- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leads the first major event of the U.S. civil rights movement, a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama
- President Eisenhower suffers heart attack, is hospitalized for three weeks
- World War II Allies sign treaty restoring Austria’s independence
- Interstate Commerce Commission orders all U.S. interstate trains and buses to end segregation practices
MAJOR EVENTS:
- The AFL and CIO labor unions merge
BUSINESS & ECONOMY:
- UHF television developed
- Artificial diamonds created for the first time
- Albert Einstein dies
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY:
- World Series: Brooklyn over New York Yankees, 4-3
- "Sugar" Ray Robinson wins world boxing championship
SPORTS:
- Movies: Marty, The Seven Year Itch, The Rose Tattoo, Smiles of a Summer Night
- Songs: Rock Around the Clock, The Yellow Rose of Texas, Davy Crockett, Love is a Many Splendored Thing
- TV Shows: Truth or Consequences, Lawrence Welk Show, The Honeymooners, Gunsmoke, Name that Tune, $64,000 Question, Lassie, You’ll Never Get Rich
- Books: The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, Sloan Wilson; Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov; Witness for the Prosecution, Agatha Christie
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT:
- Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California
- Rudolph Flesch publishes Why Johnny Can’t Read, a stinging criticism of U.S. education
EVERYDAY LIFE:
- Pink clothes for men become a fashion rage
