1951
1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar.
EventsJanuary January 9 - United Nations headquarters officially opens (New York City). January 15 - Ilse Koch, The "Witch of Buchenwald," wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment in a court in West Germany. January 17 - Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul. January 20 - Avalanches in the Alps - 240 die and 45.000 are buried for a time in Switzerland, Austria and Italy January 27 - Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with a one-kiloton bomb dropped on Frenchman Flats, northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.
February February 1 - United Nations General Assembly declares that China is the aggressor in the Korean War February 12 - Marriage of Muhammad Reza Shah to Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiari February 19- Jean Lee becomes the last woman hanged in Australia. When,Lee and her two pimps are hanged for the murder and tourture of a 73 year old bookmaker. February 24 - Nestor is born at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada February 27 - The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, is ratified.
March March 6 - The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg begins. March 7 - Korean War: Operation Ripper - In Korea, United Nations troops led by General Matthew Ridgeway begin an assault against the Chinese "volunteers". March 12 - The Dennis the Menace comic strip appears in newspapers across the U.S. for the first time. March 14 - Korean War: For the second time, United Nations troops recapture Seoul. March 14 - West Germany joins UNESCO March 29 - Red Scare: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. On April 5 they are sentenced to receive the death penalty. March 30 - Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau.
April April 1 - Australia, New Zealand, United States security treaty signed in San Francisco. April 1 - Female suffrage in Greece April 11 - Stone of Scone found in Scottish church April 18 - Treaty of Paris (1951) adopted, establishing European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC); see EU. April 21 - The National Olympic Committee of the USSR is formed April 28 - Menzies Govt Re-elected for 2nd term
May May 1 - Opera house of Geneva almost destroyed in a fire May 14 - First volunteer-run passenger trains on Talyllyn Railway, Wales. May 15 - Military coup in Bolivia
June June 14 - UNIVAC I is dedicated by U.S. Census Bureau.[1] June 15 - July 1- In New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, thousands of acres (several km²) of forests were destroyed in fires.
July July 5 - William Shockley invents the junction transistor. July 10 - Korean War: At Kaesong, armistice negotiations begin. July 14 - In Joplin, Missouri, George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument in honor of an African American. July 16 - King Leopold III of Belgium signs the act of abdication in favour of his son Baudouin. July 17 - Baudouin takes the oath as king of Belgium, after his father abdicated the day before. July 20 - King Abdullah I of Jordan is assassinated while attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem.
September September 1 - The United States, Australia and New Zealand all sign a mutual defense pact, called the ANZUS Treaty (for "Australia, New Zealand, United States"). September 8 - Treaty of San Francisco: In San Francisco, California, 48 nations sign Sign a peace treaty with Japan in formal recognition of the end of the Pacific War. September 10 - The United Kingdom begins an economic boycott of Iran. September 20 - NATO accepts Greece and Turkey as members September 26-28 - Blue sun seen over Europe; effect is due to ash coming from the Canadian forest fires four months previously
October October 7 - Malayan Emergency - communist insurgents kill British commander Sir Henry Gurney October 16 - Assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, president of Pakistan October 21 - Storm in southern Italy - over 100 dead October 26 - Winston Churchill re-elected British Prime Minister; his foreign minister is Anthony Eden October 27 - Farouk of Egypt declares himself also as a king of Sudan - no support
November November 1 - First military exercises for nuclear war, with infantry troops included, in the Nevada desert November 11 - Juan Peron re-elected president of Argentina November 20 - Po river floods in northern Italy November 10 - Direct-dial coast-to-coast telephone service begins in the United States. November 24 - The Broadway play Gigi opens starring little known actress Audrey Hepburn playing the lead character.
December December 6 - State of emergency in Egypt due to increasing riots December 13 - Water tank collapses in Tucamcari, New Mexico - 4 dead, 200 buildings destroyed December 16 - Salar Jung Museum is opened to the public by the Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru. December 24 - Libya becomes independent from Italy
Undated A fourth, and final, forest fire starts in the Tillamook Burn; but unlike earlier fires this one only burns 32,700 acres (132 km²), and within area already affected by the earlier fires. IBM United Kingdom formed
Year in topic 1951 in film*An American in Paris*The African Queen, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn*A Streetcar Named Desire*Flying Leathernecks starring John Wayne 1951 in literature*The Catcher in the Rye 1951 in music*The release of "Rocket 88", a song by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats. Some music historians consider this record to be the first rock and roll recording. 1951 in rail transport*Southern Pacific Railroad subsidiary Sud Pacifico de Mexico (predecessor of Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Mexico) is sold to the Mexican government. 1951 in sports 1951 in television*January 3 - Dragnet airs on television for the first time (NBC). *May 28 - The U. S. Supreme Court upholds the FCC's approval of the CBS color television system*June 25 ? CBS presents its first commercial color telecast with Arthur Godfrey, Ed Sullivan, and Faye Emerson.*June - RCA demonstrates its new electronic color system. *August 11 - The first baseball games televised in color, a double-header between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves*September 4 - The first coast-to-coast TV broadcast in the United States, featuring President Truman. *September 22 - The first live sporting event seen coast-to-coast in the United States, a college football game between Duke and the University of Pittsburgh, is televised on NBC.*October 3 - The first live coast-to-coast network telecast of a World Series game in the United States*October 15 - I Love Lucy debuts on CBS.*December 24 - The first televised opera written for television, Amahl and the Night Visitor, airs on NBC. *Ernie Kovacs' Time for Ernie and Ernie in Kovacsland television shows premiere. Kovacs pushes the limits of television technology with his use of camera tricks and special effects.
BirthsJanuary-March January 6 - Kim Wilson, blues singer and harmonica player January 12 - Kirstie Alley, actress January 12 - Rush Limbaugh, radio personality January 30 - Phil Collins, musician February 6 - Princess Daphné of Belgium February 14 - Kevin Keegan, footballer and football manager February 15 - Melissa Manchester, singer February 15 - Jane Seymour, actress February 20 - Gordon Brown, British politician February 25 - Don Quarrie, Jamaican sprinter March 4 - Kenny Dalglish footballer and football manager March 4 - Chris Rea, British singer and musician March 8 - Karen Kain, Canadian ballerina March 17 - Kurt Russell, actor March 24 - Tommy Hilfiger, fashion designer
April-June April 6 - Bert Blyleven, baseball pitcher April 7 - Janis Ian, singer and songwriter April 10 - Steven Seagal, actor April 11 - Doris McGowen Beck Angleton, Houston, Texas socialite (d. 1997) April 13 - Peabo Bryson, pop singer April 13 - Peter Davison, actor and the fifth Doctor Who April 13 - Max Weinberg, drummer April 29 - Dale Earnhardt, stock car racer (NASCAR) (d. 2001) May 10 - Michael Tarn, actor May 15 - Jonathan Richman, musician May 23 - Anatoly Karpov, chess world champion May 26 - Sally Ride, astronaut May 30 - Stephen Tobolowsky, actor June 2 - Larry Robinson, Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman June 14 - Paul Boateng, British politician, first black Cabinet minister June 17 - Mary McAleese, eighth President of Ireland June 20 - Tress MacNeille, voice actressJuly-September July 3 - Richard Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer July 5 - Rich "Goose" Gossage, baseball pitcher July 8 - Anjelica Huston, actress July 10 - Cheryl Wheeler, singer/songwriter June 28 - Lloyd Maines, country music musician and record producer July 24 - Chris Smith, British politician, first "out" gay MP August 3 - Marcel Dionne, Hockey Hall of Famer August 6 - Daryl Somers, Australian television personality August 20 - Greg Bear, science fiction author August 23 - Akhmad Kadyrov, President of Chechnya August 23 - Queen Noor of Jordan August 24 - Orson Scott Card, science fiction author September 7 - Julie Kavner, voice actress September 12 - Joe Pantoliano, actor September 22 - David Coverdale, singer September 29 - Andrés Caicedo, Colombian writer (d. 1977) September 29 - Maureen Caird, Australian hurdler
October-December October 3 - Dave Winfield, Baseball Hall of Famer October 3 - Keb Mo', blues musician October 6 - Manfred Winkelhock, auto racing driver October 7 - John Mellencamp, musician/songwriter October 10 - Ratu Epeli Ganilau, Fijian soldier and statesman October 11 - Jean-Jacques Goldman, French pop singer, songwriter October 26 - Bootsy Collins, funk musician, singer, songwriter October 30 - Harry Hamlin, actor November 11 - Marc Summers, television host November 15 - Alamgir Hashmi, poet, scholar, professor November 19 - Lord Falconer, British lawyer and politician November 24 - Chet Edwards, American politician November 26 - Ilona Staller, aka Cicciolina, pornographic film actress, politician November 30 - Christian Bernard, F.R.C., Rosicrucian, Imperator of AMORC December 17 - Ken Hitchcock, NHL coach December 30 - Meredith Viera, television host
DeathsJanuary-MarchJanuary 10 - Sinclair Lewis, writerJanuary 29 - Frank Tarrant, Australian all-rounder and one of the best cricketers never to play a Test match (b. 1880).February 9 - Eddy Duchin, musicianFebruary 13 - Lloyd C. Douglas, authorFebruary 18 - Lyman Gilmore, Choctaw Native American airplane pioneerFebruary 19 - André Gide, authorFebruary 21 - Choudhary Rahmat Ali, founding father of Pakistan (b. 1895)March 6 - Ivor Novello, actor, musician, composerMarch 10 - Shidehara Kijuro, Japanese prime ministerMarch 21 - Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor (b. 1871)March 25 - Eddie Collins, Baseball Hall of Famer (b. 1887) March 25 - Oscar Micheaux, pioneer African-American, filmmaker/author
April-JuneApril 4 - Al Christie, early Hollywood director/producerApril 6 - Robert Broom, paleontologistApril 22 - Horace Donisthorpe, myrmecologistApril 23 - Charles G. Dawes, former U.S. vice-presidentMay 7 - Warner Baxter, actorMay 30 - Hermann Broch, Austrian authorJune 4 - Serge Koussevitzky, Russian conductor (b. 1874)June 13 - Ben Chifley, Australian Prime MinisterJune 21 - Charles Dillon Perrine, astronomer (b. 1867)July-SeptemberJuly 9 - Harry Heilmann, Baseball Hall of Famer (b. 1894)July 13 - Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian composerJuly 20 - King Abdullah, King of JordanJuly 23 - Robert J. Flaherty, filmmakerJuly 29 - Hozumi Shigeto, Japanese authorAugust 14 - William Randolph Hearst, American newspaper publisherAugust 15 - Artur Schnabel, Polish pianist (b. 1882)August 21 - Constant Lambert, composerOctober-DecemberOctober 16 - Liaquat Ali Khan, first Prime Minister of PakistanNovember 5 - Reggie Walker, South African athleteNovember 9 - Sigmund Romberg, composerNovember 13 - Nikolai Medtner, Russian pianist/composer
Physics - John Cockcroft, Ernest Walton Chemistry - Edwin McMillan, Glenn T. Seaborg Medicine - Max Theiler Literature - Pär Lagerkvist Peace - Léon Jouhaux
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