December 1953



The following events occurred in December 1953:

December 2, 1953 (Wednesday)

 * The United Kingdom and Iran reformed diplomatic relations.
 * Died: Tran Trong Kim, 70, Vietnamese historian and Prime Minister of the Empire of Vietnam

December 3, 1953 (Thursday)

 * 2 mi off Miami Beach, Florida, 52-year-old American attorney Hope Root died in an attempt to set a new deep diving record of 410 ft. Root descended to 500 ft and did not resurface.

December 5, 1953 (Saturday)

 * A violent F5 tornado devastated parts of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

December 6, 1953 (Sunday)

 * With the NBC Symphony Orchestra, conductor Arturo Toscanini performed what he claimed to be his favorite Beethoven symphony, the Eroica, for the last time. The live performance was broadcast nationwide on radio, and later released on records and CD.

December 7, 1953 (Monday)

 * A visit to Iran by U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon sparked several days of riots, as a reaction to the August 19 overthrow of the government of Mohammad Mosaddegh by the U.S.-backed Shah. Three students were shot dead by police in Tehran. This event would become an annual commemoration, Student Day.

December 8, 1953 (Tuesday)

 * U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his Atoms for Peace address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
 * Born: Kim Basinger, American film actress, in Athens, Georgia

December 9, 1953 (Wednesday)

 * Born:
 * John Malkovich, American actor, in Christopher, Illinois
 * Hiromitsu Ochiai, Japanese baseball player and manager

December 10, 1953 (Thursday)

 * The Nobel Prizes were awarded in Stockholm, Sweden. Frits Zernike of the Netherlands won for Physics, Hermann Staudinger of West Germany for Chemistry, Hans Adolf Krebs of England and Fritz Albert Lipmann of the United States for Physiology or Medicine, and Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill of England for Literature. In Oslo, Norway, Albert Schweitzer of France was awarded the Peace Prize.

December 17, 1953 (Thursday)

 * The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved color television (using the NTSC standard).

December 23, 1953 (Wednesday)

 * The Soviet Union officially announced that Lavrentiy Beria had been executed.

December 24, 1953 (Thursday)

 * Tangiwai disaster: A railway bridge collapsed at Tangiwai, New Zealand, sending a fully loaded passenger train into the Whangaehu River; 151 were killed.

December 25, 1953 (Friday)

 * The Amami Islands were returned to Japan after 8 years of United States military occupation.
 * Died:
 * William Haselden, 81, Spanish cartoonist
 * Lee Shubert, 82, Polish-born theater owner and operator

December 30, 1953 (Wednesday)

 * The first color television sets went on sale for about US$1,175 – RCA Model 5 Prototype, which became CT-100, and Admiral C1617A.

December 31, 1953 (Thursday)

 * Born : James Remar, American actor