What Happened in May 1953

Historical Events

Pulitzer to Hemingway

May 4 Pulitzer Prize for Literature awarded to Ernest Hemingway for "The Old Man and The Sea"

May 6 MLB St. Louis Browns Alva "Bobo" Holloman, in his first start game as starting pitcher, no-hits visiting Philadelphia A's, 6-0
May 7 "Can Can" opens at Shubert Theater NYC for 892 performances

Can-Can

May 7 Cole Porter's musical "Can-Can", starring Gwen Verdon and Hans Conried, opens at the Shubert Theatre, NYC, ; runs for 892 performances and wins a Tony Award for Verdon

May 7 Record 537-kg swordfish is caught by LE Marron, in Chile
May 8 WIPB TV channel 49 in Muncie, IN (PBS) begins broadcasting
May 10 KCBD TV channel 11 in Lubbock, TX (NBC) begins broadcasting
May 11 Tornado kills 114 in Waco Texas ($39M damage)

May 12 KUHT TV channel 8 (PBS) in Houston, TX, begins broadcasting

May 15 Osip Zadkine's monument to "The destroyed city" unveiled in Rotterdam
May 15 The Urey-Miller experiment using primordial soup to show how life of earth might have originated, written by Stanley Miller, is published in the journal "Science" [1]
May 16 Philadelphia Phillies Curt Simmons gives up a lead-off single, then retires next 27 in a row in 3-0 win over Braves at County Stadium in Milwaukee
May 17 Yanks & Browns use record 41 players in a game
May 18 American Jacqueline Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier
May 19 Nuclear explosion in Nevada (fall-out in St George, Utah)
May 19 US House of Representatives votes to ratify the state constitution and admit Ohio to the Union retroactively as of March 1, 1803, 150 years after overlooking the paperwork [1]
May 21 French government of René Mayer resigns

May 22 Yankee Irv Noren hits into a triple-play, Yanks beat Wash 12-4
May 23 78th Preakness: Eric Guerin aboard Native Dancer wins in 1:57.8
May 23 WHIZ TV channel 18 in Zanesville, OH (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting

Catholic Encyclical

May 24 Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Doctor Mellifluus

May 25 1st atomic cannon electronically fired at Frenchman Flat, Nevada
May 25 1st non-commercial educational television station - Houston, Texas
May 25 Braves Max Surkont strikes out record 8 Reds in a row
May 26 Dutch Convair crashes at Schipholweg, 2 die
May 27 Dutch social democratic/Dutch Liberal Party win municipal elections
May 28 Premier of 1st animated 3-D cartoon in Technicolor-"Melody"

Event of Interest

May 29 500th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople and the end of the Byzantine Empire (to Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II)

May 30 1st major league network baseball game-Cleveland 7, Chicago 2

May 30 Indianapolis 500: Labelled "Hottest 500" due to high temperatures, Bill Vukovich wins first of 2 consecutive Indy 500 victories; Carl Scarborough drops out of race, and later dies of heat prostration
May 31 Lebanese president Camille Shamun disbands government
May 31 WSUN TV channel 38 in St Petersburg-Tampa, FL (IND) 1st broadcast

Famous Birthdays

May 1 Elquemedo Willett, West Indian cricket spin bowler (5 Tests, 11 wickets), born in Charlestown, Nevis
May 1 Felix Hanemann, American rock bassist (Zebra), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
May 1 Glen Ballard, American songwriter and record producer (Alanis Morissette; Michael Jackson; Wilson Phillips; Jack Wagner), born in Natchez, Mississippi
May 2 Jamaal Wilkes, American NBA forward (Golden State-Rookie of Yr 1975), born in Berkeley, California
May 2 Valery Gergiev, Russian conductor (Mariinsky Orchestra, 1988 -present; Munich Philharmonic, 2015-22; Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, 1995-2008), born in Moscow, USSR
May 3 Bruce Hall, American rock bassist (Reo Speedwagon), born in Champaign, Illinois
May 3 Gary Young, American rock drummer (Pavement), born in Mamaroneck, New York (d. 2023)
May 6 Graeme Souness, Scottish soccer midfielder (54 caps; Middlesbrough FC, Liverpool FC 247 games) and manager (FA Cup: 1991–92 Liverpool; 3 x SPD Rangers), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
May 6 Lynn Whitfield, American actress (Josephine Baker; Equal Justice), born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
May 6 Michelle Courchesne, Quebec politician

May 7 Ian McKay, British soldier (VC recipient), born in Wortley, South Yorkshire, England (d. 1982)
May 7 Pat McInally, American National Football League player, born in Villa Park, California
May 8 Alex Van Halen, Dutch-American rock drummer (Van Halen - "Hot For Teacher"), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
May 8 Andreas P. Nielsen, Danish author and composer, born in Kolding, Denmark (d. 2011)
May 8 Billy Burnette, American rock guitarist (Fleetwood Mac, 1987-95), born in Memphis, Tennessee
May 8 Devi Shetty, Indian surgeon and health entrepreneur (Narayana Health), born in Dakshina Kannada, India
May 9 Amy Hill, American comedian and actress (All-American Girl - "Grandma"; Magnum, PI - "Kumu"), born in Deadwood, South Dakota
May 9 Gregory Beecroft, Chorpus Christi TX, actor (Guiding Light)
May 9 Ron Jackson, baseball player
May 9 Scott McInnis, American politician who apologised for plagiarism (Rep-R-Colorado 1993-2005), born in Glenwood Springs
May 10 Alex Foster, American jazz and session saxophonist (SNL Band; Mingus Big Band), born in Oakland, California
May 10 John Diamond, English journalist, born in London, England (d. 2001)
May 10 Lawrence Lau, actor (Jamie Frame-Another World)
May 10 Steve Thomas, American drummer (Shooting Star - "Summer Sun"), born in Kansas City, Missouri
May 10 Tito Santana, Mexican-American professional wrestler
May 11 Boyd Gaines, American actor (Mark-One Day at a Time, Sure Thing), born in Atlanta, Georgia
May 11 David Gest, American television producer, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2016)
May 12 Phil Beer, English multi-instrumentalist and composer (Show of Hands), born in Exminster, Devon, England
May 14 Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia
May 14 Tom Cochrane, Canadian rock vocalist and guitarist (Red Rider - "Lunatic Fringe"), born in Toronto, Ontario
May 14 Wim Mertens, Flemish Belgian contemporary classical and avant garde composer, countertenor, pianist, and musicologist, born in Neerpelt, Belgium

May 15 Manos Xydos, Greek rock singer-songwriter, and music producer (Pyx Lax), born in Agioi Anargyroi, Attica, Greece (d. 2010)
May 15 Mike Oldfield, British musician and composer (Tubular Bells), born in Reading, Berkshire
May 16 David Maclean, British minister of state

May 16 Richard Page, American singer and bassist (Mr Mister- "Broken Wings"; "Kyrie"), born in Keokuk, Iowa
May 16 Rick Rhoden, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star (1976, 86; Silver Slugger Award 1984–86; LA Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, NY Yankees), born in Boynton Beach, Florida
May 17 George Johnson, American funk and R&B guitarist and vocalist (Brothers Johnson), born in Los Angeles, California
May 17 Kathleen Sullivan, American newscaster (ABC-TV, CBS Morning Show), born in Pasadena, California
May 17 Nicholas Bacon, premier baronet of England
May 17 Yoko Shimada, Japanese actress (Mariko in the miniseries Shōgun) and author (Kir Royal), born in Kumamota, Japan (d. 2022) [1]
May 18 (Feliciano) "Butch" Tavares, American R&B singer (Tavares - "Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel"), born in Providence, Rhode Island
May 18 Helen Chadwick, English artist, born in Croydon, England (d. 1996)
May 19 Dawud M. Mu'Min, {Allen] American convicted murderer, born in New York City (d. 1997)
May 19 Henry Lascelles, English grandson of princess Mary
May 19 Roddy Lorimer, Scottish session and touring trumpeter and flugelhorn player (Waterboys; Blur; Pete Townshend; Spiritualized; Dr. John), born in Glasgow, Scotland
May 19 Shavarsh Karapetyan, Soviet Armenian finswimmer, born in Kirovakan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union
May 19 Victoria Wood, British comedian and actress (Dinner Ladies), born in Bury, Lancashire, England (d. 2016)
May 20 Robert Doyle, Australian politician
May 22 Cha Bum-Kun, South Korean footballer and manager, born in Hwaseong, South Korea
May 22 Doris Barnett, German politician, born in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, West Germany
May 22 John Edward Stevens, American bank robber (FBI Most Wanted List), born in New York City
May 22 Paul Mariner, English soccer striker (35 caps; Plymouth Argyle, Ipswich Town, Arsenal, Portsmouth) and coach (Plymouth Argyle, Toronto FC), born in Farnworth, England (d. 2021)
May 22 Stuart Elliott, British rock session drummer (Kate Bush; Alan Parsons Project; Al Stewart), born in London, England
May 23 Agathe Uwilingiyimana, Prime Minister of Rwanda (1993-94) and one of the 1st female political figures in Africa, born in Nyaruhengeri, Rwanda (d. 1994)
May 23 Rick Fenn, British rock guitarist (10cc - "I'm Not In Love"; "The Things We Do for Love"), born in Oxford, England
May 24 Alfred Molina, British actor (Spider Man 2, Frida, Chocolat), born in London, England
May 24 Mark Rivera, American saxophonist, musical director (Billy Joel; Ringo Starr), and corporate entertainment provider, born in Brooklyn, New York City
May 24 Nell Campbell [Laura], Australian actress (Rocky Horror), born in Sydney, New South Wales
May 25 D. A. Weibring Jr., American golfer (Senior Players Championship 2008), born in Quincy, Illinois
May 25 Daniel Passarella, Argentine footballer, born in Chacabuco, Argentina
May 25 Eve Ensler, American playwright (The Vagina Monologues), born in New York City
May 25 Gaetano Scirea, Italian soccer defender (78 caps, FIFA World Cup 1982; Juventus 377 games), born in Cernusco sul Naviglio, Italy (d. 1989)
May 25 Jane Priest, Australian model who kissed Prince Charles on the beach, born in Perth, Australia
May 25 Rich Alves, American country guitarist (Pirates of Mississippi - "Feed Jake"), born in Pleasanton, California
May 25 Stan Sakai, Japanese-American cartoonist (Usagi Yojimbo), born in Kyoto, Japan
May 26 Dan Roundfield, American basketball forward (3-time NBA All Star), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2012)
May 26 Michael Portillo, British politician
May 28 Arto Lindsay, American guitarist, composer (Lounge Lizards; Ambitious Lovers), and producer (Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Lucas Santtana), born in Richmond, Virginia
May 29 Big Daddy Graham [Edward Gudonis], American comedian, writer, actor, recording artist, and radio personality, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2021)

Danny Elfman (71 years old)

May 29 American singer-songwriter (Oingo Boingo - "Weird Science"), and Emmy and Grammy Award-winning composer (The Simspons Theme; Good Will Hunting; Tim Burton films), born in Los Angeles, California

May 29 Karla DeVito, American stage and screen actress and singer, born in Mokena, Illionis
May 29 Ranjy Nanan, West Indian cricket spin bowler (WI 1 Test; Trinidad & Tobago), born in Preysal, Trinidad
May 29 Rick Henderson, American singer (Mason Dixon - "Karen Comes Around"), born in Beaumont, Texas
May 30 Colm Meaney, actor (Star Trek Deep Space 9)
May 30 Peter Townend, Australian surfer (first IPS/ASP World Champion 1976; International Surfing HOF), born in Coolangatta, Australia
May 31 Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, Finnish actor

Famous Weddings

May 23 John F. Kennedy's sister Eunice Kennedy (31) weds activist and attorney Sargent Shriver at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City

Famous Deaths

May 4 Edward Shanks, British poet and critic, dies at 60
May 4 T. Tertius Noble, English composer, dies at 85
May 7 Ormy Pearse, South African cricketer (55 runs & 3 wkts in 3 Tests for S Af), dies at 68
May 11 Jean Adair, Canadian actress, dies at 80
May 14 Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Japanese-American painter, etcher and lithographer, dies at 59

May 17 Eric De Lamarter, American organist, composer and conductor (Chicago Symphony), dies at 73
May 18 Tom Killick, English cricketer (at the crease 2 Tests for Eng 1929), dies at 69
May 19 Damaso Berenguer, Spanish soldier and politician (122nd Prime Minister of Spain), dies at 79
May 22 Vaclav Klicka, Czech composer, dies at 70
May 24 Cor Hermus, Dutch actor, director, and writer (Bleeke Bet; William of Orange; De Jantjes; A Mother), dies at 63
May 26 Albert Spalding, American violinist and composer, dies at 64
May 27 Jesse Burkett, American Baseball HOF left fielder (NL batting champion 1895-96, 1901; 240 hits in 1896 MLB record for 15 years; Cleveland Spiders, St. Louis Perfectos/Cardinals), dies at 84
May 28 Hori Tatsuo, Japanese writer (b. 1904)
May 29 Man Mountain Dean [Frank Simmons Leavitt], American professional wrestler, dies at 61
May 30 Dooley Wilson [Arthur Wilson], American musician and actor (Beulah, Casablanca), dies of natural causes at 67
May 30 George Barnes, cinematographer, dies at 60

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