Explore our 1953 newspaper articles and discover events that caught the attention of readers all over the country. Highlights include the development of the first polio vaccine, the death of Joseph Stalin, one of the most powerful and murderous dictators the world has ever known, and Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to climb Everest.

It was also the year that celebrated the end of the Korean War, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the Ionian Sea Islands in Greece and Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation took place – beginning the reign of the longest monarch in British history. 1953 newspapers are full of page turning tales about what was going on in the world at the time, as told by people who lived it. Original newspapers provide fascinating insights into this year in history, and a different perspective on what life was like in the past.

20th January 1953
Dwight D. Eisenhower succeeds Harry S. Truman as President of the United States.

28th January 1953
Derek Bentley is executed for murder in Wandsworth Prison. The crime was in fact committed by his friend, Chris Craig.

31st January 1953
The North Sea Flood of 1953 kills 1,835 people in the Netherlands and 307 people in the United Kingdom. Several hundred are also killed out at sea, including 133 passengers on the ‘Princess Victoria’ ferry in the Irish Sea.

18th February 1953
“Bwana Devil“ opens in cinemas; it is the first ever 3-D.film and provides a welcome boost to dwindling cinema attendance.

5th March 1953
Joseph Stalin dies after 31 years of ruling the Soviet Union.

13th April 1953
Ian Fleming publishes his first James Bond novel, “Casino Royale”.

2nd May 1953
Hussein is crowned King of Jordan.

29th May 1953
Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay complete the first successful ascent to the summit of Mount Everest.

2nd June 1953
Elizabeth II is officially crowned Queen of England at Westminster Abbey.

5th July 1953
The European Economic Community holds its first assembly in Strasbourg, France.

12th August 1953
An earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale devastates most of the Ionian Sea Islands. It is the worst natural disaster to hit Greece in many centuries.

4th September 1953
The discovery of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep is published by researchers Eugene Aserinsky and Nathaniel Kleitman for the very first time. Research continues into our sleep cycles and Psychologists debate the purpose of dreaming.

21st November 1953
Authorities at the British Natural History Museum announce that the skull of the ‘Piltdown Man‘, one of the most famous fossil skulls in the world, is a hoax.

30th December 1953
The first colour television sets go on sale in America for around $1,175.

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