1951

Events in 1951 54

• 1863 – 1951 William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) Died 14 August 1951, aged 88 Hearst built the largest newspaper chain in American history and pioneered the sensationalist style of journalism known as yellow journalism. His publishing empire and personal life inspired Orson Welles' film Citizen Kane. He died at his home in Beverly Hills.
• 1867 – 1951 Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Marshal of Finland The military leader and statesman who led Finland through the Civil War and World War II. Widely considered the greatest Finn.
• 1869 – 1951 André Gide (1869-1951) Died 19 February 1951, aged 81 Gide was a French author awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1947 for his wide-ranging and psychologically probing body of work. His writing, including The Immoralist and The Counterfeiters, explored themes of personal freedom, morality, and sexuality that were controversial in his lifetime. He died in Paris.
• 1874 – 1951 Arnold Schoenberg 12-tone music inventor Austrian composer who invented the 12-tone technique, one of the most influential — and controversial — compositional methods of the 20th century.
• 1875 – 1951 Ferdinand Porsche (1875-1951) Died 30 January 1951, aged 75 Porsche was an Austrian-German automotive engineer who designed the original Volkswagen Beetle and founded the Porsche car company. His engineering work spanned racing cars, tanks, and mass-market vehicles across both World Wars. He died in Stuttgart, West Germany.
• 1885 – 1951 Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) Died 10 January 1951, aged 65 Lewis was an American novelist and the first writer from the United States to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded in 1930. His satirical novels, including Main Street, Babbitt, and Elmer Gantry, critiqued American middle-class conformity and hypocrisy. He died in Rome of complications from alcoholism.
• 1889 – 1951 Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) Died 29 April 1951, aged 62 Wittgenstein was an Austrian-born philosopher whose work reshaped 20th-century philosophy of language, logic, and mind. His Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and posthumously published Philosophical Investigations remain foundational texts in analytic philosophy. He spent much of his later career at Cambridge University, where he died.
• 1889 – 1951 Warner Baxter (1889-1951) American actor, the second Best Actor Oscar winner, for In Old Arizona.
• 1891 – 1951 Fanny Brice (1891-1951) Died 29 May 1951, aged 59 Brice was an American comedienne and singer best known for her work in the Ziegfeld Follies and as the radio character Baby Snooks. Her life later formed the basis of the musical and film Funny Girl. She died in Los Angeles after a cerebral hemorrhage.
• 1912 – 1951 Maria Montez (1912-1951) Dominican actress known as the Queen of Technicolor, star of Universal's Arabian Nights adventures.
• 1918 – 1951 Robert Walker (1918-1951) American actor, MGM's shy young soldier who became Hitchcock's charming psychopath in Strangers on a Train.
• 1950 – 1951 First trip to the NBA Finals New York reaches its first NBA Finals, the first of three consecutive appearances (1951-53), losing to the Rochester Royals.
• 1951 – 2025 Ace Frehley (1951-2025) Died 16 October 2025, aged 74 American musician, the original guitarist for Kiss, among the most influential and best-selling rock groups of the 1970s.
• 1951 – 2025 Chris Jasper (1951-2025) Died 23 February 2025, aged 73 American musician with the Isley Brothers, whose hits included Shout, It's Your Thing and That Lady.
• 1951 Color TV broadcast Color TV broadcast CBS broadcast the first commercial colour television programme on 25 June 1951, using a mechanical spinning-disc system incompatible with existing black-and-white sets. Almost nobody could watch it. RCA's compatible NTSC system was adopted instead in 1953 and became the American standard.
• 1951 – 2023 Gary Rossington (1951-2023) Died 5 March 2023, aged 71 American guitarist and the last surviving original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
• 1951 – 2023 Treat Williams (1951-2023) Died 12 June 2023, aged 71 American actor known for Hair, Prince of the City and the series Everwood.
• 1951 – 2026 Victor Willis (1951-2026) Died 30 June 2026, aged 74 American singer who fronted the Village People and co-wrote Y.M.C.A. and Macho Man.
• 1951 – 2021 Rush Limbaugh (1951-2021) Died 17 February 2021, aged 70 American broadcaster whose programme reshaped talk radio and American conservative politics.
• 1951 – 2019 Elijah Cummings (1951-2019) Died 17 October 2019, aged 68 Elijah Cummings was a US congressman representing Maryland and chairman of the House Oversight Committee, where he led investigations into the Trump administration. He was a prominent voice on civil rights and government accountability during his more than two decades in Congress. He died in Baltimore from complications of longstanding health issues.
• 1951 – present Phil Collins English drummer, singer & songwriter Phil Collins (born 1951) is an English drummer, singer, songwriter and actor — drummer and later lead singer of Genesis, and one of the best-selling solo artists of the 1980s with hits including "In the Air Tonight", "Against All Odds" and "Sussudio". A double Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, with Genesis (2010) and as a solo artist (2026).
• 1951 1951 World Snooker Championship Fred Davis Title 3 Winner: Fred Davis; Runner-up: Walter Donaldson. Score: 58–39.
• 1951 – 2004 Gerrie Knetemann De Kneet Beloved Dutch rider and 1978 World Champion; known for his wit and stage wins.
• 1951 Iran Nationalizes Its Oil Industry Mossadegh government seizes Anglo-Iranian Oil Company assets Iran's parliament, driven by Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, voted to nationalize the British-controlled Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. The move triggered an international crisis and a British-led boycott of Iranian oil. The dispute culminated in the 1953 coup that removed Mossadegh from power.
• 1951 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Convicted of Espionage Couple found guilty of passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union A New York jury convicted Julius and Ethel Rosenberg of conspiracy to commit espionage for supplying American atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Union. Judge Irving Kaufman sentenced them to death a week later. The case became a defining episode of Cold War-era espionage prosecutions; they were executed in 1953.
• 1951 Truman Relieves General MacArthur of Command Dispute over Korean War strategy ends MacArthur's career President Harry Truman dismissed General Douglas MacArthur as commander of UN forces in Korea after MacArthur publicly challenged the administration's strategy of limited war. The decision triggered a national controversy over civilian control of the military. MacArthur returned home to a hero's welcome and addressed Congress days later.
• 1951 Treaty of Paris Establishes Coal and Steel Community France, Germany and four other states begin European integration France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg signed the treaty creating the European Coal and Steel Community. The pact pooled coal and steel production under a common authority to make future war between France and Germany materially impossible. It became the founding institution of what later grew into the European Union.
• 1951 – 2005 Luther Vandross (1951-2005) Died 1 July 2005, aged 54 Luther Vandross, an American R&B singer known for hits including "Never Too Much" and "Dance with My Father", died on 1 July 2005 following complications from a stroke suffered in 2003. He won eight Grammy Awards over his career and was regarded as one of the finest voices in soul music. Vandross also worked extensively as a songwriter and producer.
• 1951 – 2001 Dale Earnhardt (1951-2001) Died 18 February 2001, aged 49 Earnhardt was among the most successful and popular drivers in NASCAR, winning seven Winston Cup championships and known as The Intimidator. He was killed in a last-lap crash at the Daytona 500. His death led to mandatory head-and-neck restraints in the sport.
• 1951 Festival of Britain Opens National exhibition celebrates postwar recovery and British achievement The Festival of Britain opened on London's South Bank as a nationwide exhibition marking the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Organized amid postwar austerity, it showcased British achievements in science, technology, industrial design, and the arts. The festival drew over eight million visitors before closing that September.
• 1951 – 2001 Joey Ramone (1951-2001) Died 15 April 2001, aged 49 Joey Ramone, born Jeffry Hyman, was the singer of the Ramones, the New York band widely credited with launching punk rock. His deadpan delivery fronted fast, short songs such as Blitzkrieg Bop. He died of lymphoma shortly before the band entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• 1951 Tibet Signs the Seventeen Point Agreement with China Agreement formalizes Chinese sovereignty over Tibet Representatives of the Dalai Lama's government signed an agreement in Beijing accepting Chinese sovereignty over Tibet in exchange for promises of autonomy and religious freedom. The agreement was signed under military pressure following the People's Liberation Army's advance into Tibet in 1950. Tibetans later disputed its legitimacy, and it remains a central grievance in the Tibet-China dispute.
• 1951 – 2024 Muhammed Faris (1951-2024) Died 19 April 2024, aged 72 Syrian pilot and air force officer, the first Syrian citizen to travel into space.
• 1951 – 2012 Sally Ride (1951-2012) Died 23 July 2012, aged 61 American astronaut and physicist who became the first American woman in space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983. She died of pancreatic cancer.
• 1951 UNIVAC I Delivered to the U.S. Census Bureau First commercially produced computer in the United States enters service Remington Rand delivered the UNIVAC I, the first commercial computer built in the United States, to the U.S. Census Bureau. It replaced punch-card tabulating machines and later gained fame for correctly predicting the 1952 presidential election on live television. The UNIVAC name became a byword for computers in American popular culture.
• 1951 The Catcher in the Rye Published J.D. Salinger's novel of teenage alienation J.D. Salinger's only novel, narrated by disaffected teenager Holden Caulfield, was published by Little, Brown and Company. It became one of the most widely read and frequently banned novels in American schools. The book's portrayal of adolescent alienation influenced generations of writers.
• 1951 Assassination of King Abdullah I of Jordan Jordan's king shot dead at Al-Aqsa Mosque King Abdullah I was assassinated by a Palestinian gunman at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, reportedly over his perceived willingness to negotiate with Israel. His grandson Hussein, standing beside him, survived the attack and later became king. The killing deepened tensions across the newly divided region.
• 1951 – 2014 Robin Williams (1951-2014) Died 11 August 2014, aged 63 Robin Williams, the Oscar-winning actor and comedian known for "Good Will Hunting," "Mrs. Doubtfire" and his frenetic stand-up comedy, died by suicide at his home in California. He had been suffering from severe depression and an undiagnosed form of dementia. His death prompted widespread public conversation about mental health and depression.
• 1951 ANZUS Treaty Signed Australia, New Zealand, and the United States form a security pact Australia, New Zealand, and the United States signed the ANZUS security treaty in San Francisco, committing to mutual defense in the Pacific. The pact reflected postwar concerns about communist expansion in Asia and reduced the three nations' reliance on Britain for regional security. It remains a cornerstone of Australian and New Zealand defense policy.
• 1951 Treaty of San Francisco Signed Peace treaty formally ends the Pacific War Japan and 48 Allied nations signed the treaty in San Francisco, formally ending the state of war stemming from World War II. The treaty restored Japanese sovereignty and set the terms for postwar reparations and territorial changes. It came into force on April 28, 1952.
• 1951 – 2002 Dee Dee Ramone (1951-2002) Died 5 June 2002, aged 50 Dee Dee Ramone was the bassist and chief songwriter of the Ramones, the New York band widely regarded as founders of punk rock. He wrote or co-wrote many of their best-known songs, among them 'Rockaway Beach' and '53rd & 3rd', and shouted the count-in that opened their shows. He left the band in 1989 and died of a drug overdose.
• 1951 Bobby Thomson Hits the "Shot Heard Round the World" Walk-off home run sends the Giants to the World Series New York Giants outfielder Bobby Thomson hit a pennant-winning home run off the Brooklyn Dodgers' Ralph Branca in a decisive playoff game, completing one of baseball's greatest comebacks. The moment, broadcast live on radio and television, became one of the most replayed events in American sports history. It capped the Giants' improbable rally from a 13-game deficit earlier that season.
• 1951 – present John Mellencamp Singer-songwriter American heartland rock singer from Indiana — Jack & Diane, Pink Houses, Small Town — and co-founder of Farm Aid.
• 1951 I Love Lucy Premieres on CBS Sitcom starring Lucille Ball becomes a television landmark I Love Lucy debuted on CBS, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as a married couple navigating showbiz and domestic life. It pioneered the multi-camera filming technique still used in sitcoms today and became the most-watched show in the United States for much of its run. The series is widely regarded as one of the most influential in television history.
• 1951 Assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan Pakistan's first prime minister shot at a public rally Liaquat Ali Khan was shot and killed while addressing a public meeting in Rawalpindi, becoming the first of several Pakistani leaders to die violently in office. His assassin was killed on the spot, and the motive behind the killing was never conclusively established. His death deepened political instability in the young state.
• 1951 Winston Churchill Returns as British Prime Minister Conservatives win general election, ousting Labour The Conservative Party under Winston Churchill narrowly won the British general election, ending six years of Labour government under Clement Attlee. Churchill, then 76, began his second and final term as prime minister. His government would oversee Britain's postwar recovery and the early Cold War years.
• 1951 Frank Sinatra marries Ava Gardner The singer marries the film star in Philadelphia, a stormy marriage that ended in divorce in 1957.
• 1951 First direct-dial long-distance call The mayor of Englewood, New Jersey dials the mayor of Alameda, California without an operator, the start of direct distance dialing in the US.
• 1951 Perón re-elected in Argentina Juan Perón wins a second term in the first Argentine national election in which women could vote.
• 1951 Polesine flood The Po bursts its banks in the Polesine area of northern Italy, killing about 100 people and leaving some 180,000 homeless.
• 1951 Korean armistice negotiators agree a demarcation line Negotiators at Panmunjom agree that the current line of contact will become the demarcation line if an armistice is signed within 30 days. Fighting went on until 1953.
• 1951 – 1987 Jaco Pastorius (1951-1987) Died 21 September 1987, aged 35 Pastorius was an American jazz bassist and composer widely regarded as one of the most influential electric bass players of all time, known for his work with Weather Report. He struggled with bipolar disorder and substance abuse in his final years. He died from injuries sustained in a fight outside a Florida nightclub.
• 1951 Nuclear Reactor Generates Electricity for the First Time Experimental Breeder Reactor I lights four bulbs in Idaho The Experimental Breeder Reactor I near Arco, Idaho, became the first nuclear reactor to produce usable electricity, powering four light bulbs from its own generated current. The demonstration proved the feasibility of nuclear power for civilian electricity generation. It laid groundwork for commercial nuclear plants built in the following decades.
• 1951 Libya Declares Independence Kingdom of Libya becomes first country to gain independence through the United Nations Libya proclaimed independence under King Idris I, becoming the first state to achieve statehood through the United Nations. The kingdom united the formerly separate territories of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fezzan. It remained a monarchy until Muammar Gaddafi's coup in 1969.