1953 in the United States

Events from the year 1953 in the United States.

Incumbents

Federal government">Federal government of the United States">Federal government

President:
[Vice President of the United States|President of the United States|Vice President]:
Chief Justice:
Speaker of the House of Representatives:
Senate Majority Leader:
Congress: 82nd, 83rd

Events

January–March

January 7 – President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb.
January 14 – The CIA-sponsored Robertson Panel first meets to discuss the UFO phenomenon.
January 19 – 68% of all television sets in the United States are tuned into I Love Lucy to watch Lucille Ball give birth.
January 20 – Dwight D. Eisenhower is sworn in as the 34th president of the United States, and Richard Nixon is sworn in as the 36th vice president.
January 22 – The Crucible, a historical drama by Arthur Miller written as an allegory of McCarthyism, opens on Broadway.
February 1 – WEEK-TV begins broadcasting in Peoria, Illinois.
February 5 – Walt Disney's 14th animated film, Peter Pan, premieres in Chicago. It is Disney's final film to be distributed by RKO.
February 11 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower refuses a clemency appeal for Ethel and Julius Rosenberg.
February 13 – Transsexual Christine Jorgensen returns to New York after successful sexual reassignment surgery in Denmark.
February 19 – Georgia approves the first literature censorship board in the U.S.
March 17 – The first nuclear test of Operation Upshot–Knothole is conducted in Nevada, with 1,620 spectators at.
March 19 – The 25th Academy Awards ceremony, emceed by Conrad Nagel, is simultaneously held at RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles and at NBC International Theatre in New York. It is the first ceremony to be televised. Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth wins Best Motion Picture, while Fred Zinnemann's High Noon, John Huston's Moulin Rouge and John Ford's The Quiet Man all receive the most nominations with seven, with Ford receiving his third Best Director win. Vincente Minnelli's The Bad and the Beautiful wins the most awards with five.
March 31 – Due to increasingly lower ridership, Staten Island Rapid Transit closes two of its three-passenger lines.

April–June

April 11 – The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare begins operations, the first new Cabinet-level department since the Department of Labor's formation in 1913.
May 11 – The 1953 Waco tornado outbreak: an F5 tornado hits in the downtown section of Waco, Texas, killing 114.
May 25 – Nuclear testing: at the Nevada Test Site, the United States conducts its first and only nuclear artillery test: Upshot–Knothole Grable.
June 8 – Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence: a tornado kills 115 in Flint, Michigan.
June 9
*CIA Technical Services Staff head Sidney Gottlieb approves of the use of LSD in a MKULTRA subproject.
*Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence: a tornado spawned from the same storm system as the Flint tornado hits in Worcester, Massachusetts, killing 94.
June 19
* Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed at Sing Sing Prison in New York for conspiracy to commit espionage.
* The Baton Rouge bus boycott begins in the Southern United States.
June 30 – Assembly of the first Chevrolet Corvette is completed in Flint, Michigan.

July–September

July 18 – Howard Hawks's musical film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, is released by 20th Century Fox.
July 26 – The Short Creek raid is carried out on a polygynous Mormon sect in Arizona.
July 27 – The Korean War ends: The United States, the People's Republic of China, North Korea and South Korea sign an armistice agreement.
July 28 – Burger King opens its first restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida.
August 5 – Operation Big Switch: U.S. prisoners of war are repatriated after the Korean War.
August 17 – The first planning session of Narcotics Anonymous is held in Southern California. Its first meeting is held October 5.
August 18 – The second Kinsey Report, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, on American sexual habits, is issued.
August 19 – Cold War: 1953 Iranian coup d'état – The CIA helps to overthrow the democratic government of Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran and retain Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi on the throne.
August 20 – The U.S. returns to West Germany 382 ships it had captured during World War II.
September 9 – The Supreme Court decision in Rumely v. United States affirms that indirect lobbying in the U.S. by distribution of books intended to influence opinion is a public good and not subject to regulation by Congress.
September 12 – U.S. Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy marries Jacqueline Lee Bouvier at St. Mary's Church in Newport, Rhode Island.
September 28 – Six year old boy Bobby Greenlease is kidnapped in Kansas City, Missouri and murdered in Lenexa, Kansas, despite his father paying the largest ever ransom payment in American history at the time.

October–December

October 5
* Earl Warren is appointed Chief Justice of the United States by U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower.
* The New York Yankees defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4 games to 2, to win their 16th World Series title in baseball.
October 10 – Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of Korea is concluded in Washington D.C.
October 12 – The play The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial opens at Plymouth Theatre, New York.
October 15 – Tito Jackson, member of the Jacksons and brother of Michael Jackson is born.
October 19 – Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is published
October 30 – Cold War: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally approves the top secret document of the United States National Security Council NSC 162/2, which states that the United States' arsenal of nuclear weapons must be maintained and expanded to counter the communist threat.
December – Hugh Hefner publishes the first issue of Playboy magazine: it sells 54,175 copies at $.50 each.
December 6 – With the NBC Symphony Orchestra, conductor Arturo Toscanini performs what he claims is his favorite Beethoven symphony, Eroica, for the last time. The live performance is broadcast nationwide on radio, and later released on records and CD.
December 8 – U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers his Atoms for Peace address to the UN General Assembly in New York City.
December 18 – Carl Hall and Bonnie Brown are both executed in the Missouri gas chamber after pleading guilty to the Murder and kidnapping of six year old Bobby Greenlease; she is the third woman in history to be executed by federal authorities.
December 25 – Amami Islands are returned to Japan after 8 years of United States Military occupation.

Date unknown

Harold Butler and his first partner open Danny's Donuts in Lakewood, California.
Swanson introduce the TV dinner.

Ongoing

Births

January

January 1
*Gary Johnson, 29th Governor of New Mexico, Libertarian Party nominee for President.
*Lynn Jones, baseball player and coach
January 2 – Vincent Racaniello, virologist, author and academic
January 4 – James Warren, journalist and publisher
January 5 – Steve Archer, singer-songwriter and producer
January 6 – Danny Pearson, singer
January 8 – Bruce Sutter, baseball pitcher
January 11 – Jim Clendenen, winemaker
January 13 – Luann Ryon, archer
January 15
* Kent Hovind, Christian fundamentalist evangelist and tax protester
* Randy White, American football player
January 17 – Mark Littell, baseball player
January 19 – Desi Arnaz Jr., actor and musician
January 20 – Jeffrey Epstein, financier and sex offender
January 21
* Paul Allen, entrepreneur and co-founder of Microsoft
* Glenn Kaiser, Christian blues-rock, heavy metal and R&B singer-songwriter and guitarist
January 23 – Robin Zander, singer and guitarist
January 24
* Tim Stoddard, baseball player and coach
* Matthew Wilder, musician
January 25 – The Honky Tonk Man, pro wrestler
January 29
*Nate Barnett, basketball player
*Caesar Cervin, soccer player and coach
*Dennis Delaney, actor and playwright
*Paul Fusco, puppeteer and voice actor
*Steve March-Tormé, singer-songwriter
*Louie Pérez, singer-songwriter and guitarist
*Dwight Takamine, lawyer and politician
*Charlie Wilson, singer-songwriter; producer

February

February 3 – Ron Williamson, baseball player wrongly convicted of rape and murder
February 7 – Dan Quisenberry, baseball player and poet
February 8 – Mary Steenburgen, American actress
February 11 – Jeb Bush, 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007, second son of President George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush; younger brother of President George W. Bush
February 14 – Martha Raddatz, news reporter
February 15 – John Goodsall, guitarist
February 19 – Herb Lusk, American football player
February 28 – Ricky Steamboat, pro wrestler

March

March 1 – Luther Strange, U.S. Senator from Alabama from 2017 to 2018
March 2 – Russ Feingold, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin from 1993 to 2011
March 4 – Kay Lenz, actress
March 5 – Michael Sandel, political philosopher
March 6 – Jacklyn Zeman, actress
March 13 – Michael Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church from 2015
March 24 – Louie Anderson, stand-up comedian
March 26 – Lincoln Chafee, U.S. Senator from Rhode Island from 1999 to 2007

April

April 2 – Rosemary Bryant Mariner, naval aviator
April 3 – Russ Francis, American football player
April 9
* Hal Ketchum, country singer-songwriter
* Stephen Paddock, mass murderer
April 16
*Douglas M. Fraser, general
*Jay O. Sanders, actor
*J. Neil Schulman, author, actor, director and producer
April 19 – Ruby Wax, broadcaster and comedian
April 20 – Carrie Mae Weems, photographer
April 26
* Brian Binnie, naval officer and test pilot
* Linda Thompson, lawyer and conspiracy theorist

May

May 3 – Gary Young, drummer
May 12 – Kevin Grevey, basketball player and sportscaster
May 13 – Lisa Lyon, bodybuillder
May 26
* Kay Hagan, U.S. Senator from North Carolina from 2009 to 2015
* Dan Roundfield, basketball player
May 29
* Dennis Franks, footballer
* Big Daddy Graham, comedian and radio host
* Philip E. Sakowitz Jr., public official

June

June 1 – David Berkowitz, serial killer
June 2 – Cornel West, philosopher and political activist
June 10
* John Edwards, U.S. Senator from North Carolina from 1999 to 2005
* Fulton Kuykendall, American football player
June 11 – Barbara Minty, model
June 13 – Tim Allen, comedian, actor, voice-over artist and entertainer
June 18 – Bruce Seals, basketball player
June 22 – Cyndi Lauper, American singer

July

July 6
* Nanci Griffith, country folk singer-songwriter
* Mike Riley, football head coach
July 11 – Mindy Sterling, actress
July 15 – Alvin Neelley, murderer
July 19 – Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO
July 24 – Claire McCaskill, U.S. Senator from Missouri from 2007 to 2019
July 28 – Don Black, white supremacist
July 29 – Tim Gunn, author

August

August 1
* Robert Cray, blues guitarist and singer
* Steven Krasner, sports journalist
August 8 – Don Most, actor and director
August 11
* Diane Coleman, disability rights activist
* Hulk Hogan, professional wrestler
August 17 – Columba Bush, philanthropist
August 19 – Mary Matalin, political consultant
August 29 – David Boaz, philosopher
August 31 – Marcia Clark, prosecutor

September

September 2 – John Zorn, musician
September 4 – Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, African-American actor
September 6 – Anne Lockhart, actress
September 8 – Stu Ungar, poker player
September 11
* Tommy Shaw, guitarist and singer
* Lesley Visser, sportscaster and journalist
September 13 – Iyanla Vanzant, author and motivational speaker
September 17 – Junior Bridgeman, African-American basketball player and businessman
September 19 – Jennifer Kilian, American-Dutch translator
September 21 – Andrew Heermans, musician, recording engineer and music producer
September 24 – Peter Halley, painter and educator
September 30 – Deborah Allen, singer

October

October 9 – Tony Shalhoub, actor
October 15
* Tito Jackson, singer-songwriter and guitarist
* Larry Miller, actor and screenwriter
October 19 – Conrad Murray, physician and convict
October 20 - Bill Nunn, actor
October 24 – Steven Hatfill, physician and virologist
October 25 – Ajamu Baraka, human rights activist and the Green Party's nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 2016 election
October 27 – U. L. Washington, baseball player
October 28
* Desmond Child, songwriter and producer
* Walter Jon Williams, author

November

November 3
* Kate Capshaw, American actress
* Dennis Miller, comedian and television host
November 14 – Phil Baron, voice actor, puppeteer and songwriter
November 15 – James Widdoes, actor, director and producer
November 18 - Kevin Nealon, comedian
November 25 – Katherine Zappone, human rights activist and independent politician in the Republic of Ireland
November 27 – Steve Bannon, media executive and political strategist

December

December 2 – Joel Fuhrman, physician and nutritionist
December 6
*Tom Hulce, actor
*Dwight Stones, high jumper and sportscaster
*Gary Ward, baseball player and coach
December 8 – Kim Basinger, actress
December 9 – John Malkovich, actor
December 10 – Chris Bury, journalist and academic
December 20 – Glenn Bujnoch, American football player
December 17 – Bill Pullman, actor
December 22
* David Leisner, guitarist and composer
* Bern Nadette Stanis, African-American actress
December 27 – Sheila Dixon, Democratic mayor of Baltimore and criminal
December 30
* Dana Key, Christian musician, guitarist and preacher
* Meredith Vieira, journalist and game show host

Deaths

January 1 – Hank Williams, country singer-songwriter
January 7 – Osa Johnson, adventurer and filmmaker, wife of Martin Johnson
March 12 – James Hard, last verified living Union combat veteran of the American Civil War
May 30 – Dooley Wilson, African American actor, singer and drummer
June 3 – Florence Price, African American classical composer
June 5
* William Farnum, actor
* Bill Tilden, tennis player
June 20 – Arthur Caesar, screenwriter
July 11 – Oliver Campbell, tennis player
July 22 – Cy Kendall, actor
August 7 – Abner Powell, Major League Baseball player
August 19 – Willie Love, Delta blues pianist
August 22 – Jim Tabor, Major League Baseball player
September 2 – Jonathan M. Wainwright, general
September 5
* Francis Ford, actor and director
* Rudolf Höber, German-American physician
September 8 – Fred M. Vinson, Chief Justice of the U.S.
September 13 – Mary Brewster Hazelton, portrait painter
September 28 – Edwin Hubble, astronomer
September 29 – Milt Gross, comic book illustrator and animator
October 3 – Florence R. Sabin, medical scientist
October 11 – Pauline Robinson Bush, younger sister of US President George W. Bush
November 18 – Ruth Crawford Seeger, modernist composer and folk music arranger
November 21 – Larry Shields, dixieland jazz clarinetist
November 27 – Eugene O'Neill, playwright
December 14 – Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, novelist
December 19 – Robert Andrews Millikan, physicist Nobel Prize laureate
December 21 – Nicholas H. Heck, geophysicist, oceanographer and surveyor
December 29 – Violet MacMillan, Broadway theater actress
Unknown – Edward Joseph Renehan Sr., banker