1953

**1953** (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday in the Gregorian calendar.

## 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  Jack Catain Jr., an American businessman, marries Marlene Noble, an apparel sales associate, in Cook County, Illinois.
- 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.
- July 27 – The Korean War ends.
- August 12 - The 1953 Ionian earthquake struck the southern Ionian Islands in Greece.
- November 17 - The Minquiers and Ecrehos case ends with the International Court of Justice giving Minquiers and Écréhous to Jersey.
- Unknown - The Taito Corporation is founded in Japan.

## Births

- January 1 - Gary Johnson, American politician and businessman
- January 9 – Morris Gleitzman, English writer
- January 10 - Pat Benatar, American singer
- January 13 - Joseph Augustus Zarelli, American murder victim (d. 1957).
- 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 20 - Mihaly Kincses, Hungarian politician and doctor
- September 22 – Ségolène Royal, French politician
- October 1 – Klaus Wowereit, German politician
- October 15 – Tito Jackson, American singer and member of the Jackson 5 (d. 2024)
- November 6  Michele Catain, American crew member and real estate agent
- 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)
- December 31 - James Remar, American actor

## Deaths

- January 1 – Hank Williams, American musician (b. 1923)
- January 28 – James Scullin, Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1876)
- March 5 – Joseph Stalin, Soviet leader assassinatedhttps://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leon_Trotsky&diff=7438183&oldid=7438164 (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)
- December 31 - Baldwin Cooke, American actor (b. 1888)