360What happened in 1953?
12 moments from 1953 on 360n60, each told in 60 words or fewer.
- History · 25 April 1953
The structure of DNA is revealed
On 25 April 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick published the double-helix structure of DNA in the journal Nature, using X-ray images made by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins. The discovery explained how living things store and copy genetic information, and it opened the way to modern genetics and medicine.
- History · 29 May 1953
Hillary and Tenzing reach the summit of Everest
At about 11:30 on 29 May 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa mountaineer from Nepal, became the first people known to stand on the summit of Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain. They were part of a British expedition led by John Hunt. The news reached London on the day of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation.
- On this day · 28 February 1953
Watson and Crick work out the structure of DNA
On 28 February 1953, in Cambridge, James Watson and Francis Crick worked out the double helix structure of DNA, using X-ray images made by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins. The twisted ladder showed how living things copy and pass on genetic information. Their paper appeared in April.
- On this day · 26 March 1953
Jonas Salk announces a polio vaccine
On 26 March 1953, the American scientist Jonas Salk announced on radio that he had successfully tested a vaccine against polio, a disease that paralysed thousands of children every year. After a huge trial, it was approved in 1955. Salk did not patent it. Polio is now close to being wiped out.
- On this day · 29 May 1953
Hillary and Tenzing reach the top of Everest
At about 11:30 on 29 May 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa mountaineer from Nepal, became the first people known to stand on the summit of Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth, 8,849 m above sea level.
- On this day · 2 June 1953
The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II is televised
On 2 June 1953, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London. For the first time, a coronation was broadcast on television, and millions of people bought or borrowed sets to watch. The same day, news arrived that Everest had been climbed.
- 25 April 1953 · from The structure of DNA is revealed
Double helix published
- March 1953 · from Hillary and Tenzing reach the summit of Everest
The expedition sets out from Kathmandu
- 2 June 1953 · from Hillary and Tenzing reach the summit of Everest
The news reaches London
- 1953 · from The 1950s: DNA, Everest and the space age
DNA structure revealed; Everest climbed
- 1953 · from The 1950s: DNA, Everest and the space age
King Saud's reign begins
- 1953 · from King Abdulaziz unifies the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
The reign of King Abdulaziz ends