At A Glance

17 July 1953 at a glance

Day of the week
17 July 1953 was a Friday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “I Believe” by Frankie Laine.
Top Film of 1953
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1953 was Peter Pan.
Star sign
The star sign for 17 July is Cancer.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 17 July 1953 fell in the Year of the Snake.
Birthstone
The birthstone for July is Ruby.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 17 July 1953 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 17 July

  • 1936 Spanish Civil War: An Armed Forces rebellion against the recently elected leftist Popular Front government of Spain starts the civil war.
  • 1938 Douglas Corrigan takes off from Brooklyn to fly the "wrong way" to Ireland and becomes known as "Wrong Way" Corrigan.
  • 1945 World War II: The main three leaders of the Allied nations, Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin, hold the Potsdam Conference in the German city of Potsdam to decide the future of a defeated Germany.
  • 1954 First Indochina War: Viet Minh troops successfully ambush the armoured French column 'G.M. 42' in the Battle of Chu Dreh Pass in the Central Highlands. It is the last battle of the war.
  • 1968 Abdul Rahman Arif is overthrown and the Ba'ath Party is installed as the governing power in Iraq with Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr as the new Iraqi President.

Famous people born on 17 July

  • Brett Goldstein, British actor, comedian and writer (born 1980)
  • Billie Lourd, American actress (born 1992)
  • Donald Sutherland, Canadian actor and producer (1935–2024)
  • Queen Camilla, Queen Consort of King Charles III of the United Kingdom (born 1947)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

Events of 1953 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1953 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 13 April – Ian Fleming publishes his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale.
  • 16 April – The Queen launches the Royal Yacht Britannia at John Brown & Company shipbuilders on the Clyde.
  • 2 June – The Times exclusively carries James Morris's scoop of the conquest of Mount Everest by a British expedition on 29 May.
More events of 1953 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in 1953

Prime Minister

Winston Churchill

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

7p

Loaf of Bread

5p

Average House

£1,891

Weekly Wage

£8.90

Or

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Famous Faces Born in the 1950s

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

Richard E. Grant5 May 1957ActorView their day →Gary Oldman21 March 1958Actor & filmmakerView their day →Anthony Head20 February 1954ActorView their day →Phil Collins30 January 1951Drummer & singerView their day →Bonnie Tyler8 June 1951SingerView their day →Liam Neeson7 June 1952ActorView their day →Emma Thompson15 April 1959Actress & screenwriterView their day →Rowan Atkinson6 January 1955Actor & comedianView their day →

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

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