Top News Stories from 1954
World Events
World Statistics
Population: 4.378 billion
population by decade Nobel Peace Prize: Office of U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees
More World Statistics... - Nasser becomes premier of Egypt (April 17).
- Geneva Conference is convened to bring peace to Vietnam (April to July). The country is divided at the 17th parallel, pending democratic elections.
- Dien Bien Phu, French military outpost in Vietnam, falls to Viet Minh army (May 7). Background: Vietnam War
- Eight-nation Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty (establishing SEATO) signed at Manila (Sept. 8).
- Paris agreements grant West Germany sovereignty and admittance to NATO and Western European Union (Oct. 23; effective May, 1955).
- Algerian War of Independence against France begins (Oct. 31).
U.S. Events
U.S. Statistics
President: Dwight D. Eisenhower
Vice President: Richard M. Nixon
Population: 163,025,854
Life expectancy: 69.6 years
Homicide Rate (per 100,000): 4.8
More U.S. Statistics... - Army v. McCarthy inquiry (Apr. 22June 17); Senate votes in Dec. to condemn Sen. McCarthy for misconduct.
- In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka the Supreme Court unanimously bans racial segregation in public schools (May 17).
Economics
US GDP (1998 dollars): $381.3 billion
Federal spending: $70.86 billion
Federal debt $270.8 billion
Consumer Price Index: $26.9
Unemployment: 2.9%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.03
Sports
World Series
NY Giants d. Cleveland (4-0)NBA Championship
Minneapolis Lakers d. SyracuseStanley Cup
Detroit d. MontrealWimbledon
Women: Maureen Connolly d. L. Brough (6-2 7-5)Men: Jaroslav Drobny d. K. Rosewall (13-11 4-6 6-2 9-7)
Kentucky Derby Champion
DetermineNCAA Basketball Championship
La Salle d. BradleyNCAA Football Champions
Ohio St. (AP, INS) (10-0-0) & UCLA (UP, FW) (9-0-0)World Cup
W. Germany d. HungaryEntertainment
Entertainment Awards
Pulitzer Prizes Music: Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, Quincy Porter
Drama: The Teahouse of the August Moon, John Patrick
Academy Award, Best Picture: From Here to Eternity, Buddy Adler, producer (Columbia)
Nobel Prize for Literature: Ernest Hemingway (US)
Miss America: Evelyn Margaret Ay (PA)
More Entertainment Awards... Events
- The World Series is broadcast in color for the first time.
- The revenue for television broadcasters finally surpasses that of radio broadcasters. Gross revenue for television is $593 million.
- Bill Haley and the Comets begin writing hit songs. As a white band using black-derived forms, they venture into rock 'n' roll.
- Robert Joffrey Ballet debuts.
Movies
- On the Waterfront, Rear Window, The Caine Mutiny, Sabrina, The High and the Mighty
Music
- Pierre Boulez, Le Marteau Sans Maître (The Hammer Without a Master)
Books
- Louise Bogan, Collected Poems, 19231953
- William F. Buckley, L. Brent Bozell, McCarthy and His Enemies
- William Golding, Lord of the Flies
- Anaïs Nin, A Spy in the House of Love
- J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
Science
Nobel Prizes in Science
Chemistry: Linus C. Pauling (US), for study of forces holding together protein and other molecules
Physics: Max Born (UK), for work in quantum mechanics; and Walther Bothe (Germany), for work in cosmic radiation
Physiology or Medicine: John F. Enders, Thomas H. Weller, and Frederick C. Robbins (all US), for work with cultivation of polio virus
More Nobel Prizes in 1998... - First children receive Dr. Jonas Salk's polio vaccine. Background: Major U.S. Epidemics
- The USS Nautilus, the first atomic submarine, is commissioned at Groton, Connecticut.
- Boeing tests the 707, the first jet-powered transport plane. Background: Famous Firsts in Aviation
Death
- Lionel Barrymore
- Henri Matisse