At A Glance

12 April 1953 at a glance

Day of the week
12 April 1953 was a Sunday.
Top Film of 1953
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1953 was Peter Pan.
Star sign
The star sign for 12 April is Aries.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 12 April 1953 fell in the Year of the Snake.
Birthstone
The birthstone for April is Diamond.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 12 April 1953 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 12 April

  • 1937 Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England.
  • 1945 World War II: The U.S. Ninth Army under General William H. Simpson crosses the Elbe River astride Magdeburg, and reaches Tangermünde—only 80 kilometres from Berlin.
  • 1955 The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective.
  • 1961 Space Race: The Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space and perform the first crewed orbital flight, Vostok 1.
  • 1970 Soviet submarine K-8, carrying four nuclear torpedoes, sinks in the Bay of Biscay four days after a fire on board.

Famous people born on 12 April

  • Saoirse Ronan, American-born Irish actress (born 1994)
  • Claire Danes, American actress (born 1979)
  • Shannen Doherty, American actress, director, and producer (1971–2024)
  • Ed O'Neill, American actor and comedian (born 1946)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

Events of 1953 in Ireland

A selection from Wikipedia's '1953 in Ireland'. Not a complete list.

  • 18 January – The Sinn Féin party decided to contest all twelve constituencies in the next Westminster elections in Northern Ireland.
  • 15 March – Up to ten thousand civil servants marched on O'Connell Street in Dublin demanding a just wage.
  • 1 May – The first television transmitter in Ireland was brought into service by the BBC at Glencairn.
More events of 1953 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in Ireland in 1953

Taoiseach

Éamon de Valera

Petrol (per litre)

1s 10d/gal

Loaf of Bread

5½d

Average House

£1,500

Weekly Wage

£3 15s

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.

Pierce Brosnan16 May 1953ActorView their day →Brendan Gleeson29 March 1955ActorView their day →Fiona Shaw10 July 1958ActressView their day →Gabriel Byrne12 May 1950ActorView their day →Colm Meaney30 May 1953ActorView their day →Bob Geldof5 October 1951Singer-songwriter & political activistView their day →Catherine Connolly5 November 1955President of IrelandView their day →Shane MacGowan25 December 1957Singer-songwriterView their day →

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

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