December 1953

The following events occurred in December 1953:

• Born: Victor Ambros, American developmental biologist and Nobel Laureate, in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States^[1]

• The United Kingdom and Iran reformed diplomatic relations.
• Died: Tran Trong Kim, 70, Vietnamese historian and Prime Minister of the Empire of Vietnam

• 2 miles (3.2 km) off Miami Beach, Florida, 52-year-old American attorney Hope Root died in an attempt to set a new deep diving record of 410 feet (120 m). Root descended to 500 feet (150 m) and did not resurface.^[2]

• A Federal grand jury indicted University of Chicago economist Val R. Lorwin on three counts of perjury in denying any Communist affiliation to State Department investigators in December 1950.^[3][4]
• Born:
  • Jean-Pierre Darroussin, French actor and filmmaker, in Courbevoie
  • Rick Middleton, Canadian National Hockey League player, in Toronto^[5]
  • Jean-Marie Pfaff, Belgian professional footballer, in Lebbeke, East Flanders^[6]
• Died:
  • Curio Barbasetti di Prun, 68, Italian World War II general^[7]
  • Mario Gestri, 29, Italian road cyclist, died in a motorcycle accident.
  • Daniel Gregory Mason, 80, American composer and music critic

• A violent F5 tornado devastated parts of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

• With the NBC Symphony Orchestra, conductor Arturo Toscanini performed what he claimed to be his favorite Beethoven symphony, the Eroica, for the last time. The live performance was broadcast nationwide on radio, and later released on records and CD.

• A visit to Iran by U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon sparked several days of riots, as a reaction to the August 19 overthrow of the government of Mohammad Mosaddegh by the U.S.-backed Shah. Three students were shot dead by police in Tehran. This event would become an annual commemoration, Student Day.

• U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his Atoms for Peace address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.^[8]
• Born: Kim Basinger, American film actress, in Athens, Georgia

• Born:
  • John Malkovich, American actor, in Christopher, Illinois
  • Hiromitsu Ochiai, Japanese baseball player and manager

• The Nobel Prizes were awarded in Stockholm, Sweden. Frits Zernike of the Netherlands won for Physics, Hermann Staudinger of West Germany for Chemistry, Hans Adolf Krebs of England and Fritz Albert Lipmann of the United States for Physiology or Medicine, and Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill of England for Literature. In Oslo, Norway, Albert Schweitzer of France was awarded the Peace Prize.
• Died: Franklin D'Olier, 76, American businessman, first national commander of the American Legion^[9]

• J. Robert Oppenheimer received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Oxford University.^[10]
• An earthquake centered in the northwestern offshore area of Tumbes, Peru caused six deaths.^[11]
• A new terminal designed by Carroll, Grisdale & Van Alen was dedicated at Philadelphia International Airport.^[12]
• Former child star Freddie Bartholomew married television personality Aileen Paul.^[13] The couple would divorce in 1977.^[14]
• A human crush at the Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City killed four people and injured 1,000.^[15]
• Died: Karin Stephen (born Catherine Elizabeth Costelloe), 64, British psychoanalyst and psychologist, died by suicide.^[16][17]

• Born: Ben Bernanke, American economist, in Augusta, Georgia, United States

• Born: Nawaf Salam, Lebanese politician and judge, Prime Minister of Lebanon (2025-present), in Beirut^[18]

• The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved color television (using the NTSC standard).

• Former Soviet politician and NKVD chief Lavrentiy Beria was “tried by special session” by the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union, convicted of treason, terrorism, and counter revolutionary activity, and executed by firing squad.
• Born: John Callahan, American soap opera actor, in Brooklyn, New York City (d. 2020)^[19]
• Died: Lavrentiy Beria, Soviet politician and NKVD chief, executed by firing squad

• Tangiwai disaster: A railway bridge collapsed at Tangiwai, New Zealand, sending a fully loaded passenger train into the Whangaehu River; 151 were killed.

• The Amami Islands were returned to Japan after 8 years of United States military occupation.
• Died:
  • William Haselden, 81, Spanish cartoonist
  • Lee Shubert, 82, Polish-born theater owner and operator

• The first color television sets went on sale for about US$1,175 – RCA Model 5 Prototype, which became CT-100, and Admiral C1617A.^[20]

• Born: James Remar, American actor, in Boston