- February 10
- US President Dwight Eisenhower warns against US intervention in Vietnam. [1]
- February 11
- In Los Angeles, California, the 6th Annual Emmy Awards are presented, hosted by Ed Sullivan.
- Best Audience Participation, Quiz or Panel Program: This Is Your Life and What's My Line?
- Best Children's Program: Kukla, Fran, and Ollie
- Best Dramatic Program: The United States Steel Hour
- Best Female Star of a Regular Series: Eve Arden for Our Miss Brooks
- Best Male Star of a Regular Series: Donald O'Connor for The Colgate Comedy Hour
- Best Mystery, Action, or Adventure Program: Dragnet
- Best New Program: Make Room for Daddy and The United States Steel Hour
- Best Program of News or Sports: See It Now
- Best Public Affairs Program: Victory at Sea
- Best Series Supporting Actor: Art Carney for The Jackie Gleason Show
- Best Series Supporting Actress: Vivian Vance for I Love Lucy
- Best Situation Comedy: I Love Lucy
- Best Variety Program: Omnibus
- Most Outstanding Personality: Edward R. Murrow.
[1] [169]
- February 15
- First bevatron in operation-Berkeley, California, USA. [1]
- February 17
- The Detroit Auto Show opens for press previews, in Michigan. The Ford Motor Company shows its new two-seat convertible, calling it a "personal car", with the name "Fairlane". (Two days later, the official name Thunderbird will be announced. Ford's entry in the sports car market becomes a major part of General Motors' decision to continue production of the Corvette.) [8]
- February 23
- First mass inoculation with Salk vaccine (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). [1]
- February 26
- First typesetting machine (photo engraving) is used, in Quincy, Massachusetts, USA. [1] [5]
- Michigan Representative Ruth Thompson (Republican) introduces legislation to ban mailing "obscene, lewd, lascivious or filthy" phonograph (rock and roll) records. [1]
- February 28
- US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island. [1]
- March 1
- Four Puerto Ricans open fire in US House of Representatives injuring five Representatives. [1]
- US explodes 15 megaton hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll. [1]
- March 4
- Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, announces the first successful kidney transplant. [5]
- March 9
- First local color TV commercial, on WNBT-TV (WNBC-TV) New York City, New York (Castro Decorators). [1]
- March 11
- US Army charges Senator Joseph McCarthy used undue pressure tactics. [1]
- March 19
- First rocket-driven sled on rails is tested in Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA. [1]
- March 20
- The King and I closes at Saint James Theater in New York City after 1246 performances. [1]
- First newspaper vending machine used (Columbia, Pennsylvania). [1]
- March 22
- First shopping mall opened in Southfield, Michigan, USA. [1]
- March 25
- 26th Academy Awards: From Here to Eternity, William Holden and Audrey Hepburn win. [1]
- RCA manufactures first color TV set (12.5-inch screen at US$1,000). [1]
- March 26
- US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island. [1]
- March 28
- 8th Tony Awards: Teahouse of the August Moon and Kismet win. [1]
- March 31
- US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is established. [1]
- April 1
- First army helicopter battalion is formed, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, USA. [1]
- Earthquake/tsunami ravages Aleutians, 200 killed. [1]
- April 6
- TV Dinner is first put on sale by Swanson and Sons. [1]
- US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island. [1]
- April 7
- US President Dwight Eisenhower fears "domino-effect" in Indo-China. [1]
- April 13
- American physicist Robert Oppenheimer accused of being a communist. [1]
- April 21
- US Air Force flies French battalion to Vietnam. [1]
- In the Foley Square U.S. Courthouse in New York, a congressional subcommittee begins a three-day televised investigation of the causes of juvenile delinquency. The comic-book industry is vilified, leading to laws in several states restricting comic sales, and industry self-censorship. [132.124]
- April 22
- US Senate Army-McCarthy televised hearings begin. [1]
- April 24
- First American, civilian pilot, P R Holden, wounded in Indochina. [1]
- April 25
- Bell labs announces first solar battery (New York City, New York). [1]
- US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island. [1]
- April 26
- Polio vaccine trials begin at the Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Virginia. [1] [129]
- May 4
- US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island. [1]
- May 7
- US, Great Britain, and France reject Russian membership in NATO. [1]
- May 13
- US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak. [1]
- May 17
- U.S. Supreme Court rules unanimously in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, that racial segregation in public educational facilities is unconstitutional. [1] [129]
- May 19
- Postmaster General Summerfield approves US Central Intelligence Agency mail-opening project. [1]
- May 21
- American amendment to give 18-year-olds right to vote is defeated. [1]
- May 24
- First rocket attains 150 mile (241 km) altitude, White Sands, New Mexico, USA. [1]
- IBM announces vacuum tube "electronic" brain that could perform 10 million operations an hour. [1]
- June 4
- Arthur Murray flies X-1A rocket plane to record 27,000m. [1]
- June 7
- First microbiology laboratory dedicated (New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA). [1]
- June 9
- Joseph Welch asks US Senator Joseph McCarthy "Have you no sense of decency". [1]
- June 14
- US President Dwight Eisenhower signs order adding words "under God" to the Pledge. [1]
- June 22
- US Congress passes revised organic act for Virgin Islands. [1]
- June 23
- 122 degrees F (50 degrees C), Overton, Nevada (state record). [1]
- June 27
- US Central Intelligence Agency-sponsored rebels overthrow elected government of Guatemala. [1]
- June 29
- Atomic Energy Commission voted against, reinstating Dr J Robert Oppenheimer. [1]
- July 11
- First White Citizens Council organizes in Indianola, Mississippi. [1]
- July 14
- 117 degrees F (47 degrees C), East St. Louis, Illinois (state record). [1]
- 118 degrees F (48 degrees C), Warsaw and Union, Missouri (state record). [1]
- The US Treasury Department declares all US gold coins made prior to April 5, 1933 are legal to own. [434.60]
- July 15
- First commercial jet transport plane built in US tested (Boeing 707). [1]
- July 17
- Construction begins on Disneyland in Anaheim, California. [1]
- August 24
- In the USA, the Communist Control Act is passed, at height of McCarthyism. [1]
- August 29
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO) opens. [1]
- August 31
- US Census Bureau is established. [1]
- Hurricane Carol (first major named storm) hits New England, 70 die. [1]
- September 2
- Hurricane Edna batters northeast US, killing 20. [1]
- September 11
- First Miss America TV broadcast. [1]
- September 14
- Hurricane Edna (second of 1954) hits New York City, causing US$50 million damage. [1]
- September 20
- First FORTRAN (FORmula TRANslation) computer program is run. [1]
- September 27
- School integration begins in Washington DC and Baltimore, Maryland, public schools. [1]
- September 30
- The U.S. Navy submarine USS Nautilus is commissioned as the world's first nuclear reactor powered vessel. [1] [5]
- October 5
- Hurricane Hazel hits Eastern US. [1]
- October 18
- Hurricane Hazel (third of 1954) becomes most severe to hit US. [1]
- October 22
- Ford Thunderbird cars arrive in dealer showrooms in the USA. 4,000 orders are placed on the first day. [8]
- October 23
- USA, Great Britain, France, and USSR agree to end occupation of Germany. [1]
- October 27
- The ABC TV network airs the first Disneyland TV show, on Wednesday night, 7:30 to 8:30. The first episode is titled The Disneyland Story. Approximately 30.8 million American viewers watch the show. [6]
- October 30
- Defense Department announces elimination of all segregated regiments. [1]
- November 2
- JS Thurmond becomes first US senator elected by write-in vote (South Carolina). [1]
- November 10
- Iwo Jima Memorial (servicemen raising US flag) dedicated in Arlington. [1]
- Lieutenant Colonel John Strapp travels 632mph in a rocket sled. [1]
- November 12
- Ellis Island, immigration station in New York Harbor, closes, after processing more than 12 million immigrants since opening in 1892. [1] [129]
- November 23
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes for the first time above the peak it reached just before the 1929 crash. [5]
- November 24
- First US Presidential airplane christened. [1]
- November 28
- In Sylacauga, Alabama, USA a woman is struck by a 4kg meteorite that crashed through the roof of a house. [521]
- November 30
- First meteorite (8 pounds) known to strike a woman (Liz Hodges in Sylacauga, Alabama, USA). [1]
- December 2
- US Senate censures Joe McCarthy (Senator-Republican-Wisconsin) for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute". [1]
- December 4
- The first Burger King opens in Miami, Florida. [5]
- December 11
- USS Forrestal christened in Newport News, Virginia. [1]
- December 17
- First fully automated railroad freight yard (Gary, Indiana, USA). [1]
- December 25
- Rhythm and blues recording star Johnny Ace dies offstage during a show in Houston, Texas, by playing and losing at Russian Roulette. [1] [467]
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