| 1954-03-01
Nuclear testing: The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States.
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| 1954-04-19
Constituent Assembly of Pakistan decides Urdu and Bengali to be national languages of Pakistan.
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| 1954-07-20
At Geneva, Switzerland, an armistice is signed that ends fighting in Vietnam and divides the country along the 17th parallel.
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| 1954-05-29
First of the annual Bilderberg conferences.
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| 1954-07-20
Germany: Otto John, head of West Germany's secret service, defects to East Germany.
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| 1954-07-05
Elvis Presley records That's All Right, his first single to be released.
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| 1954-11-13
Great Britain defeats France to capture the first ever Rugby League World Cup in Paris in front of around 30,000 spectators.
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| 1954-08-04
The Government of Pakistan approves Qaumi Tarana, written by Hafeez Jullundhry and composed by Ahmed G. Chagla, as the national anthem.
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| 1954-09-03
The People's Liberation Army begins shelling the ROC-controlled islands of Quemoy.
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| 1954-06-27
The world's first nuclear power station opens in Obninsk, near Moscow.
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| 1954-08-24
The Communist Control Act goes into effect. The American Communist Party is outlawed.
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| 1954-12-04
The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida, United States
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| 1954-03-19
Willie Mosconi sets a world record by running 526 consecutive balls without a miss during a straight pool exhibition at East High Billiard Club in Springfield, Ohio. The record still stands today.
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| 1954-07-05
The BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin.
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| 1954-08-10
At Massena, New York, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Saint Lawrence Seaway is held.
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| 1954-03-22
Closed since 1939, the London bullion market reopens.
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| 1954-09-03
The German U-Boat U-505 begins its move from a specially constructed dock to its final site at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.
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| 1954-08-16
The first edition of Sports Illustrated is published.
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| 1954-01-07
Georgetown-IBM experiment: the first public demonstration of a machine translation system, is held in New York at the head office of IBM.
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| 1954-11-01
The Front de Libération Nationale fires the first shots of the Algerian War of Independence.
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| 1954-09-27
The nationwide debut of Tonight! (The Tonight Show) hosted by Steve Allen on NBC.
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| 1954-04-18
Gamal Abdal Nasser seizes power in Egypt.
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| 1954-02-10
President Dwight Eisenhower warns against United States intervention in Vietnam.
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| 1954-07-05
The Andhra Pradesh High Court is established.
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| 1954-01-01
NBC makes the first coast-to-coast NTSC color broadcast when it telecast the Tournament of Roses Parade , with public demonstrations given across the United States on prototype color receivers.
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| 1954-05-10
Bill Haley & His Comets release "Rock Around the Clock", the first rock and roll record to reach number one on the Billboard charts.
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| 1954-11-19
Télé Monte Carlo, Europe's oldest private television channel, is launched by Prince Rainier III.
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| 1954-11-10
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower dedicates the USMC War Memorial (Iwo Jima memorial) in Arlington National Cemetery.
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| 1954-07-07
Elvis Presley made his radio debut when WHBQ Memphis played his first recording for Sun Records, "That's All Right."
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| 1954-11-27
Alger Hiss is released from prison after serving 44 months for perjury.
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| 1954-04-22
Red Scare: The Army-McCarthy Hearings begin.
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| 1954-11-30
In Sylacauga, Alabama, United States, the Hodges Meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap in the only documented case of a human being hit by a rock from space.
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| 1954-03-13
Battle of Điện Biên Phủ: Viet Minh forces attack the French.
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| 1954-03-30
The Yonge Street subway line opens in Toronto. It is the first subway in Canada.
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| 1954-08-13
Radio Pakistan broadcasts the National Anthem of Pakistan for the first time.
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| 1954-04-12
Bill Haley & His Comets record "Rock Around the Clock" in New York City.
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| 1954-03-04
Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, announces the first successful kidney transplant.
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| 1954-10-19
First ascent of Cho Oyu
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| 1954-06-09
McCarthyism: Joseph Welch, special counsel for the United States Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during hearings on whether Communism has infiltrated the Army 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?"
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| 1954-08-15
Alfredo Stroessner begins his dictatorship in Paraguay.
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| 1954-11-22
The Humane Society of the United States is founded.
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| 1954-10-18
Texas Instruments announces the first Transistor radio.
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| 1954-08-23
First flight of the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft.
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| 1954-01-20
The National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
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| 1954-05-06
Roger Bannister becomes the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.
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| 1954-05-17
The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.
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| 1954-10-31
Algerian War of Independence: The Algerian National Liberation Front begins a revolt against French rule.
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| 1954-05-07
Indochina War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat (the battle began on March 13).
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| 1954-09-08
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is established.
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| 1954-04-01
President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.
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| 1954-04-07
President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his "domino theory" speech during a news conference.
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| 1954-06-14
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill into law that places the words "under God" into the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance.
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| 1954-10-24
Dwight D. Eisenhower pledges United States support to South Vietnam
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| 1954-09-30
The U.S. Navy submarine USS Nautilus is commissioned as the world's first nuclear reactor powered vessel.
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| 1954-12-02
Red Scare: The United States Senate votes 65 to 22 to condemn Joseph McCarthy for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute".
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| 1954-02-25
Gamal Abdul Nasser is made premier of Egypt.
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| 1954-02-23
The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.
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| 1954-03-01
Puerto Rican nationalists attack the United States Capitol building, injuring five Representatives.
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| 1954-10-11
First Indochina War: The Viet Minh take control of North Vietnam.
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| 1954-07-15
First flight of the Boeing 367-80, prototype for both the Boeing 707 and C-135 series.
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| 1954-04-26
The Geneva Conference, an effort to restore peace in Indochina and Korea, begins.
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| 1954-09-29
The convention establishing CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) is signed.
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| 1954-01-21
The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States.
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| 1954-10-27
Benjamin O. Davis Jr. becomes the first African-American general in the United States Air Force.
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| 1954-12-15
The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands was signed.
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| 1954-09-26
Japanese rail ferry Toya Maru sinks during a typhoon in the Tsugaru Strait, Japan killing 1,172.
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| 1954-04-08
A Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair Harvard collided with a Trans-Canada Airlines Canadair North Star over Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, killing 37 people.
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| 1954-12-02
The Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and the Republic of China, is signed in Washington, D.C..
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| 1954-07-31
First ascent of K2, by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio.
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| 1954-03-19
Joey Giardello knocks out Willie Tory in round seven at Madison Square Garden in the first televised prize boxing fight shown in colour.
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| 1954-08-24
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas, president of Brazil, commits suicide and is succeeded by João Café Filho.
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| 1954-02-18
The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles, California.
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| 1954-09-20
New Zealand's Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents reports just ten days after concluding hearings.
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| 1954-05-13
The anti-National Service Riots, by Chinese Middle School students in Singapore, take place.
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| 1954-03-09
McCarthyism: CBS television broadcasts the See It Now episode, "A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy", produced by Fred Friendly.
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| 1954-06-15
UEFA (Union des Associations Européennes de Football) is formed in Basel, Switzerland.
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| 1954-10-28
The modern Kingdom of the Netherlands is re-founded as a federal monarchy.
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| 1954-07-21
First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
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| 1954-06-18
Pierre Mendès-France becomes Prime Minister of France.
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