1953

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	19th century – 20th century – 21st century
Decades:	1920s  1930s  1940s  – 1950s –  1960s  1970s  1980s
Years:	1950 1951 1952 – 1953 – 1954 1955 1956

1953 in other calendars

Gregorian calendar	1953 MCMLIII
Ab urbe condita	2706
Armenian calendar	1402 ԹՎ ՌՆԲ
Assyrian calendar	6703
Bahá'í calendar	109–110
Balinese saka calendar	1874–1875
Bengali calendar	1360
Berber calendar	2903
British Regnal year	1 Eliz. 2 – 2 Eliz. 2
Buddhist calendar	2497
Burmese calendar	1315
Byzantine calendar	7461–7462
Chinese calendar	壬辰年 (Water Dragon) 4649 or 4589     — to — 癸巳年 (Water Snake) 4650 or 4590
Coptic calendar	1669–1670
Discordian calendar	3119
Ethiopian calendar	1945–1946
Hebrew calendar	5713–5714
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	2009–2010
- Shaka Samvat	1874–1875
- Kali Yuga	5053–5054
Holocene calendar	11953
Igbo calendar	953–954
Iranian calendar	1331–1332
Islamic calendar	1372–1373
Japanese calendar	Shōwa 28 (昭和２８年)
Javanese calendar	1884–1885
Juche calendar	42
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 13 days
Korean calendar	4286
Minguo calendar	ROC 42 民國42年
Nanakshahi calendar	485
Thai solar calendar	2496
Tibetan calendar	阳水龙年 (male Water-Dragon) 2079 or 1698 or 926     — to — 阴水蛇年 (female Water-Snake) 2080 or 1699 or 927

1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday in the Gregorian calendar.

Events

• January 20 - Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the 34th President of the United States.
• January 31 - In the night to February 1, a storm severely floods parts of the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom.
• May 29 – Jack Catain Jr., an American businessman, marries Marlene Noble, an apparel sales associate, in Cook County, Illinois.
• May 29 – Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first humans to reach the top of Mount Everest.
• June 2 - Elizabeth II is crowned Queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realms.
• July 27 – The Korean War ends.
• August 12 - The 1953 Ionian earthquake struck the southern Ionian Islands in Greece.
• November 17 - The Minquiers and Ecrehos case ends with the International Court of Justice giving Minquiers and Écréhous to Jersey.
• Unknown - The Taito Corporation is founded in Japan.

Births

• January 9 – Morris Gleitzman, English writer
• January 10 - Pat Benatar, American singer
• January 13 - Joseph Augustus Zarelli, American murder victim (d. 1957).
• January 18 - László Simion, Romanian politician Hungarian nationalities UDMR.
• January 21 – Paul Allen, American entrepreneur
• January 23 - Robin Zander, American singer (Cheap Trick)
• January 24 - Matthew Wilder, American singer-songwriter
• January 26 - Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of Denmark and current NATO Secretary-General
• February 8 - Mary Steenburgen, American actress
• February 11 – Jeb Bush, American politician
• February 11 - William Aviv, Jewish actor and politician
• February 16 - Loran Bini, Kosovo Christian politician of Bosnian ethnicity
• February 19 – Cristina Fernández, President of Argentina
• February 25 – Levon Mkrtchyan, Armenian movie director
• February 25 - Jose Maria Aznar, former Prime Minister of Spain
• February 26 - Michael Bolton, American singer
• February 27 - Ian Khama, President of Botswana
• February 28 - Paul Krugman, American economist
• March 3 - Zico, Brazilian footballer
• March 16 – Richard Stallman, Computer programmer and political activist
• March 26 – Lincoln Chafee, American politician
• April 11 - Guy Verhofstadt, former Prime Minister of Belgium
• April 11 - Andrew Wiles, British mathematician
• April 20 - Sebastian Faulks, British writer
• May 2 - Valery Gergiev, Russian conductor
• May 6 – Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• May 6 - Graeme Souness, Scottish footballer and manager
• May 8 - Alex Van Halen, musician (Van Halen)
• May 8 - Billy Burnette, American singer and guitarist (Fleetwood Mac)
• May 14 - Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia
• May 16 - Pierce Brosnan, Irish actor
• May 19 - Victoria Wood, British actress and comedienne
• May 24 - Alfred Molina, British actor
• May 25 – Eve Ensler, American playwright
• May 29 – Danny Elfman, American musician (Oingo Boingo)
• June 1 - David Berkowitz, American serial killer
• June 2 - Keith Allen, English actor and comedian
• June 2 - Cornel West, American theologian and activist
• June 4 – Linda Lingle, American politician
• June 8 - Ivo Sanader, former Prime Minister of Croatia
• June 15 - Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party and President of China
• June 21 – Benazir Bhutto, Pakistani politician (d. 2007)
• June 22 - Cyndi Lauper, American singer
• July 1 - Jadranka Kosor, former Prime Minister of Croatia
• July 11 - Leon Spinks, American boxer
• July 21 - Jeff Fatt, Australian musician (The Wiggles)
• July 29 – Geddy Lee, Canadian musician and singer (Rush)
• July 31 – James Read, American actor
• August 17 - Herta Mueller, German writer
• August 27 – Alex Lifeson, Canadian musician (Rush)
• September 2 – John Zorn, American musician
• September 3 – Jean-Pierre Jeunet, French director
• September 4 - Fatih Terim, Turkish football manager
• September 11 - Tommy Shaw, American guitarist (Styx)
• September 20 - Mihaly Kincses, Hungarian politician and doctor
• September 22 – Ségolène Royal, French politician
• October 1 – Klaus Wowereit, German politician
• October 15 – Tito Jackson, American singer and member of the Jackson 5 (d. 2024)
• November 6 – Michele Catain, American crew member and real estate agent
• November 14 – Dominique de Villepin, Premier of France
• November 14 – Jos Oehlen, Dutch sculptor
• November 16 - Griff Rhys-Jones, British actor, comedian and writer
• November 26 - Hilary Benn, British politician
• November 28 - Alistair Darling, British politician
• December 6 - Geoff Hoon, British politician
• December 8 - Kim Basinger, American actress
• December 9 – John Malkovich, American actor and director
• December 13 - Ben Bernanke, American chairman of the Federal Reserve
• December 26 - Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia
• December 28 - Martha Wash, American singer (The Weather Girls)

Deaths

• January 1 – Hank Williams, American musician
• January 28 – James Scullin, Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1876)
• March 5 – Joseph Stalin, Soviet leader assassinated[1] (b.1878)
• March 5 – Sergei Prokofiev, Russian composer (b. 1891)
• March 24 - Mary of Teck, Consort of George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1866)
• September 28 - Edwin Hubble, American astronomer (b. 1891)
• September 29 – Ernst Reuter, German politician (b. 1889)
• October 9 – Jimmy Finlayson, Scottish-American actor (b. 1887)
• November 9 – Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet (b. 1914)