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Top Song(s)
• Nat King Cole - Mona Lisa
• Anton Karas - Third Man Theme
• Patti Page - Tennessee Waltz
• Phil Harris - The Thing
• The Andrews Sisters - I Can Dream, Can't I?
Top Film(s)
• Sunset Blvd.
• In a Lonely Place
• All About Eve
• Harvey
• The Asphalt Jungle
Best Selling Book(s)
• The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury
• I, Robot - Isaac Asimov
• A Murder Is Announced - Agatha Christie
• A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
• The Grass Is Singing - Doris Lessing
Famous Deaths
• January 8 – Joseph Schumpeter, Czech economist, political scientist
• February 12 – Bernard Meninsky, Ukrainian-born British artist, painter, draughtsman and teacher
• March 19 - Edgar Rice Burroughs, American author (Tarzan)
• April 14 – Ramana Maharshi, Indian sage and jivanmukta
• May 24 - Isidore Ngei Ko Lat, Burmese catechist, Roman Catholic priest, martyr
• June 29 – Melitta Bentz, German entrepreneur, who invented the coffee filter in 1908
• July 22 – William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canadian political leader, 10th Prime Minister of Canada
• September 23 - Kenneth Muir, British soldier, posthumous winner of the Victoria Cross
• October 26 – Miguel Mariano Gómez, Cuban politician, 7th President of Cuba
• December 11 - Leslie Comrie, New Zealand astronomer, computing pioneer
Medical/Science/Technology
• Thoracic surgeon Norman Barrett describes the condition which will become known as Barrett's oesophagus.
• Enrico Fermi discusses the Fermi paradox.
• Californium, a radioactive actinide transuranium element, is first synthesized.
• Dutch astronomer Jan Oort postulates the existence of an orbiting cloud of planets.
• Full-scale release of myxomatosis for control of the Australian rabbit population.
• In the early history of video games, Bertie the Brain is first displayed to the public.
• The first cadaveric internal kidney transplantation is performed on Ruth Tucker, with polycystic kidney disease.
• The typical antipsychotic Chlorpromazine is first synthesized.
• Antihistamine discovered.
• An external artificial pacemaker is developed by John A. Hopps in conjunction with Wilfred Gordon Bigelow.
Political Events
• January 5 – U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver introduces a resolution calling for an investigation of organized crime in the U.S.
• January 12 – Secretary of State Dean Acheson delivers his "Perimeter Speech", outlining the boundary of U.S. security guarantees.
• January 31 – President Harry S. Truman orders the development of the hydrogen bomb.
• February 13 - The U.S. Army begins to deploy anti-aircraft cannons to protect nuclear stations and military targets.
• April 14 – NSC 68 is issued by the United States National Security Council.
• May 24 – The United States Maritime Administration is formed (under the Department of Commerce).
• June 27 – President Harry S. Truman orders American military forces to aid in the defense of South Korea.
• July 8 – G. Mennen Williams, the Governor of Michigan, is attacked and briefly held hostage.
• September 30 – NSC 68 is approved by President Harry S. Truman, setting United States foreign policy for the next 20 years.
• December 16 – The Office of Defense Mobilization is established in the United States.
National Events
• January 7 – A fire consumes Mercy Hospital in Davenport, Iowa, killing 41 patients.
• January 17 – 11 thieves steal more than $2,000,000 from an armored car in Boston, Massachusetts.
• February 15 – Walt Disney releases his twelfth animated feature film, Cinderella, in Hollywood.
• May 25 - The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel is formally opened to traffic in New York City.
• June 1 – Mauna Loa in Hawaii starts erupting.
• June 21 - Joe DiMaggio gets his 2,000th hit, a 7th-inning single off Chick Pieretti, in a 8-2 victory over Cleveland
.
• August 25 – Althea Gibson becomes the 1st African American woman to compete at the U.S. National Championships (tennis).
• October 2 – The comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz is first published in seven U.S. newspapers.
• October 11 – The FCC in the United States issues the first license to broadcast television in color.
• December 31 – The inaugural 12 Hours of Sebring automobile endurance race is held in Florida.
Worldwide Events
• January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
• January 21 – In the United States, suspected spy Alger Hiss is convicted on two counts of perjury.
• February 8 - A payment is first made by Diners Club card, in the United States (the first use of a charge card).
• March 3 – Poland indicates its intention to exile all Germans.
• March 8 – The first Volkswagen Type 2 (a.k.a. Microbus) rolls off the assembly line in Wolfsburg, Germany.
• June 8 – Sir Thomas Blamey becomes the only Field Marshal in Australian history.
• June 25 – Korean War: North Korean troops cross the 38th parallel into South Korea.
• July 17 – The Suppression of Communism Act (passed on June 26) comes into force in South Africa.
• August 8 – Winston Churchill expresses support for the idea of a pan-European army allied with Canada and the United States.
• September 7 – The Knockshinnoch Disaster in Scotland kills 13 coal miners; 116 are rescued.