete Roger Bannister becomes first to run a sub-4 minute mile, recording 3:59:4 at Iffley Road Track, Oxford
Roger Bannister
- May 7 French surrender to Vietminh after 55-day siege at Dien Bien Phu
- May 7 US, Great Britain & France reject Russian membership of NATO
- May 8 1st shot-put over 60' (18.29 m)-Parry O'Brien, Los Angeles, CA
- May 10 Bolshoi Ballet does not appear in Paris
- May 13 "Pajama Game" opens at St James Theater NYC for 1063 performances
- May 13 Labour Party wins British municipal elections
- May 13 Robin Roberts gives up a HR then retires next 27 men in a row
- May 13 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak
- May 13 Chinese Middle School students in Singapore take part in anti-National Service riots
- May 14 Belgium shortens military conscription from 20 to 18 months