Events
January
*
January 1
January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the yea ...
– The
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
ceases to demand
war reparations from
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
.
*
January 3
Events Pre-1600
*AD 69, 69 – The Roman legions on the Rhine refuse to declare their allegiance to Galba, instead proclaiming their legate, Aulus Vitellius, as emperor.
* 250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (ex ...
– The Italian broadcaster
RAI officially begins transmitting.
*
January 7
Events Pre-1600
*49 BC – The Senate of Rome says that Caesar will be declared a public enemy unless he disbands his army. This prompts the tribunes who support him to flee to Ravenna, where Caesar is waiting.
* 1325 – Alfonso IV ...
–
Georgetown-IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a
machine translation
Machine translation, sometimes referred to by the abbreviation MT (not to be confused with computer-aided translation, machine-aided human translation or interactive translation), is a sub-field of computational linguistics that investigates t ...
system is held in New York, at the head office of
IBM.
*
January 10
Events Pre-1600
*49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.
* 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the be ...
–
BOAC Flight 781
BOAC Flight 781 was a scheduled British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) passenger flight from Singapore to London. On 10 January 1954, a de Havilland Comet passenger jet operating the flight suffered an explosive decompression at altitude an ...
, a
de Havilland Comet
The de Havilland DH.106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It featured an aerodynamically clean design with four d ...
jet plane, disintegrates in mid-air due to
metal fatigue, and crashes in the Mediterranean near
Elba; all 35 people on board are killed.
*
January 12
Events Pre-1600
* 475 – Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire.
*1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned King of Sweden, having already reigned s ...
–
Avalanche
An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain.
Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...
s in Austria kill more than 200.
*
January 15
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
* 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of ...
–
Mau Mau leader
Waruhiu Itote is captured in
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
.
*
January 17
Events Pre-1600
* 38 BC – Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey.
* 1362 – Saint Marcellus' flood kills at least 25,000 people on ...
– In
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
,
Milovan Đilas
Milovan Djilas (; , ; 12 June 1911 – 30 April 1995) was a Yugoslav communist politician, theorist and author. He was a key figure in the Partisan movement during World War II, as well as in the post-war government. A self-identified democrat ...
, one of the leading members of the
League of Communists of Yugoslavia
The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...
, is relieved of his duties.
*
January 20
Events Pre-1600
* 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
* 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
* 1156 &ndas ...
– The US-based
National Negro Network
The National Negro Network was a black-oriented radio programming service in the United States founded on January 20, 1954 by Chicago advertiser W. Leonard Evans, Jr. It was the first black-owned radio network in the country, and its programming ...
is established, with 46 member
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
s.
*
January 21
Events Pre-1600
* 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
* 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Co ...
– The first nuclear-powered
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
, the , is launched in
Groton, Connecticut
Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London is ...
, by
First Lady of the United States
The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...
Mamie Eisenhower.
*
January 25
Events Pre-1600
* 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman emperor by the Senate.
* 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to the overthrow of the dynasty ...
– The foreign ministers of the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union meet at the
Berlin Conference.
February
*
February 10
Events Pre-1600
* 1258 – Mongol invasions: Baghdad falls to the Mongols, bringing the Islamic Golden Age to an end.
* 1306 – In front of the high altar of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Robert the Bruce murders John Comyn, sparkin ...
– After authorizing $385 million over the $400 million already budgeted for military aid to
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
,
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
warns against his country's intervention in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
*
February 19
Events Pre-1600
* 197 – Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.
* 356 – The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the worship of pagan ...
–
1954 transfer of Crimea
The transfer of the Crimean Oblast in the Soviet Union in 1954 was an administrative action of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union that transferred the government of the Crimean Peninsula from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainia ...
: The
Soviet Politburo of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
orders the transfer the
Crimean Oblast from the
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
to the
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
(
Invaded and annexed by Russia in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
).
*
February 23
Events Pre-1600
* 303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution.
* 532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I lays the foundation stone of a ...
– The first mass
vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...
of children against
polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
begins in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, United States.
*
February 25
Events Pre-1600
* 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor.
* 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II.
...
– Lt. Col.
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...
becomes premier of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
.
March
*
March 1
Events Pre-1600
*509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first Roman triumph, triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia.
* 293 – Emperor ...
** U.S. officials announce that a
hydrogen bomb
A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...
test (
Castle Bravo) has been conducted, on
Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
**
U.S. Capitol shooting incident: Four
Puerto Rican nationalists open fire in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
chamber and wound 5; they are apprehended by security guards.
*
March 9
Events Pre-1600
*141 BC – Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han dynasty of China.
*1009 – First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg.
* 1226 – ...
– American journalists
Edward R. Murrow and
Fred W. Friendly
Fred W. Friendly (born Ferdinand Friendly Wachenheimer, October 30, 1915 – March 3, 1998) was a president of CBS News and the creator, along with Edward R. Murrow, of the documentary television program '' See It Now''. He originated the concep ...
produce a 30-minute ''
See It Now
''See It Now'' is an American newsmagazine and documentary series broadcast by CBS from 1951 to 1958. It was created by Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly, with Murrow as the host of the show. From 1952 to 1957, ''See It Now'' won four Emmy A ...
'' documentary, entitled ''
A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy''.
*
March 12
Events Pre-1600
* 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius.
* 1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of the Cat ...
– Finland and Germany officially end their state of war.
*
March 13
Events Pre-1600
*624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Muslims and Quraysh.
*1567 – The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years' War.
*1591 – At the Battle of Tond ...
–
Việt Minh
The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Front ...
forces under General
Võ Nguyên Giáp began a massive artillery bombardment on the French military, beginning the
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu (french: Bataille de Diên Biên Phu ; vi, Chiến dịch Điện Biên Phủ, ) was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the Fr ...
, the climactic battle of the
First Indochina War.
*
March 19 –
Joey Giardello
Carmine Orlando Tilelli (July 16, 1930 – September 4, 2008) was an American boxer who was the world middleweight champion from 1963 to 1965,. He adopted the name Joey Giardello (the name of a cousin's friend) in order to join the U.S. Army whil ...
knocks out Willie Tory at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
in the first
televised boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
prize fight to be shown in colour.
*
March 23 – In Vietnam, the
Viet Minh
The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...
capture the main airstrip of
Dien Bien Phu. The remaining French Army units there are partially isolated.
*
March 25
Events Pre-1600
* 421 – Italian city Venice is founded with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo di Rialto on the islet of Rialto.
* 708 – Pope Constantine becomes the 88th pope. He would be the last pope to vi ...
** The
26th Academy Awards
The 26th Academy Awards were held on March 25, 1954, simultaneously at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood (hosted by Fredric March), and the NBC Century Theatre in New York City (hosted by Donald O'Connor).
The second national telecast of ...
Ceremony is held.
** The
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
recognises the
sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
of
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
. Soviet troops remain in the country.
*
March 27 – The
Castle Romeo
Castle Romeo was the code name given to one of the tests in the Operation Castle series of U.S. nuclear tests. It was the first test of the TX-17 thermonuclear weapon, the first deployed thermonuclear bomb.
It was detonated on March 26, 1954, a ...
nuclear test explosion is executed at
Bikini Atoll, in the
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
.
*
March 28
Events Pre-1600
* AD 37 – Roman emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, bestowed on him by the Senate.
* 193 – After assassinating the Roman Emperor Pertinax, his Praetorian Guards auction off the throne to Di ...
** The trial of
A. L. Zissu
Abraham Leib Zissu (first name also Avram, middle name also Leiba or Leibu; he, אברהם לייב זיסו; January 25, 1888 – September 6, 1956) was a Romanian writer, political essayist, industrialist, and spokesman of the Jewish Romanian ...
and 12 other Zionist leaders ends with harsh sentences in
Communist Romania
The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the s ...
.
** Puerto Rico's first television station, ''
WKAQ-TV'', commences
broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...
.
*
March 29 – A
C-47 transport with French nurse
Geneviève de Galard
Geneviève de Galard (born 13 April 1925) is a French nurse who was dubbed ''l'ange de Dien Bien Phu'' ("the Angel of Dien Bien Phu") during the French war in Indochina by the press in Hanoi, although in the camp she was known simply as Genevièv ...
on board is wrecked on the runway at
Dien Bien Phu.
*
March 30 – The first operational
subway line
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
in Canada opens in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
.
April
*
April 1
Events Pre-1600
* 33 – According to one historian's account, Jesus Christ's Last Supper is held.
* 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.
*1081 – Alexios I Kom ...
** The
U.S. Congress and President
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
authorize the founding of the
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...
in
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
.
**
South Point School
South Point is a higher-secondary co-educational private school located in Kolkata, West Bengal and affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education, consisting of three organisations – South Point School (Nursery to Class V), South Poi ...
in India is founded, and becomes the largest school in the world by
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
.
*
April 3 –
Petrov Affair: Diplomat
Vladimir Petrov defects from the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and asks for
political asylum
The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another enti ...
in Australia.
*
April 4
Events Pre-1600
* 503 BC – Roman consul Agrippa Menenius Lanatus celebrates a triumph for a military victory over the Sabines.
* 190 – Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground.
* 611 – ...
– Legendary symphony conductor
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...
experiences a lapse of memory during a concert. At this concert's end, his retirement is announced, and he never conducts in public again.
*
April 7 –
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
gives his "
domino theory" speech, during a news conference.
*
April 8
Events Pre-1600
* 217 – Roman emperor Caracalla is assassinated and is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
* 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-'Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids.
*1139 – Ro ...
– A Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
collides with a
Trans-Canada Air Lines Canadair North Star
The Canadair North Star is a 1940s Canadian development, for Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA), of the Douglas DC-4. Instead of radial piston engines used by the Douglas design, Canadair used Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 engines to achieve a higher cruisin ...
over Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, killing 37 people.
*
April 11
** This day is denoted as the most boring day in the 20th century by
True Knowledge
Evi (formerly True Knowledge) is a technology company in Cambridge, England, founded by William Tunstall-Pedoe, , an
answer engine
Question answering (QA) is a computer science discipline within the fields of information retrieval and natural language processing (NLP), which is concerned with building systems that automatically answer questions posed by humans in a natural la ...
developed by William Tunstall-Pedoe. No significant newsworthy events, births, or deaths are known to have happened on this day.
** In a
general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, the dominant
Christian Social Party wins 95 of the 212 seats in the
Chamber of Representatives, and 49 of the 106 seats in the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. The government led by
Jean Van Houtte
Jean (Jan) Marie Joseph, Baron Van Houtte (17 March 1907 – 23 May 1991) was a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1952 to 1954.
Born in Ghent, van Houtte held a doctorate in law and lectured at Ghent Univer ...
loses their majority in parliament. The two other main parties, the
Socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
and
Liberal Party, subsequently form a rare "
purple
Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, pu ...
" government, with
Achille Van Acker as Prime Minister.
*
April 12 –
Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band founded in 1947 that continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...
record "
Rock Around the Clock
"Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was record ...
" in their first session for American Decca in New York City; it is released on May 20 as a B-side, but only in
1955
Events January
* January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama.
* January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut.
* January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
becomes a #1 hit, helping to initiate the
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
craze.
*
April 14
Events Pre-1600
* 43 BC – Legions loyal to the Roman Senate, commanded by Gaius Pansa, defeat the forces of Mark Antony in the Battle of Forum Gallorum.
* 69 – Vitellius, commanding Rhine-based armies, defeats Roman emperor Otho ...
**
Aneurin Bevan
Aneurin "Nye" Bevan PC (; 15 November 1897 – 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Party politician, noted for tenure as Minister of Health in Clement Attlee's government in which he spearheaded the creation of the British National Health ...
resigns from the
British Labour Party
The Labour Party is a List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of Social democracy, social democrats, Democratic socialism, democratic socialists and trade u ...
's
Shadow Cabinet in protest over his party's failure to oppose the rearmament of West Germany.
** A Soviet spy ring in Australia is unveiled.
*
April 16 – Vice President
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
announces that the United States may be "putting our own boys in Indochina regardless of Allied support".
*
April 22
Events Pre-1600
* 1500 – Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral lands in Brazil.
* 1519 – Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés establishes a settlement at Veracruz, Mexico.
* 1529 – Treaty of Zaragoza divides the eastern ...
** The
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention or the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951, is a United Nations multilateral treaty that defines who a refugee is, and sets out the rights of individual ...
comes into force, defining the status of
refugee
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. s and setting out the basis for granting
right of asylum.
**
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...
begins hearings investigating the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
for being "soft" on
Communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
.
*
April 26
** An
international conference on Korea and Indo-China opens in Geneva.
**
Akira Kurosawa's ''
Seven Samurai
is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai drama film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The story takes place in 1586 during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. It follows the story of a village of desperate farmers who hire seven ...
'' is released in Japan.
*
April 28 – U.S. Secretary of State
John Foster Dulles
John Foster Dulles (, ; February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) was an American diplomat, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. He served as United States Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959 and was briefly ...
accuses Communist China of sending combat troops to Indo-China to train
Viet Minh
The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...
guerrillas.
May
*
May 1 – The
Unification Church is founded in South Korea.
*
May 4 – General
Alfredo Stroessner deposes
Federico Chávez
Federico Chávez Careaga (February 15, 1882 – April 24, 1978) was a Paraguayan politician and soldier who served as President of Paraguay from September 10, 1949, to May 4, 1954. He was a member of the Colorado Party.
Early life
Chávez wa ...
in a
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
in
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
; from August 15 he will hold the office of
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
until
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
.
*
May 6 –
Roger Bannister
Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister (23 March 1929 – 3 March 2018) was an English neurologist and middle-distance athlete who ran the first sub-4-minute mile.
At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 metres and ...
runs the first
sub-four minute mile
A four-minute mile is the completion of a mile run (1609 m) in four minutes or less. It was first achieved in 1954 by Roger Bannister, at age 25, in 3:59.4. As of April 2021, the "four-minute barrier" has been broken by 1,663 athletes, and is n ...
, in
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, England.
*
May 7 –
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
(run-up): The
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu (french: Bataille de Diên Biên Phu ; vi, Chiến dịch Điện Biên Phủ, ) was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the Fr ...
ends in a French defeat (the battle began on
March 13
Events Pre-1600
*624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Muslims and Quraysh.
*1567 – The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years' War.
*1591 – At the Battle of Tond ...
).
*
May 8
Events Pre-1600
* 453 BC – Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin.
* 413 – Emperor Honorius signs a ...
– The
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in ...
(AFC) is formed in
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
*
May 11
Events 1601–1900
*1812 – Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is Assassination of Spencer Perceval, assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the British House of Commons.
*1813 – William Lawson (explorer), William Lawson, Grego ...
– U.S. Secretary of State
John Foster Dulles
John Foster Dulles (, ; February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) was an American diplomat, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. He served as United States Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959 and was briefly ...
declares that Indochina is important but not essential to the security of Southeast Asia, thus ending any prospect of American intervention on the side of France.
*
May 14
Events Pre-1600
* 1027 – Robert II of France names his son Henry I as junior King of the Franks.
*1097 – The Siege of Nicaea begins during the First Crusade.
* 1264 – Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured and forc ...
** The
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
airplane is released, after about 2 years of development.
** The
was adopted in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
, Netherlands.
*
May 15
Events Pre-1600
* 221 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty.
* 392 – Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbog ...
– The
Latin Union
The Latin Union is an international organization of nations that use Romance languages, whose activities have been suspended since 2012. Headquartered in Paris, France, its aim is to protect, project, and promote the common cultural heritage of R ...
(''Unión Latina'') is created by the Convention of
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
. Its member countries use the five
Romance languages
The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language fam ...
: Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian. It will suspend operations in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
.
*
May 17
** ''
Brown v. Board of Education'' (347 US 483 1954): The
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
rules unanimously that segregated schools are unconstitutional.
** The
Royal Commission on the
Petrov Affair in Australia begins its inquiry.
**
Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes (; 1899 – 17 September 1961) was a Turkish politician who served as Prime Minister of Turkey between 1950 and 1960. He was one of the founders of the Democrat Party (DP) in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He ...
of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
forms the new (21st) government of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
.
*
May 20
Events Pre-1600
* 325 – The First Council of Nicaea is formally opened, starting the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church.
* 491 – Empress Ariadne marries Anastasius I. The widowed '' Augusta'' is able to choose her ...
–
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
is re-elected as the
president of the Republic of China
The president of the Republic of China, now often referred to as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The position once had aut ...
, by the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
.
*
May 22
Events Pre-1600
* 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu.
* 760 – Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
* 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt.
* 11 ...
– The common
Nordic Labour Market act is signed.
*
May 26
Events Pre-1600
* 17 – Germanicus celebrates a triumph in Rome for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti, and other German tribes west of the Elbe.
* 451 – Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sasanian Empire take ...
– A fire on board the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier
USS ''Bennington'', off
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sma ...
,
, kills 103 sailors.
*
May 29
**
1954 Australian federal election
The 1954 Australian federal election were held in Australia on 29 May 1954. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election, but no Senate election took place. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition led by Prime Minister Ro ...
:
Robert Menzies
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
'
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
/
Country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
Coalition
A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces.
Formation
According to ''A Gui ...
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
is re-elected with a decreased majority, defeating the
Labor Party led by
H.V. Evatt
Herbert Vere Evatt, (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a judge of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940, Attorney-General of Australia, Attorney-General and Minister for Foreign Aff ...
. The election has come shortly after the
Petrov Affair, arguably helping the Government survive what was initially predicted to be a defeat.
** Creation and first meeting of the
Bilderberg Group.
**
Diane Leather
Diane S Leather Charles (7 January 19335 September 2018) was an English athlete who was the first woman to run a sub-5-minute mile.
Early life
Leather was born in Streetly, Staffordshire. She was one of six children, and the only daughter, ...
becomes the first woman to run a sub-five minute mile, in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, England.
June
*
June 6
Events Pre-1600
* 913 – Constantine VII, the eight-year-old illegitimate son of Leo VI the Wise, becomes nominal ruler of the Byzantine Empire under the regency of a seven-man council headed by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, appointed b ...
– The grand opening of the
sculpture of Yuriy Dolgorukiy takes place in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
(this statue is one of the main monuments of Moscow).
*
June 7 – English cryptanalyst, mathematician and computer scientist
Alan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical com ...
, age 41, commits suicide by cyanide poisoning.
*
June 9 –
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner.
The term origin ...
:
Joseph N. Welch
Joseph Nye Welch (October 22, 1890 – October 6, 1960) was an American lawyer and actor who served as the chief counsel for the United States Army while it was under investigation for Communist activities by Senator Joseph McCarthy's Senate Pe ...
, special counsel for the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
, lashes out at
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...
, during hearings on whether
Communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
has infiltrated the Army, saying, "Have you, at long last, no decency?"
*
June 14 – The words "under God" are added to the United States
Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is a patriotic recited verse that promises allegiance to the flag of the United States and the republic of the United States of America. The first version, with a text different from the one used ...
.
*
June 15 – The
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
(Union of European Football Associations) is formed in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
, Switzerland.
*
June 17
Events Pre-1600
* 653 – Pope Martin I is arrested and taken to Constantinople, due to his opposition to monothelitism.
* 1242 – Following the Disputation of Paris, twenty-four carriage loads of Jewish religious manuscripts were bur ...
– A
CIA-engineered military coup occurs in
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
.
*
June 18 –
Pierre Mendès France becomes prime minister of France.
*
June 22
**
Sarah Mae Flemming
Sarah Mae Flemming Brown (June 28, 1933 – June 16, 1993) was an African-American woman who was expelled from a bus in Columbia, South Carolina, seventeen months before Rosa Parks refused to surrender her seat on an Alabama bus in 1955. Flemmin ...
is expelled from a bus in South Carolina, for sitting in a white-only section.
**
Parker–Hulme murder case:
Pauline Parker Pauline may refer to:
Religion
*An adjective referring to St Paul the Apostle or a follower of his doctrines
*An adjective referring to St Paul of Thebes, also called St Paul the First Hermit
*An adjective referring to the Paulines, various relig ...
, 16 and her friend
Juliet Hulme, 15, bludgeon Parker's mother to death using a brick, at
Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to:
Places Australia
* Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales
* Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse
* Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
in New Zealand.
*
June 27
**
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
n President
Jacobo Árbenz steps down in a
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
-sponsored
military coup, triggering a bloody civil war that continues for more than 35 years.
** The world's first
atomic power station opens at
Obninsk, near Moscow.
July
*
July 1
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor.
* 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the ...
** The
Common Nordic Labor Market Act comes into effect.
** The United States officially begins using the international unit of the nautical mile, equal to 6,076.11549 ft. or 1,852 meters.
*
July 4
Events Pre-1600
* 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.
* 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaim ...
**
Food rationing in Great Britain ends, with the lifting of restrictions on sale and purchase of meat, 14 years after it began early in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and nearly a decade after the war's end.
**
"Miracle of Bern":
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
beats
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
3–2 to win the
1954 FIFA World Cup
The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerla ...
.
*
July 10
Events Pre-1600
* 138 – Emperor Hadrian of Rome dies of heart failure at his residence on the bay of Naples, Baiae; he is buried at Rome in the Tomb of Hadrian beside his late wife, Vibia Sabina.
* 645 – Isshi Incident: Prin ...
–
Peter Thomson Peter Thomson may refer to:
* Peter Thomson (golfer) (1929–2018), Australian golfer
* Peter Thomson (diplomat) (born 1948), Fiji's Permanent Representative to the United Nations
* Peter Thomson (footballer) (born 1977), English footballer
* Peter ...
becomes the first Australian to win the
British Open Golf Championship.
*
July 15
** The
Boeing 367-80 (or Dash 80), prototype of the
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
series, makes its maiden flight.
**
Juan Fangio,
Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
driver for German
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
team
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
, makes a new fastest lap of the
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Towcester, Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 ...
, with an average speed of 100.35 mph, the previous record being 100.16 mph.
*
July 19
Events Pre-1600
*AD 64 – The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city.
* 484 – Leontius, Roman usurper, is crowned Eastern emperor at Tarsus (modern Turkey). He is re ...
– Release of
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
's first single, "
That's All Right", by
Sun Records (recorded
July 5 in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
).
*
July 21
Events Pre-1600
* 356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson.
* 230 – Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope. After being exiled to Sardinia, he became the ...
–
First Indochina War: The
Geneva Conference Geneva Conference may refer to:
* Geneva Naval Conference (1927), on naval arms limitation
* World Economic Conference (423 May 1927), on international trade
* World Population Conference (29 August3 September 1927), on demography
* Geneva Confer ...
sends French forces to the south, and Vietnamese forces to the north, of a ceasefire line, and calls for elections to decide the government for all of
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
by July 1956. Failure to abide by the terms of the agreement leads to the establishment of the de facto regimes of
North Vietnam and
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
, and the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
.
*
July 29 – ''
The Fellowship of the Ring'', the first of three volumes in J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy novel, ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'', is published in London.
*
July 31
Events Pre-1600
*30 BC – Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide.
* 781 – The oldest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji (Tr ...
–
1954 Italian expedition to K2
On 31 July 1954, Italian climbers Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli became the first people to reach the summit of K2, the second highest mountain in the world after Mount Everest, which had been summited for the first time the previous ye ...
: Italian mountaineers
Lino Lacedelli and
Achille Compagnoni become the first to reach the summit of the second highest mountain in the world, in the
Karakoram
The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...
range.
August
*
August 1 – The
First Indochina War ends with the
Vietnam People's Army
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
in
North Vietnam, the
Vietnamese National Army in
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
, the
Kingdom of Cambodia in
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, and the
Kingdom of Laos
The Kingdom of Laos was a landlocked country in Southeast Asia at the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula. It was bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, North Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
in
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
, emerging victorious against the French Army.
*
August 6
Events Pre-1600
*1284 – The Republic of Pisa is defeated in the Battle of Meloria by the Republic of Genoa, thus losing its naval dominance in the Mediterranean.
* 1538 – Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada ...
– Emilie Dionne, one of the
Dionne quintuplets
The Dionne quintuplets (; born May 28, 1934) are the first quintuplets known to have survived their infancy. The identical girls were born just outside Callander, Ontario, near the village of Corbeil. All five survived to adulthood.
The Dionn ...
, dies of
asphyxia
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can i ...
tion following an
epileptic seizure. She is the first of the five to perish; three live into the 21st century.
*
August 16
Events Pre-1600
* 1 BC – Wang Mang consolidates his power in China and is declared marshal of state. Emperor Ai of Han, who died the previous day, had no heirs.
* 942 – Start of the four-day Battle of al-Mada'in, between the Hamdan ...
– The first issue of ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' magazine is published in the United States.
*
August 23 – A
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
Lockheed C-130 Hercules makes its first flight at
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
, manufactured by
Lockheed Martin
The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
.
*
August 24
Events Pre-1600
* 367 – Gratian, son of Roman Emperor Valentinian I, is named co-Augustus at the age of eight by his father.
* 394 – The Graffito of Esmet-Akhom, the latest known inscription in Egyptian hieroglyphs, is written. ...
– Brazilian president
Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...
commits suicide, after being accused of involvement in a conspiracy to murder his chief political opponent,
Carlos Lacerda
Carlos Frederico Werneck de Lacerda (30 April 1914 – 21 May 1977) was a Brazilian journalist and politician.
Biography
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Lacerda was the son of a family of politicians from Vassouras, Rio de Janeiro state. He was the ...
.
September
*
September 6 – The
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) treaty is signed in
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
*
September 8 – SEATO is established in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
.
*
September 9 – The 6.7
Chlef earthquake shakes northern
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
, with a maximum
Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). The shock destroys
Orléansville
Chlef ( ar, الشلف, Berber: Clef) is the capital of Chlef Province, Algeria. Located in the north of Algeria, west of the capital, Algiers, it was founded in 1843, as Orléansville, on the ruins of Roman ''Castellum Tingitanum''. In 1962, it ...
, leaving 1,243–1,409 dead, and 5,000 injured.
*
September 11 – The
Miss America
Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...
Pageant is broadcast on television for the first time.
*
September 14
** The
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
carries out the
Totskoye nuclear exercise
The Totskoye nuclear exercise was a military exercise undertaken by the Soviet Army to explore defensive and offensive warfare during nuclear war. The exercise, under the code name "Snowball", involved an aerial detonation of a 40 kt RDS-4 ...
.
** English composer
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
's
chamber opera Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's ''Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas such as Pergoles ...
version of ''
The Turn of the Screw'' receives its world premiere, at the
Teatro La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...
in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, Italy.
*
September 15
Events Pre-1600
* 994 – Major Fatimid victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of the Orontes.
*1440 – Gilles de Rais, one of the earliest known serial killers, is taken into custody upon an accusation brought against him by ...
–
Black Wednesday in air travel: severe delays to flights, due to bad weather, occur along the
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...
.
*
September 17
Events Pre-1600
* 1111 – Highest Galician nobility led by Pedro Fróilaz de Traba and the bishop Diego Gelmírez crown Alfonso VII as "King of Galicia".
* 1176 – The Battle of Myriokephalon is the last attempt by the Byzantine Empi ...
–
William Golding
Sir William Gerald Golding (19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993) was a British novelist, playwright, and poet. Best known for his debut novel ''Lord of the Flies'' (1954), he published another twelve volumes of fiction in his lifetime. In 1980 ...
's allegorical dystopian novel ''
Lord of the Flies'' is published in London.
*
September 18
Events Pre-1600
* 96 – Domitian, who has been conducting a reign of terror for the past three years, is assassinated as a result of a plot by his wife Domitia and two Praetorian prefects.
* 96 – Nerva is proclaimed Roman emperor a ...
– Finnish president
J. K. Paasikivi
Juho Kusti Paasikivi (; 27 November 1870 – 14 December 1956) was the seventh president of Finland (1946–1956). Representing the Finnish Party until its dissolution in 1918 and then the National Coalition Party, he also served as Prime Minister ...
is the first Western head of state to be awarded the highest honor of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, the
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...
.
*
September 20 – The first ''
Moomins''
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
is published in the London newspaper ''
The Evening News''.
*
September 25
Events Pre-1600
* 275 – For the last time, the Roman Senate chooses an emperor; they elect 75-year-old Marcus Claudius Tacitus.
* 762 – Led by Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, the Hasanid branch of the Alids begins the Alid Revolt a ...
–
Footscray Football Club
The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition.
Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the ...
wins their first
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
Grand Final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
.
*
September 26 – Japanese ferry ''
Tōya Maru
was a Japanese train ferry constructed by Japanese National Railways (JNR) which sank during Typhoon Marie, known locally as the Tōya Maru Typhoon, in the Tsugaru Strait between the Japanese islands of Hokkaidō and Honshū on September 26, 19 ...
'' sinks during a
typhoon
A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
in the
Tsugaru Strait. More than 1,100 people are killed, 7 other ships are
wrecked, and at least nine others seriously damaged.
*
September 27 – ''
The Tonight Show'' first airs on live television on
NBC in the United States being the first late night talk show.
*
September 30
Events Pre-1600
* 489 – The Ostrogoths under Theoderic the Great defeat the forces of Odoacer for the second time.
* 737 – The Turgesh drive back an Umayyad invasion of Khuttal, follow them south of the Oxus, and capture their b ...
– The , the first nuclear-powered
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
in the world, is commissioned into the
U.S. Navy.
October
*
October 11
** Pre-
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
: The
Viet Minh
The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...
takes control of
North Vietnam.
**
Hurricane Hazel crosses over
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
, killing 1,000.
*
October 15
Events Pre-1600
*1066 – Following the death of Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, Edgar the Ætheling is proclaimed King of England by the Witan; he is never crowned, and concedes power to William the Conqueror two months later.
* 1211 ...
–
Hurricane Hazel makes U.S. landfall; it is the only recorded
Category 4 hurricane
Category, plural categories, may refer to:
Philosophy and general uses
*Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally
*Category of being
* ''Categories'' (Aristotle)
*Category (Kant)
*Categories (Peirce)
*C ...
to strike as far north as
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
*
October 18
Events Pre-1600
* 33 – Heartbroken by the deaths of her sons Nero and Drusus, and banished to the island of Pandateria by Tiberius, Agrippina the Elder dies of self-inflicted starvation.
* 320 – Pappus of Alexandria, Greek philos ...
**
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...
announces the development of the first commercial
transistor radio. The
Regency TR-1
The Regency TR-1 was the first commercially manufactured transistor radio, introduced in 1954. Despite mediocre performance, about 150,000 units were sold, due to the novelty of its small size and portability. Previously, transistors had only bee ...
goes on sale the following month.
** The
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
''
Hi and Lois'', by
Mort Walker and
Dik Browne
Richard Arthur Allan Browne (August 11, 1917 – June 4, 1989) was an American cartoonist, best known for writing and drawing ''Hägar the Horrible'' and ''Hi and Lois''.
Biography
Browne attended Cooper Union and got his start at the ''New York ...
, is launched in the United States.
*
October 23
** West Germany joins
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
.
**
Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement (french: Accord de Paris), often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change. Adopted in 2015, the agreement covers climate change mitigation, Climate change a ...
sets up the
Western European Union to implement the
Treaty of Brussels
The Treaty of Brussels, also referred to as the Brussels Pact, was the founding treaty of the Western Union (alliance), Western Union (WU) between 1948 and 1954, when it was amended as the Modified Brussels Treaty (MTB) and served as the foundin ...
(1948), providing for mutual self-defence and other collaboration between Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
*
October 25
Events Pre-1600
* 285 (or 286) – Execution of Saints Crispin and Crispinian during the reign of Diocletian, now the patron saints of leather workers, curriers, and shoemakers.
* 473 – Emperor Leo I acclaims his grandson Leo II a ...
–
Landslide
Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...
s caused by heavy rains hit
Salerno
Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...
, Italy, killing about 300.
*
October 26 –
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan ...
member Mahmoud Abdul Latif tries to kill
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...
.
*
October 31 –
Algerian War of Independence: The
Algerian National Liberation Front begins a revolt against French rule.
November
*
November 1
Events Pre-1600
* 365 – The Alemanni cross the Rhine and invade Gaul. Emperor Valentinian I moves to Paris to command the army and defend the Gallic cities.
* 996 – Emperor Otto III issues a deed to Gottschalk, Bishop of Freising, ...
– The
FLN attacks representative and public buildings of the French colonial power.
*
November 2
** The dock workers' strike in the
UK comes to an end.
** The radio program ''
Hancock's Half Hour
''Hancock's Half Hour'' was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Galton and Simpson, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James, Sidney James; the r ...
'', a pioneer in
situation comedy
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
, is first broadcast on
BBC Radio (a television version will follow in
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...
).
*
November 3
Events Pre-1600
* 361 – Emperor Constantius II dies of a fever at Mopsuestia in Cilicia; on his deathbed he is baptised and declares his cousin Julian rightful successor.
*1333 – The River Arno floods causing massive damage in F ...
– The first
''Godzilla'' film premieres in Tokyo.
*
November 5
Events Pre-1600
* 1138 – Lý Anh Tông is enthroned as emperor of Vietnam at the age of two, beginning a 37-year reign.
* 1499 – The '' Catholicon'', written in 1464 by Jehan Lagadeuc in Tréguier, is published; this is the first Br ...
– Japan and
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
sign a peace treaty in
Rangoon
Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
, to end their long-extinct state of war.
*
November 10 – U.S. President
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
dedicates the
USMC War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial), at the Arlington National Cemetery.
*
November 12
Events Pre-1600
* 954 – The 13-year-old Lothair III is crowned at the Abbey of Saint-Remi as king of the West Frankish Kingdom.
*1028 – Future Byzantine empress Zoe takes the throne as empress consort to Romanos III Argyros.
* 13 ...
– The main immigration port-of-entry in
New York Harbor
New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...
at
Ellis Island closes permanently.
*
November 13 –
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
defeats
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, to capture the first ever
Rugby League World Cup
The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was ...
in Paris in front of around 30,000 spectators
*
November 14
Events Pre-1600 1601–1900
*1680 – German astronomer Gottfried Kirch discovers the Great Comet of 1680, the first comet to be discovered by telescope.
* 1770 – James Bruce discovers what he believes to be the source of the Nile.
* ...
–
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
ian president
Muhammad Naguib is deposed, and
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...
replaces him.
*
November 22
Events Pre-1600
* 498 – After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Palace, while Laurentius is elected Pope in Santa Maria Maggiore.
* 845 – The first duke of Brittany, Nominoe, defeats the Fra ...
– ''
Berman v. Parker
''Berman v. Parker'', 348 U.S. 26 (1954), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that interpreted the Takings Clause ("nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation") of the Fifth Amendment to the ...
'' (348 U.S. 26): The
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
upholds the federal
slum clearance
Slum clearance, slum eviction or slum removal is an urban renewal strategy used to transform low income settlements with poor reputation into another type of development or housing. This has long been a strategy for redeveloping urban communities; ...
and urban renewal programs.
*
November 23 – The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.
The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity inde ...
rises 3.27 points, or 0.86 percent, closing at an all-time high of 382.74. More significantly, this is the first time the Dow has surpassed its peak level, reached just before the
Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...
.
*
November 30
Events Pre-1600
* 978 – Franco-German war of 978–980: Holy Roman Emperor Otto II lifts the siege of Paris and withdraws. 1601–1900
* 1707 – Queen Anne's War: The second Siege of Pensacola comes to end with the failure of the Br ...
– In
Sylacauga, Alabama, a four-kilogram piece of the
Hodges Meteorite
The Sylacauga meteorite fell on November 30, 1954, at 12:46 local time (18:46 UT) in Oak Grove, Alabama, near Sylacauga, in the United States. It is also commonly called the Hodges meteorite because a fragment of it struck Ann Elizabeth Fowl ...
crashes through the roof of a house and badly bruises a napping woman, in the first documented case of an object from
outer space
Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...
hitting a person.
December
*
December 1 – The first
Hyatt Hotel, The Hyatt House Los Angeles, opens on the grounds of
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
. It is the first hotel in the world built on an airport property.
*
December 2
Events Pre-1600
* 1244 – Pope Innocent IV arrives at Lyon for the First Council of Lyon.
*1409 – The University of Leipzig opens. 1601–1900
*1697 – St Paul's Cathedral, rebuilt to the design of Sir Christopher Wren followin ...
**
Red Scare
A Red Scare is the promotion of a widespread fear of a potential rise of communism, anarchism or other leftist ideologies by a society or state. The term is most often used to refer to two periods in the history of the United States which ar ...
: The
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
votes 67–22 to condemn
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...
, for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute."
** The Taiwan-United States Mutual Defense Treaty is signed.
*
December 4
Events Pre-1600
* 771 – Austrasian king Carloman I dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne as sole king of the Frankish Kingdom.
* 963 – The lay papal protonotary is elected pope and takes the name Leo VIII, being consecrated on 6 D ...
– The first
Burger King
Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...
opens in
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
.
*
December 15
Events Pre-1600
* 533 – Vandalic War: Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Tricamarum.
* 687 – Pope Sergius I is elected as a compromise between antipopes Paschal and Theod ...
– The
Netherlands Antilles
nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom"
, national_anthem =
, common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento
, demonym = Netherlands Antillean
, capital = Willemstad
, year_start = 1954
, year_end = 2010
, date_start = 15 December
, ...
is created out of the Dutch Caribbean nations. It is dissolved between
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
and
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
.
*
December 23 –
J. Hartwell Harrison
John Hartwell Harrison (February 16, 1909January 20, 1984) was an American urology, urologic surgeon, professor, and author. He performed the first human organ removal for Organ transplantation, transplant to another. This was a pivotal undertak ...
and
Joseph Murray
Joseph Edward Murray (April 1, 1919 – November 26, 2012) was an American plastic surgeon who performed the first successful human kidney transplant on identical twins Richard and Ronald Herrick on December 23, 1954.
Murray shared the No ...
perform the world's first successful
kidney transplantation
Kidney transplant or renal transplant is the organ transplant of a kidney into a patient with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). Kidney transplant is typically classified as deceased-donor (formerly known as cadaveric) or living-donor transplantati ...
, in
Boston, Massachusetts.
*
December 24
Events Pre-1600
* 502 – Chinese emperor Xiao Yan names Xiao Tong his heir designate.
* 640 – Pope John IV is elected, several months after his predecessor's death.
* 759 – Tang dynasty poet Du Fu departs for Chengdu, whe ...
–
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
gains full independence from France.
Date titles
*
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
engineer
Sir William Hamilton develops the first pump-jet engine (the "Hamilton Jet") capable of propelling a jetboat.
* The first electric drip brew coffeemaker is patented in Germany and named the Wigomat after its inventor Gottlob Widmann.
* The Boy Scouts of America desegregates on the basis of race.
* Gerbils (''Meriones unguiculatus'') are brought to the United States by Dr. Victor Schwentker.
* The case of Lothar Malskat, who had admitted that he had painted the supposedly antique frescoes in Marienkirche, Lübeck, Marienkirche himself, goes to trial.
* The TV dinner is introduced, by American entrepreneur Gerry Thomas.
* In
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
, the
Viet Minh
The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...
is reorganised into the Viet Cong.
* After the death of Joseph Stalin, the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
starts releasing political prisoners and deportees from its Gulag prison camps.
Births
January
*
January 1
January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the yea ...
** Thomas Aisu, Ugandan physician, educator (d. 2018)
** Djimrangar Dadnadji, 16th prime minister of Chad (d. 2019)
* January 2 – Henry Bonilla, American politician
*
January 3
Events Pre-1600
*AD 69, 69 – The Roman legions on the Rhine refuse to declare their allegiance to Galba, instead proclaiming their legate, Aulus Vitellius, as emperor.
* 250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (ex ...
** Ned Lamont, American politician
** Ross the Boss, American heavy metal/punk guitarist
* January 4
** Tina Knowles, African-American fashion designer; mother of R&B singers Beyoncé and Solange Knowles
** Dave Ulliott, Dave "The Devilfish" Ulliott, English professional poker player
* January 5 – Alex English, American basketball player
* January 6 – Anthony Minghella, British film, theatre director (d. 2008)
*
January 7
Events Pre-1600
*49 BC – The Senate of Rome says that Caesar will be declared a public enemy unless he disbands his army. This prompts the tribunes who support him to flee to Ravenna, where Caesar is waiting.
* 1325 – Alfonso IV ...
** Jodi Long, American actress
** José María Vitier, Cuban music composer, pianist
* January 8 – Julieta Castellanos, Honduran sociologist
* January 11 – Kailash Satyarthi, Indian activist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
* January 11 - Balachandra Menon, Indian Malayalam film director and actor
*
January 12
Events Pre-1600
* 475 – Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire.
*1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned King of Sweden, having already reigned s ...
– Howard Stern, American radio host
* January 13 – Trevor Rabin, South African–American musician
* January 14 – Masanobu Fuchi, Japanese professional wrestler
*
January 15
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
* 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of ...
– Jose Dalisay, Jr., Filipino writer
* January 16 – Morten P. Meldal, Danish chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize laureate
* January 19
** Ted DiBiase, American professional wrestler
** Katey Sagal, American actress and singer
** Katharina Thalbach, German actress
** Yumi Matsutōya, Japanese singer-songwriter
*
January 21
Events Pre-1600
* 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
* 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Co ...
– Thomas de Maizière, German politician
* January 22 – Peter Pilz, Austrian politician
* January 23
** Franco De Vita, Venezuelan singer, songwriter
** Edward Ka-Spel, British/Dutch singer and songwriter (The Legendary Pink Dots)
* January 28
** Peter Lampe, German theologian, historian
** Bruno Metsu, French football coach (d. 2013)
** Kaneto Shiozawa, Japanese voice actor (d. 2000)
** Willy Telavi, 11th prime minister of Tuvalu
* January 29
** Yukinobu Hoshino, Japanese cartoonist
** Oprah Winfrey, African-American actress, talk show hostess, producer and publisher
* January 31 – Mark Slavin, Israeli wrestler (d. 1972)
February
* February 1 – Bill Mumy, American actor, musician (''Lost In Space'')
* February 2 – Christie Brinkley, American model
* February 4 – Andrei Karlov, Russian diplomat (d. 2016)
* February 7 – Dieter Bohlen, German music producer and singer-songwriter (''Modern Talking, Blue System'')
* February 9 – Gina Rinehart, Australian mining tycoon
* February 11 – Noriyuki Asakura, Japanese composer
* February 12
** Joseph Jordania, Georgian-Australian musicologist, academic
** Evangelos Basiakos, Greek politician, long term MP, and minister
** Tzimis Panousis, Greek comedian, singer, and author
* February 13 – Donnie Moore, American baseball player (d.
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
)
* February 15 – Matt Groening, American cartoonist (''The Simpsons'')
* February 16
** Iain Banks, Scottish author (d. 2013)
** Margaux Hemingway, American fashion model and actress (d. 1996)
* February 17
** Rene Russo, American actress, fashion model
** Yuji Takada (wrestler), Yuji Takada, Japanese free-style wrestler
** Brian Houston (pastor), Brian Houston, Australian-New Zealand pastor, author and founder of Hillsong Church
* February 18
** John Travolta, American actor
** Jalaluddin Hassan, Malaysian actor
*
February 19
Events Pre-1600
* 197 – Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.
* 356 – The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the worship of pagan ...
** Messaouda Boubaker, Tunisian writer
** Michael Gira, American musician
** Sócrates, Brazilian footballer (d. 2011)
* February 20
** Anthony Head, English actor, musician
** Patty Hearst, American heiress and kidnap victim
*
February 23
Events Pre-1600
* 303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution.
* 532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I lays the foundation stone of a ...
– Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine
* February 24 – Sid Meier, Canadian programmer, game designer, notable for the ''Civilization series, Civilization'' series
*
February 25
Events Pre-1600
* 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor.
* 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II.
...
– Gerardo Pelusso, Uruguayan football manager
* February 26 – Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, List of Presidents of Turkey, 12th President of Turkey
March
*
March 1
Events Pre-1600
*509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first Roman triumph, triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia.
* 293 – Emperor ...
** Peter Spellos, American actor, voice actor
** Catherine Bach, American actress (''The Dukes of Hazzard'')
** Ron Howard, American actor, director, producer (''The Andy Griffith Show,'' ''Happy Days'')
* March 2
** Ed Johnstone, Canadian ice hockey player
** Gara Takashima, Japanese voice actress
* March 4
** François Fillon, Prime Minister of France
** Catherine O'Hara, Canadian actress (''Second City Television, SCTV'')
** Irina Ratushinskaya, Russian writer
** Willie Thorne, English snooker player (d. 2020)
* March 5 – João Lourenço, President of Angola
* March 6 – Harald Schumacher, German football goalkeeper
* March 8
** Marie-Theres Nadig, Swiss alpine skier
** David Wilkie (swimmer), David Wilkie, Scottish former world record holder, Olympic gold medallist swimmer (1976)
*
March 9
Events Pre-1600
*141 BC – Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han dynasty of China.
*1009 – First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg.
* 1226 – ...
** Bobby Sands, Irish republican hunger striker (d. 1981)
** Kevin Wade, American screenwriter, television producer
* March 11 – Nicolae Manea, Romanian football player, manager (d.
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
)
*
March 13
Events Pre-1600
*624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Muslims and Quraysh.
*1567 – The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years' War.
*1591 – At the Battle of Tond ...
– Valerie Amos, Baroness Amos, The Baroness Amos, British politician
* March 15
** Massimo Bubola, Italian singer, songwriter
** Craig Wasson, American actor
* March 16
** S.A. Griffin, American actor, poet
** Nancy Wilson (rock musician), Nancy Wilson, American rock musician
** Jimmy Nail, English singer, songwriter, actor, film producer, and television writer
* March 17 – Lesley-Anne Down, British actress
* March 18 – James F. Reilly, American astronaut
*
March 19 – Indu Shahani, Indian educator, Sheriff of Mumbai
* March 20 – Louis Sachar, American author
*
March 23
** Geno Auriemma, American basketball coach
** Hideyuki Hori, Japanese voice actor
* March 24
** Mike Braun, American businessman and politician
** Robert Carradine, American actor
** Donna Pescow, American actress, director (''Angie (TV series), Angie'')
** Rafael Orozco Maestre, Colombian singer (d.
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
)
* March 26
** Wendy Fulton, American actress
** Kazuhiko Inoue, Japanese voice actor
** Clive Palmer, Australian mining tycoon
*
March 29 – Karen Ann Quinlan, American right-to-die cause célèbre (d. 1985)
April
*
April 1
Events Pre-1600
* 33 – According to one historian's account, Jesus Christ's Last Supper is held.
* 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.
*1081 – Alexios I Kom ...
** Dieter Müller, German soccer player
** Jeff Porcaro, American drummer, songwriter (''Toto (band), Toto'') (d.
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
)
* April 2 – Susumu Hirasawa, Japanese musician
*
April 4
Events Pre-1600
* 503 BC – Roman consul Agrippa Menenius Lanatus celebrates a triumph for a military victory over the Sabines.
* 190 – Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground.
* 611 – ...
** Mary-Margaret Humes, American actress
** Tom Ruegger, American animator, screenwriter, storyboard artist, and lyricist
* April 5
** David Edward Maust, American serial killer (d. 2006)
** Guy Bertrand (broadcaster), Guy Bertrand, Canadian linguist, radio/television personality
* April 6
** Judi Bowker, English actress
** Michael Simms (publisher), Michael Simms, American poet, publisher; founded ''Autumn House Press''
*
April 7
** Jackie Chan, Hong Kong-born actor, martial artist
** Tony Dorsett, American football player
*
April 8
Events Pre-1600
* 217 – Roman emperor Caracalla is assassinated and is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
* 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-'Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids.
*1139 – Ro ...
– Gary Carter, American baseball player (d.
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
)
* April 9
** Steve Holt (Canadian musician), Steve Holt, Canadian musician
** Dennis Quaid, American actor
* April 10
** Anacani, Mexican-born American singer (''The Lawrence Welk Show'')
** Angelika Hellmann, East German artistic gymnast
*
April 14
Events Pre-1600
* 43 BC – Legions loyal to the Roman Senate, commanded by Gaius Pansa, defeat the forces of Mark Antony in the Battle of Forum Gallorum.
* 69 – Vitellius, commanding Rhine-based armies, defeats Roman emperor Otho ...
** Katsuhiro Otomo, Japanese manga artist (''Akira (Akira), Akira'')
** Bruce Sterling, American science fiction writer
*
April 16 – Ellen Barkin, American actress
* April 17
** Norio Imamura, Japanese voice actor
** Roddy Piper, Canadian wrestler (d. 2015)
*
April 22
Events Pre-1600
* 1500 – Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral lands in Brazil.
* 1519 – Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés establishes a settlement at Veracruz, Mexico.
* 1529 – Treaty of Zaragoza divides the eastern ...
– Jōji Nakata, Japanese voice actor
* April 23
** Peter Nyombi, Ugandan lawyer, politician (d. 2018)
** Michael Moore, American filmmaker, political activist (''Bowling for Columbine'')
** Lea Black, American philanthropist, author, television personality, political activist and entrepreneur
* April 25
** Randy Cross, American football player, broadcaster
* April 27
** Herman Edwards, American football head coach
** Frank Bainimarama, Fijian politician
*
April 28 – Michael Daugherty, American composer
* April 29
** Jake Burton Carpenter, American founder of Burton Snowboards (d. 2019)
** Kazuko Kurosawa, Japanese costume designer
** Jerry Seinfeld, American actor, comedian and producer (''Seinfeld'')
* April 30 – Jane Campion, New Zealand screenwriter, producer, and director
May
*
May 1
** Ray Parker Jr., African-American musician and composer ("Ghostbusters (song), Ghostbusters")
** Maatia Toafa, 2-time prime minister of Tuvalu
* May 2 – Elliot Goldenthal, American composer
* May 5 – David Azulai, Israeli politician (d. 2018)
*
May 6 – Angela Hernández Nuñez, Dominican writer
*
May 7
** Philippe Geluck, Belgian cartoonist
** Amy Heckerling, American film director
** Diana Raab, American author
*
May 8
Events Pre-1600
* 453 BC – Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin.
* 413 – Emperor Honorius signs a ...
– Pam Arciero, Hawaiian-born puppeteer (''Sesame Street'')
* May 10 – Amos Guttman, Israeli film director (d. 1993)
* May 13 – Johnny Logan (singer), Johnny Logan, Australian-born Irish singer, composer and Eurovision Song Contest winner (1980, 1987) dubbed as "Mister Eurovision"
*
May 14
Events Pre-1600
* 1027 – Robert II of France names his son Henry I as junior King of the Franks.
*1097 – The Siege of Nicaea begins during the First Crusade.
* 1264 – Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured and forc ...
** María Dolores Katarain ("Yoyes"), Spanish Basque separatist leader (d.
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
)
** Peter J. Ratcliffe, English cellular biologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel Prize laureate
* May 19
** Hōchū Ōtsuka, Japanese voice actor
** Phil Rudd, Australian rock drummer (AC/DC)
*
May 20
Events Pre-1600
* 325 – The First Council of Nicaea is formally opened, starting the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church.
* 491 – Empress Ariadne marries Anastasius I. The widowed '' Augusta'' is able to choose her ...
– David Paterson, American politician, 55th Governor of New York
*
May 22
Events Pre-1600
* 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu.
* 760 – Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
* 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt.
* 11 ...
– Shuji Nakamura, Japanese electronics engineer
* May 23 – Marvelous Marvin Hagler, American middleweight boxer and film actor (d. 2021)
* May 25
** Tantely Andrianarivo, 11th prime minister of Madagascar
** Sudirman (singer), Sudirman, Malaysian singer and songwriter (d.
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
)
* May 27
** Pauline Hanson, Australian politician
** Lawrence M. Krauss, American theoretical physicist, science writer
** Coney Reyes, Philippine film and television actress
* May 28 – John Tory, Canadian politician
*
May 29 – Pankaj Kapur, Indian actor
June
* June 2
** Mattos Nascimento, Brazilian musician, singer, composer and trombonist
** Dennis Haysbert, African-American actor
** Chiyoko Kawashima, Japanese voice actress
* June 4 – Kazuhiro Yamaji, Japanese actor, voice actor
* June 5
** Hashim Djojohadikusumo, Indonesian entrepreneur, politician
** Nancy Stafford, American actress, Christian author
*
June 6
Events Pre-1600
* 913 – Constantine VII, the eight-year-old illegitimate son of Leo VI the Wise, becomes nominal ruler of the Byzantine Empire under the regency of a seven-man council headed by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, appointed b ...
– Harvey Fierstein, American actor
*
June 9
** John Hagelin, American physicist, U.S. presidential candidate
** Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada
* June 10 – Kurt Walker (ice hockey), Kurt Walker, American ice hockey player (d. 2018)
* June 13 – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigerian-born Director-General of the World Trade Organization
*
June 14 – Will Patton, American actor
*
June 15
** Jim Belushi, American actor, comedian, singer and musician
** Bob McDonnell, American politician
* June 16 – Sergey Kuryokhin, Russian pianist, composer, improvisor, performance artist and actor (d. 1996)
* June 19
** Ted Coombs, American artist
** Kathleen Turner, American actress (''Romancing the Stone'')
* June 20
** Michael Anthony (musician), Michael Anthony, American rock bassist (Van Halen)
** Karlheinz Brandenburg, German electrical engineer, mathematician
** Ilan Ramon, Israeli Air Force fighter pilot, Israel's first astronaut (d. 2003)
* June 21
** Chip Ingram, American Christian pastor, author and orator
** Mark Kimmitt, U.S general
** Anne Kirkbride, British actress (''Coronation Street'') (d. 2015)
** Robert Pastorelli, American actor (d. 2004)
** Jim Tooey, American actor
*
June 22
** Chris Lemmon, American actor, author
** Freddie Prinze, American actor, comedian (''Chico and the Man'') (d. 1977)
* June 23
** Francisco Javier Cuadra, Chilean lawyer, academic and politician
** Carme Pinós, Spanish architect
** James Plaskitt, British politician
* June 24 – Chang San-cheng, Taiwanese politician
* June 25
** Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos, Brazilian actor
** Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
** Igor Lisovsky, Soviet pair skater
** Abderrazak Kilani, Tunisian politician, lawyer
* June 26 – Steve Barton, American actor (d. 2001)
*
June 27
** Ron Kirk, Mayor of Dallas, Texas
** Anita Zagaria, Italian actress
* June 28
** Daniel Dantas (actor), Daniel Dantas, Brazilian actor
** Ava Barber, American country singer (''The Lawrence Welk Show'')
** Alice Krige, South African actress and producer
* June 29
** Jai Jagadish, Indian film actor, director and producer
** Rick Honeycutt, American baseball player, coach
* June 30
** Serzh Sargsyan, President of Armenia
** Stephen Ouimette, Canadian actor, director
** Mohammad A. Quayum, Bangladeshi academic, writer, editor, critic and translator
** Wayne Swan, Australian politician
** Pierre Charles (Dominican politician), Pierre Charles, Prime Minister of Dominica (d. 2004)
July
*
July 1
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor.
* 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the ...
** Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, Somali politician
** Pedro Guastavino, Argentine politician
** Lawrence Gonzi, Maltese politician and lawyer
** Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Iraqi-Iranian military commander (d. 2020)
** Hossein Nuri, Iranian artist
* July 2
** Ludmila Aslanian, Armenian chess player
** Peter Randall-Page, British artist
** Wendy Schaal, American actress
* July 3 – Pennie Lane Trumbull, American socialite, philanthropist, businesswoman, and entrepreneur
*
July 4
Events Pre-1600
* 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.
* 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaim ...
– Anne Lambton, British actress
*
July 5
** Don Stark, American actor
** John Wright (cricketer, born 1954), John Wright, New Zealand cricket captain
* July 6 – Willie Randolph, American baseball player, coach, manager
* July 7
** Robert M. Price, American theologian and writer, Cthulhu Mythos scholar and editor
** Simon Anderson, Australian competitive surfer, surfboard shaper, and writer
** Ursula Stephens, Australian politician
* July 8
** David Aaronovitch, English journalist, television presenter and author
** Matthew Marsh (actor), Matthew Marsh, English actor
* July 9 – Kevin O'Leary, Canadian businessman, television personality, and political candidate
*
July 10
Events Pre-1600
* 138 – Emperor Hadrian of Rome dies of heart failure at his residence on the bay of Naples, Baiae; he is buried at Rome in the Tomb of Hadrian beside his late wife, Vibia Sabina.
* 645 – Isshi Incident: Prin ...
** Andre Dawson, American baseball player
** Michele Serra, Italian writer, journalist and satirist
** Neil Tennant, British singer-songwriter, musician and journalist (Pet Shop Boys)
** Yō Yoshimura, Japanese voice actor (d. 1991)
** José González Ganoza, Peruvian footballer (d. 1987)
* July 11 – Alejandro Camacho, Mexican actor and producer
* July 12
** Lisa Pelikan, American actress
** Paulo Saldiva, Brazilian professor, physician, pathologist and medical researcher
* July 13 – Sezen Aksu, Turkey, Turkish singer
*
July 15
** Neil Brewer, British musician and songwriter
** Tarak Dhiab, Tunisian footballer
** John Ferguson (rugby league), John Ferguson, Australian rugby league player
** Mario Kempes, Argentine footballer
** Jeff Jarvis, American journalist, professor, public speaker and television critic
* July 16
** Nicholas Frankau, English actor
** Jeanette Mott Oxford, American politician
* July 17
** Angela Merkel, 8th Chancellor of Germany (Federal Republic of Germany), Chancellor of Germany
** Richard Bekins, American actor
** Edward Natapei, Vanuatu politician and Prime Minister of Vanuatu (d. 2015)
** J. Michael Straczynski, American author
* July 18 – Franziska Troegner, German actress
*
July 19
Events Pre-1600
*AD 64 – The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city.
* 484 – Leontius, Roman usurper, is crowned Eastern emperor at Tarsus (modern Turkey). He is re ...
– Verica Kalanović, Serbian politician
* July 20
** Lo Ta-yu, Taiwanese singer and songwriter
** Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, Vietnamese politician; 10th President of Vietnam, 7th Prime Minister of Vietnam
** Wilson Casey, American syndicated columnist and entertainer
*
July 21
Events Pre-1600
* 356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson.
* 230 – Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope. After being exiled to Sardinia, he became the ...
– Otto Jespersen (comedian), Otto Jespersen, Norwegian comedian, actor and television personality
* July 22 – Pierre Lebeau, Canadian actor
* July 24
** Michael H. O'Brien, American politician (d. 2018)
** Jorge Jesus, Portuguese football player and coach
* July 25 – Walter Payton, African-American football player (d. 1999)
* July 26
** Vitas Gerulaitis, American tennis player (d. 1994)
** Leonardo Daniel, Mexican actor and director
* July 27
** Philippe Alliot, French race car driver
** Lynne Frederick, British actress (d. 1994)
* July 28 – Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela (d. 2013)
*
July 29 – Mark Gersmehl, American Christian musician
August
*
August 1
** Gurinder Singh, Baba Gurinder Singh, Fifth and Present Satguru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas
** Philip Trenary, American businessman (d. 2018)
** Michael Badnarik, American software engineer and presidential candidate
** James Gleick, American non fiction author of several award-winning books.
** Junpei Morita, Japanese actor and voice actor
* August 2 – David Tang, Hong Kong-British entrepreneur and philanthropist (d. 2017)
* August 4
** Dorottya Udvaros, Hungarian actress
** François Valéry, French singer-songwriter and composer
** Uwe Wittwer, Swiss artist
* August 7 – Susanna Javicoli, Italian actress (d. 2005)
* August 9 – Pete Thomas (drummer), Pete Thomas, British drummer for the Elvis Costello band
* August 11 – Joe Jackson (musician), Joe Jackson, British singer-songwriter (''Steppin' Out'')
* August 12
** François Hollande, President of France 2012–17
** Sam J. Jones, American actor
** Pat Metheny, American jazz guitarist
* August 13
** Nico Assumpção, Brazilian bass guitar player (d. 2001)
** Tõnu Kilgas, Estonian singer and actor
* August 14
** Mark Fidrych, American baseball player (d. 2009)
** Stanley A. McChrystal, U.S. Army general
*
August 16
Events Pre-1600
* 1 BC – Wang Mang consolidates his power in China and is declared marshal of state. Emperor Ai of Han, who died the previous day, had no heirs.
* 942 – Start of the four-day Battle of al-Mada'in, between the Hamdan ...
** James Cameron, Canadian-born film director
** George Galloway, British politician
* August 17
** Anatoly Kudryavitsky, Russian-Irish writer
** Andrés Pastrana Arango, President of Colombia
* August 20
** Tawn Mastrey, American disc jockey and music video producer (d. 2007)
** Al Roker, American television personality and host
** Richarda Schmeisser, East German artistic gymnast
* August 21
** Steve Smith (musician), Steve Smith, American drummer
** Ivan Stang, American author and publisher
* August 22 – Jay Patterson, American actor
*
August 23
** Ian Bartholomew, English actor
** Charles Busch, American director, writer and actor
** Halimah Yacob, 8th president of Singapore
*
August 24
Events Pre-1600
* 367 – Gratian, son of Roman Emperor Valentinian I, is named co-Augustus at the age of eight by his father.
* 394 – The Graffito of Esmet-Akhom, the latest known inscription in Egyptian hieroglyphs, is written. ...
** Joe Ochman, American actor and voice actor
** Philippe Cataldo, French singer
* August 25
** Bruno Manser, Swiss environmental activist (d. 2005)
** Elvis Costello, English singer-songwriter
* August 29 – István Cserháti, Hungarian keyboardist (d. 2005)
* August 30 – Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus
* August 31
** Robert Kocharyan, President of Armenia
** Caroline Cossey, British model
September
* September 1 – Dave Lumley, Canadian ice hockey player
* September 2
** Andrej Babiš, Czech entrepreneur and politician, 12th Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
** Vance DeGeneres, American actor
** Zeta Emilianidou, Cypriot lawyer and politician (d. 2022)
** Gai Waterhouse, Australian racehorse trainer
** Humberto Zurita, Mexican actor, director and producer
* September 5 – Danny Masterton, Scottish footballer (d. 2020)
*
September 6 – Carly Fiorina, American businesswoman, CEO of Hewlett-Packard, HP (1999-2005) and Senator Ted Cruz's running mate in the 2016 United States presidential election, 2016 presidential election
* September 7
** Corbin Bernsen, American actor
** Michael Emerson, American actor
** Francisco Guterres, 4th president of East Timor
*
September 9 – Mohsen Rezaee, Iranian politician
* September 10 – Mark W. Everson, American businessman; 46th Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (2003–07)
* September 13 – Steve Kilbey, Australian musician
*
September 14 – Buzz Schneider, American professional ice hockey player
*
September 15
Events Pre-1600
* 994 – Major Fatimid victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of the Orontes.
*1440 – Gilles de Rais, one of the earliest known serial killers, is taken into custody upon an accusation brought against him by ...
– Nava Semel, Israeli author and playwright (d. 2017)
* September 16 – Ashrita Furman, American record breaker
*
September 17
Events Pre-1600
* 1111 – Highest Galician nobility led by Pedro Fróilaz de Traba and the bishop Diego Gelmírez crown Alfonso VII as "King of Galicia".
* 1176 – The Battle of Myriokephalon is the last attempt by the Byzantine Empi ...
** Wayne Krenchicki, American baseball player (d. 2018)
** Joël-François Durand, French composer
*
September 18
Events Pre-1600
* 96 – Domitian, who has been conducting a reign of terror for the past three years, is assassinated as a result of a plot by his wife Domitia and two Praetorian prefects.
* 96 – Nerva is proclaimed Roman emperor a ...
– Dennis Johnson, American basketball player (d. 2007)
* September 21
** Shinzō Abe, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2022)
** Thomas S. Ray, American ecologist
** Cass Sunstein, American legal scholar
** Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor, English drummer (Motörhead and Waysted)
* September 23 – Cherie Blair, lawyer, wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair
* September 24 – Lilian Mercedes Letona, Salvadoran guerrilla (d. 1983)
*
September 26 – Kevin Kennedy (baseball), Kevin Kennedy, American baseball manager and television host
* September 28 – Steve Largent, American football player and congressman
* September 29 – Cindy Morgan, American actress
*
September 30
Events Pre-1600
* 489 – The Ostrogoths under Theoderic the Great defeat the forces of Odoacer for the second time.
* 737 – The Turgesh drive back an Umayyad invasion of Khuttal, follow them south of the Oxus, and capture their b ...
** Barry Williams (actor), Barry Williams, American actor
** Patrice Rushen, African-American singer
October
* October 1 – Martin Strel, Slovenian swimmer
* October 2 – Wong Tien Fatt, Malaysian politician (d. 2019)
* October 3
** Eddie DeGarmo, American Christian keyboardist and producer
** Dennis Eckersley, American baseball player
** Al Sharpton, African-American civil rights activist, minister and radio talk show host
** Dawayne Bailey, American musician
** Stevie Ray Vaughan, American musician (d. 1990)
* October 5
** Gurudas Kamat, Indian politician (d. 2018)
** Wayne Watson, American Christian musician
* October 6 – Howard Hoffman, American voice actor
* October 7 – Robert A. Schuller, American televangelist and the son of Robert Schuller
* October 9
** Scott Bakula, American actor (''Quantum Leap'', ''Star Trek: Enterprise'')
** John O'Hurley, American actor and game show host
* October 10
** Mohamed Mounir, Egyptian singer and actor
** David Lee Roth, American rock singer
* October 12
** Evalie A. Bradley, Anguillian politician and member of the House of Assembly of Anguilla.
** Linval Thompson, Jamaican singer and producer
* October 13 – Mordechai Vanunu, a former Israeli nuclear technician who revealed secrets of its nuclear weapons program
* October 14 – Mohamad Sabu, Malaysian politician
*
October 15
Events Pre-1600
*1066 – Following the death of Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, Edgar the Ætheling is proclaimed King of England by the Witan; he is never crowned, and concedes power to William the Conqueror two months later.
* 1211 ...
** Peter Bakowski, Australian poet
** Michael Garner, English actor
*
October 18
Events Pre-1600
* 33 – Heartbroken by the deaths of her sons Nero and Drusus, and banished to the island of Pandateria by Tiberius, Agrippina the Elder dies of self-inflicted starvation.
* 320 – Pappus of Alexandria, Greek philos ...
– Yūji Mitsuya, Japanese voice actor
* October 19
** Ken Stott, Scottish actor
** Ronnie Leitch, Sri Lankan singer and actor (d. 2018)
* October 21 – Brian Tobin, sixth Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.
* October 22 – Ellen Gerstell, American voice actress
*
October 23 – Ang Lee, Taiwanese film director
* October 24
** Doug Davidson, American actor
** Mike Rounds, South Dakota politician
** Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia, 28th Prime Minister of Australia
*
October 25
Events Pre-1600
* 285 (or 286) – Execution of Saints Crispin and Crispinian during the reign of Diocletian, now the patron saints of leather workers, curriers, and shoemakers.
* 473 – Emperor Leo I acclaims his grandson Leo II a ...
** Laxmikant Berde, Indian actor (d. 2004)
** Mike Eruzione, American ice hockey player
*
October 26
** Farit Ismeth Emir, Malaysian news anchor (d. 2020)
** Carlos Agostinho do Rosário, Mozambican politician
** Victor Ciorbea, 56th prime minister of Romania
* October 30
** Kathleen Cody (actor), Kathleen Cody, American actress
** Mario Testino, Peruvian photographer
November
*
November 2 – Angela Webber, Australian author, television writer, producer and comedian (d. 2007)
*
November 3
Events Pre-1600
* 361 – Emperor Constantius II dies of a fever at Mopsuestia in Cilicia; on his deathbed he is baptised and declares his cousin Julian rightful successor.
*1333 – The River Arno floods causing massive damage in F ...
** Adam Ant, British rock singer and musician
** Brigitte Lin, Taiwanese actress
** Kathy Kinney, American actress and comedian
*
November 5
Events Pre-1600
* 1138 – Lý Anh Tông is enthroned as emperor of Vietnam at the age of two, beginning a 37-year reign.
* 1499 – The '' Catholicon'', written in 1464 by Jehan Lagadeuc in Tréguier, is published; this is the first Br ...
** Mike Gabriel, American animator and film producer
** Alejandro Sabella, Argentine footballer and manager (d. 2020)
* November 6 – Karin Fossum, Norwegian crime fiction writer
* November 7
** Robin Beck, American singer
** Kamal Haasan, Indian actor, dancer, film director, screenwriter, producer and politician
** Jon Taffer, American bar consultant, television host and author
* November 8
** Michael D. Brown, first Undersecretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response, a division of the United States' Department of Homeland Security
** Kazuo Ishiguro, Japanese-born British author, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize laureate
* November 11 – Mary Gaitskill, American novelist
*
November 12
Events Pre-1600
* 954 – The 13-year-old Lothair III is crowned at the Abbey of Saint-Remi as king of the West Frankish Kingdom.
*1028 – Future Byzantine empress Zoe takes the throne as empress consort to Romanos III Argyros.
* 13 ...
– Rhonda Shear, American television hostess, actress and comedian
*
November 13 – Chris Noth, American actor
*
November 14
Events Pre-1600 1601–1900
*1680 – German astronomer Gottfried Kirch discovers the Great Comet of 1680, the first comet to be discovered by telescope.
* 1770 – James Bruce discovers what he believes to be the source of the Nile.
* ...
** Yanni, Greek musician
** Robert Alberts, Dutch footballer and manager of Persib Bandung
** Willie Hernández, Puerto Rican Major League Baseball player
** Bernard Hinault, French road bicycle racer
** Condoleezza Rice, American politician, 66th United States Secretary of State
* November 15
** Stephen W. Burns, American actor (d. 1990)
** Aleksander Kwaśniewski, President of Poland
* November 16 – Bruce Edwards (caddy), Bruce Edwards, American golf caddy (d. 2004)
* November 19 – Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, President of Egypt
* November 20
** Bin Shimada, Japanese voice actor
*
November 22
Events Pre-1600
* 498 – After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Palace, while Laurentius is elected Pope in Santa Maria Maggiore.
* 845 – The first duke of Brittany, Nominoe, defeats the Fra ...
– Paolo Gentiloni, Prime Minister of Italy
*
November 23
** Elizabeth Savalla, Brazilian actress
** Bruce Hornsby, American rock singer
* November 26
** Roz Chast, American cartoonist
** Dan Kwong, American performance artist and playwright
* November 27
** Patricia McPherson, American actress
** Kimmy Robertson, American actress
* November 28 – Marty Grabstein, American actor and voice actor
* November 29 – Coen brothers, Joel Coen, American film director, producer, screenwriter and editor
* November – Pierre M'Pelé, African public health personality and writer
December
*
December 1 – Bob Goen, American television personality and game show host
*
December 2
Events Pre-1600
* 1244 – Pope Innocent IV arrives at Lyon for the First Council of Lyon.
*1409 – The University of Leipzig opens. 1601–1900
*1697 – St Paul's Cathedral, rebuilt to the design of Sir Christopher Wren followin ...
** Dan Butler, American actor and voice actor
** Stone Phillips, American television journalist
* December 3 – Grace Andreacchi, American author
*
December 4
Events Pre-1600
* 771 – Austrasian king Carloman I dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne as sole king of the Frankish Kingdom.
* 963 – The lay papal protonotary is elected pope and takes the name Leo VIII, being consecrated on 6 D ...
– Tony Todd, American actor and producer
* December 6 – Beat Furrer, Swiss-born Austrian composer and conductor
* December 7 – Mark Hofmann, American forger and murderer
* December 8 – Sumi Shimamoto, Japanese voice actress
* December 9 – Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg politician
* December 10 – Jack Hues, English singer and musician (Wang Chung (band), Wang Chung)
* December 11
** Sylvester Clarke, West Indian cricketer (d. 1999)
** Jermaine Jackson, African-American singer and actor
** Prachanda, Nepalese Communist leader
* December 13 – John Anderson (musician), John Anderson, American country music singer-songwriter
* December 14
** Ib Andersen, Danish dancer
** Alan Kulwicki, American race car driver (d. 1993)
*
December 15
Events Pre-1600
* 533 – Vandalic War: Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Tricamarum.
* 687 – Pope Sergius I is elected as a compromise between antipopes Paschal and Theod ...
– Mark Warner, American politician
* December 18
** Uli Jon Roth, German rock guitarist (''Scorpions'')
** Ray Liotta, American actor and producer (d. 2022)
* December 20
** Binali Yildirim, Prime Minister of Turkey
** Sandra Cisneros, American writer
* December 21 – Chris Evert, American tennis player
*
December 23 – Brian Teacher, American tennis player
*
December 24
Events Pre-1600
* 502 – Chinese emperor Xiao Yan names Xiao Tong his heir designate.
* 640 – Pope John IV is elected, several months after his predecessor's death.
* 759 – Tang dynasty poet Du Fu departs for Chengdu, whe ...
– José María Figueres, Costa Rican politician, President (1994–1998)
* December 25
** Roman Baskin, Estonian actor and director of stage and screen (d. 2018)
** Annie Lennox, British pop musician and lead singer of Eurythmics
* December 26
** Susan Butcher, American dog-sled racer (d. 2006)
** Ozzie Smith, HOF baseball shortstop
* December 27 – Teo Chee Hean, Singaporean politician and 5th Senior Minister of Singapore
* December 28
** Gayle King, African-American television personality, journalist, and author
** Lanny Poffo, American professional wrestler
** Denzel Washington, African-American actor
* December 29
** Wang Huanyu, Chinese astrophysicist (d. 2018)
** Albrecht Böttcher, German mathematician
** Roger Voudouris, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
* December 31 – Alex Salmond, Scottish politician
Date not known
*Marek Smurzyński, Polish translator, Persian language speaker and translator (d. 2009)
Deaths
January
* January 5
** Rabbit Maranville, American baseball player (Boston Braves (baseball), Boston Braves) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1891)
** Lillian Rich, English actress (b. 1900)
* January 8 – Eduard Wiiralt, Estonian artist (b. 1898)
* January 11
** John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon, British politician (b. 1873)
** Oscar Straus (composer), Oscar Straus, Austrian composer (b. 1870)
*
January 12
Events Pre-1600
* 475 – Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire.
*1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned King of Sweden, having already reigned s ...
** William H. P. Blandy, American admiral (b. 1890)
** Elmer H. Geran, American politician (b. 1875)
* January 18 – Sydney Greenstreet, English actor (b. 1879)
*
January 20
Events Pre-1600
* 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
* 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
* 1156 &ndas ...
– Fred Root, English cricketer (b. 1890)
* January 30
** John Murray Anderson, Canadian theater director and producer (b. 1886)
** Dorothy Price, Irish physician (b. 1890)
* January 31
** Edwin Howard Armstrong, American electrical engineer (b. 1890)
** Florence Bates, American actress (b. 1888)
February
* February 6 – Maxwell Bodenheim, American poet and novelist (murdered) (b. 1892)
* February 8 – Laurence Trimble, American actor (b. 1885)
* February 9 – Mabel Paige, American actress (b. 1880)
* February 11 – Thomas Pierrepoint, British executioner (b. 1870)
* February 12 – Dziga Vertov, Russian filmmaker (b. 1896)
*
February 19
Events Pre-1600
* 197 – Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.
* 356 – The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the worship of pagan ...
– Axel Pehrsson-Bramstorp, 24th Prime Minister of Sweden (b. 1883)
* February 21 – William K. Howard, American film director (b. 1899)
March
* March 7
** Otto Diels, German chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
** Will H. Hays, Namesake for the Motion Picture Production Code, Hays Code (b. 1879)
*
March 9
Events Pre-1600
*141 BC – Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han dynasty of China.
*1009 – First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg.
* 1226 – ...
– Vagn Walfrid Ekman, Swedish oceanographer (b. 1874)
*
March 12
Events Pre-1600
* 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius.
* 1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of the Cat ...
– Marianne Weber, German sociologist and suffragist (b. 1870)
*
March 13
Events Pre-1600
*624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Muslims and Quraysh.
*1567 – The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years' War.
*1591 – At the Battle of Tond ...
– Cesar Klein, German painter (b. 1876)
* March 24 – Thành Thái, Emperor of Vietnam (b. 1879)
* March 26 – Louis Silvers, American film composer (b. 1889)
*
March 30
** Horatio Dresser, American writer (b. 1866)
** Fritz London, German physicist (b. 1900)
April
* April 2
** Hoyt Vandenberg, United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force general (b. 1899)
** Maud Barger-Wallach, American tennis player (b. 1870)
*
April 7 – Saburō Kurusu, Japanese diplomat (b. 1886)
*
April 8
Events Pre-1600
* 217 – Roman emperor Caracalla is assassinated and is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
* 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-'Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids.
*1139 – Ro ...
** Winnifred Eaton (writer), Winnifred Eaton, Canadian author (b. 1875)
** Fritzi Scheff, Austrian-born American actress and singer (b. 1879)
* April 10 – Auguste and Louis Lumière, Auguste Lumière, French film pioneer (b. 1862)
*
April 12 – Luis Cabrera Lobato, Mexican lawyer, politician and writer (b. 1876)
* April 13 – Angus Lewis Macdonald, Nova Scotia Premier (b. 1890)
* April 17 – Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu, Romanian communist activist and sociologist (b. 1900)
* April 27
** Antoni Bolesław Dobrowolski, Polish scientist and explorer who participated in the Belgian Antarctic Expedition, Belgian Antarctic expedition (b. 1872)
** Thorvald Ellegaard, Danish track cyclist (b. 1877)
*
April 28 – Léon Jouhaux, French labor leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1879)
* April 29 – Joe May, Austrian-born director (b. 1880)
May
*
May 1 – Tom Tyler, American actor (b. 1903)
* May 3 – Józef Garbień, Polish footballer and physician (b. 1896)
* May 5 – Henri Laurens, French sculptor and illustrator (b. 1885)
*
May 6 – B. C. Forbes, Scottish-born publisher (b. 1880)
*
May 14
Events Pre-1600
* 1027 – Robert II of France names his son Henry I as junior King of the Franks.
*1097 – The Siege of Nicaea begins during the First Crusade.
* 1264 – Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured and forc ...
– Heinz Guderian, German
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
general (b. 1888)
*
May 15
Events Pre-1600
* 221 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty.
* 392 – Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbog ...
– William March, American writer and soldier (b. 1893)
* May 19 – Charles Ives, American composer (b. 1874)
*
May 22
Events Pre-1600
* 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu.
* 760 – Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
* 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt.
* 11 ...
– Chief Bender, Native-American baseball player (Philadelphia Athletics) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1884)
* May 25 – Robert Capa, Hungarian-born photojournalist (b. 1913)
*
May 26
Events Pre-1600
* 17 – Germanicus celebrates a triumph in Rome for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti, and other German tribes west of the Elbe.
* 451 – Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sasanian Empire take ...
– Omer Nishani, former Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Assembly and head of State of Albania (b. 1887)
June
*
June 7 –
Alan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical com ...
, British mathematician, cryptanalyst, and pioneer computer scientist (b. 1912)
*
June 9 – Alain LeRoy Locke, American writer, philosopher and educator (b. 1885)
* June 21 – Harvey A. Carr, American psychologists (b. 1873)
*
June 22 – Don Hollenbeck, American newscaster (b. 1905)
* June 24 – Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman, 5th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1874)
*
June 27 – Alfredo Versoza, Filipino Roman Catholic bishop and Servant of God (b. 1877)
* June 30 – Andrass Samuelsen, 1st prime minister of Faroe Islands (b. 1873)
July
*
July 1
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor.
* 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the ...
** Thea von Harbou, German actress (b. 1888)
** Tomás Monje , 41st President of Bolivia (b. 1884)
* July 3 – Reginald Marsh (artist), Reginald Marsh, American painter (b. 1898)
*
July 4
Events Pre-1600
* 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.
* 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaim ...
– Maria Ripamonti, Italian Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic and a Nun, professed religious from the Handmaids of Charity, Ancelle della carità (b. 1909)
* July 6
** Gabriel Pascal, Hungarian-born film producer and director (b. 1894)
** Cornelia Sorabji, Indian-born lawyer (b. 1866)
* July 11 – Henry Valentine Knaggs, English physician and author (b. 1859)
* July 13
** Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter (b. 1907)
** Irving Pichel, American actor and director (b. 1891)
** Grantland Rice, American sportswriter (b. 1880)
* July 14
** Jacinto Benavente, Spanish dramatist, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
** Jackie Saunders, American silent screen actress (b. 1892)
* July 16 – Herms Niel, German composer (b. 1888)
* July 17 – Machine Gun Kelly, American gangster (b. 1895)
*
July 19
Events Pre-1600
*AD 64 – The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city.
* 484 – Leontius, Roman usurper, is crowned Eastern emperor at Tarsus (modern Turkey). He is re ...
– Hannes Meyer, Swiss architect (b. 1889)
* July 28 – Sōjin Kamiyama or "Sojin", Japanese film star during the American silent film era (b. 1884)
*
July 31
Events Pre-1600
*30 BC – Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide.
* 781 – The oldest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji (Tr ...
– Princess Antonia of Luxembourg, Luxembourg aristocrat (b. 1899)
August
* August 3
** Bess Streeter Aldrich, American writer (b. 1881)
** Colette, French novelist (b. 1873)
* August 14 – Hugo Eckener, German president of the Zeppelin Dirigible Company (b. 1868)
* August 19 – Alcide De Gasperi, Italian statesman and Christian Democracy politician, 30th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1881)
* August 21 – Marin Ceaușu, Romanian general (b. 1891)
*
August 24
Events Pre-1600
* 367 – Gratian, son of Roman Emperor Valentinian I, is named co-Augustus at the age of eight by his father.
* 394 – The Graffito of Esmet-Akhom, the latest known inscription in Egyptian hieroglyphs, is written. ...
–
Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...
, 14th and 17th President of Brazil (suicide) (b. 1882)
* August 31 – Elsa Barker, American writer (b. 1869)
September
* September 1 – Bert Acosta, American aviator (b. 1895)
* September 2 – Franz Leopold Neumann, German- political activist and Marxist theorist (b. 1900)
* September 3 – Eugene Pallette, American actor (b. 1889)
* September 5 – Eugen Schiffer, German politician (b. 1860)
*
September 6 – Edward C. Kalbfus, American admiral (b. 1877)
* September 7
** Bud Fisher, American cartoonist (b. 1885)
** Glenn Scobey Warner, American college football coach (b. 1871)
*
September 8 – André Derain, French artist, painter and sculptor (b. 1880)
*
September 20 – Washington Phillips, American gospel singer and instrumentalist (b. 1880)
* September 21 – Mikimoto Kōkichi, Japanese pearl farm pioneer (b. 1858)
* September 24 – Edward Pilgrim, British homeowner (suicide) (b. 1904)
*
September 25
Events Pre-1600
* 275 – For the last time, the Roman Senate chooses an emperor; they elect 75-year-old Marcus Claudius Tacitus.
* 762 – Led by Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, the Hasanid branch of the Alids begins the Alid Revolt a ...
– Eugeni d'Ors, Eugenio d'Ors, Spanish writer (b. 1881)
*
September 26 – Ellen Roosevelt, American tennis player (b. 1868)
*
September 27 – Maximilian von Weichs, German field marshal (b. 1881)
* September 28 – Bert Lytell, American actor (b. 1885)
* September 29 – Martin Wetzer, Finnish general (b. 1868)
October
* October 1 – René Le Senne, French philosopher and psychologist (b. 1882)
* October 9 – Robert H. Jackson, United States Supreme Court associate justice and chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials (b. 1892)
* October 12 – George Welch (pilot), George Welch, American aviator (b. 1918)
*
October 18
Events Pre-1600
* 33 – Heartbroken by the deaths of her sons Nero and Drusus, and banished to the island of Pandateria by Tiberius, Agrippina the Elder dies of self-inflicted starvation.
* 320 – Pappus of Alexandria, Greek philos ...
– Mieczysław Norwid-Neugebauer, Polish general and politician (b. 1884)
* October 19 – Hugh Duffy, American baseball player (Boston Braves (baseball), Boston Braves) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1866)
* October 22 – Jibanananda Das, Indian poet, writer, novelist and essayist in Bengali language, Bengali (b. 1899)
* October 30 – Wilbur Shaw, American racing driver (b. 1902)
November
*
November 3
Events Pre-1600
* 361 – Emperor Constantius II dies of a fever at Mopsuestia in Cilicia; on his deathbed he is baptised and declares his cousin Julian rightful successor.
*1333 – The River Arno floods causing massive damage in F ...
– Henri Matisse, French painter (b. 1869)
*
November 10 – Édouard Le Roy, French philosopher and mathematician (b. 1870)
*
November 13 – Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist, German field marshal (b. 1881)
* November 15 – Lionel Barrymore, American actor (b. 1878)
* November 16 – Albert Francis Blakeslee, American botanist (b. 1874)
* November 17
** Ludovic Dauș, Romanian novelist and playwright (b. 1873)
** Yitzhak Lamdan, Russian-born Israeli poet and columnist (b. 1899)
* November 20 – Clyde Cessna, American aviator and aircraft designer and manufacturer, founder of the Cessna, Cessna Aircraft Corporation (b. 1879)
* November 21 – Jess McMahon, American professional boxing and wrestling promoter; founder of WWE#Capitol Wrestling Corporation (1952-1963), Capitol Wrestling Corporation (b. 1882)
*
November 22
Events Pre-1600
* 498 – After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Palace, while Laurentius is elected Pope in Santa Maria Maggiore.
* 845 – The first duke of Brittany, Nominoe, defeats the Fra ...
** Moroni Olsen, American actor (b. 1889)
** Andrey Vyshinsky, Russian jurist and diplomat, former Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Soviet Union), Soviet Foreign Minister (b. 1883)
* November 28 – Enrico Fermi, Italian physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
* November 29 – Dink Johnson, American musician (b. 1892)
*
November 30
Events Pre-1600
* 978 – Franco-German war of 978–980: Holy Roman Emperor Otto II lifts the siege of Paris and withdraws. 1601–1900
* 1707 – Queen Anne's War: The second Siege of Pensacola comes to end with the failure of the Br ...
– Wilhelm Furtwängler, German conductor (b. 1886)
December
*
December 1 – Fred Rose (songwriter), Fred Rose, American songwriter (b. 1898)
* December 8
** Claude Cahun, French photographer and writer (b. 1894)
** Gladys George, American actress (b. 1904)
* December 20 – James Hilton (novelist), James Hilton, English novelist (b. 1900)
*
December 23 – René Iché, French sculptor (b. 1897)
* December 25
** Ioan Arbore, Romanian general (b. 1892)
** Liberty Hyde Bailey, American botanist (b. 1858)
* December 30
** Archduke Eugen of Austria, Austrian field marshal (b. 1863)
** Günther Quandt, German industrialist who founded an industrial empire that today includes BMW and Altana (b. 1881)
Nobel Prizes
* Nobel Prize in Physics, Physics – Max Born, Walther Bothe
* Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemistry – Linus Pauling
* Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Medicine – John Franklin Enders, Thomas Huckle Weller, Frederick Chapman Robbins
* Nobel Prize in Literature, Literature – Ernest Hemingway
* Nobel Peace Prize, Peace – The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1954
1954,