The following events occurred in May 1954:

May 1, 1954 (Saturday)

The Unification Church was founded in South Korea, by Sun Myung Moon, under the name Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC).^[1]
A general strike began in Honduras, lasting until July.^[2]
The Myasishchev M-4, the first Soviet bomber which was claimed to have the ability to reach the United States and return to the Soviet Union, was displayed to the public for the first time at the Moscow May Day parade.^[3]
The 1954 Asian Games opened in Manila, Philippines, lasting until May 9.^[4]
The Film Censorship Board of Malaysia was established.^[5]
Born: Maatia Toafa, Tuvaluan politician, twice prime minister^[6]
Died: Tom Tyler, 50, US actor, of heart failure and complications from scleroderma^[7]

May 2, 1954 (Sunday)

Adnan Menderes of the Democrat Party formed the new (21st) government of Turkey after a landslide victory in the country's general election.^[8]
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, the President of Israel, visited the Shrine of the Báb, a centre of the Baháʼí Faith, the first time that the head of an independent state had visited a Baha'i sacred site.^[9]
The US-registered 1,007-ton barge A F L 1654 was wrecked on the coast of Montague Island, off the coast of the Territory of Alaska.^[10]

May 3, 1954 (Monday)

Died: Józef Garbień, 57, Polish footballer and physician

May 4, 1954 (Tuesday)

Photographer Orlando Suero traveled to Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) to spend several days on a photoshoot with the recently married Senator John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie.^[11]

May 5, 1954 (Wednesday)

In Paraguay, President Federico Chávez was ousted in a violent coup led by General Alfredo Stroessner, and was replaced by Tomás Romero Pereira, who later ceded power to Stroessner.^[12]
The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino opened in Florence, Italy, with a performance of Gaspare Spontini's opera, Agnese di Hohenstaufen.^[13]
Died: Henri Laurens, 69, French sculptor^[14]

May 6, 1954 (Thursday)

Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four minute mile, at the Iffley Road track in Oxford, England.^[15]
A United States Navy Martin PBM-5 Mariner flying boat crashed into mountains near Carricitos, Mexico, killing all 10 people on board.^[16]
Died: B. C. Forbes, 73, Scottish-born US journalist and publisher^[17]^[18]

May 7, 1954 (Friday)

First Indochina War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ended in a French defeat.^[19]

May 8, 1954 (Saturday)

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) was formed in Manila, Philippines.^[20]
In England and Wales, the 1954 County Championship cricket tournament opened with matches at Bristol, Derby, Manchester, Northampton, Nottingham, Lord's and Kennington Oval.^[21]

May 9, 1954 (Sunday)

The US-registered 9-ton, 32.6-foot (9.9 m) fishing vessel Sinbad sank at Gravina Point in Prince William Sound on the coast of the Territory of Alaska.^[22]

May 10, 1954 (Monday)

The Japanese cargo ship Tatsuwa Maru sprang a leak 500 nautical miles (930 km) west of Manila, Philippines. It is thought to have foundered with the loss of all 50 crew.^[23]

May 11, 1954 (Tuesday)

The U.S. Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, declared that Indochina was important but not essential to the security of Southeast Asia, thus ending any prospect of American intervention on the side of France (→ proposed Operation Vulture).

May 12, 1954 (Wednesday)

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May 13, 1954 (Thursday)

On the day after the deadline for all male British subjects and Federal citizens between the ages of 18 and 20 to register for part-time National Service, a peaceful demonstration by students turned into a riot, resulting in multiple injuries and arrests.^[24]
Australia's government established a Royal Commission on Espionage to look into the "Petrov Affair", events surrounding the defection of a Soviet diplomat.^[25]
The World Chess Championship was won by Mikhail Botvinnik in Moscow.^[26]
Born: Johnny Logan, Irish singer and songwriter, in Melbourne, Australia, as Seán Patrick Michael Sherrard^[27]

May 14, 1954 (Friday)

The Boeing 707 was released after about two years of development.^[28]
The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was adopted in The Hague, Netherlands.^[29]
The British tug Harrington capsized and sank at Swansea, Wales, with the loss of two of her six crew.^[30]
Died: Heinz Guderian, 65, German World War II general^[31]

May 15, 1954 (Saturday)

The Latin Union (Unión Latina) was created by the Convention of Madrid.^[32] Its member countries used the five Romance languages: Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian. It would suspend operations in 2012.
The US-registered 11-ton fishing vessel Loyal was destroyed by fire in Kimshan Cove in Southeast Alaska.^[33]

May 16, 1954 (Sunday)

The Kengir uprising broke out at a Soviet labour camp for political prisoners in the Kazakh SSR. Prisoners forced the guards and camp administration out, and an internal "government" was set up. The uprising lasted for over a month until forcibly suppressed by Soviet government troops.^[34]

May 17, 1954 (Monday)

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (347 US 483 1954): The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that segregated schools were unconstitutional.^[35]

May 18, 1954 (Tuesday)

Chinese Civil War, First Taiwan Strait Crisis: The People's Liberation Army Navy auxiliary gunboat Rujin was sunk by Nationalist Republic P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft, resulting in 56 deaths.^[36]

May 19, 1954 (Wednesday)

Pakistan and the United States signed a Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement.^[37]
Died: Charles Ives, 79, US composer^[38]

May 20, 1954 (Thursday)

Chiang Kai-shek was reelected as the president of the Republic of China by the National Assembly.^[39]

May 21, 1954 (Friday)

The 1954 Giro d'Italia cycle race began in Palermo, continuing until 13 June.^[40] Favourite Fausto Coppi and his team won the team time trial on the first day.

May 22, 1954 (Saturday)

The US-registered 19-ton fishing vessel Flamingo sank off the Outer Rocks in Khaz Bay, Southeast Alaska.^[41]
Died: Chief Bender, 70, Native American baseball player (Philadelphia Athletics) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (prostate cancer)^[42]

May 23, 1954 (Sunday)

In a friendly international at the Nepstadion in Budapest, the Hungary national football team defeated England by 7 goals to 1. Sándor Kocsis and Ferenc Puskás were among Hungary's goal scorers in what remains England's worst defeat of all time.^[43]
Born: Gerry Armstrong, former Northern Irish football player and coach, who was the highest scoring player from the UK in the 1982 FIFA World Cup; including a shock winner against hosts Spain.^{[citation needed]}

May 24, 1954 (Monday)

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May 25, 1954 (Tuesday)

Yu Hung-chun (O. K. Yui) was elected Prime Minister of the Republic of China (Taiwan).^[44]
Born: Tantely Andrianarivo, Madagascan politician, prime minister 1998–2002 (d. 2023)^[45]
Died: Robert Capa, 40, Hungarian-born photojournalist, killed by a land mine while reporting on the First Indochina War.^[46]

May 26, 1954 (Wednesday)

A fire on board the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Bennington off Narragansett Bay, Massachusetts, killed 103 sailors and injured many others.^[47]
The first tropical storm of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season formed over Florida.^[48]
Died: Omer Nishani, 67, Albanian politician (probable suicide)^[49]

May 27, 1954 (Thursday)

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May 28, 1954 (Friday)

Born: João Carlos de Oliveira, Brazilian athlete, in Pindamonhangaba, São Paulo (d. 1999)^[50]

May 29, 1954 (Saturday)

Robert Menzies's government was reelected for a fourth term in Australia.
The first meeting of the Bilderberg group opened at the Hotel de Bilderberg in Oosterbeek, Netherlands.^[51]
Diane Leather became the first woman to run a sub-five minute mile, in Birmingham, UK.^[52]
The French Open tennis tournament concluded, with Tony Trabert as the men's singles champion and Maureen Connolly as the women's.^[53]^[54]

May 30, 1954 (Sunday)

The Hungarian passenger steamboat Pajtás capsized and sank on Lake Balaton, near Balatonfüred. Twenty-three of the 178 passengers were killed.^[55]
Turkey's Kırşehir Province became part of Nevşehir Province, after supporting the political opposition in the election of May 2.^[56]

May 31, 1954 (Monday)

The 1954 Indianapolis 500 motor race was won by Bill Vukovich.^[57]
In Canada, Winnipeg's first television station, CBWT, broadcast its first programmes.^[58]
A Douglas C-47A-80-DL Skytrain operated by Transportes Aéreos Nacionales, on a flight from Governador Valadares Airport to Belo Horizonte-Pampulha Airport in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, went 48 kilometres (30 mi) off-course and crashed into Mount Cipó in the Serra do Cipó Mountains, killing all 19 people on board.^[59]

References

^ Introvigne, Massimo (2000-10-15). The Unification Church: Studies in Contemporary Religion. Signature Books. ISBN 978-1560851455.
^ MacCameron, Robert (1983). Bananas, Labor, and Politics in Honduras, 1954–1963. Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-915984-96-1 – via Google Books.
^ Crosby, Francis (2006). The Complete Guide to Fighters & Bombers of the World: An Illustrated History of the World's Greatest Military Aircraft, From the Pioneering Days of Air Fighting in World War I Through the Jet Fighters and Stealth Bombers of the Present Day. London: Anness Publishing Ltd. p. 283. ISBN 978-1-84476-917-9.
^ New Japan. Mainichi Publishing Company. 1954. p. 51 – via Google Books.
^ "Sejarah LPF". Lpf.moha.gov.my (in Malay). Retrieved 2017-07-31.
^ Turner, B. (7 February 2017). The Statesman's Yearbook 2007: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World. Springer. p. 1242. ISBN 978-0-230-27135-7 – via Google Books.
^ Blum, Daniel (1969). Screen World Vol. 6 1955. Biblo & Tannen Publishers. p. 225. ISBN 978-0-8196-0261-9 – via Google Books.
^ Kate Fleet; I. Metin Kunt; Reşat Kasaba; Suraiya Faroqhi (17 April 2008). The Cambridge History of Turkey. Cambridge University Press. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-521-62096-3.
^ Charles Mason Remey: A Historical Chronicle. PNBC of the United States. p. 38.
^ alaskashipwreck.com Alaska Shipwrecks (A)
^ Garside, Anne (2005). Camelot at Dawn: Jacqueline and John Kennedy in Georgetown, May 1954. JHU Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-8018-8207-4 – via Google Books.
^ Phil Gunson; Andrew Thompson; Greg Chamberlain (22 December 2015). The Dictionary of Contemporary Politics of South America. Routledge. p. 273. ISBN 978-1-317-27135-2.
^ Anon., "'Maggio Musicale': Spontini Opera to Be Revived", The Times Issue 52830 (15 January 1954): 10D; Anon., "Opening of 'Maggio Musicale': Orchestra's Anniversary", The Times Issue 52927 (10 May 1954): 9D.
^ Georges Braque (1964). Georges Braque (1882–1963), Henri Laurens (1885–1954): Drawings, Gouaches and Collages. J.P.L. Fine Arts. p. 22.
^ "On This Day, 1950–2005: 6 May 1954: Bannister breaks four-minute mile". BBC News. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
^ Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description
^ "Forbes, Head Of Business Magazine, Dies". May 7, 1954. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
^ "B. C. Forbes Dies; Publisher, Was 73; Financial, Business Writer Had Magazine 30 Years, Was Syndicated Columnist". The New York Times. May 7, 1954. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
^ Schreiber, Mark (2 May 2004). "A battle for 'the fate of the world'". The Japan Times. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
^ "AFC 60th Anniversary: Back to where it all began". Asian Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018.
^ "English Domestic Season".
^ alaskashipwreck.com Alaska Shipwrecks (S)
^ "Freighter Lost With Crew Of 50". The Times. No. 53058. London. 9 October 1954. col C, p. 6.
^ Quee, Tan Jing; Tan Kok Chiang & Lysa Hong (2011). The May 13 Generation: The Chinese Middle Schools Student Movement and Singapore Politics in the 1950s. Strategic Information and Research Development Centre (SIRD).
^ "SOVIET SPY RING DIRECTED FROM CANBERRA – MR. MENZIES". Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957). 1954-04-14. p. 1. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
^ 1954 Botvinnik - Smyslov Title Match, Mark Weeks' Chess Pages
^ Barclay, Simon (21 June 2015). The Complete & Independent Guide to the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-326-31977-9 – via Google Books.
^ Gunn, John (1988). High Corridors: Qantas, 1954–1970. John Gunn. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-7022-2128-6 – via Google Books.
^ "Conventions". www.unesco.org.
^ "Tug Sinks In Swansea Dock". The Times. No. 52932. London. 15 May 1954. p. 3.
^ Hart, Russell A. (2006). Guderian: Panzer Pioneer or Myth Maker?. Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-59797-453-0.
^ Wiktor, Christian L. (26 March 1998). Multilateral Treaty Calendar. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 600. ISBN 90-411-0584-0.
^ alaskashipwreck.com Alaska Shipwrecks (L)
^ Formozov, Nikolai (2004). "Kengir: 40 days and 50 years". Memorial’s newspaper “30-th October” 2004. #44 p. 4. (In Russian); State Archive of Russian Federation (SA RF). F. 9414. Op. 1. D. 229. P. 21, 173, 270); SA RF. F. 9414. Op. 1. D. 285. P. 309.
^ Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
^ "Chinese Naval Battles (Civil War and later)". Retrieved 6 February 2018.
^ Khan, Mohammed Ayub (September 1964). "The Pakistan-American Alliance". Foreign Affairs (January 1964). doi:10.2307/20029681. JSTOR 20029681. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
^ Gayle Sherwood; George Sherwood; Gayle Sherwood Magee (2002). Charles Ives: A Guide to Research. Psychology Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-8153-3821-5.
^ Fookien times yearbook. 1954. p. 79 – via Google Books.
^ "Il completo percorso del Giro d'Italia verra reso noto domani" [The complete course of the Giro d'Italia will be announced tomorrow]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 5 May 1954. pp. 1, 4. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
^ alaskashipwreck.com Alaska Shipwrecks (F)
^ Swift, Tom (2008). Chief Bender's Burden: The Silent Struggle of a Baseball Star. University of Nebraska Press. p. 285.
^ Pougatch, Mark (11 January 2011). Three Lions Versus the World: England's World Cup Stories from the Men Who Were There. Mainstream Publishing. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-907195-59-4 – via Google Books.
^ Europa Publications (2 September 2003). A Political Chronology of Central, South and East Asia. Routledge. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-135-35680-4 – via Google Books.
^ Uwechue, Raph (1991). Africa Who's who. Africa Journal Limited. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-903274-17-3 – via Google Books.
^ Aronson, Marc; Budhos, Marina (2017). Eyes of the World Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism. Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC. ISBN 9780805098358.
^ Isenberg, Michael T. Shield of the Republic: The United States Navy in an Era of Cold War and Violent Peace. Vol. I: 1945-1962. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 240. ISBN 0-312-09911-8.
^ Landsea, Chris; et al. (May 2015). Documentation of Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Changes in HURDAT (1954) (Report). Hurricane Research Division. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
^ Elsie, Robert (2010). Historical Dictionary of Albania. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 329. ISBN 978-0-8108-6188-6 – via Google Books.
^ Page, James Allen (January 1991). Black Olympian Medalists. Libraries Unlimited. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-87287-618-7 – via Google Books.
^ "Bilderberg mystery: Why do people believe in cabals?". BBC News. 7 June 2011. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
^ "Diane Leather". Sporting Heroes. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
^ "Roland-Garros 1954 (Grand Slam) – Men singles" (PDF). Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT).
^ "Roland-Garros 1954 (Grand Slam) – Women singles" (PDF). Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT).
^ Illés Tibor (24 January 2012). "BULVÁRA Balaton Titanicja". szegedma.hu. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
^ Philologiae Et Historiae Turcicae Fundamenta: Turkey in the twentieth century. Klaus Schwarz. 2008. p. 163. ISBN 978-3-87997-345-3 – via Google Books.
^ Campbell, Don G. (June 1, 1954). "Even Weather Co-Operates At Speedway". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Henry, Ann (June 1, 1954). "CBWT Makes A Triumphant Debut Here: Two Years Of Plans Pays Off". The Winnipeg Tribune. p. 15.
^ Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description

v t e Events by month
1958	Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1957	Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1956	Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1955	Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1954	Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1953	Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1952	Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1951	Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1950	Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1949	Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
<<	May 1954					>>
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23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31