1954

fr: 1954de: 1954es: 1954
Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar.

Events of 1954 :

January :

  • January 12 - Large-scale avalanches in Austria - over 20 dead.
  • January 13 - Yangtze River ran dry
  • January 14
  • *The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation forming the American Motors Corporation.
  • *Marilyn Monroe weds Joe DiMaggio.
  • January 15 - Mau Mau lleader 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 :

    March :

    April :

    May :

    • May 1 - Taku (city in Japan) is founded.
    • May 6 - Roger Bannister runs the first four minute mile.
    • May 7
    • *Construction started on Michigan's Mackinac Bridge.
    • *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.
    • *Petrov Royal Commission in Australia begins its inquiry.
    • May 18 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower today asked for progress reports on coming moves to public school segregation in the District of Columbia.
    • May 20
    • *Chiang Kai-shek is reelected president of the Republic of China by the National Assembly.
    • *Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty launches Belarusian language programming (see also Piotra Sych).
    • May 22 - The common Nordic Labour Market act is signed.
    • May 29 - Robert Menzies Government re-elected for 4th term in Australia.

    June :

    July :

    • July 1 - The common Nordic Labour Market act comes into power.
    • July 3 - Food rationing ends in Britain.
    • July 4
    • *End of rationing of meat - the last form of food rationing in Britain.
    • *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 Italy as the 50th anniversary of the official day of K2 since 2004.

    August :

    • August - First flight of a B-52 Stratofortress.
    • August 6 - Emilie Dionne, one of the Dionne Quintuplets, dies of asphyxiation following an 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 :

    • 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 Orleansville in Algeria: 1500 dead and thousands homeless.
    • September 11 - First Miss America Pageant broadcast on television.
    • September 14 - USSR tests nuclear weapon.
    • September 24 - Edward Pilgrim commits suicide hastened by bureaucracy.
    • September 25 - Footscray Football Club wins their first Grand Final.
    • September 26 - Japanese ferry Toya Maru sinks during a typhoon in the Tsugaru Strait killing more than 1,100.
    • September 30 - USS Nautilus, 1st atomic-powered vessel (submarine), commissioned by the US Navy.

    October :

    • October 11
    • *Vietnam War: The Viet Minh takes control of North Vietnam.
    • *Hurricane Hazel crosses over Haiti, killing 1,000 people.
    • October 15 - Hurricane Hazel makes U.S. landfall - it is the only recorded Category 4 hurricane to strike as far north as North Carolina.
    • 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 25 - Disastrous landslides caused by heavy rains hit Salerno, Italy killing some 300 people.
    • 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 :

    • 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.
    • *Leonard Bernstein makes his first appearance on television, lecturing on the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, the first of his many television music lectures.
    • November 23 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average rises 3.27 points, or 0.86%, closing 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 :

    Undated :

    • New Zealand inventor, Sir William Hamilton invented the worlds first water pump-jet engine, later named the "Hamilton Jet".
    • The first kidney transplants are done in Boston and also in Paris.
    • 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 is 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 Sherbrooke.
    • The first complete recordings of all three of Tchaikovsky's ballets, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker are released on LP by Mercury Records, with Antal Dorati conducting the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra.
    • Choreographer George Balanchine's production of The Nutcracker is staged for the first time in New York, becoming an annual tradition there, and still being revived as of 2007. In addition, there will be two live television adaptations of this production, as well as a not-very-successful 1993 film version. Other ballet companies in the U.S. will later be licensed to stage the Balanchine production in their own respective cities.
    • Korea use of Gimpo International Airport possible.

    Ongoing :

    Fictional :

    The following are references to year 1954 in fiction: Robert A. Heinlein's short story, The Year of the Jackpot takes place in 1954.

    Births :

    January-February :

    March-April :

    • March 1 - Ron Howard, American actor, director, producer
    • March 4 - François Fillon, Prime Minister of France
    • March 4 - Peter Jacobsen, American professional golfer
    • March 4 - Catherine O'Hara, Canadian actress
    • March 4 - Irina Ratushinskaya, Russian writer
    • March 4 - Willie Thorne, English snooker player
    • March 4 - Adrian Zmed, American actor and dancer
    • March 6 - Harald Schumacher, German football goalkeeper
    • 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 18 - James F. Reilly, astronaut
    • March 23 - Geno Auriemma, American basketball coach
    • 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 2 - Susumu Hirasawa, Japanese musician
    • April 5 - Guy Bertrand (broadcaster). Canadian linguist and radio personality.
    • April 5 - Murray Campbell. Multitalented genius and good guy born In New Zealand , later moves to Australia
    • 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 9 - Steve Holt, Canadian musician
    • April 10 - Anacani, Mexican-born American singer The Lawrence Welk Show
    • April 10 - Peter MacNicol, American actor
    • April 14 - Bruce Sterling, American science fiction writer
    • April 15 - Seka, American actress
    • April 16 - Ellen Barkin, American actress
    • April 17 - Riccardo Patrese, Italian race car driver
    • April 26 - Alan Hinkes, British Mountaineer
    • April 28 - Robert Sargent Shriver III, son of Eunice Kennedy Shriver
    • April 29 - Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian
    • April 29 - Jake Burton Carpenter, founder of Burton Snowboards

    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 8 - John Michael Talbot, American musician
    • May 19 - Phil Rudd, Australian drummer (AC/DC)
    • May 27 - Pauline Hanson, Australian politician
    • June 5 - Nancy Stafford, American actress and Christian author
    • June 9 - John Hagelin, American physicist and U.S. Presidential candidate
    • June 9 - Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada
    • June 15 - James Belushi, American actor
    • June 16 - Sergey Kuryokhin, a Russian piano player, avant-garde composer, improvisor, performance artist and actor (d.1996)
    • June 19 - Ted Coombs, American artist
    • 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 :

    September-October :

    November-December :

    Unknown dates :

    • Sid Meier, American computer game designer
    • Pat Metheny, American Jazz Great
    • Albert Oehlen, German painter
    • Nenad Prokic, Serbian playwright
    • Ray Ratto, sports columnist
    • Chris Riley (Priest), prominent Australian youth worker

    Deaths :

    January-June :

    • January 18 - Sydney Greenstreet, English actor (b. 1879)
    • January 20 - Fred Root, English cricketer (b. 1890)
    • 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)
    • April 17 - Lucreiu Ptrcanu, Romanian communist activist and sociologist (b. 1900)
    • May 6 - B.C. Forbes, Scottish-born publisher (b. 1880)
    • May 15 - William March, American writer and soldier (b. 1893)
    • 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 3 - Reginald Maarsh, American artist (b. 1898)
    • July 11 - Henry Valentine Knaggs, English physician and author (b. 1859)
    • July 13 - Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter (b. 1907)
    • July 13 - Grantland Rice, American sportswriter (b. 1880)
    • 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 16 - Albert Francis Blakeslee, American botanist (b. 1874)
    • 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)

    Ship events :

    • List of ship commissionings in 1954
    • List of ship decommissionings in 1954

    Nobel prizes :

    • 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.

    Fields Medalists :

    • Kunihiko Kodaira, Jean-Pierre Serre

    See also :

    Notes :

    External links :

    Table of contents :