January: Ilse Koch, wife of Karl-Otto Koch, commandant of Nazi concentration camps is sentenced to life imprisonment.

February: Muhammad Reza Shah, last Shah of Persia, marries Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiari. It ends in divorce due to no heir being born.

March: Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'The King and I' starts a 3 year run on Broadway. The show makes Yul Brynner a star.

April: Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein dies. Born into one of Europe's wealthiest families, he gave away his entire inheritance.

May: The Festival of Britain opens. The national exhibition is designed to highlight Britain's contribution to science & the arts.

June: The first UNIVAC (UNIVersal Automatic Computer I) is dedicated at the U.S. Census Bureau. Further models will follow.

July: Marshal Petain Vichy France leader dies. A national hero after World War I, his government collaborated with Nazi Germany.

August: The Catcher in the Rye is published by J.D. Salinger. It introduces Holden Caulfield, an icon for teenage rebellion.

September: Science fiction film 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' premieres. The alien visitor warns Earth to change its ways.

October: 'I Love Lucy' makes its television debut on CBS. The sitcom starring Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz is still syndicated to this day.

November: 'Gigi' opens on Broadway. It stars Audrey Hepburn who was personally chosen for the role by the French author Colette.

December: Experimental Breeder Reactor I (EBR-I) becomes the world's first electricity-generating nuclear power plant.