World news events

  • Soviet Union rejects proposals to reunify Germany
  • CIA intervenes in Guatemala, helping to overthrow government
  • U.S. Southeast Asian and Pacific nations form the Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO)
  • Radical Puerto Rican nationalists attack House of Representatives, shooting five congressmen
  • U.S. and Canada begin construction of an early-warning radar system in northern Canada
  • The US Supreme Court, in the case of Brown v. the Board of Education, ruled that segregation was unconstitutional.
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Science & Technology

  • Increasing global concern about nuclear fallout and radioactive waste disposal
  • Dr. Jonas Salk begins inoculating schoolchildren with his polio vaccine
  • Physicist and nuclear pioneer J. Robert Oppenheimer dismissed from government projects due to his political beliefs
  • First successful kidney transplant
  • The Soviets introduced the MIG–19
  • Lockheed tested its first "Hercules" turbo prop aircraft.
  • Boeing unveiled the "707."
  • Lockheed unveiled its new fighter, the "F–104 Starfighter."

Sports

  • NBA: Minneapolis Lakers vs. Syracuse Nationals Series: 4-3
  • NCAA Football: Ohio State & UCLA Record:10-0-0 & 9-0-0
  • Heisman Trophy: Alan Ameche, wisconsin, FB points: 1,068
  • Stanley Cup: Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Canadiens Series: 4-3
  • World Cup: West Germany vs. Hungary Score: 3-2
  • World Series: New York Giants vs. Cleveland Indians Series: 4-0

Movies

  • White Christmas
  • The Caine Mutiny
  • The Glenn Miller Story
  • The Egyptian
  • Rear Window
  • The High and the Mighty
  • Magnificent Obsession
  • Three Coins in the Fountain
  •  Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
  • Desiree

         Academy Awards

  • Best Picture: "On the Waterfront"
  • Best Director: Elia Kazan ... "On the Waterfront"
  • Best Actor: Marlon Brando ... "On the Waterfront"
  • Best Actress: Grace Kelly ... "The Country Girl"

 

Most Popular Books

Fiction
1."Not As a Stranger"...Morton Thompson. Scribner
2."Mary Anne"... Daphne du Maurier. Doubleday
3."Love Is Eternal"...Irving Stone. Doubleday
4."The Royal Box"...Frances Parkinson Keyes. Messner
5."The Egyptian"...Mika Waltari. Putnam
6."No Time for Sergeants"...Mac Hyman. Random House
7."Sweet Thursday"...John Steinbeck. Viking Press
8."The View from Pompey's Head"...Hamilton Basso. Doubleday
9."Never Victorious, Never Defeated"...Taylor Caldwell. McGraw-Hill
10. "Benton's Row"...Frank Yerby. Dial Press
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Nonfiction
1."The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version"... Nelson
2."The Power of Positive Thinking"... Norman Vincent Peale.
3."Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book"... Meredith
4."Betty Crocker's Good and Easy Cook Book"... Simon & Schuster
5."The Tumult and the Shouting"by Grantland Rice. A. S. Barnes
6."I'll Cry Tomorrow"... Lillian Roth, Gerold Frank and Mike Connolly. Frederick Fell
7."The Prayers of Peter Marshall"... ed. by Catherine Marshall.
8."This I Believe, 2"... ed. by Raymond Swing. Simon & Schuster
9."But We Were Born Free"...Elmer Davis. Bobbs-Merrill
10."The Saturday Evening Post Treasury"...ed. by Roger Butterfield.

 

Music

1. Shake Rattle and Roll - Bill Haley and The Comets
2. Young At Heart - Frank Sinatra
3. Sh-Boom (Life Could Be A Dream) - The Crew-Cuts
4. Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight - Spaniels
5. Have Mercy Baby - The Dominoes
6. Mambo Italiano - Rosemary Clooney
7. Mr Sandman - The Chordettes
8. Three Coins In The Fountain - Al Alberts & Four Aces
9. Five Long Years - Eddie Boyd
10. Cry - Johnny Ray
11. Secret Love - Doris Day
12. This Ole House - Rosemary Clooney
13. Stranger In Paradise - Tony Martin
14. Wanted - Perry Como
15. Little Things Mean A Lot - Kitty Kallen
16. Till Then - Hilltoppers
17. Make Love To Me! - Jo Stafford
18. Naughty Lady of Shady Lane - Ames Brothers
19. I Need You Now - Eddie Fisher
20. I Don't Know - Willie Mabon
21. Hey There - Rosemary Clooney
22. Oh! My Papa - Eddie Fisher
23. Papa Loves Mambo - Perry Como
24. My Song - Johnny Ace and The Beale Streeters
25. What It Was, Was Football (Parts I & II) - Andy Griffith


 

 Number One Song according to Billboard Magazine:

November 21, 1953 - January 1, 1954: Rags To Riches - Tony Bennett
January 2 - February 26: Oh My Papa - Eddie Fisher
February 27 - March 12: Secret Love - Doris Day
March 13 - March 19: Make Love To Me - Jo Stafford
March 20 - March 26: Secret Love - Doris Day
March 27 - April 9: Make Love To Me - Jo Stafford
April 10 - May 28: Wanted - Perry Como
May 29 - August 6: Little Things Mean A Lot - Kitty Kallen
August 7 - September 24: Sh - Boom - Crew - Cuts
September 25 - November 5: Hey There - Rosemary Clooney
November 6 - November 12: This Ole House - Rosemary Clooney
November 13 - December 3: I Need You Now - Eddie Fisher
December 4, 1954 - January 21, 1955: Mr. Sandman - The Chordettes