Famous 1953 Facts That Everyone Should Definitely Know

Just like any other year, 1953 was also filled with some of the greatest innovations, music, movies, and TV shows.

Apart from all this, this year also witnessed massive changes in the various political spheres of the world, with major events occurring in the Soviet Union, Iran, and Korea.

For instance, in Iran, the US-backed coup d'état took place, which was aimed at overthrowing the government of Mohammad Mosaddegh. While things in 1953 were quite different than they are today, the political and social landscapes were constantly changing and evolving that led to a number of eventful occurrences in all spheres of life.

So, apart from being interesting, it is also essential to learn about how the world was like in 1953 in order to understand the world better today. Hopefully, with this article on 1953 facts, you will be able to get a clear picture of the history of the world!

If you like reading this article, you can also check out 1950 facts and 1910 facts.

1953/54 Biggest Television Shows

In the world of television, 1953-54 was quite a great year, as audiences were treated to some of the biggest and most popular TV shows. Let us now take a dive into the biggest shows during that time!

The TV show 'I Love Lucy' was perhaps the most popular series during this time, with an estimated audience of 15,288,000. The show was aired on CBS and started in 1951 and continued till 1957.

However, its most popular episode was 'Lucy Goes To The Hospital', which aired on January 19, 1953, and was viewed by nearly 71.1% of the American population.

A close second to 'I Love Lucy', 'Dragnet' was another popular show that was released by NBC and was on the air from 1951 to 1959. 'Dragnet' had an estimated audience of 13,832,000.

Interestingly, this TV show was based on a radio series by the same name. In 1953, 'Dragnet' became the first show that was televised each year in colored format. However, only one episode of the entire series was filmed in color.

The position for the third and fourth most popular TV show of the time was given to 'Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scout' and 'You Bet Your Life', respectively. Both had the same estimated viewership of 11,336,000 but aired on two different networks.

While 'Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scout' was under the banner of CBS, 'You Bet Your Life' was produced by the NBC network.

The fifth biggest TV show during this period was 'The Milton Berle Show'. Did you know that before being called the 'Milton Berle Show', this comedy-variety show was named 'Texaco Star Theatre'?

Later, in 1953, the name was changed as Texaco no longer sponsored the show. The host of the show was an American actor and comedian, Milton Berle. Milton Berle was a well-known actor who started off his career very young, working in silent films.

Some other popular shows of this time were 'Ford Theatre', 'This Is Your Life', 'Philco TV Playhouse', and 'I Married Joan'. Apart from TV shows and series, in 1953, the Academy Awards were broadcast for the first time on television.

Needless to say, this garnered a massive number of viewers. Additionally, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, which took place on June 2, 1953, was also recorded and televised. This led to an increased sale in the number of television units in the United Kingdom.

1953 Pop Culture History

The pop-culture history of 1953 is filled with amazing facts worth learning about. So, a look into 1953 would be incomplete without knowing the significant pop culture events of that year.

'The Robe' was the highest-grossing film of the year and featured some of the most popular artists of the time, including Richard Burton, who was a Welsh actor; Michael Rennie and Jean Simmons, English actor, and actress, respectively; and also Victor Mature, who was an American actor. The cast featured a number of other prominent figures, as well.

'How To Marry A Millionaire' and 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' - two of Marilyn Monroe's biggest hits were also released this year, making the box office all the more special.

'This Is Cinerama', which was the second-highest-grossing film of the year, was a documentary film that was made under the direction of Mike Todd, along with Fred Rickey, Walter A. Thompson, and Michael Todd Jr.

The documentary featured Lowell Thomas, a well-known American actor. This film went on to garner 41.6 million dollars at the box office.

'From Here To Eternity', produced under the banner of Columbia Pictures, also left a mark with the audience, as it won eight Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture. The film had the famous American musician Frank Sinatra in one of the lead roles.

Apart from movies, in the world of sports, the New York Yankees became the World Series Champions. This was also the year when the Cincinnati Reds changed their name to Cincinnati Redlegs. In the 1953 Eastern Open Golf, Dick Mayer won the first of his seven PGA titles!

The year 1953 also witnessed a lot of firsts in pop culture history. The first Chevrolet Corvette was released in 1953. The car had a white exterior and a red interior. The Playboy Magazine was also published for the very first time in 1953.

Number One Hits of 1953

A number of songs made it to the number one position in 1953, with some of them holding that position for more than one week. So, it was certainly quite a massive year for music and, more importantly, for music lovers who got to hear some of the best songs to have ever been recorded.

The first song of 1953 to be placed at number one by the Billboard magazine was titled 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus'. It has been one of the more famous Christmas songs ever since.

The American singer Jimmy Boyd lent his voice to this great number, while the song was composed by Tommie Connor, a songwriter of British origin.

The next song to have gained the first position in the charts was Teresa Brewer's 'Till I Waltz Again'. Teresa Brewer was a leading female American musician of the time, and over the span of her career, she recorded nearly 600 songs.

'Till I Waltz Again' retained its place in the number one position for seven long weeks, before being taken over by 'The Doggie In The Window', sung by another female American singer of the time, Patti Page, and was considered to be the first bubblegum pop song.

Next, 'The Song From Moulin Rouge', which was also popularly known as 'It's April Again' occupied the first position for 10 whole weeks. The most popular version of this song, which topped the chart for 10 weeks, was performed by Percy Faith's Orchestra, featuring vocals by the American singer Felicia Sanders.

The year ended with Tony Benett's single 'Rags To Riches', which held the top position for eight weeks and eventually became a golden record. Though the American singer Tony Bennett's version was the most well-known, British singer David Whitfield also released his own version of the song in 1953, which became quite popular.

Korean War

The Korean War, which started on June 25, 1950, and ended on July 27, 1953, was a major conflict that took place between North Korea and South Korea.

Apart from these two nations, the Soviet Union, China, the United Nations, and the United States of America also played important roles in this event. To understand the underlying cause of the Korean War, it is essential to understand how these two nations were formed.

After the end of the Second World War, the country of Korea was freed from Japanese control.

After this, the United States government, along with the Soviets, decided to divide Korea into two halves, thus resulting in the creation of North and South Korea. While North Korea had a communist government that received the support of the USSR, South Korea was supported by the US.

On June 25, 1950, Kim II Sung, the then leader of North Korea, decided to launch an attack on its southern counterpart in order to unify the two countries under his leadership. This move triggered the United States into forming a coalition with the United Nations and rallying their combined troops in support of South Korea.

In addition, the Chinese government also aided North Korea by sending thousands of their own troops to counter the attacks of the United States.

The United States President of the time was American politician Harry S. Truman, who was succeeded by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. After assuming office, Eisenhower, who was the quintessential American politician, considered making use of nuclear weapons in order to bring an end to the famous battle.

Fortunately, it never came to that, and on July 27, 1953, both the nations signed an armistice, known as the Korean Armistice Agreement. This agreement resulted in the restoration of the status quo to what it was before the start of the war, effectively ending the war that caused nearly three million deaths altogether.

One of the major factors that became clear in the Korean War was the United States' continual role in containing the spread of communism and also its position as a global leader. Both presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S.Truman were committed to establishing foreign policies that kept communism in check and prioritized collective security.

Did you know that during the war, the US Army had the simple battle cry of 'hooah'?

Soviet Union

The year 1953 was a time of massive change for the Soviet Union. Following the end of World War II, the country was already engaged in a cold war with the United States. In addition to that, March 5 of 1953 witnessed Stalin's death, bringing an end to the infamous Stalin era.

This led to the inauguration of Nikita Khrushchev as the First Secretary of the Communist Party, following a power struggle among the Soviet leaders. Right after the death of Stalin, Georgi Malenkov was designated as the Chairman of the Council of Members, the equivalent to the office of Prime Minister.

During this time, Nikita Khrushchev was declared as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, directly succeeding Stalin, who held the position from 1922 up until his death.

This new government not only cut down the prices of many goods and items but also decided to grant relief to some prisoners and let those who were in exile to come back to the country.

All this while, a power struggle was taking place among the leaders, and as a consequence of that, within a week of Malenkov coming into power, most of his titles were taken away, and Khrushchev became the one in charge of the party, though he was formally declared to be the First Secretary in September of 1953.

With Nikita Khrushchev in power, the Soviet nation witnessed a kind of De-Stalinization, with forced labor taking a back seat. However, in the very same year, there were two major uprisings known as Norilsk Uprising and Vorukta Uprising that took place in two major labor camps of the time.

Unfortunately, both these uprisings led to the death of several inmates at the hands of the state authorities.

In the field of technology, the Soviets weren't too far back either. On August 12, 1953, the Soviets tested their first thermonuclear weapon. A few days later, on August 23, 1953, they also tested a nuclear bomb named RDS-4.

Did You Know...

Quite a few important innovations took place in 1953. For instance, the modern speed bump was invented in 1953 by Arthur Compton, the Chancellor of Washington University.

This was also the year when the structural description of the DNA double helix was released by Francis Crick and James Watson. Renowned architect and educator Frank Lloyd Wright also received the Frank P. Brown Medal from the Franklin Institute in 1953. A lot of famous and important people were born in 1953.

Some of the popular names include Robin Zander, the famous American singer; Ciarán Hinds, well-known North Irish actor, Jeb Bush, an American politician; Keith Allen, an English actor; Pierce Brosnan, the famous Irish actor; and Tony Blair, who was the prime minister of the UK and served from 1997-2007.

Benazir Bhutto, the deceased Pakistani politician, was also born this year.

She was the first female Pakistani politician to head her country.

The year 1953 also saw the birth of American boxer Leon Spinks. Spinks was known for his two matches with the legendary American boxer, Muhammed Ali! The infamous American serial killer David Berkowitz was also born in 1953. This American serial killer has been part of many tv shows, films, and documentaries.

Here are some more people who were born in 1953: Keith Allen, the British actor who is the father of actor Alfie Allen; Jadranka Kosor, the Croatian politician; Danny Elfman, the well-regarded American musician, and composer; Alfred Molina, the famous British actor; Ivo Sanader, the Croatian politician, and former prime minister; Peter Firth, the renowned British actor; Ségolène Royal, French politician, and former presidential candidate who lost to the other French politician, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Hand in hand with births, the deaths of some significant people also took place in 1953. The famous American Nobel Laureate Eugene O'Neil, who was born in a hotel room, died on November 27, 1953, in a hotel room.

The American singer-songwriter Hank Williams also died in 1953. Unfortunately, there are some people who think that the musical 'West Side Story' was first screened in the year 1953. In reality, the first production of this musical was staged in 1957!

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 1953 factsthen why not take a look at1978 facts, or 1944 facts.