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South Vietnam

South Vietnam

South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), Việt Nam Cộng Hòa from 1955, was a country that existed from 1954 to 1975 in the territory of Vietnam that lay south of the Demilitarized Zone while North Vietnam was situated to the north of the DMZ. The partition was made during the Geneva Conference (1954), after the Viet Minh fought successfully to end almost 100 years of French colonialism. After the country was divided, many North Vietnamese, mainly Vietnamese Roman Catholics, fled by U.S propaganda of 'communist persecution' in the north, and came to the south, many of them was taken by the U.S. Navy. The Republic of South Vietnam was proclaimed in Saigon by Ngo Dinh Diem on October 22, 1955, after the Emperor Bao Dai was deposed. The founding of South Vietnam was based on the support of the United States, and the history of the relationship is controversial. Despite its popular reputation for supporting democracy and elections, the U.S. and the Diem government agreed that elections mandated by the Geneva Conference (1954) should never be occur, as Ho Chi Minh was highly popular and any other Vietnamese figure of the time would likely have lost. The dominant political rationale for supporting the South was claimed at the time to have been based in its extreme anti-communist ideology, and a desire to limit the expansion of the North government, which had allied itself with the communist Soviet Union. Under circumstances that remain controversial to this day, conflict steadily escalated to become the Vietnam War. Following American troop withdrawal from the war in 1973, the South Vietnam government continued fighting the Vietnam National Liberation Front (NLF) and North Vietnam, until, overwhelmed by the opposition, it finally surrendered on April 30, 1975, the day of the Fall of Saigon. The NLF took power and established the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam until the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam was inaugurated on July 2, 1976. __TOC__

Historical debate

There is debate about how closely the South Vietnamese government was linked to the United States — many historians allege the South government to have been nothing more than an American-backed 'puppet government'. But some others claim that it was a genuine democracy or, at the least, a legitimate patriotic movement, born from genuine concern for the Vietnamese people. Any point of view on the matter generally corresponds closely to one's personal views on the Vietnam War in general — supporters of US involvement often believe that South Vietnam was 'worth defending to preclude Communist expansion' and for humanitarian reasons and to 'support freedom and democracy', and thus worthy of defence, while opponents often believe that the South Vietnamese government was not worth defending, based on its alleged corruption or because of the prohibitively high expense of Vietnamese and American lives, and against the presumed 'inevitable' communist victory.

Paris Peace Accords and subsequent U.S. military withdrawal from Vietnam

All of U.S. military forces withdrew from South Vietnam in 1973, in accordance with the Paris Peace Accords signed with North Vietnam in 1973. However, following major victories by the NLF 'Viet Cong' guerrillas in the South, and taking advantage of the Southern government's lack of popular support and subsequent lack of American military aid, North Vietnam broke the treaty in 1973-75 and attacked and invaded South Vietnam, quickly capturing the cities of Hue, Da Nang and Da Lat in central Vietnam in an all-out military offensive supplied from the North and initially made against the central highland city of Ban Me Thuot in March of 1975, and after the subsequent rout of the northern provinces of South Vietnam, advancing southwards very fast. The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) did mount a significant defense and even a counterattack, but they kept losing ground. South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu requested aid from U.S. President Gerald Ford, but the U.S. Senate would not ratify another involvement in Vietnam, and passed laws to tie the American president's hands against it. Nguyen Van Thieu resigned on April 21, 1975, and fled to Taiwan. He nominated his Vice President Tran Van Huong as his successor. In one week, Tran Van Huong handed over the presidency to General Duong Van Minh, a North Vietnamese 'sympathizer'. The Army of the Republic of Vietnam was unable to sustain the defense of South Vietnam and quickly collapsed, due to limited supplies of everything from food, ammunition and gasoline and due also to poor leadership. Acting President Duong Van Minh unconditionally surrendered the capital city of Saigon and the rest of South Vietnam to North Vietnam on April 30, 1975, the Fall of Saigon.

Politics

South Vietnam went through many political changes during its short life. Initially, the nation was a constitutional monarchy, with Emperor Bao Dai as Head of State. The Vietnamese monarchy was unpopular however, largely because monarchical leaders were considered collaborators during French rule. In 1955 a republican referendum, which was alleged to be rigged due to the active presence of pro-republican military forces at voting booths and the 98% vote in favour of the movement, abolished the monarchy and made Prime Minister Ngo Đinh Diem the country's first president. Despite successes in politics, economics, and social change in the first 5 years, Diem quickly became a dictatorial leader. The South Vietnamese military staged a coup and killed him in 1963. The military held a brief interim government until a civilian administration was installed in 1964. In 1965 the feuding civilian government voluntarily resigned and handed power back to the nation's military, in the hope this would bring stability and unity to the nation. A joint assembly with represenatives of all the branches of the military decided to switch the nation's system of government to a parliamentary system with a strong Prime Minister and a figurehead President. There was a bicameral National Assembly consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. Military rule initially failed to provide much stability however, as internal conflicts and political inexperience caused various factions of the army to launch coups and counter-coups against one another, making leadership very tumultuous. The situation stabilized when the reformist Nguyen Cao Ky became Prime Minister and helped fight corruption and political division through often heavy-handed means. In 1967 the nation held its first elections. Following the elections the nation switched back to a presidential system. The military nominated Nguyen Van Thieu as their candidate, and he was elected with a plurality of the popular vote. Thieu quickly consolidated power much to the dismay of those who hoped for an era of more political openess. His 1971 re-election was boycotted by most opposition parties and widely regarded as corrupt, although he received an increase in popular support. Thieu ruled until the final days of the war, resigning in 1975. Duong Van Minh was the nation's last president and surrendered to the Communist forces a few days after assuming office. South Vietnam was a member of the ACCT, Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC), IMF, International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Intelsat), Interpol, IOC, ITU, League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (LORCS), UNESCO and Universal Postal Union (UPU).

Army

Main article: Army of the Republic of Vietnam Total Armed Forces were over 1,000,000 in 1971, and U.S. Forces were 525,000 in 1968.

ARVN

On October 26, 1956, the military was reorganized by the administration of President Ngo Dinh Diem who then established the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). Early on, the focus of the army was the guerrilla fighters of the Vietnam National Liberation Front (NLF), a shadow government formed to oppose the Diem administration. The United States, under President John F. Kennedy sent advisors and a great deal of financial support to aid ARVN (pronounced "arvin") in combating the Nationalist insurgents. A major campaign, developed by Ngo Dinh Nhu and later resurrected under another name was the "Strategic Hamlet Program" which was unsuccessful. ARVN and President Diem began to be criticized by the foreign press when the troops were used to crush southern religious groups like the Cao Dai and Hoa Hao as well as to raid Buddhist temples, which Diem claimed were harboring Communist guerrillas. In 1963 Ngo Dinh Diem was killed in a coup d'etat organized by the CIA and carried out by ARVN officers. In the confusion that followed Duong Van Minh took control, but was only the first in a succession of ARVN generals to assume the presidency of South Vietnam. During these years, the United States began taking full control of the war against the NLF and the role of the ARVN became less and less significant. They were also plagued by continuing problems of severe corruption among the officer corps. Although the U.S. was highly critical of them, the ARVN continued to be entirely U.S. armed and funded. The value of the ARVN was highly questionable in this period. In 1963 at the Battle of Ap Bac some 1,400 ARVN troops were defeated by only 350 NLF guerrillas. The battle of Dong Xoai in 1965 was another humiliating ARVN defeat. Although they always outnumbered their nationalist enemies, most were inexperienced, poorly trained and not motivated to fight hard for the generals and politicians behind them. Generals tended to be political appointees and corruption was rampant. Their relations with the civilian population was never good and relations with the U.S. military were often very cold. Starting in 1969 President Richard M. Nixon started the process of "Vietnamization", pulling out American forces and leaving the ARVN to fight the war against the North Vietnamese People's Army (PAVN). Slowly, ARVN began to expand from its counter-insurgency role to become the primary ground defense against the NLF and North Vietnamese. From 1969-1971 there were about 22,000 ARVN combat deaths per year. Starting in 1968, South Vietnam began calling up every available man for service in the ARVN, reaching a strength of a million soldiers by 1972. In 1970 they performed well in Cambodia and were executing 3x as many operations as they had during the American war period. However, the officer corps was still the biggest problem. Leaders were often poorly trained, inept and the equipment continued to sub-standard as the U.S. tried to upgrade ARVN technology. Relations with the public also remained poor as their only counter to NLF organizing was to resurrect the "Strategic Hamlet" program, which the peasants resented. Disapproving Americans called this "barbed wire diplomacy". However, forced to carry the burden left by the Americans, the South Vietnamese army actually started to perform rather well and in 1970 was clearly winning the war against the Communists, though with continued American air support. The exhaustion of the North was becoming evident and the Paris talks gave some hope of a negotiated peace if not a victory. The most crucial moment of truth for the ARVN came with General Vo Nguyen Giap's 1972 "Easter Offensive", the first all-out invasion of South Vietnam by the Communist North. It was code-named "Nguyen Hue" after the historic Vietnamese hero who defeated the Chinese in 1778. The assault combined infantry wave assaults, artillery and the first massive use of tanks by the North Vietnamese. ARVN took heavy losses, but to the surprise of many, managed to hold on and stand their ground. The Communists took Quang Tri province and areas along the Lao and Khmer borders. President Richard Nixon dispatched more bombers to provide air support for ARVN when it seemed that South Vietnam was about to be overrun. In desperation, President Nguyen Van Thieu fired the incompetent General Giai and replaced him with ARVN's best commander, General Ngo Quang Truong. He gave the order that all deserters would be executed and pulled enough forces together so that the North Vietnamese army (PAVN) failed to take Hue. Finally, with considerable U.S. air and naval support, as well as some surprising determination by the ARVN soldiers, the Easter Offensive was halted. ARVN counter-attacked and ultimately succeeded in driving the PAVN out of South Vietnam, though they did retain control of northern Quang Tri province near the DMZ. By 1973 and 1974 the United States had almost completely retreated from Vietnam and ARVN was left to fight alone, though with massive technological support, having roughly 4x as many heavy weapons as their enemies. Nevertheless, American aid was gradually cut off. In 1975, after the end of American involvement, the PAVN again invaded the south. This time, the ARVN collapsed in a total panic. City after city fell to the Communists with ARVN soldiers joining the civilians trying to flee south. The North called this the "Ho Chi Minh Campaign". All resistance crumbled. General Cao Van Vien, ARVN chief of staff, ordered his men to fight to the death, then quickly fled the country. The ARVN tried to defend Xuan Loc, their last chance before Saigon. Even according to the Communists, these men fought very well, but it was not enough. Xuan Loc was taken and on April 30, 1975, initiated the Fall of Saigon the Communists captured the city, placing the NLF flag over the Independence Palace. General Duong Van Minh, recently appointed president by Tran Van Huong, surrendered the city and government bringing the Republic of Vietnam and also the Army of the Republic of Vietnam to a final end.

Presidents of South Vietnam

Ngo Dinh Diem (1955–1963) Duong Van Minh (1963–1964, 1975) Nguyen Khanh (1964) Phan Khac Suu (1964–1965) Nguyen Van Thieu (1965–1975) Tran Van Huong (1975) Huynh Tan Phat (1975–1976)

Provinces

Huynh Tan Phat South Vietnam's capital was Saigon which was renamed Ho Chi Minh City on May 1, 1975. Besides, the country was divided into forty-four provinces (tỉnh, singular and plural):

Geography

The south was divided into coastal lowlands, Dai Truong Son (central mountains) with high plateaus, and the Mekong River Delta.

Economy

Vietnam’s economy evolved under the burden of military actions and political issues. In 1954, the nations of North Vietnam and South Vietnam had developed their own economic structure, reflecting different economic systems with different resources and trading partners. South Vietnam maintained a free-market economy as well established the first Airlines under Chief of State Emperor Bao Dai, named Air Vietnam. The reunification of Vietnam in 1976, led to the imposition of North Vietnam’s centrally planned economy into the South. Vietnam has built its market economy since 1995.

Demographics

About 80% of population was Kinh, and 20% was Chinese, Montagnard, Khmer, Cham, Malay and others. (1970)

Culture

Principal religions were Buddhism, Roman Catholic, Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, animists and others.

Vietnamese culture

Cultural life was strongly flavored by that of China until French domination in the 19th century. At that time, the traditional culture began to acquire an overlay of western characteristics. Many families have three generations living under one roof. It is traditional for a married couple to care for the man’s parents. Also, it is very important to have a son. If there is only one son, he and his wife must live with his parents. If there are no sons, one of the daughters may remain unmarried and care for her parents. To make decisions, children must ask their parents. Vietnamese males and females are not allowed to date. They grow up in their families until age 18 to 20 and marry according to their parents' arrangements. Dating is believed to undermine traditions, encouraging sons and daughters to defy their parents' wishes and bringing shame to their families. Youths who have affections for one another may carry their relationship in secrecy, but eventually yield to their parents' wills. This may mean marrying a complete stranger or someone they do not like. Pleasing their parents is a social priority and doing otherwise would be a major dishonor. However, today Vietnamese males and females are free to date and get married to the one that they love.

See also


- North Vietnam
- Reunification

External links


- [http://www.chaocovnch.8m.com/anthem1.htm National Anthem of the Republic of Vietnam]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/30/newsid_2498000/2498441.stm 1975: Saigon surrenders]
- [http://www.geocities.com/airvietnamairlines/Menu.html Air Vietnam] Vietnam, South Category:Vietnam War ja:ベトナム共和国

1955

1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar.

Events


- January 7 - Marian Anderson is the first African American singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
- January 22 - Pentagon announces plan to develop ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) armed with nuclear weapons
- February 8 - Nikolai Bulganin becomes Soviet Premier.
- February 12 - US President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends the first U.S. advisors to South Vietnam.
- February 22 - In Chicago's Democratic primary, Mayor Martin H. Kennelly loses to the head of the Cook County Democratic Party, Richard J. Daley, 364,839 to 264,775
- March 20 - Blackboard Jungle opens in theaters featuring the song Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and his Comets, thus propelling Rock and Roll as a musical genre. Teenagers jump from their seats to dance to the song.
- April 5 - Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- April 5 - Richard J. Daley defeats Robert Merrian to become mayor of Chicago by a vote of 708,222 to 581,555.
- April 6 - Anthony Eden becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- April 12 - The Salk polio vaccine is introduced.
- April 15 - Ray Kroc starts the McDonald's fast food restaurant chain.
- April 18 - Imre Nagy, premier of Hungary, ousted for being too moderate
- May 5 - West Germany becomes a sovereign state.
- May 9 - West Germany joins NATO.
- May 14 - The Warsaw Pact is formed by the communist states of Eastern Europe and the USSR.
- May 31 - The United States Supreme Court orders school integration at "all deliberate speed"
- July 17 - Disneyland opens.
- July 18 - The first atomic-generated electrical power is sold commercially.
- July 18 - Illinois's Govenor William Stratton signs Loyalty Oath Act that mandates all public employees take a loyalty oath or lose their jobs.
- July 18 - Beginning of Geneva Summit between US, USSR, England, and France.
- July 23 - Geneva Summit between US, USSR, England, and France ends.
- August 19 - Hurricane Diane hits the northeast United States, killing 200 and causing over $1 billion in damage.
- August 20 - Hundreds killed in anti-French rioting in Morocco and Algeria.
- August 25 - The last Soviet forces leave Austria.
- September 10 - Gunsmoke debuts on CBS.
- September 19 - President of Argentina Juan Peron is ousted in a military coup.
- September 19 - Hurricane Hilda kills 200 in Mexico.
- September 22 - Commercial television begins in England.
- September 24 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower suffers coronary thrombosis while on vacation in Denver.
- September 30 - Actor James Dean killed in car accident near Cholame, California.
- October 4 - The Reverend Sun Myung Moon is released from prison in Seoul, Korea.
- October 26 - Ngo Dinh Diem proclaims Vietnam a republic with himself as president.
- November 1 - Time bomb explodes aboard a United Airlines DC-6 killing 44 above Longmont, Colorado.
- November 5 - Racial segregation is forbidden on trains and buses in interstate commerce.
- November 5 - Dr. Emmett Brown invents the Flux Capacitor.
- November 23 - The Cocos Islands are transferred from the control of the United Kingdom to Australia.
- December 1 - Montgomery, Alabama seamstress, Rosa Parks, refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man and is arrested.
- December 5 - The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge to become the AFL-CIO.
- December 14 - Tappan Zee Bridge in New York opens to traffic.
- December 31 - General Motors becomes the first American corporation to make over USD $1 billion in a year.
- 70 mm film is introduced with Oklahoma!.
- Düsseldorf-Mönchengladbach Airport (Flughafen Düsseldorf-Mönchengladbach) was founded.

Births

January-February


- January 2 - Tex Brashear, American voice actor
- January 6 - Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor
- January 12 - Rockne O'Bannon, writer and television producer
- January 13 - Jay McInerney, American writer
- January 15 - Nigel Benson, British author and illustrator
- January 17 - Steve Earle, American musician
- January 18 - Kevin Costner, American actor
- January 22 - Neil Mallon Bush, son of George Bush and Barbara Pierce Bush and brother of President George W. Bush
- January 19 - Simon Rattle, English conductor
- January 26 - Edward Van Halen, Dutch-born musician
- January 27 - John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States
- February 3 - Stephen Euin Cobb, American novelist
- February 8 - John Grisham, American novelist
- February 10 - Chris Adams, American professional wrestler (d. 2001)
- February 10 - Greg Norman, Australian golfer
- February 12 - Arsenio Hall, American actor and talk show host
- February 15 - Christopher McDonald, American actor
- February 19 - Jeff Daniels, American actor
- February 20 - Kelsey Grammer, American actor
- February 23 - Howard Jones, English musician
- February 24 - Alain Prost, French race car driver
- February 24 - Steve Jobs, American computer pioneer

March-April


- March 5 - Penn Jillette, American magician and comedian
- March 6 - Alberta Watson, Canadian actress
- March 7 - Tommy Kramer, American football player
- March 15 - Dee Snider, American singer
- March 16 - Jiro Watanabe, Japanese boxer
- March 16 - Bruno Barreto, Brazilian film director
- March 17 - Gary Sinise, American actor
- March 19 - Bruce Willis, American actor
- March 22 - Pete Sessions, American politician
- March 23 - Moses Malone, American basketball player
- March 28 - Reba McEntire, American singer and actress
- March 29 - Earl Campbell, American football star
- March 31 - Angus Young, Scottish musician
- April 6 - Michael Rooker, American actor
- April 7 - Werner Stocker, German actor (d. 1993)
- April 8 - Kane Hodder, American actor
- April 11 - Kevin Brady, American politician
- April 15 - Dodi Al-Fayed, Egyptian businessman (d. 1997)
- April 16 - Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg
- April 23 - Tony Miles, English chess player (d. 2001)
- April 29 - Kate Mulgrew, American actress

May


- May 1 - Ray Buttigieg, Maltese composer and poet
- May 2 - Dave Winer, American software pioneer
- May 3 - David Hookes, Australian cricketer (d. 2004)
- May 3 - Steve Jones, guitarist for Sex Pistols
- May 6 - Tom Bergeron, American television host
- May 9 - Anne-Sofie von Otter, Swedish mezzo-soprano
- May 10 - Chris Berman, American sports broadcaster
- May 10 - Mark David Chapman, American assassin of John Lennon
- May 16 - Olga Korbut, Russian gymnast
- May 16 - Jack Morris, baseball player
- May 16 - Hazel O'Connor, British singer
- May 16 - Debra Winger, American actress
- May 17 - Bill Paxton, American actor
- May 18 - Chow Yun-Fat, Hong Kong actor
- May 20 - Zbigniew Preisner, Polish film composer
- May 21 - Paul Barber, British field hockey player
- May 26 - Masaharu Morimoto, Japanese chef
- May 26 - Doris Dörrie, German actress and screenplay writer
- May 28 - John McGeoch, Scottish musician (Siouxsie and the Banshees and Public Image Ltd.) (d. 2004)
- May 30 - Topper Headon, British drummer (The Clash)

June-September


- June 2 - Dana Carvey, American actor and comedian
- June 7 - Tim Richmond, American race car driver (d. 1989)
- June 8 - Tim Berners-Lee, English inventor of the World Wide Web
- June 13 - Larry Mike Garmon, American author
- June 20 - Tor Norretranders, Danish author
- June 21 - Tim Bray, Canadian computer programmer
- June 25 - Terry Chimes, British drummer (The Clash)
- June 26 - Mick Jones, British guitarist (The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite)
- June 27 - Isabelle Adjani, French actress
- July 1 - Sanma Akashiya, Japanese comedian and actor
- July 9 - Fred Norris, American radio personality
- August 4 - Billy Bob Thornton, American actor
- August 7 - Vladimir Sorokin, Russian writer
- August 19 - Peter Gallagher, American actor
- September 1 - Bruce Foxton, English musician
- September 10 - Pat Mastelotto, American musician
- September 16 - Robin Yount, baseball player

October-December


- October 7 - Yo-Yo Ma, French-born Chinese cellist
- October 10 - David Lee Roth, American rock singer
- October 15 - Kulbir Bhaura, British field hockey player
- October 17 - Mae Jemison, astronaut
- October 21 - Rich Mullins, American musician (d. 1997)
- October 28 - Bill Gates, American software entrepreneur
- November 3 - Phil Simms, American football player
- November 4 - Matti Vanhanen, Prime Minister of Finland
- November 6 - Maria Shriver, American journalist
- November 7 - Detlef Ultsch, German judoka
- November 13 - Whoopi Goldberg, American actress, comedienne, and singer
- November 21 - Kyle Gann, American composer and music critic
- November 23 - Steven Brust, American author
- November 24 - Ian Botham, British cricketer
- November 24 - Elvis Ramone, American drummer The Ramones
- November 24 - Takashi Yuasa, Japanese lawyer
- December 3 - Steven Culp, American actor
- December 4 - Maurizio Bianchi, Italian experimental musician
- December 12 - Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Greek politician and businesswoman
- December 15 - Paul Simonon, British bassist (The Clash)
- December 17 - Brad Davis, American basketball player
- December 18 - Ray Liotta, American actor
- December 21 - Jane Kaczmarek, American actress
- December 27 - Barbara Olson, American television commentator (d. 2001)

Deaths


- January 2 - Jose Antonio Remon, President of Panama
- January 15 - Yves Tanguy, French painter (b. 1900)
- January 21 - Archie Hahn, American athlete (b. 1880)
- January 31 - John Mott, American YMCA leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)
- March 11 - Sir Alexander Fleming, Scottish scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1881)
- March 12 - Charlie Parker, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1920)
- April 7 - Theda Bara, American film actress (b. 1885)
- April 18 - Albert Einstein, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
- May 4 - Georges Enescu, Romanian composer (b. 1881)
- May 10 - Tommy Burns, American boxer (b. 1881)
- May 11 - Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer (b. 1874)
- May 16 - James Agee, American writer (b. 1909)
- May 18 - Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator (b. 1875)
- May 26 - Alberto Ascari, Italian race car driver (b. 1918)
- July 23 - Cordell Hull, United States Secretary of State, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1871)
- August 2 - Wallace Stevens, American poet (b. 1879)
- August 5 - Carmen Miranda, Portuguese singer and actress (b. 1909)
- August 12 - Thomas Mann, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1875)
- August 12 - James B. Sumner, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
- September 30 - James Dean, American actor (automobile accident) (b. 1931)
- October 1 - Charles Christie, American film studio owner (b. 1880)
- October 9 - Theodor Cardinal Innitzer, Archbishop of Vienna (b. 1875)
- November 4 - Cy Young, baseball player (b. 1867)
- November 5 - Maurice Utrillo, French artist (b. 1882)
- November 12 - Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer (b. 1878)
- November 27 - Arthur Honegger, French-born Swiss composer (b. 1982)
- December 6 - Honus Wagner, baseball player (b. 1874)
- December 13 - Egas Moniz, Portuguese physician and neurologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1874)
- December 27 - Alfred Francis Blakeney Carpenter, English soldier (b. 1881)

Nobel Prizes


- Physics - Willis Eugene Lamb, Polykarp Kusch
- Chemistry - Vincent du Vigneaud
- Physiology or Medicine- Axel Hugo Theodor Theorell
- Literature - Halldór Kiljan Laxness
- Peace - not awarded
- ko:1955년 ms:1955 ja:1955年 simple:1955 th:พ.ศ. 2498

1954

1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar.

Events

January-February


- January 1 - Soviet Union no longer demands war reparations from East Germany
- January 12 - Large-scale avalanches in Austria - over 20 dead
- January 14 - The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator forming the American Motors Corporation
- January 14 - Marilyn Monroe weds Joe DiMaggio.
- January 15 - Mau Mau leader Waruhiu Itote is captured in Kenya
- January 17 - In Yugoslavia, Milovan Djilas, Tito's second-in-command, is relieved of his duties
- January 20 - The National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations
- January 21 - The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut, by First Lady of the United States Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower.
- January 25 - The foreign ministers of the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union meet at the Berlin Conference.
- January 26 - Milpitas, California was incorporated as a city.
- January 27 - Very freezing weather in Europe
- February 3 - Queen Elizabeth II is the first reigning monarch to visit Australia
- February 10 - President Dwight Eisenhower warns against United States intervention in Vietnam
- February 23 - The first mass vaccination of children against polio begins in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- February 25 - Lt. Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser is made premier of Egypt.

March-April


- March 1 - Nuclear testing: Officials announce that an American hydrogen bomb test had been conducted on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
- March 1 - Four Puerto Ricans open fire on United States House of Representatives and wound five. Security guards apprehend them.
- March 8 - PR Newswire founded in New York by Herb Muschel.
- March 9 - Edward Murrow and Fred W. Friendly produce a 30-minute See It Now special entitled "A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy".
- March 12 - Finland and Germany officially end the state of war.
- March 13 - French troops begin battle against Vietminh in Dien Bien Phu.
- March 19 - Joey Giardello knocks out Willie Tory in round seven at Madison Square Garden in the first televised prize boxing fight shown in color.
- March 22 - The London bullion market reopens (it was closed in 1939).
- March 22 - London gold exchange opens for the first time since the war.
- March 23 - Viet Minh capture the main airstrip of Dien Bien Phu - French forces are partially isolated.
- March 25 - RCA manufactures first color TV set (12" screen; price: $1,000).
- March 25 - Soviet Union recognizes sovereignty of East Germany but Soviet troops remain in the country.
- March 29 - C-47 with Genevieve de Galard on board is incapacitated on Dien Bien Phu runway.
- March 30 - Canada's first subway opens in Toronto.
- April 1 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.
- April 3 - Vladimir Petrov defects from the Soviet Union and asks to seek political asylum in Australia.
- April 7 - Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his "domino theory" speech during a news conference.
- April 12 - Original recording of "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets.
- April 14 - – Aneurin Bevan resigns from the UK Labour shadow cabinet.
- April 22 - Senator Joseph McCarthy begins hearings investigating the United States Army for being "soft" on Communism.

May


- May 1 - Taku (city in Japan) founded
- May 6 - Roger Bannister runs the first four minute mile
- May 7 - Construction started on Michigan's Mackinac Bridge.
- May 7 - Vietnam War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat (the battle began on March 13).
- May 14 - Boeing 707 released after about two years of development.
- May 17 - United States Supreme Court hands down its decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas 347 US 483 1954
- May 17 - Petrov Royal Commission in Australia begains it's inqury
- May 20 - Chiang Kai-shek is reelected president of the Republic of China by the National Assembly.
- May 20 - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty launches Belarusian language programming (see also Piotra Sych).
- May 29 - Robert Menzies Government re-elected for 4th term in Australia.

June-July


- June 1 - Radio statio Sender Freies Berlin begins broadcasting
- June 9 - McCarthyism: Joseph Welch, special counsel for the United States Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during hearings on whether Communism has infiltrated the Army
- June 14 - On United States Flag Day, the words "under God" added to the Pledge of Allegiance
- June 15 - UEFA (the Union of European Football Associations) is formed in Basel, Switzerland
- June 17 - Military coup in Guatemala
- June 18 - Pierre Mendes-France becomes prime minister of France
- June 19 - The last regular-service streetcar operated by Twin City Rapid Transit runs in Minneapolis.
- June 27 - Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán steps down in a CIA-sponsored military coup–Operation PBSUCCESS–triggering a bloody civil war that would continue for more than 35 years.
- June 27 - The world's first atomic power station opened at Obnisnsk, near Moscow.
- July 3 - Food rationing ends in Britain
- July 4 - End of rationing of meat ends all the food rationing in Britain
- July 4 - West Germany beat Hungary 3-2 to win the
- July 5 - Andhra Pradesh High Court is established.
- July 7 - In Memphis, Tennessee, WHBQ becomes the first radio station to air an Elvis Presley record
- July 15 - Maiden flight of Boeing 707
- July 21 - First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam
- July 28 - Foundation of the Situationist International.
- July 31 - First ascent of K2, by an Italian expedition.

August-October


- August - First flight of a B-52 Stratofortress.
- August 6 - Emilie Dionne, one of the Dionne Quintuplets, dies of asphyxiation following a epileptic seizure at Sainte Agathe, Quebec.
- August 16 - Volume 1, Issue 1 of Sports Illustrated is published
- August 24 - President of Brazil, Getulio Vargas, commits suicide; he's been accused of conspiracy to murder an air force officer.
- September 3 - The last new episode of The Lone Ranger is aired on radio after 2,956 episodes over a period of 21 years
- September 6 - SEATO treaty signed in Manila, Philippines
- September 8 - The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is established in Bangkok, Thailand
- September 9 - An earthquake centered on the city of Oleansville in Algeria - 1500 dead and thousands homeless
- September 11 - First Miss America Pageant broadcast on television
- September 14 - USSR tests nuclear weapon
- September 30 - USS Nautilus, 1st atomic-powered vessel (submarine), commissioned by the US Navy
- October 11 - Vietnam War: The Viet Minh takes control of North Vietnam.
- October 18 - Texas Instruments announces the worldwide first Transistor radio.
- October 20 - Dock workers' strike expands in England
- October 23 - West Germany joins NATO
- October 26 - – Member of Muslim Brotherhood Abdul Munim Abdul Rauf tries to kill Gamal Abdal Nasser
- October 31 - Algerian War of Independence: The Algerian National Liberation Front begins a revolt against French rule.

November-December


- November - The main immigration port-of-entry in New York Harbor at Ellis Island closes.
- November 2 - Dock workers' strike in England ends
- November 3 - The first in the Godzilla series of films is released in Japan.
- November 10 - US President Dwight D. Eisenhower dedicates the USMC War Memorial (Iwo Jima memorial) in Arlington National Cemetery
- November 13 - Don Estes invents the disrupter (a part to help combines work)
- November 14 - Egyptian president Mohammed Naguib is deposed - Gamal Abdel Nasser replaces him
- November 23 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at an all-time high of 382.74. More significantly, this is the first time the Dow has surpassed its 1929 peak level reached just before that year's crash.
- November 30 - In Sylacauga, Alabama, a 4 kg meteorite crashes through the roof of a house and hits Ann Hodges, badly bruising her, in the first documented case of an object from outer space hitting a person.
- December 2 - Red Scare: The United States Senate votes 67 to 22 to condemn Joseph McCarthy for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute."
- December 24 - Laos becomes independent.

unknown dates


- The first organ transplants are done in Boston and Paris.
- Battle of Dien Bien Phu between French and Viet Minh forces in Indochina
- Boy Scouts of America desegregates on the basis of race
- Stop signs are changed from black-on-yellow to white-on-red
- Gerbils (Meriones Unguiculatus), brought to the United States by Dr. Victor Schwentker.
- Unification Church founded.
- Case of Lothar Malskat, who had admitted that he had painted the frescoes in Marienkirche himself, goes into trial

Births

January-February


- January 2 - Henry Bonilla, American politician
- January 4 - Dave "The Devilfish" Ulliott, English professional poker player
- January 6 - Anthony Minghella, British film director
- January 12 - Howard Stern, American radio host
- January 17 - Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., son of Robert F Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy and nephew of U.S president John F Kennedy and Edward M Kennedy
- January 22 - Peter Pilz, Austrian politician
- January 23 - Franco De Vita, Venezuelan singer and songwriter
- January 29 - Oprah Winfrey, American actress, talk show host, producer, and publisher
- January 29 - Yukinobu Hoshino, Japanese cartoonist
- February 1 - Bill Mumy, American actor and musician
- February 2 - Christie Brinkley, American model
- February 6 - Argusto Emfazie, American occultist and author
- February 12 - Philip Zimmermann, American cryptographer
- February 13 - Donnie Moore, baseball player (d. 1989)
- February 15 - Matt Groening, American cartoonist
- February 18 - John Travolta, American actor
- February 19 - Socrates, Brazilian footballer
- February 20 - Anthony Stewart Head, English actor
- February 20 - Patty Hearst, American heiress and kidnapping victim
- February 23 - Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine
- February 25 - John Doe, American musician
- February 26 - Michael Bolton, American singer

March-June


- March 1 - Ron Howard, American actor, director, producer
- March 4 - Catherine O'Hara, Canadian actress
- March 8 - David Wilkie, Scottish swimmer
- March 13 - The Baroness Amos, British politician
- March 15 - Craig Wasson, American actor
- March 16 - Nancy Wilson, American singer, musician, and actress
- March 17 - Lesley-Anne Down, British actress
- March 24 - Robert Carradine, American actor
- March 29 - Karen Ann Quinlan, American right-to-die cause célèbre (d. 1985)
- April 7 - Jackie Chan, Hong Kong-born actor
- April 7 - Tony Dorsett, American football player
- April 9 - Dennis Quaid, American actor
- April 10 - Peter MacNicol, American actor
- April 15 - Seka, American actress
- April 17 - Riccardo Patrese, Italian race car driver
- April 18 - Rick Moranis, Canadian actor and comedian
- April 28 - Robert Sargent Shriver III son of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and nephew of John F Kennedy and Robert F Kennedy and Edward M Kennedy
- April 29 - Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian
- May 1 - Archie Norman, British politician and businessman
- May 7 - Amy Heckerling, American film director
- May 8 - David Keith, American actor
- May 19 - Phil Rudd, Australian drummer (AC/DC)
- June 9 - John Hagelin, American physicist and U.S. Presidential candidate
- June 20 - Ilan Ramon, Israeli Air Force, Israel first astronaut (d. 2003)
- June 22 - Freddie Prinze, American actor and comedian (d. 1977)
- June 26 - Steve Barton, American actor (d. 2001)
- June 27 - Ron Kirk, Mayor of Dallas, Texas
- June 30 - Pierre Charles, Prime Minister of Dominica (d. 2004)

July-October


- July 5 - John Wright, New Zealand cricket captains
- July 10 - Neil Tennant, British musician
- July 17 - Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
- July 25 - Walter Payton, American football player (d. 1999)
- August 1 - Michael J. Badnarik, software engineer and U.S. Presidential candidate
- August 11 - Joe Jackson, British singer
- August 14 - Mark Fidrych, baseball player
- August 16 - James Cameron, Canadian-born film director
- August 20 - Al Roker, American television broadcaster
- August 21 - Ivan Stang, American author and publisher
- August 25 - Elvis Costello, British singer
- August 26 - Pauline Hanson, Australian politician
- September 13 - Steve Kilbey, Australian musician
- September 21 - Shinzo Abe, Japanese politician
- September 23 - Charlie Barnett, American actor (d. 1996)
- September 26 - Kevin Kennedy, baseball manager and television host
- September 30 - Barry Williams, American actor
- October 1 - Martin Strel, Slovenian swimmer
- October 3 - Dennis Eckersley, baseball player
- October 3 - Stevie Ray Vaughan, American musician (d. 1990)
- October 9 - Scott Bakula, American television actor
- October 10 - David Lee Roth, American singer
- October 13 - Mordechai Vanunu, Israeli nuclear technician
- October 15 - Peter Bakowski, Australian poet
- October 24 - Mike Rounds, Governor of South Dakota

November-December


- November 2 - Pat Croce, American entrepreneur
- November 3 - Brigitte Lin, Actress
- November 7 - Kamal Haasan, Indian actor
- November 8 - Michael D. Brown, U.S. Undersecretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response
- November 14 - Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State
- November 14 - Willie Hernández, Puerto Rican Major League Baseball player
- November 15 - Aleksander Kwaśniewski, President of Poland
- November 16 - Bruce Edwards, golf caddy (d. 2004)
- November 27 - Patricia McPherson, American actress
- December 2 - Dan Butler, American actor
- December 7 - Mark Hofmann, American forger and murderer
- December 14 - Ib Andersen, Danish dancer
- December 14 - Alan Kulwicki, American race car driver (d. 1993)
- December 20 - Michael Badalucco, American actor
- December 26 - Susan Butcher, American dog-sled racer
- December 28 - Denzel Washington, American actor

Unknown dates


- Nenad Prokic, Serbian playwright

Deaths


- January 18 - Sydney Greenstreet, English actor (b. 1879)
- February 12 - Dziga Vertov, Russian filmmaker (b. 1896)
- March 7 - Otto Diels, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
- March 31 - Edwin Howard Armstrong, American electrical engineer and inventor (b. 1890)
- May 6 - B.C. Forbes, Scottish-born publisher (b. 1880)
- May 19 - Charles Ives, American composer (b. 1874)
- April 10 - Auguste Lumière, French inventor (b. 1862)
- April 28 - Léon Jouhaux, French labor leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1879)
- June 7 - Alan Turing, British mathematician (b. 1912)
- July 11 - Henry Valentine Knaggs, English physician and author (b. 1859)
- July 13 - Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter (b. 1907)
- July 14 - Jacinto Benavente, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
- July 29 - Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (b. 1879)
- August 24 - Getúlio Vargas, President of Brazil (b. 1882)
- September 21 - Kokichi Mikimoto, Japanese pearl farm pioneer (b. 1858)
- November 3 - Henri Matisse, French painter (b. 1869)
- November 28 - Enrico Fermi, Italian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
- November 29 - Dink Johnson, American musician (b. 1892)
- November 30 - Wilhelm Furtwängler, German conductor (b. 1886)
- December 8 - Claude Cahun, French photographer and writer (b. 1894)
- December 30 - Eugen, Archduke of Austria, Austrian field marshal (b. 1863)

Nobel Prizes


- Physics - Max Born, Walther Bothe
- Chemistry - Linus Carl Pauling
- Medicine - John Franklin Enders, Thomas Huckle Weller, Frederick Chapman Robbins
- Literature - Ernest Hemingway
- Peace - The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Fields Medalists


- Kunihiko Kodaira, Jean-Pierre Serre Category:1954 ko:1954년 ms:1954 ja:1954年 simple:1954 th:พ.ศ. 2497

1975

1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar).

Events

January


- January 1 - Watergate scandal: John N. Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up
- January 2 - The Federal Rules of Evidence are approved by Congress
- January 5 - The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra, killing twelve people.
- January 7 - OPEC agrees to raise crude oil prices by 10%.
- January 8 - Ella Grasso becomes Governor of Connecticut, becoming the first woman to serve as a Governor in the United States who did not succeed her husband
- January 10 - Japanese soldier Teruo Nakamura surrenders on the Indonesian Island of Morota
- January 14 - 17 year old heiress Lesley Whittle is kidnapped from her home in Shropshire, England by the Black Panther.
- January 20 - Michael Ovitz founds Creative Artists Agency
- January 29 - Weather Underground bombs US State Department main office in Washington D.C.
- January - Altair 8800 is released, sparking the era of the microcomputer

February


- February 4 - The first successfully predicted earthquake occurred in Haicheng, Liaoning, China.
- February 9 - The Soyuz 17 Soviet spacecraft returns to Earth.
- February 11 - Margaret Thatcher defeats Edward Heath for the leadership of the UK Conservative Party in the United Kingdom.
- February 21 - Watergate scandal: Former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are sentenced to between 30 months and 8 years in prison
- February 23 - In response to the energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly two months early in the United States.
- February 26 - a fleeing IRA terrorist shoots dead off-duty London police officer Stephen Tibble, 22, as he gives chase
- February 27 - Movement 2 June kidnaps West German politician Peter Lorenz. He is released on March 4 after most of the kidnappers' demands are met
- February 28 - A major tube train crash at Moorgate station, London kills 43 people.
- February 28 - In Lomé, the capital of Togo, the European Economic Community and 46 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries sign a financial and economic treaty, known as the first Lomé Convention.

March


- March 1 - Color television transmissions begin in Australia
- March 4 - Charlie Chaplin is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
- March 6 - Algiers Accord - Iran and Iraq announce a settlement over their border dispute.
- March 6 - A bomb explodes in the Paris offices of the Springer Press. The "6 March Group" (connected to the Red Army Faction) demands amnesty for the "Baader-Meinhof Group"
- March 7 - The body of teenage heiress Lesley Whittle, kidnapped seven weeks earlier by the Black Panther is discovered in Staffordshire, England
- March 8 - United Nations begin sponsoring the International Women's Day.
- March 9 - Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins
- March 10 - Vietnam War: North Vietnamese troops attack Ban Me Thout, South Vietnam, on their way to capturing Saigon.
- March 15 - In Brazil, the Estado da Guanabara (State of Guanabara) merges with the state of Rio de Janeiro, under the name of Rio de Janeiro. The state's capital moves from the city of Niterói to the city of Rio de Janeiro.
- March 25 - King Faisal of Saudi Arabia is shot and killed by a nephew with a history of mental illness - the killer is beheaded on June 18.
- March 28 - A fire in the maternity wing at Kucic Hospital in Rijeka, Yugoslavia, kills 25 babies

April-May


- April 3 - Bobby Fischer refuses to play in a chess match against Anatoly Karpov, giving Karpov the title.
- April 4 - Vietnam War: The first military Operation Babylift flight, C5A 80218, crashes 27 minutes after takeoff killing 138 on board; 176 survive the crash.
- April 13 - An attack by Phalangists on a Palestinian bus in Ain El Remmeneh, Lebanon sparks over 15 years of civil war.
- April 17 - Pol Pot proclaims the "Democratic Republic of Kampuchea" in Cambodia and becomes its Prime Minister (1975–1979).
- April 24 - Six Red Army Faction terrorists take over West German embassy in Stockholm, take 11 hostages and demand the release of the group's jailed members. Shortly after they are captured by Swedish police.
- April 25 - Vietnam War: As North Vietnamese forces close in on the South Vietnamese capital Saigon, the Australian Embassy is closed and evacuated, almost ten years to the day since the first Australian troop commitment to South Vietnam.
- April 30 - Vietnam War: The Vietnam War ends as Communist forces take Saigon and South Vietnam surrenders unconditionally.
- May 5 - The Busch Gardens Williamsburg theme park opens in Virginia.
- May 12 - Mayaguez incident: Khmer Rouge forces in Cambodia seize the American merchant ship SS Mayaguez in international waters.
- May 15 - Mayaguez incident: The American merchant ship Mayaguez, seized by Cambodian forces, is rescued by U.S. Navy and Marines. 38 Americans are killed.
- May 16 -