Born in 1953

What things cost in 1953

1953 figures are annual averages of the published monthly (or quarterly) values. “Today’s dollars” uses the Consumer Price Index for September 2026; “latest” is the most recent published price. Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, via FRED. Average retail prices are only published from 1976 on; 1953 has the CPI alone.

Who was in charge in 1953

United States

Harry S. Truman, then Dwight D. Eisenhower (President)

United Kingdom

Elizabeth II (Queen); Winston Churchill (Prime minister)

Soviet Union

Nikita Khrushchev (General Secretary); Nikolay Shvernik, then Kliment Voroshilov (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet); Joseph Stalin, then Georgy Malenkov (Chairman of the Council of Ministers)

People's Republic of China

Mao Zedong (Chairman; Paramount Leader); Mao Zedong (Chairman); Zhou Enlai (Premier)

French Fourth Republic

Vincent Auriol (President); Antoine Pinay, then René Mayer, then Joseph Laniel (Prime minister)

Allied-occupied Germany

André François-Poncet, then Ivone Kirkpatrick, then Samuel Reber, then James B. Conant, then Frederick Millar (High Commissioner)

East Germany

Wilhelm Pieck (President); Otto Grotewohl (Chairman)

West Germany

Theodor Heuss (President); Konrad Adenauer (Chancellor)

Japan

Hirohito (Emperor)

Republic of India

Rajendra Prasad (President); Jawaharlal Nehru (Prime minister)

From Wikipedia’s List of state leaders in the 20th century (1951–2000) (revision 1371751893), each name checked against Wikidata. Every country in 1953 →

Famous people born in 1953

• June 15 – Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Paramount leader of China source
• November 27 – Steve Bannon, American political figure source
• November 13 – Andrés Manuel López Obrador, President of Mexico (2018–2024) source
• Ferdonije Qerkezi, Kosovo war documentarian, historian and archivist source
• May 17 — Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, 2nd President of Kazakhstan source
• August 11 – Hulk Hogan, professional wrestler (died 2025) source
• January 20 – Jeffrey Epstein, financier and sex offender (died 2019) source
• May 6 – Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom source
• August 12 – Carlos Mesa, President of Bolivia source
• January 1 – Gary Johnson, American businessman, politician and 29th Governor of New Mexico source
• 1 January – Maureen Beattie, Irish-born actress source
• June 21 – Benazir Bhutto, politician and Prime Minister of Pakistan (died 2007) source
• August 8 – Lloyd Austin, 28th United States Secretary of Defense source
• Gearóid Ó hEára, Sinn Féin politician and former Mayor of Derry. source
• May 14 – Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia source

What happened in 1953

• February 11 – The Soviet Union breaks diplomatic relations with Israel, after a bomb explodes at the Soviet Embassy, in reaction to the 'Doctors' plot'. source
• 1 January – Liberal rebel groups attack the Palanquero Air Base with the hope of taking its jet planes and bombing Bogotá to force the resignation of Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez/Laureano Gómez. source
• January 14 – The CIA-sponsored Robertson Panel first meets to discuss the UFO phenomenon. source
• January 19 – 71.1% of all television sets in the United States are tuned into I Love Lucy, to watch Lucy give birth to Little Ricky, which is more people than those who tune into Dwight Eisenhower's inauguration the next day. source
• January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. source
• 9 January – According to South Korea's Coast Guard official confirmed report, a passenger ferry Changgyeong-ho capsized off the coast of Busan, and 229 persons perished. source
• February 19 – Georgia approves the first literature censorship board in the United States. source
• January 24 – Leader of East Germany Walter Ulbricht announces that agriculture will be collectivized in East Germany. source