- Nikita Khrushchev wins power struggle in Soviet Union after the death of Josef Stalin
- Josef Broz Tito elected president of Yugoslavia
- Convicted spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed
- Korean armistice signed
- U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare (now Health and Human Services) created
- Soviet Union detonates its first hydrogen bomb
MAJOR EVENTS:
- President Eisenhower ends all wage, salary and price controls
BUSINESS & ECONOMY:
- U.S. Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager sets speed record in X-1 rocket plane
- An expedition led by Sir Edmund Hillary is the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest
- James Watson and Francis Crick determine the structure of DNA
- Alfred Kinsey publishes Sexual Behavior in the Human Female
- First clear evidence linking lung cancer to cigarette smoking
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY:
- World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn, 4-2 (fifth consecutive win)
- St. Louis Browns move to Baltimore to become the Orioles
- Boston Braves move to Milwaukee
SPORTS:
- Movies: Roman Holiday, From Here to Eternity, The Robe (first major motion picture filmed in wide-screen CinemaScope)
- Songs: Doggie in the Window, I Believe, Stranger in Paradise, I Love Paris
- TV Shows: Twenty Questions, Red Skelton Show, GE Theatre, Make Room for Dauly
- Books: Casino Royale, Ian Fleming; Battle Cry, Leon Uris
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT:
- TV Guide debuts; on the cover of the first issue are Lucille Ball and her newborn son, Desi Arnaz IV
