At A Glance

16 October 1954 at a glance

Day of the week
16 October 1954 was a Saturday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Hold My Hand” by Don Cornell.
Top Film of 1954
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1954 was Rear Window.
Star sign
The star sign for 16 October is Libra.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 16 October 1954 fell in the Year of the Horse.
Birthstone
The birthstone for October is Opal.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 16 October 1954 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 16 October

  • 1947 The Philippines takes over the administration of the Turtle Islands and the Mangsee Islands from the United Kingdom.
  • 1949 The Greek Communist Party announces a "temporary cease-fire", thus ending the Greek Civil War.
  • 1953 Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro delivers his "History Will Absolve Me" speech, and is sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment by the Fulgencio Batista government for leading an attack on the Moncada Barracks.
  • 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis begins: U.S. President John F. Kennedy is informed of photos taken on October 14 by a U-2 showing nuclear missiles (the crisis will last for 13 days starting from this point).
  • 1964 China detonates its first nuclear weapon.

Famous people born on 16 October

  • Tim Robbins, American actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1958)
  • Naomi Osaka, Japanese tennis player (born 1997)
  • Angela Lansbury, English-American actress, singer, and producer (1925–2022)
  • Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright, novelist, and poet (1854–1900)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1954 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1954 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 25 January – First broadcast of Dylan Thomas's radio play Under Milk Wood, two months after its author's death, with Richard Burton as 'First Voice', on the BBC Third Programme.
  • 23 March – The film Doctor in the House is released.
  • 2 April – BBC Television broadcasts the first episode of The Grove Family, the first British TV soap opera.

Life in 1954

Prime Minister

Winston Churchill

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

8p

Loaf of Bread

5p

Average House

£1,975

Weekly Wage

£9.50

Or

Browse by Year

Famous Faces Born in the 1950s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

About The Day You Were Born

Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.

About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →