Notable Historical Events - 1954
1954 Historical Events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
Jan 1 |
KSLA TV channel 12 in Shreveport, LA (CBS) begins broadcasting |
Jan 1 |
Rose & Cotton Bowl are 1st sport colorcasts |
Jan 1 |
WWTV TV channel 9 in Cadillac-Traverse City, MI (CBS) 1st broadcast |
Jan 1 |
Yugoslav parliament chairman/VP Milovan Djilas criticize communism |
Jan 2 |
Herman Wouks "Caine Mutiny," premieres in NYC |
Jan 4 |
Elvis Presley records a 10 minute demo in Nashville |
Jan 4 |
Soap Opera "The Brighter Day" premieres |
Jan 7 |
Georgetown-IBM experiment, the first public demonstration of a machine translation system, is held in New York at the head office of IBM. |
Jan 8 |
Elvis Presley pays $4 to a Memphis studio & records his 1st two songs, "Casual Love" & "I'll Never Stand in Your Way" |
Jan 9 |
-87°F (-66°C), Northice Station, Greenland (Greenland record) |
Jan 9 |
Bert Olmstead, Mont Canadiens, ties NHL record of 8 points in game |
Jan 9 |
Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Louise Bogan & Leonie Adams |
Jan 10 |
Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to W H Auden |
Jan 11 |
2 ton locomotive swept into ravine by avalanche 10 die (Austria) |
Jan 12 |
Austria's worst avalanche-kills 200; 9hrs later 2nd one-kills 115 |
Jan 12 |
Queen Elizabeth II opens NZ parliament |
Jan 13 |
Military rule in Egypt; 318 Muslim Brotherhood members arrested |
Jan 13 |
WEAR TV channel 3 in Pensacola-Mobile, FL (ABC) begins broadcasting |
Jan 14 |
Sandy Wilson's musical "Boyfriend," premieres in London |
Jan 14 |
The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation forming the American Motors Corporation. |
Jan 16 |
"South Pacific" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 1928 performances |
Jan 17 |
Jacques Cousteau's 1st network telecast airs on "Omnibus" (CBS) |
Jan 17 |
NFL Pro Bowl: East beats West 20-9 |
Jan 17 |
Suggs Louise wins LPGA Sea Island Golf Open (Cloister) |
Jan 18 |
Fanfani forms Italian government |
Jan 20 |
-70°F (-57°C), Rogers Pass, Montana (US 48 state record) |
Jan 20 |
Dmitri Sjostakovitsj' "Concertino opus 94," premieres |
Jan 20 |
The National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations. |
Jan 21 |
1st gas turbine automobile exhibited (NYC) |
Jan 21 |
USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine, launched on the Thames, Connecticut. |
Jan 23 |
Harry van Thorn chosen chairman of Dutch KVP |
Jan 23 |
Longest undefeated streak in Toronto Maple Leaf history (18 games) |
Jan 24 |
BPAA All-Star Tournament won by Don Carter |
Jan 24 |
Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Tampa Women's Golf Open |
Jan 26 |
Ground breaking begins on Disneyland |
Jan 29 |
Arnold Schoenberg's "De Profundis," premieres in Cologne |
Jan 30 |
Belgium ends trade agreement with USSR |
Jan 30 |
Fanfani government of Italy resigns |
Feb 1 |
1st TV soap opera "Secret Storm" premieres |
Feb 1 |
Scapino Ballet Studio in Amsterdam destroyed by fire |
Feb 1 |
Soccer team The County froms in Doetinchem |
Feb 2 |
Bevo Francis, Rio Grande College, scores 113 pts in basketball game |
Feb 2 |
Pres Eisenhower reports detonation of 1st H-bomb (done in 1952) |
Feb 2 |
Snow falls on Gibraltar |
Feb 3 |
Jeen van den Berg wins Dutch Eleven Cities Skating race (7:32) |
Feb 5 |
WCDC TV channel 19 in Adams, MA (ABC) begins broadcasting |
Feb 9 |
Mario Scelba forms new government in Italy |
Feb 10 |
Eisenhower warns against US intervention in Vietnam |
Feb 10 |
Ice Dance Championship at Oslo won by Jean Westwood/Lawrence Demmy GRB |
Feb 10 |
Ice Pairs Championship at Oslo won by Frances Dafoe/Norris Bowden CAN |
Feb 10 |
Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Oslo won by Gundi Busch GER |
Feb 10 |
Men's Figure Skating Championship in Oslo won by Hayes Alan Jenkins US |
Feb 11 |
6th Emmy Awards: I Love Lucy, Donald O'Connor & Eve Arden win |
Feb 13 |
Frank Selvey scores 100 points for Furman beating Newberry 149-95 |
Feb 14 |
Beverly Hanson wins LPGA St Petersburg Golf Open |
Feb 14 |
Sen John Kennedy appears on "Meet the Press" |
Feb 14 |
WTOC TV channel 11 in Savannah, GA (CBS) begins broadcasting |
Feb 15 |
1st Bevatron particle accelerator in operation-Berkeley, California |
Feb 15 |
WRDW TV channel 12 in Augusta, GA (CBS) begins broadcasting |
Feb 16 |
WNEM TV channel 5 in Bay City, MI (NBC) begins broadcasting |
Feb 17 |
WAST (now WNYT) TV channel 13 in Albany-Troy, NY (NBC) 1st broadcast |
Feb 18 |
The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles, California. |
Feb 20 |
Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Serbin Golf Open |
Feb 20 |
General Zahedi wins election in Persia |
Feb 23 |
1st mass inoculation with salk vaccine (Pittsburgh) |
Feb 23 |
Syrian army drives out president Adib el-Shishakli |
Feb 25 |
Abdul Nasser appointed Egyptian premier |
Feb 26 |
1st typesetting machine (photo engraving) used, Quincy Mass |
Feb 26 |
Michigan rep Ruth Thompson (R) introduces legislation to ban mailing "obscene, lewd, lascivious or filthy" phonograph (rock & roll) records |
Feb 28 |
Patty Berg/Pete Cooper wins LPGA Orlando Mixed Golf Tournament |
Feb 28 |
US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island |
Mar 1 |
4 Puerto Ricans open fire in US house of reps injuring 5 reps |
Mar 1 |
In spring training, baseballer Ted Williams breaks his collarbone |
Mar 1 |
Rebellion during visit of pres Naguib in Khartoum Sudan, 30 die |
Mar 1 |
US explodes Castle Bravo, 15 megaton hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll - most powerful nuclear device ever detonated by the US |
Mar 4 |
JE Wilkins appointed 1st Black US sub-cabinet member |
Mar 4 |
Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, announces the first successful kidney transplant. |
Mar 5 |
"Girl in Pink Tights" opens at Mark Hellinger NYC for 115 perfs |
Mar 7 |
Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Sarasota Golf Open |
Mar 7 |
Russia wins title in their 1st international ice hockey competition |
Mar 8 |
Herb McKinley sets quarter mile record of 0:46.8 in Melbourne, Australia |
Mar 9 |
1st local color TV coml WNBT-TV (WNBC-TV) NYC (Castro Decorators) |
Mar 9 |
Edward R Murrow criticizes Sen Joseph McCarthy (See it Now) |
Mar 9 |
WMUR TV channel 9 in Manchester, NH (ABC) begins broadcasting |
Mar 11 |
US Army charges Senator Joseph McCarthy used undue pressure tactics |
Mar 12 |
1st performance of Arnold Schoenberg's "Moses und Aaron" |
Mar 13 |
Braves' Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle, he is replaced by Hank Aaron |
Mar 13 |
Viet Minh General Giap opens assault on That Bien Phu |
Mar 14 |
Braves Henry Aaron homers in his 1st exhibition game |
Mar 14 |
KDAL (now KDLH) TV channel 3 in Duluth-Superior, MN (CBS) begins |
Mar 14 |
Louise Suggs wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship |
Mar 14 |
NBA Baltimore Bullets end a 32 game road losing streak |
Mar 15 |
"CBS Morning Show" premieres with Walter Cronkite & Jack Paar |
Mar 15 |
WSJV TV channel 28 in Elkhart-South Bend, IN (ABC) begins broadcasting |
Mar 19 |
1st color telecast of a prize fight, Giardello vs Troy in Madison Square Garden, NYC |
Mar 19 |
1st rocket-driven sled on rails tested in Alamogordo, NM |
Mar 19 |
US Ladies' Figure Skating championship won by Tenley Albright |
Mar 19 |
US Men's Figure Skating championship won by Hayes A Jenkins |
Mar 19 |
Weekes, Worrell & Walcott complete centuries in innings v England |
Mar 20 |
"King & I" closes at St James Theater NYC after 1246 performances |
Mar 20 |
16th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: La Salle beats Bradley 92-76 |
Mar 20 |
1st newspaper vending machine used (Columbia Pennsylvania) |
Mar 21 |
KFBB TV channel 5 in Great Falls, MT (ABC/CBS/NBC) begins broadcasting |
Mar 22 |
1st shopping mall opened in Southfield, Mich |
Mar 22 |
Closed since 1939, the London bullion market reopens. |
Mar 25 |
26th Academy Awards - "From Here to Eternity" best film, William Holden & Audrey Hepburn best actor/actress |
Mar 25 |
Pope Pius XII encyclical "Sacra virginitas" (On consecrated virginity) |
Mar 25 |
RCA manufactures 1st color TV set (12½" screen at $1,000) |
Mar 26 |
US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island |
Mar 28 |
8th Tony Awards: Teahouse of the August Moon & Kismet win |
Mar 28 |
Louise Suggs wins LPGA Betsy Rawls Golf Open |
Mar 28 |
WKAQ TV channel 2 in San Juan, PR (TM) begins broadcasting |
Mar 30 |
Test Cricket debut of Garry Sobers v England at Kingston |
Mar 31 |
US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs established |
Mar 31 |
USSR offers to join NATO |
Apr 1 |
1st Dutch motorway, Amsterdam-Utrecht, opens |
Apr 1 |
1st US Army helicopter battalion forms, Fort Bragg, NC |
Apr 1 |
Earthquake/tsunami ravage Aleutians, 200 killed |
Apr 1 |
US Air Force Academy forms |
Apr 1 |
WQED TV channel 13 in Pittsburgh, PA (PBS) begins broadcasting |
Apr 2 |
Plans to build Disneyland 1st announced [see Jan 26] |
Apr 3 |
"Me & Juliet" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 358 performances |
Apr 3 |
Don Perry climbs a 20' rope in under 2.8 seconds (AAU record) |
Apr 4 |
Louise Suggs wins LPGA Carrollton Georgia Golf Open |
Apr 5 |
Elvis Presley records his debut single "That's All Right" |
Apr 6 |
Mont Canadiens score 3 goals in 56 sec in playoff game against Det |
Apr 6 |
TV Dinner was 1st put on sale by Swanson & Sons |
Apr 6 |
US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island |
Apr 7 |
German government refuses to recognize DDR |
Apr 7 |
US President Eisenhower in news conference first to voice fear of a "domino-effect" of communism in Indo-China |
Apr 7 |
WALB TV channel 10 in Albany, GA (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting |
Apr 8 |
"By the Beautiful Sea" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 270 perfs |
Apr 9 |
WECT TV channel 6 in Wilmington, NC (NBC/CBS) begins broadcasting |
Apr 10 |
KRGV TV channel 5 in Weslaco, TX (ABC) begins broadcasting |
Apr 11 |
Marlene Bauer wins LPGA New Orleans Golf Open |
Apr 12 |
18th Golf Masters Championship: Sam Snead wins, shooting a 289 |
Apr 12 |
8th NBA Championship: Min Lakers beat Syracuse Nationals, 4 games to 3 |
Apr 12 |
Belgian Van Houtte government resigns |
Apr 12 |
Bill Haley & Comets records "Rock Around Clock" |
Apr 12 |
Joe Turner releases "Shake, Rattle & Roll" |
Apr 13 |
Balt Orioles 1st game, loses to Tigers in Detroit 3-0 |
Apr 13 |
Milwaukee Braves' Hank Aaron's 1st game |
Apr 13 |
Robert Oppenheimer accused of being a communist |
Apr 14 |
Soviet diplomat Vladimir Petrov asks for politics asylum in Canberra |
Apr 15 |
KARK TV channel 4 in Little Rock, AR (NBC) begins broadcasting |
Apr 15 |
Orioles 1st game in Baltimore beat White Sox 3-1 |
Apr 15 |
WHO TV channel 13 in Des Moines, IA (NBC) begins broadcasting |
Apr 15 |
Yankees dedicate a plaque to Edward Barrow |
Apr 16 |
KVAL TV channel 13 in Eugene, OR (CBS) begins broadcasting |
Apr 16 |
Stanley Cup: Detroit Red Wings beat Montreal Canadiens, 4 games to 3 |
Apr 18 |
Colonel Nasser seizes power & becomes PM of Egypt |
Apr 18 |
Louise Suggs wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open |
Apr 19 |
58th Boston Marathon won by Veikko Karvonen of Finland in 2:20:39 |
Apr 19 |
7-time winner of Boston Marathon, 65-year-old Clarence Demar, runs his last race at Boston finishing 78th |
Apr 20 |
"Golden Apple" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 125 performances |
Apr 21 |
Gregori Malenkov becomes premier of USSR |
Apr 21 |
USAF flies French battalion to Vietnam |
Apr 22 |
Achiel van Acker forms Belgian government |
Apr 22 |
NBA adopts 24-second shot clock & 6 team-foul rule |
Apr 22 |
US Senate Army-McCarthy televised hearings begin |
Apr 22 |
USSR joins UNESCO |
Apr 23 |
Hammerin' Hank Aaron hits 1st of his 755 homers |
Apr 24 |
1st American, civilian pilot, P.R. Holden, wounded in Indochina |
Apr 24 |
Australia & USSR break diplomatic relations |
Apr 24 |
WSEE TV channel 35 in Erie, PA (CBS) begins broadcasting |
Apr 25 |
Bell labs announces 1st solar battery (NYC) |
Apr 25 |
British raid Nairobi Kenya (25,000 Mau Mau suspects arrested) |
Apr 25 |
US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island atmospher |
Apr 25 |
WDEF TV channel 12 in Chattanooga, TN (CBS) begins broadcasting |
Apr 26 |
Far Eastern Affairs conference opens in Geneva |
Apr 26 |
Nationwide test of salk anti-polio vaccine begins |
Apr 26 |
The Japanese film "Seven Samurai", starring Toshiro Mifune, is released |
Apr 30 |
Darius Milhauds 4th Concert for piano/orch premieres in Haifa |
May 1 |
80th Kentucky Derby: Raymond York aboard Determine wins in 2:03 |
May 1 |
Bishops publish Mandement (member socialist org forbidden) |
May 1 |
HSA-UWC Forms (Unification Church) (Moonies) |
May 1 |
WAPA TV channel 4 in San Juan, PR (NBC/SFN) begins broadcasting |
May 2 |
Stan Musial hits 5 HRs in a doubleheader |
May 3 |
KTEN TV channel 10 in Ada-Ardmore, OK (ABC) begins broadcasting |
May 3 |
Pulitzer prize awarded to Charles A Lindbergh & John Patrick |
May 3 |
WHA TV channel 21 in Madison, WI (PBS) begins broadcasting |
May 4 |
US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island |
May 5 |
Military coup by general Alfredo Stroessner in Paraguay |
May 6 |
Roger Bannister of Britain breaks 4 minute mile (3:59:4) |
May 7 |
French surrender to Vietminh after 55-day siege at Dien Bien Phu |
May 7 |
US, Great Britain & France reject Russian membership in NATO |
May 8 |
1st shot-put over 60' (18.29 m)-Parry O'Brien, Los Angeles, CA |
May 10 |
Bolshoi Ballet does not appear in Paris |
May 13 |
"Pajama Game" opens at St James Theater NYC for 1063 performances |
May 13 |
Labour Party wins British municipal elections |
May 13 |
Robin Roberts gives up a HR then retires next 27 men in a row |
May 13 |
US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak |
May 13 |
Chinese Middle School students in Singapore take part in anti-National Service riots. |
May 14 |
Belgium shortens military conscription from 20 to 18 months |
May 15 |
KGLO (now KIMT) TV channel 3 in Mason City, IA (CBS) 1st broadcast |
May 16 |
Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA National Capital Golf Open |
May 16 |
Ted Williams gets 8 hits in 1st game (DH) since breaking collarbone |
May 16 |
WGAN (now WGME) TV channel 13 in Portland, ME (CBS) 1st broadcast |
May 17 |
Supreme Court unanimously rules on Brown v Topeka Board of Education reversed 1896 "separate but equal" Plessy Vs Ferguson decision |
May 19 |
Postmaster General Summerfield approves CIA mail-opening project |
May 20 |
Chiang Kai-shek becomes president of Nationalist China |
May 21 |
Amendment to give 18-year-olds right to vote is defeated |
May 22 |
80th Preakness: Johnny Adams aboard Hasty Road wins in 1:57.4 |
May 22 |
KREX TV channel 5 in Grand Junction, CO (CBS) begins broadcasting |
May 22 |
Robert Zimmerman aka Bob Dylan is Bar Mitzvahed |
May 24 |
1st rocket attains 150 mi (241 km) altitude, White Sands, NM |
May 24 |
Dr Peter Murray Marshall becomes 1st black to head an AMA unit |
May 24 |
German airline Lufthansa forms |
May 24 |
IBM announces vacuum tube "electronic" brain that could perform 10 million operations an hour |
May 29 |
Pope Pius X issues holy declaration |
May 29 |
First of the annual Bilderberg conferences. |
May 30 |
Dutch bishops forbid membership to non-catholic sporting clubs |
May 30 |
Emile Zatopek runs world record 5K (13:57.2) |
May 30 |
Hector Villa-Lobos' "Odisseia de Uma Raca" premieres |
May 31 |
Indianapolis 500: Bill Vukovich wins in 3:49:17.261 (210.567 km/h) |
Jun 1 |
Emile Zatopek runs record 6 mile: (27:59.2)/10,000m (28:54.2) |
Jun 2 |
John Costello (Cons) becomes premier of Ireland |
Jun 4 |
Arthur Murray flies X-1A rocket plane to record 27,000 m |
Jun 4 |
France grants Vietnam independence inside French Union |
Jun 5 |
"Your Show Of Shows" last airs on NBC-TV |
Jun 5 |
Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Ecclesiae fastos |
Jun 6 |
Patty Berg wins LPGA Triangle Round Robin Golf Tournament |
Jun 7 |
1st microbiology laboratory dedicated (New Brunswick NJ) |
Jun 9 |
Joseph Welch asks US Senator Joseph McCarthy "Have you no sense of decency, sir?" during Senate-Army hearings |
Jun 10 |
KQED TV channel 9 in SF, CA (PBS) begins broadcasting |
Jun 10 |
PBS reaches SF: KQED (Channel 9) starts broadcasting |
Jun 12 |
"Girl in Pink Tights" closes at Mark Hellinger NYC after 115 perfs |
Jun 12 |
86th Belmont: Eric Guerin aboard High Gun wins in 2:30.8 |
Jun 12 |
Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" is originally released |
Jun 12 |
Milwaukee Braves Jim Wilson no-hits Phillies, 2-0 |
Jun 13 |
Cornerstone of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, laid in Bronx |
Jun 14 |
Pres Eisenhower signs order adding words "under God" to the Pledge |
Jun 15 |
Great Britain's 2 biggest steel factories nationalized |
Jun 15 |
UEFA (Union des Associations Européennes de Football) is formed in Basle, Switzerland. |
Jun 16 |
Dutch military conscription shortened from 20 to 18 months |
Jun 16 |
Ngo Dinh Diem elected president of Vietnam |
Jun 17 |
CIA exile army lands in Guatemala (JF Dulles & United Fruit Co) |
Jun 17 |
Rocky Marciano beats Ezzard Charles in 15 for heavyweight boxing title |
Jun 17 |
Televised Senate Army McCarthy hearings ends |
Jun 18 |
Pierre Mendèsforms French government |
Jun 19 |
54th US Golf Open: Ed Furgol shoots a 284 at Baltusrol GC in NJ |
Jun 19 |
Betty Jameson wins LPGA Western Golf Open |
Jun 19 |
Tasmanian Devil debuts in "Devil May Hare" by Warner Bros |
Jun 21 |
John Landy runs world record mile (3:58.0) |
Jun 22 |
Congress passes revised organic act for Virgin Islands |
Jun 23 |
122°F (50°C), Overton, Nevada (state record until June 29, 1994) |
Jun 24 |
"John Murray Anderson's Almanac" closes at Imperial NYC after 229 perf |
Jun 26 |
Jim Peters runs marathon in 2:17:39.4 |
Jun 27 |
1st atomic power station opens (Obninsk, near Moscow, Russia) |
Jun 27 |
CIA-sponsored rebels overthrow elected government of Guatemala |
Jun 28 |
111°F (44°C) at Camden, South Carolina (state record) |
Jun 29 |
US Atomic Energy Commission voted against reinstating Dr Robert Oppenheimer |
Jun 30 |
Largest check: Internal US Treasury check at $4,176,969,623.57 |
Jun 30 |
Yank pitcher Tom Morgan ties record by hitting 3 batters in 1 inning This was also Bobby Brown's last game; he retired to become a doctor |
Jul 1 |
Cards' Joe Cunningham hits 2 HRs for record 3 HRs in his 1st 2 days |
Jul 1 |
Test Cricket debut of Khalid Hassan, 16 yrs 352, then world record |
Jul 1 |
WDBO (now WCPX) TV channel 6 in Orlando, FL (CBS) begins broadcasting |
Jul 2 |
68th Wimbledon Mens Tennis: J Drobny beats K Rosewall (13-11 4-6 6-2 9-7) |
Jul 2 |
Denis Compton scores 278 in 290 minutes v Pakistan |
Jul 3 |
"Wonderful Town" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 559 perfs |
Jul 3 |
61st Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Maureen Connolly beats L Brough (6-2 7-5) |
Jul 3 |
9th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Babe Didrikson-Zaharias |
Jul 3 |
Food rationing ends in Britain |
Jul 4 |
WMSL (WYUR, now WAFF) TV channel 48 in Huntsville, AL (ABC) begins |
Jul 4 |
West Germany beats Hungary 3-2 for soccer's 5th World Cup in Bern |
Jul 4 |
Dr Sam Sheppard's wife Marilyn is murdered (he is accused of crime) |
Jul 5 |
B-52A bomber made its maiden flight |
Jul 5 |
Last day of Test Cricket for Khalid Hassan aged 16 yrs, 356 days |
Jul 5 |
The BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin. |
Jul 6 |
KMOS TV channel 6 in Sedalia-Warrensburg, MO (PBS) begins broadcasting |
Jul 6 |
Tunisian government of M'zali, resigns |
Jul 7 |
Formation of the TANU party (Tanganyika African National Union ) in Tanzania |
Jul 8 |
KMOX (now KMOV) TV channel 4 in Saint Louis, MO (CBS) 1st broadcast |
Jul 8 |
Military junta selects colonel Armas president of Guatemala |
Jul 11 |
1st White Citizens Council organizes in Indianola, Miss |
Jul 12 |
Major League Baseball Players Association founded |
Jul 12 |
Pres Eisenhower put forward a plan for an interstate highway system |
Jul 12 |
ANC President Albert Luthuli banned by South African Minister of Justice from attending public gatherings and confined to the magisterial district of Lower Tugela, Natal |
Jul 13 |
21st All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 11-9 at Municipal Stadium, Cleve |
Jul 13 |
Dean Stone gets credit for AL win, although he didn't retire a batter, he threw out Shoendienst trying to steal home, AL-11 NL-9 |
Jul 14 |
117°F (47°C), East St Louis, Illinois (state record) |
Jul 14 |
118°F (48°C), Warsaw & Union, Missouri (state record) |
Jul 15 |
110°F (43°C) at Balcony Falls, Virginia (state record) |
Jul 15 |
1st coml jet transport plane built in US tested (Boeing 707) |
Jul 15 |
KOCO TV channel 5 in Oklahoma City, OK (ABC) begins broadcasting |
Jul 15 |
WBOC TV channel 16 in Salisbury, MD (CBS/NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting |
Jul 17 |
1st major league game where majority of team is black (Dodgers) |
Jul 17 |
Construction begins on Disneyland. . . |
Jul 17 |
Theodor Heuss re-elected president of West Germany |
Jul 18 |
Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Inverness Four-Ball Golf Tournament |
Jul 18 |
Cards losing 8-1 to Phillies begin stalling in 5th, they forfeit game |
Jul 20 |
Armistice for Indo-China signed, Vietnam separates into North & South |
Jul 20 |
Tennis champ Maureen Connolly's right leg is crushed in an accident |
Jul 20 |
West German secret service head Otto John defects to German DR |
Jul 21 |
At Geneva, France agrees to independence of North & South Vietnam |
Jul 22 |
US Virgin Islands adopt constitution (Revised Organic Act) |
Jul 22 |
WTHI TV channel 10 in Terre Haute, IN (CBS) begins broadcasting |
Jul 25 |
Marilynn Smith wins LPGA Fort Wayne Golf Open |
Jul 26 |
WCET TV channel 48 in Cincinnati, OH (PBS) begins broadcasting |
Jul 27 |
36th PGA Championship: Chick Herbert at Keller GC St Paul Minn |
Jul 27 |
Armistice divides Vietnam into two countries |
Jul 28 |
Ernest Blochs 4th string quartet premieres |
Jul 28 |
"On the Waterfront", starring Marlon Brando, is released |
Jul 30 |
Bob Kennedy hits the 1st grand slam for the new Baltimore Orioles |
Jul 30 |
Elvis Presley joins Memphis Federation of Musicians, Local 71 |
Jul 31 |
Mil Braves' Joe Adcock sets record of 18 total bases (4 hrs, 1 double) |
Jul 31 |
First ascent of K2, by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio. |
Aug 1 |
Louison Bobet wins his 2nd Tour de France |
Aug 1 |
WKBT TV channel 8 in La Crosse, WI (CBS) begins broadcasting |
Aug 1 |
In South Africa, The Natives Resettlement Act empowers the Government to remove Africans from any area within and next to the magisterial district of Johannesburg; less than a year after the Act was passed Sophiatown residents were forcefully removed to Meadowlands in Soweto |
Aug 2 |
Tahar Ben Ammar appointed premier of Tunisia |
Aug 3 |
1st VTOL (Vertical Take-off & Land) flown |
Aug 4 |
Boscombe Down 1st flight of supersonic P-1 Lightning |
Aug 4 |
The Government of Pakistan approves the National Anthem, written by Hafeez Jullundhry and composed by Ahmed G. Chagla. |
Aug 5 |
Boxing Hall of Fame's 1st election selects 24 modern & 15 pioneers |
Aug 5 |
Patty Berg wins LPGA World Golf Championshio |
Aug 6 |
WLAC (now WTVF) TV channel 5 in Nashville (CBS) begins broadcasting |
Aug 7 |
"Golden Apple" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 125 performances |
Aug 7 |
Charles Mahoney becomes 1st US black to serve as a full UN delegate |
Aug 10 |
Neth Indonesian Union breaks up |
Aug 10 |
Sir Gordon Richards retires as a jockey with record 4,870 wins |
Aug 10 |
At Massena, New York, the groundbreaking ceremony for the St. Lawrence Seaway is held. |
Aug 11 |
BC Lions plays its 1st CF game, they lose to Montreal Alouettes, 22-0 |
Aug 11 |
Formal peace takes place, ending 7+ yrs of fighting in Indochina between French & Communist Vietminh |
Aug 12 |
Senator Eddie Yost draws his 100th walk for 5th year in a row |
Aug 13 |
21st NFL Chicago All-Star Game: Detroit 31, All-Stars 6 (93,470) |
Aug 14 |
WGR TV (now WGRZ) TV channel 2 in Buffalo, NY (NBC) begins |
Aug 15 |
Alfredo Stroessner names himself president of Paraguay |
Aug 15 |
WCHS TV channel 8 in Charleston-Huntington, WV (ABC) begins |
Aug 16 |
"Sports Illustrated" magazine begins publishing |
Aug 16 |
200 pilgrims drown in Farahzad Iran rain storm flood |
Aug 18 |
James E Wilkins is 1st black to attend a US cabinet meeting |
Aug 19 |
Ralph J Bunche named undersecretary of UN |
Aug 22 |
WPTV TV channel 5 in Palm Beach, FL (NBC) begins broadcasting |
Aug 23 |
President Getulio Vargas of Brazil resigns temporarily |
Aug 23 |
First flight of the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. |
Aug 24 |
US President Eisenhower signs Communist Control Act, outlawing the Communist Party, at height of McCarthyism |
Aug 24 |
International Amateur Athletic Federation recognizes Red China |
Aug 24 |
William Heatherton's "Reluctant Debutante" premieres in London |
Aug 25 |
Ivan Filin wins Berne marathon (2:25:26.6) (260m) |
Aug 29 |
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) opens |
Aug 30 |
Hurricane Carol kills 68 on the US East Coast |
Aug 31 |
US Census Bureau forms |
Aug 31 |
Hurricane Carol hits New England, 70 die, Costliest ever hurricane at the time and 1st storm name to be retired. |
Aug 31 |
Indians beat Yanks 6-1 for record tying 26 wins in August (1931 A's) |
Aug 31 |
WMTW TV channel 8 in Portland-Poland Spring, ME (ABC) begins |
Sep 1 |
Hurricane Carol strikes Long Island and New England, kills 68 |
Sep 1 |
Ted Kluszewski is 1st Cin Red to hit 40 HRs en route to 49 |
Sep 2 |
Hurricane Edna batters NE US, killing 20 |
Sep 2 |
WTVD TV channel 11 in Raleigh-Durham, NC (ABC) begins broadcasting |
Sep 3 |
China begins artillery bombing on Quemoy & Amoy |
Sep 3 |
Espionage & Sabotage Act of 1954 signed in the US, prompted by the cold war |
Sep 3 |
Pope Pius X canonized a saint |
Sep 3 |
The People's Liberation Army begin shelling the ROC-controlled islands of Quemoy. |
Sep 3 |
The German U-Boat U-505 began its move from a specially constructed dock to its final site at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. |
Sep 4 |
Peter B Cortese of US achieves a one-arm deadlift of 370 lbs; 22 lbs over triple his body weight, at York, Pennsylvania |
Sep 5 |
Dutch Super Constellation crashes at Shannon, 28 die |
Sep 6 |
68th US Women's Tennis: Doris Hart beats A Louise Brough (6-8 6-1 8-6) |
Sep 6 |
74th US Men's Tennis: E V Seixas Jr beats Rex Hartwig (36 62 64 64) |
Sep 6 |
US plane shot down above Siberia |
Sep 6 |
WINS NYC begins playing rock n roll with Alan Freed Show |
Sep 6 |
Yankees use a record 10 pinch hitters |
Sep 7 |
Integration begins in Wash DC & Balt MD public schools |
Sep 8 |
With a 3-2 count, Phillies Richie Ashburn fouls next 14, then walks |
Sep 8 |
Alan Freed leaves Cleveland to NYC for WINS radio |
Sep 8 |
SE Asia Treaty Org (SEATO) forms to stop communist spread in SE Asia |
Sep 9 |
Earthquake strikes Orleansville Algeria: 1,400 killed |
Sep 9 |
Indians becomes 1st Cleveland team to win 100 games in a season |
Sep 10 |
12 second shock kills 1,460 in Orleansville Algeria |
Sep 10 |
WLUK TV channel 11 in Green Bay, WI (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting |
Sep 10 |
Attempting to handle Hoyt Wilhelm's knuckleball catcher Ray Katt of Giants sets a major league record with 4 passed balls |
Sep 11 |
1st Miss America TV broadcast |
Sep 11 |
20.4 cm rainfall at Brunswick, Maine (state record) |
Sep 11 |
KXJB TV channel 4 in Valley City (Fargo) (NBC) begins broadcasting |
Sep 11 |
Lee Meriwether (California), 19, crowned 27th Miss America 1955 (1st on TV) |
Sep 12 |
Betsy Rawls wins LPGA St Louis Golf Open |
Sep 12 |
Indians sweep Yanks at Municipal Stadium; largest AL crowd (86,563) |
Sep 12 |
WLBZ TV channel 2 in Bangor, ME (NBC) begins broadcasting |
Sep 12 |
White Sox win 90th game, 1st time they win this many since 1920 |
Sep 13 |
Reds Ted Kluszewski scores a run in record 17 consecutive games |
Sep 13 |
WPBN TV channel 7 in Traverse City, MI (NBC) begins broadcasting |
Sep 14 |
Benjamin Britten's opera 'Turn of the Screw' premieres in Venice |
Sep 14 |
Giants' Willie Mays gets 82nd extra-base hit, breaks Mel Ott's record |
Sep 14 |
Hurricane Edna (2nd of 1954) hits NYC, $50 million damage |
Sep 14 |
USSR performs nuclear test |
Sep 16 |
CKLW TV channel 9 in Windsor, ON (CBC) begins broadcasting |
Sep 17 |
Rocky Marciano KOs Ezzard Charles in 8 for heavyweight boxing title |
Sep 18 |
Cleveland Indians clinch AL pennant, beat Tigers (3-2) |
Sep 18 |
KTUL TV channel 8 in Tulsa, OK (ABC) begins broadcasting |
Sep 18 |
WLOS TV channel 13 in G'ville-Spartanburg, SC (ABC) 1st broadcast |
Sep 19 |
Beverly Hanson wins LPGA Wichita Golf Open |
Sep 20 |
1st FORTRAN computer program run |
Sep 20 |
1st National People's Congress adopts Chinese constitution |
Sep 20 |
KETC TV channel 9 in Saint Louis, MO (PBS) begins broadcasting |
Sep 20 |
Los Stravinsky's "In Memoriam Dylan Thomas," premieres in Angeles |
Sep 20 |
Roger Bannister awarded Britain's Silver Pears Trophy |
Sep 20 |
New Zealand's Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents reports just ten days after concluding hearings. |
Sep 21 |
1st nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus, commissioned under Commander Eugene P. Wilkinson |
Sep 21 |
Kleffens appointed chairman of General Meeting UN |
Sep 22 |
Bkln Dodger Karl Spooner strikes out 15 NY Giants in his 1st game |
Sep 24 |
Tonight Show premieres on NBC (Johnny takes over 8 years later) |
Sep 24 |
Yanks tie a record, 3 of their pinch hitters strike out in 1 inning |
Sep 25 |
Francois "Doc" Duvalier wins Haitian presidential election |
Sep 25 |
Indians win AL record 111 games |
Sep 25 |
WCBD TV channel 2 in Charleston, SC (ABC) begins broadcasting |
Sep 26 |
Japanese ferry boat Toya Maru sinks in Strait of Tsugaru, 1172 die |
Sep 26 |
KODE TV channel 12 in Joplin, MO (ABC) begins broadcasting |
Sep 26 |
KUTV TV channel 2 in Salt Lake City, UT (NBC) begins broadcasting |
Sep 26 |
Patty Berg wins LPGA Ardmore Golf Open |
Sep 26 |
Typhoon hits Japan - 5 ferryboats sink killing about 1,600 |
Sep 26 |
WANE TV channel 15 in Fort Wayne, IN (CBS) begins broadcasting |
Sep 26 |
WCAX TV channel 3 in Burlington, VT (CBS) begins broadcasting |
Sep 26 |
A's defeats Yanks 8-6 in last game franchise will play in Phila |
Sep 26 |
Yogi Berra plays his only game at 3rd & Mickey Mantle plays shortstop |
Sep 27 |
1st African American Supreme Court page is CV Bush |
Sep 27 |
School integration begins in Wash DC & Baltimore Md public schools |
Sep 27 |
Steve Allen's "Tonight Show" premieres |
Sep 29 |
"Barefoot Contessa" starring Ava Gardner premieres at the Capitol |
Sep 29 |
"Masquerade Party" TV game Show; moves to ABC |
Sep 29 |
"Star is Born" starring Judy Garland & James Mason premieres |
Sep 29 |
Bennekom soccer team forms in Bennekom |
Sep 29 |
KALB TV channel 5 in Alexandria, LA (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting |
Sep 29 |
Willie Mays famous over-the-shoulder catch of Vic Wertz' 460' drive |
Sep 30 |
"Boy Friend" opens at Royale Theater NYC for 483 performances |
Sep 30 |
USS Nautilus, 1st atomic-powered vessel (sub), commissioned by the US Navy |
Oct 1 |
British colony of Nigeria becomes a federation |
Oct 2 |
8th NHL All-Star Game: All-Stars beat Detroit 2-2 at Detroit |
Oct 2 |
Former French possession of Chandernagore made part of West Bengal |
Oct 2 |
NY Giants sweep Cleve Indians, in 51st World Series |
Oct 3 |
"Father Knows Best" premieres |
Oct 3 |
KFVS TV channel 12 in Cape Girardeau, MO (CBS) begins broadcasting |
Oct 5 |
Hurricane Hazel hits Eastern US |
Oct 7 |
Hassan el Hodeiby, leader of Moslem brothership, arrested in Egypt |
Oct 7 |
Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Ad Sinarum gentem |
Oct 9 |
KTIV TV channel 4 in Sioux City, IA (NBC) begins broadcasting |
Oct 10 |
Ho Chi Minh enters Hanoi after withdrawal of French troops |
Oct 11 |
"On Your Toes" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 64 performances |
Oct 11 |
Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Ad caeli Reginam |
Oct 13 |
RP Smith/M Shulman's "Tender Trap" premieres in NYC |
Oct 14 |
Israeli act of revenge in Qibiya Jordan, kills 53 |
Oct 15 |
Hurricane Hazel strikes US & Canada, 348 die |
Oct 15 |
KLTV TV channel 7 in Tyler-Longview, TX (ABC) begins broadcasting |
Oct 17 |
Phila Eagle Adrian Burk passes for 7 touchdowns vs Wash (49-21) |
Oct 18 |
Hurricane Hazel (3rd of 1954) becomes most severe to hit US |
Oct 18 |
WBTW TV channel 13 in Florence, SC (CBS/ABC) begins broadcasting |
Oct 18 |
WNBC radio changes call letters to WRCA (NYC) |
Oct 18 |
Texas Instruments Inc. announces the first transistor radio. |
Oct 19 |
Egypt & Great Britain sign treaty; British troops departs |
Oct 19 |
KAKE TV channel 10 in Wichita, KS (ABC) begins broadcasting |
Oct 19 |
First ascent of Cho Oyu, sixth highest mountain in the world at 8,201 metres |
Oct 20 |
"Peter Pan" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 149 performances |
Oct 21 |
Dorothy Parker/Arnaud d'Usseau's "Ladies of the Corridor" premieres |
Oct 21 |
Indonesian troops land in New-Guinea |
Oct 22 |
West Germany joins North Atlantic Treaty Organization |
Oct 23 |
Britain, England, France & USSR agree to end occupation of Germany |
Oct 23 |
German FR joins NATO |
Oct 23 |
Pakistan governor-general Ghoelan Mohammed disbands parliament |
Oct 23 |
WSAU TV channel 7 in Wausau, WI (CBS) begins broadcasting |
Oct 24 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower pledges United States support to South Vietnam |
Oct 26 |
Chevrolet unveils V-8 engine |
Oct 26 |
Walt Disney's 1st television program, "Disneyland", premieres on ABC |
Oct 26 |
Trieste return to Italy. |
Oct 27 |
Pres Eisenhower offers aid to S Vietnam pres Ngo Dinh Diem |
Oct 27 |
WISN TV channel 12 in Milwaukee, WI (ABC) begins broadcasting |
Oct 27 |
Walt Disney's 1st TV show, "Disneyland", premieres on ABC |
Oct 27 |
Benjamin O. Davis Jr. becomes the first African-American general in the United States Air Force. |
Oct 28 |
Major league owners vote down sale of A's to a Phila syndicate |
Oct 28 |
N Richard Nash' "Rainmaker" premieres in NYC |
Oct 28 |
Nobel prize for literature awarded to Ernest Hemingway |
Oct 29 |
Colonel Nasser disbands Moslem Brotherhood |
Oct 29 |
Sweden begins experimental TV |
Oct 30 |
US Defense Department announces elimination of all racially segregated regiments |
Oct 30 |
1st use of 24-sec shot clock in pro basketball (Rochester vs Boston) |
Oct 31 |
Algerian Revolution against French begins |
Oct 31 |
Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Texas Golf Open |
Oct 31 |
KREM TV channel 2 in Spokane, WA (CBS/ABC) begins broadcasting |
Nov 1 |
General Fulgencio Batista elected President of Cuba |
Nov 1 |
India takes over administration of 4 French Indian settlements |
Nov 1 |
KUON TV channel 12 in Lincoln, NB (PBS) begins broadcasting |
Nov 1 |
US Senate admonishes Joseph McCarthy because of his slander campaigns |
Nov 1 |
The Front de Libération Nationale fires the first shots of the Algerian War of Independence against France. |
Nov 2 |
Charles C Diggs Jr elected Michigan's 1st black congressman |
Nov 2 |
JS Thurmond is 1st senator elected by write-in vote (SC) |
Nov 2 |
Taiwan & US sign military pact |
Nov 3 |
Nobel for physics awarded to Max Born & Walter Bothe |
Nov 4 |
"Fanny" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 888 performances |
Nov 4 |
Philadelphia A's move to Kansas City |
Nov 7 |
US spy plane shot down North of Japan |
Nov 7 |
Cleveland Browns' Chet Hanulak sets club record with 7 punt returns & win by their largest margin of victory (59) beating Wash 62-3 |
Nov 8 |
AL approves Philadelphia A's move to Kansas City |
Nov 10 |
Iwo Jima Memorial (servicemen raising US flag) dedicated in Arlington |
Nov 10 |
Lt Col John Stapp travels 632 mph in a rocket sled |
Nov 12 |
Ellis Island, immigration station in NY Harbor, closed |
Nov 14 |
Egyptian pres Naguib fire, state of emergency declared |
Nov 15 |
1st regularly scheduled commercial flights over North Pole begins |
Nov 18 |
Yanks trade Woodling, Byrd, McDonald, Triandos, Miranada & Smith to Orioles for Turley, Larsen & Hunter as part of an 18 player deal |
Nov 20 |
KTRK TV channel 13 in Houston, TX (ABC) begins broadcasting |
Nov 22 |
Humane Society forms |
Nov 23 |
For the first time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the peak it reached just before the 1929 crash. |
Nov 24 |
Air Force One, 1st US Presidential airplane, christened |
Nov 24 |
France sends 20,000 soldiers to Algeria |
Nov 26 |
Test Cricket debut of Colin Cowdrey v Australia at Gabba |
Nov 27 |
"By the Beautiful Sea" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 270 perfs |
Nov 27 |
42nd CFL Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos defeats Montreal Alouettes, 26-25 |
Nov 27 |
Alger Hiss is released from prison after serving 44 months for perjury. |
Nov 28 |
1st pro football game in Netherlands |
Nov 28 |
Cleveland Browns' Horace Gillom sets club record with 80-yard punt |
Nov 28 |
KCKT (now KSNC) TV channel 2 in Great Bend, KS (NBC) 1st broadcast |
Nov 30 |
1st meteorite known to strike a woman (Liz Hodges-Sylacauga Ala) |
Nov 30 |
20th Heisman Trophy Award: Alan Ameche, Wisconsin (FB) |
Nov 30 |
John Strydom succeeds Malan as premier of South Africa |
Dec 1 |
Nationalist China & US sign dike agreement |
Dec 1 |
Yanks send Miller, Segrist, Leppert & 2 minors to Orioles for Blayzka, Kryhoski, Johnson, Fridley & Del Guercio (completing 18 player deal) |
Dec 2 |
"Hit the Trail" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 4 performances |
Dec 2 |
Frank Selvy of Milwaukee sets then NBA record of 24 of 26 free throws |
Dec 2 |
US Senate censures Joeseph McCarthy (Sen-R-Wisc) for "conduct that tends to bring Senate into dishonor & disrepute" |
Dec 3 |
Samuel Barber's "Prayers of Kierkegaard" premieres |
Dec 3 |
William Walton's opera "Troilus & Cressida" premieres in London |
Dec 4 |
"Hit the Trail" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 4 perfs |
Dec 4 |
"On Your Toes" closes at 46th St Theater NYC after 64 performances |
Dec 4 |
The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida, USA |
Dec 5 |
KTEW (now KJRH) TV channel 2 in Tulsa, OK (NBC) begins broadcasting |
Dec 6 |
Simone de Beauvoir receives Prix Goncourt |
Dec 7 |
Japanese government of Joshida resigns |
Dec 7 |
KCTS TV channel 9 in Seattle, WA (PBS) begins broadcasting |
Dec 8 |
Maxwell Anderson's "Bad Seed," premieres in NYC |
Dec 8 |
WPTZ TV channel 5 in Plattsburgh, NY (NBC) begins broadcasting |
Dec 9 |
Dmitri Sjostakovitsj appointed honored guest of Royal Swedish Academy of Music |
Dec 10 |
Linus Pauling wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry |
Dec 10 |
Albert Schweitzer receives Nobel Peace Prize |
Dec 10 |
Philadelphia Phillies purchase Connie Mack Stadium |
Dec 11 |
Phillies purchase Connie Mack Stadium |
Dec 11 |
USS Forrestal christened in Newport News, Va |
Dec 14 |
WOAY TV channel 4 in Oak Hill-Beckley, WV (ABC) begins broadcasting |
Dec 15 |
Fordham University scraps football team for financial reasons |
Dec 15 |
Netherlands Antilles becomes co-equal part of Kingdom of Netherlands |
Dec 17 |
1st fully automated railroad freight yard (Gary, Indiana) |
Dec 17 |
WEAU TV channel 13 in Eau Claire, WI (NBC) begins broadcasting |
Dec 23 |
The first human kidney transplant is performed by Dr. Joseph E. Murray at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. |
Dec 24 |
Council for the Children Protection forms in Netherlands |
Dec 24 |
Laos gains its independence |
Dec 25 |
WSFA TV channel 12 in Montgomery, AL (NBC) begins broadcasting |
Dec 26 |
"The Shadow," airs for last time on radio |
Dec 26 |
Cleveland Browns win NFL Championship, beating Detroit 56-10 |
Dec 27 |
"Saint of Bleecker Street" opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 92 perfs |
Dec 27 |
Gian Carlo Menotti's opera "Saint," premieres in NYC |
Dec 28 |
43rd Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in Sydney (3-2) |
Dec 28 |
KEPR TV channel 19 in Pasco-Kennewick-Richl, WA (CBS) 1st broadcast |
Dec 29 |
Kingdom of Netherlands, with Netherlands & Netherlands Antilles as autonomous parts, comes into being |
Dec 30 |
"House of Flowers" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 165 performances |
Dec 30 |
Harold Arlen/Truman Capotes musical premieres in NYC |
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