Baby Boomers - What Happened in 1953?
If you are a baby boomer born in 1953, you will find this information extremely interesting. Hope you enjoy learning more about the year you were born! If you have a friend or a family member born in 1953, send them a link to this page. They will appreciate it!
Major Events
- Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower inaugurated President of United States
- Richard M. Nixon Vice President
- The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare is established with Cabinet status
- FBI rounds up communist leaders who were advocating overthrow of the government
- The U.S. Supreme Court gave power to enforce right-to-work laws
- An expedition led by Sir Edmund Hillary is the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest
- Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed by electrocution at Sing Sing Prison
- The Korean War ends in stalemate
- Nikita Khrushchev wins power struggle in Soviet Union after the death of Josef Stalin
- Moscow announces explosion of its first hydrogen bomb
- Josef Broz Tito elected president of Yugoslavia
- Queen Elizabeth II crowned queen of England
- The Soviet Union crushes protests against the communist government of East Germany
Business and Economy
- U.S. GDP (1998 dollars): $379.7 billion
- Federal spending: $76.10 billion
- Federal debt: $266.0 billion
- Consumer Price Index: 26.7
- Unemployment: 3.0%
- President Eisenhower ends all wage, salary, and price controls
Science and Technology
- The first color television sets go on sale for about $1,175
- U.S. Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager sets speed record in X-1 rocket plane
- First successful open-heart surgery is performed in Philadelphia
- Dr. Jonas Salk announced a polio vaccine had been used safely and successfully used in preliminary trials on 90 children and adults
- Albert Schweitzer was given the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize
- First clear evidence linking lung cancer to cigarette smoking
- James Watson and Francis Crick determine the structure of DNA
- Alfred Kinsey publishes "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female"
Sports
- Detroit Lions Win the NFL Championship
- NY Yankees defeat Brooklyn Dodgers to win the World Series (4-2)
- Minneapolis Lakers defeat New York to win the NBA Championship (4-1)
- U.S. district Judge Grim rules that the NFL can black out TV home games
- St. Louis Browns move to Baltimore to become the Orioles
- Boston Braves move to Milwaukee
Famous Baby Boomers Born in 1953
- Bill Gates
- Chaka Khan
- David Berkowitz
- Desi Arnaz Jr.
- Jeb Bush
- John Edwards
- Kathie Lee Gifford
- Kim Basinger
- Pierce Brosnan
- Tim Allen
- Tony Blair
Arts and Entertainment
- Books: The Robe, The Silver Chalice, Desiree, Battle Cry, From Here to Eternity, The High and the Mighty, Beyond This Place, Time and Time Again, Lord Vanity, The Unconquered
- Movies: The Robe, From Here to Eternity, Shane, Roman Holiday, Peter Pan, How to Marry a Millionaire, The War of The Worlds, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
- Songs: Money Honey; Your Cheatin' Heart; Crying In The Chapel; Gee; Shake A Hand; Honey Hush; Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean; Hound Dog; Kaw-Liga; The Things That I Used To Do
- Popular Musicians: Drifters, Hank Williams, Orioles, Crows, Faye Adams, Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, Guitar Slim
- TV Shows: I Love Lucy, Dragnet, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, You Bet Your Life, The Bob Hope Show
- Elvis Presley records for the first time
- 68% of all United States television sets were tuned in to I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth to Desi Arnaz, Jr. on the same day the fictional Little Ricky is born on I Love Lucy
Everyday Life
- U.S. Population: 160,184,192
- Life expectancy: 68.8 years
- Average yearly income: $4,242
- Cost of a new home: $9,550
- Cost of a new car: $1,650
- Federal hourly minimum wage: $.75
- Cost of a first-class stamp: $.03
Popular Culture
- The first issue of TV Guide magazine hits the newsstands in 10 cities with a circulation of 1,560,000 - on the cover are Lucille Ball and her newborn son, Desi Arnaz IV
- Playboy magazine first issue features Marilyn Monroe as its first cover girl and nude centerfold
- New York adopts three color traffic lights
- The Corvette sports car goes on sale
- Dr. John H. Gibbon performs the first successful open heart surgery in which the blood is artificially circulated and oxygenated by a heart-lung machine
- Chevrolet begins to manufacturer plastic-bodied Corvettes
- Dow Chemical creates Saran Wrap
- New York adopts three color traffic lights
- Kraft Cheez Whiz is introduced
- Con-Tact paper invented
- The French Sardine Co. becomes Star-Kist Foods
- The Church of Scientology is founded by L. Ron Hubbard, a science-fiction writer
- The first 3-D movie, Arch Oboler's Bwana Devil, is shown
- The Academy Awards are televised for the first time
- Jacqueline Bouvier marries John F. Kennedy
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