What happened in 1954
55 entries recorded for 1954, listed by date. That was 72 years ago.
1954 at a glance
- Years ago
- 72 (as of 2026)
- Century
- 20th century
- Decade
- 1950s
- Generation born
- Baby Boomers
- Entries here
- 55
- Breakdown
- 55 historical events
January
- January 2
India
India establishes its highest civilian awards, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan.
- January 10
BOAC Flight 781
BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1, explodes and falls into the Tyrrhenian Sea, killing 35 people.
- January 14
Hudson Motor Car Company
The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation forming the American Motors Corporation.
- January 20
National Negro Network
In the United States, the National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
February
- February 2
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings played in the first outdoor hockey game by any NHL team in an exhibition against the Marquette Branch Prison Pirates in Marquette, Michigan.
- February 10
Dwight D. Eisenhower
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower warns against United States intervention in Vietnam.
- February 19
Transfer of Crimea to Ukraine
Transfer of Crimea: The Soviet Politburo of the Soviet Union orders the transfer of the Crimean Oblast from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR.
March
- March 9
McCarthyism
McCarthyism: CBS television broadcasts the See It Now episode, "A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy", produced by Fred Friendly.
- March 26
Nuclear weapons testing
Nuclear weapons testing: The Romeo shot of Operation Castle is detonated at Bikini Atoll. Yield: 11 megatons.
April
- April 8
North American T-6 Texan
A Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair Harvard collides with a Trans-Canada Airlines Canadair North Star over Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, killing 37 people.
- April 8
South African Airways Flight 201
South African Airways Flight 201: A de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 crashes into the sea during night killing 21 people.
- April 18
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser seizes power in Egypt.
- April 22
McCarthyism
Red Scare: Witnesses begin testifying and live television coverage of the Army–McCarthy hearings begins.
- April 23
Batting (baseball)
Batting for the Milwaukee Braves against Vic Raschi of the St. Louis Cardinals, Hank Aaron hit the first of his 755 home runs in Major League Baseball.
- April 25
Solar cell
The first practical solar cell is publicly demonstrated by Bell Telephone Laboratories.
May
- May 6
Oxford
At Oxford's Iffley Road Track, English runner Roger Bannister became the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.
- May 7
First Indochina War
Indochina War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat and a Viet Minh victory (the battle began on March 13).
- May 7
Dungannon
A convoy of circus wagons carrying lions, horses, ponies and an ass lost control and overturned into some shop fronts in Dungannon, Northern Ireland.
- May 16
Kengir uprising
Beginning of the Kengir uprising in the Gulag.
- May 17
Supreme Court of the United States
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, outlawing racial segregation in public schools because "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" and therefore unconstitutional.
- May 27
J. Robert Oppenheimer
The security clearance of American nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, head of Project Y, was revoked.
- May 29
Diane Leather
Diane Leather became the first woman to run a mile in less than five minutes.
June
- June 9
Joseph N. Welch
Joseph N. Welch, special counsel for the United States Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Army–McCarthy hearings, giving McCarthy the famous rebuke, "You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"
- June 9
United States Army
During hearings investigating conflicting accusations between the United States Army and Senator Joseph McCarthy, Army lawyer Joseph N. Welch asked McCarthy: "At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"
- June 12
Dominic Savio
Dominic Savio, who was 14 years old at his death in 1857, was canonized by Pope Pius XII, making him one of the youngest non-martyred saints in the Catholic Church.
- June 14
Dwight D. Eisenhower
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill into law that places the words "under God" into the United States Pledge of Allegiance.
- June 18
Carlos Castillo Armas
Carlos Castillo Armas led a CIA-sponsored invasion force across the Guatemalan border, beginning the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état.
- June 27
Jacobo Árbenz
Jacobo Árbenz resigned as President of Guatemala following a CIA-led coup against his administration.
July
- July 4
1954 FIFA World Cup final
In what is known as "The Miracle of Bern", West Germany defeated Hungary 3–2 to win the FIFA World Cup.
- July 5
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley recorded his first single, "That's All Right", at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.
- July 17
First Indochina War
First Indochina War: Viet Minh troops successfully ambush the armoured French column 'G.M. 42' in the Battle of Chu Dreh Pass in the Central Highlands. It is the last battle of the war.
- July 22
Declaration of martial law in Russell County, Alabama
A limited state of martial law was declared in Russell County, Alabama, due to organized crime.
- July 29
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring, the first part of J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, was published by Allen & Unwin.
- July 31
1954 Italian expedition to K2
A team of Italian climbers became the first to reach the summit of K2, the world's second-highest mountain.
August
- August 13
Radio Pakistan
Radio Pakistan broadcasts the "Qaumī Tarāna", the national anthem of Pakistan for the first time.
- August 16
Sports Illustrated
The first issue of Sports Illustrated is published.
- August 23
Cruise of the Kings
The Cruise of the Kings, a royal cruise organised by the Queen Consort of Greece, Frederica of Hanover, departed from Marseille, France.
- August 24
Getúlio Vargas
In the midst of a political crisis, Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas fatally shot himself in the Catete Palace in Rio de Janeiro.
September
- September 3
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army begins shelling the Republic of China-controlled islands of Quemoy, starting the First Taiwan Strait Crisis.
- September 8
Collective security
Eight nations signed a collective-defense treaty in Manila to create the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (flag pictured), modelled on NATO.
- September 9
1954 Chlef earthquake
A magnitude-6.7 earthquake struck near Chlef, killing over 1,200 people and forcing the Algerian government to implement comprehensive reforms in building codes.
- September 15
The Seven Year Itch
The scene in The Seven Year Itch of Marilyn Monroe standing in a white dress over a subway grate was filmed by Billy Wilder.
- September 24
Route 7 (Bolivia)
The Cochabamba–Santa Cruz highway connecting western and eastern Bolivia is inaugurated.
- September 24
AEC Routemaster
AEC Routemaster, the iconic London bus was introduced.
- September 26
Tōya Maru
The Japanese rail ferry Tōya Maru sinks during a typhoon in the Tsugaru Strait, Japan, killing 1,172.
- September 29
Willie Mays
Willie Mays (pictured) of the New York Giants made The Catch, one of the most famous defensive plays in the history of Major League Baseball.
- September 30
USS Nautilus (SSN-571)
The U.S. Navy submarine USS Nautilus is commissioned as the world's first nuclear-powered vessel.
October
- October 11
1954 Geneva Conference
In accord with the 1954 Geneva Conference, French troops complete their withdrawal from North Vietnam.
- October 15
Hurricane Hazel
Hurricane Hazel made landfall in the Carolinas in the United States before moving north to Toronto in Canada later the same day, killing 176 people in the two countries.
- October 18
Regency TR-1
Texas Instruments announces the Regency TR-1, the first mass-produced transistor radio.
- October 28
Krasnoyarsk
Aeroflot Flight 136 crashes near Krasnoyarsk, killing 19.
November
- November 3
Godzilla (1954 film)
The first film featuring the giant monster known as Godzilla was released (poster pictured) nationwide in Japan.
- November 30
Sylacauga (meteorite)
A meteorite crashed through a roof in Sylacauga, Alabama, and hit a sleeping woman in the first verified case of a human being injured by an extraterrestrial object.
December
- December 2
United States Senate
The United States Senate voted of 67 to 22 to approve a resolution condemning Senator Joseph McCarthy who continued to serve in the Senate until his death two and a half years later.
- December 30
National Bureau of Investigation (Finland)
The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation was established to consolidate criminal investigation and intelligence into a single agency.
Questions about 1954
What happened in 1954?
This site records 55 entries for 1954, including India on January 2. They are listed below by date.
How long ago was 1954?
72 years ago, counting from 2026. Anyone born in 1954 turns 72 this year.
Which century is 1954 in?
1954 falls in the 20th century, in the 1950s.
Which generation was born in 1954?
Baby Boomers (1946–1964). Born in the post-war birth surge.
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