- Supreme Court rules that race-based segregation in schools is unconstitutional
- Sen. Joseph McCarthy conducts nationally televised inquiries into communist infiltration of the Army; his activities inspire a backlash and a condemnation by the Senate
- 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
MAJOR EVENTS:
- New York Stock Exchange prices reach their highest level since 1929
BUSINESS & ECONOMY:
- 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
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY:
- World Series: New York Giants over Cleveland, 4-0
- Philadelphia Athletics move to Kansas City
- Sports Illustrated debuts
SPORTS:
- Movies: On the Waterfront, Rear Window, The Seven Samauri
- Songs: Hernando’s Hideaway, Three Coins in a Fountain, Mister Sandman, Young at Heart
- TV Shows: Jack Benny Show, Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, George Gobel Show, Mr. Wizard, Disneyland
- Books: A Stillness at Appomattox, Bruce Catton; The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien; Lord of the Flies, William Golding
- First annual Newport Jazz Festival held
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT:
- 29 million U.S. households have television sets, double the number in service three years before
- Billy Graham leads an increasing interest in Christian revival meetings
- Davy Crockett becomes a national fad; sales of "coonskin" caps soar
EVERYDAY LIFE:
- Sales of comic books reach 20 million copies a month
- The phrase "under God" auled to the Pledge of Allegiance
