At A Glance

31 July 1954 at a glance

Day of the week
31 July 1954 was a Saturday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Cara Mia” by David Whitfield with Mantovani and his Orchestra.
Top Film of 1954
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1954 was Rear Window.
Star sign
The star sign for 31 July is Leo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 31 July 1954 fell in the Year of the Horse.
Birthstone
The birthstone for July is Ruby.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 31 July 1954 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 31 July

  • 1941 The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired Final Solution of the Jewish question."
  • 1941 World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners.
  • 1945 Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.
  • 1948 At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated.
  • 1964 Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.

Famous people born on 31 July

  • J. K. Rowling, English author and film producer (born 1965)
  • Mark Cuban, American businessman and television personality (born 1958)
  • Emilia Fox, English actress (born 1974)
  • Wesley Snipes, American actor and producer (born 1962)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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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

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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)

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