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1953 in the United Kingdom
Events from the year 1953 in the United Kingdom
Incumbents
Events
28 January - Derek Bentley is executed at Wandsworth Prison in London for his part in the murder of PC Sidney Miles.[1] 31 January - The car ferry, MV Princess Victoria sailing from Stranraer , Scotland to Larne , Northern Ireland , sinks in the Irish Sea killing 133 people onboard. Among the dead included Northern Ireland Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Major Maynard Sinclair , and Sir Walter Smiles , the Ulster Unionist MP for North Down .[2] 31 January /1 February - The North Sea flood of 1953 kills hundreds of people on the east coast of Britain.[3] 5 February - The rationing of sweets , introduced during World War II, ends.[4] 28 February - James D. Watson and Francis Crick announce that they have discovered the structure of the DNA molecule.16 March - Josip Tito , the Communist leader of Yugoslavia visits the UK, the first Communist leader to do so.[5] 24 March
31 March - The funeral of Queen Mary takes place at St. George's Chapel , Windsor Castle .[8] 13 April - Ian Fleming publishes his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale [9] 16 April - The Queen launches the Royal Yacht Britannia at the John Brown & Company shipbuilders on the Clyde.[10] 24 April - Winston Churchill receives a knighthood from the Queen.[7] 25 April - Francis Crick and James D. Watson publish their description of the double helix structure of DNA in the paper Molecular structure of Nucleic Acids [11] [12] 2 June - The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II takes place at Westminster Abbey .[13] 25 June - John Christie , a 54-year-old London man, is sentenced to death for the murder of his wife Ethel Christie.[14] 26 June - Eskdalemuir enters the UK Weather Records for the highest rainfall in a 30 minute period with 80mm. As of July 2006 this record remains.15 July - John Christie is hanged at Pentonville Prison .19 August - the England cricket team defeat Australia to win The Ashes for the first time in 19 years.[7] 26 September - End of post-War sugar rationing.[15] 6 October - Government sends troops to the colony of British Guiana blaming communists for causing unrest.[16] 11 November - Long running current affairs television series Panorama [7] 17 November - An Italian steamer collides with a French motor vessel in the English Channel, killing 20 people.[17] 21 November - The Piltdown Man , which was discovered in 1912 and thought to be the fossilised remains of a hitherto unknown form of early human, exposed as a hoax.[7] 26 November - The House of Lords votes in favour of the government's proposals for commercial television.[18] 10 December
Undated
Publications
Births
17 February - Norman Pace , British actor and comedian11 April - Andrew Wiles , mathematician known for proving Fermat's Last Theorem 13 April - Stephen Byers , politician20 April - Sebastian Faulks , English novelist6 May - Tony Blair , Prime Minister 19 May - Victoria Wood , British comic actress24 May - Alfred Molina , English actor26 May - Michael Portillo , English politician15 July - John Yorke Denham , politician21 July - David Ervine , leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (died 2007 )8 August - Nigel Mansell , racing driver18 August - Patrick Cowdell , English boxer21 October - Peter Mandelson , politician27 October - Peter Firth , British actor7 November - Lucinda Green , equestrian16 November - Griff Rhys Jones , comedian, actor and writer26 November - Hilary Benn , politician28 November - Alistair Darling , politician6 December - Geoff Hoon , politicianChristopher Fowler , thriller writer
Deaths
References
^ "Derek Bentley hanged for murder", BBC On This Day ". Retrieved on 2008 -01-10 .^ "130 die in ferry disaster", BBC On This Day ". Retrieved on 2008 -01-10 .^ "Violent storms claim hundreds of lives", BBC On This Day ". Retrieved on 2008 -01-10 .^ "Sweet rationing ends in Britain", BBC On This Day ". Retrieved on 2008 -01-10 .^ "Marshal Tito makes historic visit to London", BBC On This Day ". Retrieved on 2008 -01-10 .^ "Queen Mary dies peacefully after illness", BBC On This Day ". Retrieved on 2008 -01-10 .^ a b c d e (2006) Penguin Pocket On This Day . Penguin Reference Library. ISBN 0-141-02715-0 .
^ "Queen Mary laid to rest in Windsor", BBC On This Day ". Retrieved on 2008 -01-10 .^ The Lost Decade Timeline, BBC ". Retrieved on 2008 -01-10 .^ "Queen launches Royal Yacht Britannia", BBC On This Day ". Retrieved on 2008 -01-10 .^ Molecular structure of nucleic acids: a structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid . Nature 171 , 737-738.^ "Scientists describe 'secret of life'", BBC On This Day ". Retrieved on 2008 -01-10 .^ "Queen Elizabeth takes coronation oath", BBC On This Day ". Retrieved on 2008 -01-10 .^ "Christie to hang for wife's murder", BBC On This Day ". Retrieved on 2008 -01-10 .^ Palmer, Alan & Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History . London: Century Ltd, 406-407. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2 . ^ "Britain sends troops to Guiana", BBC On This Day ". Retrieved on 2008 -01-10 .^ "Twenty die in Channel collision", BBC On This Day ". Retrieved on 2008 -01-10 .^ "1953: Lords vote for commercial television", BBC On This Day ". Retrieved on 2008 -01-10 .^ The Nobel Prize in Literature 1953 ". Retrieved on 2008 -01-10 .^ The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1953 ". Retrieved on 2008 -01-10 .^ (1999) The Hutchinson Factfinder . Helicon. ISBN 1-85986-000-1 .
See also
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