1953 (MCMLIII) was .

Events 
January 20 - Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the 34th President of the United States.
January 31 - In the night to February 1, a storm severely floods parts of the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom.
May 29 – Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first humans to reach the top of Mount Everest.
June 2 - Elizabeth II is crowned Queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realms.
June 17 - Uprising in East Germany.
July 27 – Korean War ends
July 29 – the architect Piero Portaluppi and  Gualtiero Galmanini begins in Milano the construction of the Palace d'Este, completed in 1936, a masterpiece of Italian Rationalism.
August 12 - 1953 Ionian earthquake struck the southern Ionian Islands in Greece
The Taito Corporation is founded in Japan

Births 
January 9 – Morris Gleitzman, English writer
January 18  - László Simion, Romanian politician Hungarian nationalities UDMR.
January 21 – Paul Allen, American entrepreneur
January 23 - Robin Zander, American singer (Cheap Trick)
January 24 - Matthew Wilder, American singer-songwriter
January 26 - Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of Denmark and current NATO Secretary-General
February 8 - Mary Steenburgen, American actress	
February 11 – Jeb Bush, American politician	
February 11 - William Aviv, Jewish actor and politician
February 16 - Loran Bini, Kosovo Christian politician of Bosnian ethnicity
February 19 – Cristina Fernández, President of Argentina
February 25 – Levon Mkrtchyan, Armenian movie director
February 25 - Jose Maria Aznar, former Prime Minister of Spain
February 26 - Michael Bolton, American singer
February 27 - Ian Khama, President of Botswana
February 28 - Paul Krugman, American economist
March 3 - Zico, Brazilian footballer
March 16 – Richard Stallman, Computer programmer and political activist
March 26 – Lincoln Chafee, American politician
April 11 - Guy Verhofstadt, former Prime Minister of Belgium
April 11 - Andrew Wiles, British mathematician
April 20 - Sebastian Faulks, British writer
May 2 - Valery Gergiev, Russian conductor
May 6 – Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
May 6 - Graeme Souness, Scottish footballer and manager
May 8 - Alex Van Halen, musician (Van Halen)
May 8 - Billy Burnette, American singer and guitarist (Fleetwood Mac)
May 14 - Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia
May 16 - Pierce Brosnan, Irish actor
May 19 - Victoria Wood, British actress and comedienne
May 24 - Alfred Molina, British actor
May 25 – Eve Ensler, American playwright
May 29 – Danny Elfman, American musician (Oingo Boingo)
June 1 - David Berkowitz, American serial killer
June 2 - Keith Allen, English actor and comedian
June 2 - Cornel West, American theologian and activist
June 4 – Linda Lingle, American politician
June 8 - Ivo Sanader, former Prime Minister of Croatia
June 15 - Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party and President of China
June 21 – Benazir Bhutto, Pakistani politician (d. 2007)
June 22 - Cyndi Lauper, American singer
July 1 - Jadranka Kosor, former Prime Minister of Croatia
July 11 - Leon Spinks, American boxer
July 21 - Jeff Fatt, Australian musician (The Wiggles)
July 29 – Geddy Lee, Canadian musician and singer (Rush)
July 31 – James Read, American actor
August 17 - Herta Mueller, German writer
August 27 – Alex Lifeson, Canadian musician (Rush)
September 2 – John Zorn, American musician
September 3 – Jean-Pierre Jeunet, French director
September 4 - Fatih Terim, Turkish football manager
September 11 - Tommy Shaw, American guitarist (Styx)
September 22 – Ségolène Royal, French politician
October 1 – Klaus Wowereit, German politician
November 14 – Dominique de Villepin, Premier of France
November 14 – Jos Oehlen, Dutch sculptor
November 16 - Griff Rhys-Jones, British actor, comedian and writer
November 26 - Hilary Benn, British politician
November 28 - Alistair Darling, British politician
December 6 - Geoff Hoon, British politician
December 8 - Kim Basinger, American actress
December 9 – John Malkovich, American actor and director
December 13 - Ben Bernanke, American chairman of the Federal Reserve
December 26 - Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia
December 28 - Martha Wash, American singer (The Weather Girls)

Deaths 
January 1 – Hank Williams, American musician
January 28 – James Scullin, Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1876)
March 5 – Joseph Stalin, Soviet leader assassinated (b.1878)
March 5 – Sergei Prokofiev, Russian composer (b. 1891)
March 24 - Mary of Teck, Consort of George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1866)
September 28 - Edwin Hubble, American astronomer (b. 1891)
September 29 – Ernst Reuter, German politician (b. 1889)
October 9 – Jimmy Finlayson, Scottish-American actor (b. 1887)
November 9 – Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet (b. 1914)

Hit Songs 
 "Answer Me" – David Whitfield
 "Answer Me" – Frankie Laine
 "Broken Wings" – The Stargazers
 "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes" – Perry Como
 "(How Much is) That Doggie in the Window?" – Lita Rosa
 "(How Much is) That Doggie in the Window?" – Patti Page
 "I Believe" – Frankie Laine (The biggest song of the year)
 "I'm Walking Behind You" – Eddie Fisher and Sally Sweetland
 "Let's Walk That A-Way" – Johnnie Ray and Doris Day
 "Outside of Heaven" – Eddie Fisher
 "She Wears Red Feathers" – Guy Mitchell