Events of 1952
Calendar year
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1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1952nd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 952nd year of the 2nd millennium, the 52nd year of the 20th century, and the 3rd year of the 1950s decade.
Calendar year
Events
January
- January 25 – British Army officers attack an Egyptian police base in Ismailia, resulting in the deaths of 50 Egyptian police officers and 4 British Army personnel.
- January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
February
- February 2 – Groundhog Day tropical storm forms just north of Cuba, moving northeast. The storm makes landfall in southern Florida the next day as a gale-force storm and transitions to a tropical storm over the Atlantic (only Atlantic tropical storm on record in February).
- February 6
- Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the British Dominions: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon. The princess, who is on a visit to Kenya when she hears of the death of her father, King George VI, aged 56, takes the title Elizabeth II.[1]
- In the United States of America, a mechanical heart is used for the first time in a human patient.
- February 7 – Elizabeth II is proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom at St James's Palace, London, England.
- February 14 – February 25 – The Winter Olympics are held in Oslo, Norway.[2]
- February 18 – Greece and Turkey join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
- February 20
- February 21 – In Dhaka, East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) police open fire on a procession of students, killing 4 people and starting a country-wide protest, which leads to the recognition of Bengali as one of the national languages of Pakistan. The day is later declared "International Mother Language Day" by UNESCO.
- February 25 – The Parícutin active volcano in Michoacán, west central Mexico, ceases its discontinuous eruption after spewing forth a gigaton of lava, and burying San Juan Parangaricutiro.
- February 26
March
April
- April 4
- April 7 – The American Research Bureau reports that the I Love Lucy episode "The Marriage License" was the first TV show in history to be seen in around 10,000,000 homes, the evening the episode aired.
- April 8 – Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer: The U.S. Supreme Court limits the power of the President to seize private business, after President Harry S. Truman nationalizes all steel mills in the United States, just before the 1952 steel strike begins.
- April 9 – Hugo Ballivián's government is overthrown by the Bolivian National Revolution, which starts a period of agrarian reform, universal suffrage and the nationalization of tin mines.
- April 11
- April 15 – The United States B-52 Stratofortress flies for the first time.
- April 18
- April 26 – United States Navy aircraft carrier Wasp collides with destroyer Hobson while on exercises in the Atlantic Ocean, killing 175 men.
- April 28 – The Treaty of San Francisco goes into effect, formally ending the war between Japan and the Allies, and simultaneously ending the occupation of the four main Japanese islands by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.
- April 29 – Lever House officially opens at 390 Park Avenue in New York City, heralding a new age of commercial architecture in the United States. Designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, it is the first International Style skyscraper.
May
June
July
August
- August 5 – The Treaty of Taipei between Japan and the Republic of China goes into effect, to officially end the Second Sino-Japanese War.
- August 11 – The Jordanian Parliament forces King Talal of Jordan to abdicate due to mental illness; he is succeeded by his son King Hussein.
- August 12 – Night of the Murdered Poets: 13 Soviet Jewish poets are executed.
- August 13 – Japan joins the IMF.
- August 14 – West Germany joins the IMF and the World Bank.
- August 16 – Lynmouth, North Devon, England is devastated by floods; 34 die.
- August 22 – The most damaging shock of the 1952 Kern County earthquake sequence strikes with a moment magnitude of 5.8, and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). This event damages several hundred buildings in Bakersfield, California, with total additional losses of $10 million, with two associated deaths and some injuries.
- August 23 – Kitty Wells becomes the first woman to score a number 1 hit on the American country charts, with the song "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels".
- August 26 – A British passenger jet makes a return crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in the same day.
- August 27 – Reparation negotiations between West Germany and Israel end in Luxembourg: Germany will pay 3 billion Deutsche Marks.
- August 29 – Composer John Cage's 4′33″, during which the performer does not play, premieres in Woodstock, New York.
- August 30 – The last Finnish war reparations are sent to the Soviet Union.
- August 31 – The Grenzlandring racetrack closes in Wegberg, Germany.
September
October
November
The explosion of the first hydrogen bomb.
December
Date unknown
- Nearly 58,000 cases of polio are reported in the U.S.; 3,145 die, and 21,269 are left with mild to disabling paralysis.[8]
- The Nordic Council agrees to the unrestricted transport of people, goods and services throughout the Nordic Countries.
- The National Prohibition Foundation is incorporated in Indiana.
- Supramar launched the first commercial high-speed craft, a hydrofoil.
- Säynätsalo Town Hall in Finland, designed by Alvar Aalto, is completed.
- The influential multistory residential building, Unité d'Habitation in Marseille, France, designed by Le Corbusier, is completed.
- The American Embassy School of New Delhi is founded.
- Swedish paratrooper training school Fallskärmsjägarna (FJS) is established.
- 13-year-old[9] Jimmy Boyd's record of I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus is released, selling 3 million records.
- Capitol Wrestling Corporation, the professional wrestling promotion that will later evolve into the modern day WWE, is founded by Jess McMahon and Toots Mondt.
- During the Mau Mau Uprising, the poisonous latex of the African milk bush is used to kill cattle, in an incident of Biological warfare.[10]
Births
January
- January 1
- January 2
- January 3 – Jim Ross, American wrestling announcer
- January 7 – Sammo Hung, Hong Kong martial arts superstar, producer and director
- January 9 – Marek Belka, 11th Prime Minister of Poland
- January 12
- January 14
- January 15
- January 16 – H.R.H. Prince Ahmed Fuad Farouk (Fuad II), the last King of Egypt & Sudan, Nubia, Kordofan and Darfur
- January 17 – Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese musician, composer, producer, and actor (Yellow Magic Orchestra)
- January 18 – Wim Rijsbergen, Dutch footballer
- January 19
- January 20 – Dave Fennoy, African-American voice actor
- January 21
- January 22 – Ace Vergel, Filipino actor (d. 2007)
- January 24 – Raymond Domenech, French football player, manager
- January 25
- January 27
- January 28 – Tomokazu Miura, Japanese actor
- January 29 – Klaus-Peter Hanisch, German footballer (d. 2009)
- January 30 – Valery Khalilov, Russian military band conductor (d. 2016)
- January 31 – Jan Hofer, German journalist, broadcast news analyst, and television presenter
February
- February 1 – Stan Kasten, American baseball executive, President of the Washington Nationals
- February 2 – Park Geun-hye, President of South Korea
- February 4
- February 5 – Mark Fuhrman, American police detective, author and radio host
- February 7
- February 8
- February 10 – Lee Hsien Loong, 3rd Prime Minister of Singapore
- February 12 – Simon MacCorkindale, English actor (d. 2010)
- February 14
- February 15
- February 16 – James Ingram, African-American R&B musician (d. 2019)
- February 17
- February 19
- February 20 – João Calvão da Silva, Portuguese politician (d. 2018)
- February 21
- February 22
- February 23 – Miyuki Nakajima, Japanese singer-songwriter
- February 24 – Maxine Chernoff, American poet, novelist and editor
- February 25 – Joey Dunlop, Northern Irish motorcycle racer (d. 2000)
- February 29
March
- March 1 –
- Martin O'Neill, Northern Irish footballer,
- Roy Marten, Indonesian actor.
- March 2 – Laraine Newman, American comedian (Saturday Night Live)
- March 4
- March 7 – Viv Richards, West Indian cricketer
- March 10 – Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwean politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (d. 2018)
- March 11 – Douglas Adams, English author (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) (d. 2001)
- March 13
- March 15 – Howard Devoto, British singer
- March 16
- March 17 – Perla, Paraguayan-Brazilian singer
- March 18 - Mike Webster, American football player (d. 2002)
- March 19 – Harvey Weinstein, American film producer
- March 22 – Bob Costas, American sports announcer
- March 23
- March 24 – Reinhard Genzel, German astrophysicist, Nobel Prize recipient
- March 25
- March 26 – Didier Pironi, French racing driver (d. 1987)
- March 27 – Maria Schneider, French actress (d. 2011)
- March 28 – Keith Ashfield, Canadian politician (d. 2018)
- March 29 – Teofilo Stevenson, Cuban boxer (d. 2012)
- March 30 – Peter Knights, Australian footballer, coach
- March 31
April
O'Sullivan]], Irish sportsman
- April 15
- April 16
- April 17
- April 19 – Alexis Arguello, Nicaraguan boxer, politician (d. 2009)
- April 20 – Eric Pickles, British politician
- April 21 – Cheryl Gillan, British politician (d. 2021)
- April 22 – Marilyn Chambers, American porn actress (Behind the Green Door) (d. 2009)
- April 23 – Jean-Dominique Bauby, French journalist and author (d. 1997)
- April 24 – Jean-Paul Gaultier, French Haute couture, Prêt-à-Porter fashion designer
- April 25
- April 26 – Spice Williams-Crosby, American actress, stunt performer
- April 27 – George Gervin, American basketball player
- April 28
- April 29 – Dave Valentin, American Latin jazz flautist (d. 2017)
May
- May 1 – Mike Thornton, British politician
- May 2
- May 3
- May 4 – Michael Barrymore, British comedian, TV presenter
- May 6
- May 8 – Ronnie Dapo, American child actor
- May 10
- May 11
- May 12 – Christopher Gaze, British voice actor
- May 13 – John Kasich, Governor of Ohio
- May 14
- May 15 – Chazz Palminteri, American actor
- May 18
- May 19 – Bert van Marwijk, Dutch football manager
- May 20 – Roger Milla, Cameroonian footballer
- May 21 – Mr. T, African-American actor (The A-Team)
- May 23 – Anne-Marie David, French singer, Eurovision Song Contest 1973 winner
- May 24 – Sybil Danning, Austrian actress
- May 26 – David Meece, American Christian musician
- May 28 – Victoria Cunningham, American actress, Playboy Playmate
- May 30 – Alexander Toradze, Georgian-born American pianist (d. 2022)
June
July
- July 1
- Brian George, Israeli-English actor, voice artist, comedian and singer
- David Arkenstone, American composer, performer
- Dan Aykroyd, Canadian actor, comedian (Saturday Night Live)
- Robert Baer, American author
- Dale Hayes, South African professional golfer
- Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, American drummer (d. 2018)
- July 2
- July 3
- July 4
- July 5 – Hillbilly Jim, American professional wrestler, radio host
- July 6
- July 7
- July 8
- July 9 – John Tesh, American composer, musician, and television host (Entertainment Tonight)
- July 10
- July 11 – Stephen Lang, American actor
- July 12
- July 13 – Ricardo Boechat, Argentine-Brazilian journalist, anchor and radio announcer (d. 2019)
- July 14 – Yutaka Mizutani, Japanese actor, singer
- July 15
- July 16 – Stewart Copeland, American rock musician (The Police)
- July 17 – David Hasselhoff, American actor (Knight Rider)
- July 18 – Albert Camille Vital, Malagasy Army officer, politician and civil engineer
- July 19 – Allen Collins, American rock musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 1990)
- July 21 – Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, Malaysian Minister of Finance
- July 23 – John Rutsey, Canadian musician (d. 2008)
- July 24
- July 25 – Eduardo Souto de Moura, Portuguese Architect
- July 26 — Hezi Leskali, Israeli poet and artist (d. 1994)
- July 28 – Vajiralongkorn, King of Thailand (Rama X)
- July 31 – João Barreiros, Portuguese author
August
- August 1 – Zoran Đinđić, Serbian politician (d. 2003)
- August 2 – Arthur "Art" James, American former MLB baseball outfielder
- August 3 – Osvaldo Ardiles, Argentine footballer
- August 4
- August 5
- August 6 – Wojciech Fortuna, Polish ski jumper
- August 7 – Kees van Prooijen, Dutch artist and music theorist
- August 8 – Jostein Gaarder, Norwegian author
- August 12 – Charlie Whiting, British motorsports director (d. 2019)
- August 15 – Ahmed Zulfikar, Egyptian entrepreneur (d. 2010)
- August 16 – Reginald VelJohnson, American actor
- August 17 – Guillermo Vilas, Argentine tennis player[14]
- August 18
- August 19 – Jonathan Frakes, American actor (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
- August 21
- August 23 – Steven Allan Brown, American punk rock musician (Tuxedomoon)
- August 24 – Linton Kwesi Johnson, Jamaican-born musician, poet
- August 25
- August 26
- August 27
- August 28
- August 31
September
- September 2
- September 4 – Rishi Kapoor, Indian actor (d. 2020)
- September 6 – Lucky Enam, Bangladeshi television, theater actress
- September 8 – Patrick Prosser, Scottish computer scientist
- September 9 – Angela Cartwright, British-American child actress, photographer and painter (Lost in Space)
- September 10 – Paulo Betti, Brazilian actor
- September 12
- September 16
- September 17 – Harold Solomon, American tennis player
- September 18 – Nile Rodgers, African-American musician, songwriter, composer, and guitarist
- September 19 – George Warrington, president of Amtrak (1998–2002); executive director of NJ Transit (2002–07) (d. 2007)
- September 20 – Manuel Zelaya, President of Honduras
- September 21 – Anneliese Michel, German Roman Catholic believed possessed by demons (d. 1976)
- September 22
- September 23
- September 24
- September 25
- September 26 – Predrag Miletić, Serbian actor
- September 27
- September 28 – Sylvia Kristel, Dutch actress (d. 2012)
- September 29
- Max Sandlin, American politician
- Gábor Csupó, Hungarian-American animator, writer, director, producer and graphic designer
- September 30 – Jack Wild, English actor (H.R. Pufnstuf) (d. 2006)
October
- October 2 – Robin Riker, American actress, author
- October 5
- October 6 – Matthew Sweeney, Irish poet (d. 2018)
- October 7
- October 9 – Sharon Osbourne, English actress, TV host and author
- October 12 – Advent Bangun, Indonesian karateka, actor (d. 2018)
- October 13
- October 14
- October 16 – Ron Taylor, American actor (d. 2002)
- October 18
- October 19 – Verónica Castro, Mexican actress, entertainer
- October 20 – Eliane Giardini, Brazilian actress
- October 21 – Patti Davis, American actress and author
- October 22 – Jeff Goldblum, American actor
- October 23 – Steven Tandy, Australian stage, television and film actor
- October 24
- October 26 – Andrew Motion, English poet
- October 27
- October 28 – Annie Potts, American actress
November
- November 2 – Laurence D. Fink, American business investor
- November 3
- November 4
- November 5
- November 6 – Michael Cunningham, American writer
- November 7
- November 8
- Jan Raas, Dutch professional cyclist
- Alfre Woodard, African-American actress, producer and political activist
- November 9 – Gladys Requena, Venezuelan politician
- November 13 – Art Malik, Pakistani-born British actor
- November 14
- November 15 – Randy Savage, American professional wrestler (d. 2011)
- November 16
- November 17
- November 18 – John Parr, English singer, songwriter and guitarist
- November 23 – Sharon O'Neill, New Zealand singer-songwriter and pianist
- November 24 – Ilja Richter, German actor, voice actor, television presenter, singer and author
- November 27 – Buddy Rose, American professional wrestler (d. 2009)
- November 28 – S. Epatha Merkerson, African-American actress (Law and Order)
- November 29 – John D. Barrow, English cosmologist, theoretical physicist and mathematician (d. 2020)
- November 30
December
- December 1
- December 2 – Peter Kingsbery, American singer, songwriter (Cock Robin)
- December 3
- December 6
- Chuck Baker, American Major League Baseball player
- Nicolas Bréhal, French novelist, literary critic
- Charles Bronson, English criminal (has been referred to as the "most violent prisoner in Britain")
- Edward Etzel, American Olympic Champion
- Joe Harris, American football linebacker
- Christian Kulik, Polish football player
- Craig Newmark, American businessman, founded Craigslist
- Shio Satō, Japanese manga artist
- Jeff Schneider, American Major League Baseball pitcher
- David L. Spector, American cell, molecular biologist
- December 8 – Richard Walsh, English actor
- December 9 – Michael Dorn, African-American actor (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
- December 10 – Susan Dey, American actress
- December 12
- December 13
- December 15
- December 16 – Joel Garner, West Indian cricketer
- December 20
- December 25
- December 26
- December 27
- December 28
- December 29
- December 30 – June Anderson, American soprano