MultiEducator · The 20th Century Almanac
HistoryCentral Est. 1996
5420th C.
1954
The 20th Century Almanac · The Fifties

1954

Major Events · Sports · Music · Screen · Prizes

The Supreme Court struck down school segregation in Brown v. Board of Education, France's defeat at Dien Bien Phu ended its Indochina war, and Senator McCarthy was discredited in the Army-McCarthy hearings. Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront dominated the Oscars.

A Year in Review
Best Picture
On the Waterfront
Nobel · Literature
Hemingway
World Series
New York Giants vs. Cleveland Indians Se
No. 1 Song
Top TV
Academy · Actor
Marlon Brando

Sports Highlights

Champions of 1954

Champions

NBAMinneapolis Lakers vs. Syracuse Nationals Series: 4-3
NCAA FootballOhio State & UCLA Record:10-0-0 & 9-0-0
Heisman TrophyAlan Ameche, wisconsin, FB points: 1,068
Stanley CupDetroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Canadiens Series: 4-3
World CupWest Germany vs. Hungary Score: 3-2
World SeriesNew York Giants vs. Cleveland Indians Series: 4-0

Screen & Television

At the box office & on the air

Top Movies

  1. White Christmas
  2. The Caine Mutiny
  3. The Glenn Miller Story
  4. The Egyptian
  5. Rear Window
  6. The High and the Mighty
  7. Magnificent Obsession
  8. Three Coins in the Fountain
  9. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
  10. Desiree (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); © 1996-2025

Academy Awards

Honoring 1954
Best Picture
On the Waterfront
Best Director
Elia Kazan
On the Waterfront
Best Actor
Marlon Brando
On the Waterfront
Best Actress
Grace Kelly
The Country Girl

Nobel & Pulitzer Prizes

The year in letters & science

Nobel Prizes

Chemistry
PAULING, LINUS CARL, U.S.A., California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, b. 1901, d. 1994: "for his research into the nature of the chemical bond and its application to the elucidation of the structure of complex substances"
Literature
HEMINGWAY, ERNEST MILLER, U.S.A., b. 1899, d. 1961: "for his mastery of the art of narrative, most recently demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea, and for the influence that he has exerted on contemporary style"
Peace
OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES Geneva, an international relief organization, founded by U.N. in 1951
Physiology or Medicine
The prize was awarded jointly to: ENDERS, JOHN FRANKLIN, U.S.A., Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA,; Research Division of Infectious Diseases, Children's Medical Center, Boston, MA, b. 1897, d. 1985; WELLER, THOMAS HUCKLE, U.S.A., Research
Physics
The prize was divided equally between: BORN, MAX, Great Britain, Edinburgh University, b. 1882 (in Breslau, then Germany), d. 1970: "for his fundamental research in quantum mechanics, especially for his statistical interpretation of the wav