Events

January

* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. *

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 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, a de Havilland Comet 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 – Avalanches 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 Mau Mau may refer to: * The Kenya Land and Freedom Army, a Kenyan anti-colonial force ** The Mau Mau rebellion, uprising in Kenya in the 1950s * Mau Mau Island or White Island, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City * Mau Mau (game), a card game ...

leader Waruhiu Itote is captured in Kenya. * January 17 – In Yugoslavia,

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 is established, with 46 member radio stations. * January 21 – 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, 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. Monroe DiMaggio Wedding

February

* February 10 – After authorizing $385 million over the $400 million already budgeted for military aid to Vietnam, President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower warns against his country's intervention in Vietnam. *

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 orders the transfer the Crimean Oblast from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR ( 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 of children against polio begins in Pittsburgh, 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.

March

* March 1 ** 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 chamber and wound 5; they are apprehended by security guards. * March 9 – 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'' 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 – Việt Minh 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 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 prize fight to be shown in colour. * March 23 – In Vietnam, the Viet Minh 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 recognises the sovereignty of East Germany. 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