- DNA Discovered
- Hillary and Norgay Climb Mt. Everest
- Joseph Stalin dies (March 5). Georgi Malenkov becomes Soviet Premier; Lavrenti Beria, Minister of Interior; Vyacheslav Molotov, Foreign Minister (March 6)
- East Berliners rise against Communist rule; quelled by tanks (June 17)
- Korean armistice signed (July 27)
- Moscow announces explosion of hydrogen bomb (Aug. 20)
- Tito becomes president of Yugoslavia

View the Top Singles from 1953
 

U.S. EVENTS
- Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower inaugurated President of United States (Jan. 20)
- Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed in Sing Sing prison (June 19)
- Alleged Communist Charlie Chaplin leaves U.S. for good. Justice Dept. warns him any attempt to reenter the country will be challenged.

SPORTS
World Series
NY Yankees d. Brooklyn Dodgers (4-2)
NBA Championship
Minneapolis Lakers d. New York (4-1)
Stanley Cup
Montreal d. Boston (4-1)
Wimbledon
Women: Maureen Connolly d. D. Hart (8-6 7-5)
Men: Vic Seixas d. K. Nielsen (9-7 6-3 6-4)
Kentucky Derby Champion
Dark Star
NCAA Basketball Championship
Indiana d. Kansas (69-68)
NCAA Football Champions
Maryland (10-1-0)

ENTERTAINMENT
Events
- The first issue of TV Guide magazine hits the newsstands on April 3 in 10 cities with a circulation of 1,560,000.
- To counteract the threat of television, Hollywood thinks big and develops wide-screen processes such as CinemaScope, first seen in The Robe.
- Loretta Young abandons Hollywood for her stylish debut on the small screen.
- Lucille Ball gives birth to Desi Arnaz, Jr. on same day the fictional Little Ricky is born on I Love Lucy.
- Playboy magazine hits newsstands. A nude Marilyn Monroe graces the cover.
Movies
- The Robe, From Here to Eternity, Shane, Roman Holiday
Entertainment Awards
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway
Drama: Picnic, William Inge
Academy Award, Best Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth, Cecil B. DeMille, producer (Paramount)
Nobel Prize for Literature: Sir Winston Churchill (UK)
Miss America: Neva Jane Langley (GA)