Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday.
Events of 1951
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
- July 1 - Judy Garland opens the first of 14 concerts in Dublin, Ireland at the Theatre Royal.
- July 5 - William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain announce the invention of the junction transistor.
- July 10 - Korean War: Armistice negotiations begin at Kaesong.
- July 13 - The Great Flood of 1951 reaches its highest point in Northeast Kansas, culminating in the greatest flood damage to date in the Midwestern United States.
- July 13 - MGM's Technicolor film version of Show Boat, starring Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, and Howard Keel, premieres at Radio City Music Hall. The 1951 film introduces bass-baritone William Warfield (singing Ol' Man River) and makes him nationally famous overnight.
- July 14 - In Joplin, Missouri, the George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument to honor an African American.
- July 16 - King Léopold III of Belgium abdicates in favour of his son Baudouin.
- July 17 - Baudouin takes the oath as king of Belgium, after his father abdicates the day before.
- July 17 - Western New England College in Springfield, Massachusetts is chartered.
- July 20 - King Abdullah I of Jordan is assassinated by a Palestinian while attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem.
- July 30 - David Lean's Oliver Twist is finally shown in the United States, after 10 minutes of supposedly anti-Semitic references and closeups of Alec Guinness as Fagin are cut. The film is a critical success, but a financial flop in the United States, and receives few bookings in U.S. theatres, mostly due to the anti-Semitic charges leveled against it. The film is not shown uncut in the U.S. until 1970.
August
September
October
November
December
Undated
- A fourth, and final, forest fire starts in the Tillamook Burn; but unlike earlier fires this one only burns 32,700 acres, and within an area already affected by the earlier fires.
- The most complete recording of Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess made until then, a 3-LP Columbia Masterworks Records 129-minute album in mono, is released to great critical acclaim. There is truly complete recording of Porgy and Bess until 1976.
- A research team publishes the Interlingua-English Dictionary.
- IBM (United Kingdom) is formed.
- The 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute lasts for 151 days.
- In Munich, Germany, a collection of mementos and personal papers belonging to Adolf Hitler are turned over to Bayerische Landesbank for authentication and eventual sale. Among the documents are his appointment as Chancellor signed by President Paul von Hindenburg, his Austrian passport, as well as an assortment of swastika insignia pins and medals. An initial offer of $200,000.00 is made for the collection.2
Ongoing
Births
January–February
- January 1 - Álvaro Magalhães, Portuguese writer
- January 1 - Ashfaq Hussain, Urdu poet
- January 2 - Valdir Peres, Brazilian footballer
- January 5 - Steve Arnold, English footballer
- January 6 - Kim Wilson, American singer and harmonica player
- January 8 - Kenny Anthony, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia
- January 8 - John McTiernan, American director, producer, and writer
- January 12 - Kirstie Alley, American actress
- January 12 - Rush Limbaugh, American conservative radio personality
- January 20 - Ian Hill, English rock bassist (Judas Priest)
- January 25 - Steve Prefontaine, American runner (d. 1975)
- January 30 - Phil Collins, English rock musician and producer (Genesis)
- January 31 - Harry Wayne Casey, American musician, songwriter, and producer
- January 13 - Phil Manzanera, British rock musician
- February 1 - Albert Salvadó, Andorran writer
- February 3 - Eugenijus Riabovas, Lithuanian football manager
- February 14 - Kevin Keegan, English footballer and football manager
- February 15 - Melissa Manchester, American pop singer (Midnight Blue)
- February 15 - Jane Seymour, English actress
- February 16 - Mike Flanagan, baseball pitcher
- February 19 - Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Pakistani Islamic Sufi scholar and leader
- February 20 - Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- February 20 - Edward Albert, American actor (d. 2006)
- February 23 - Patricia Richardson, known as Jill Taylor on the sitcom "Home Improvement"
- February 25 - Don Quarrie, Jamaican sprinter
- February 27 - Steve Harley, British rock musician (Cockney Rebel)
March–April
- March 1 - Mike Read, British television presenter and radio disc jockey
- March 4 - Edelgard Bulmahn, German politician
- March 4 - Kenny Dalglish, Scottish footballer and football manager
- March 4 - Mike Quarry, American light heavyweight boxer (d. 2006)
- March 4 - Chris Rea, British singer and musician
- March 4 - Linda Yamamoto, Japanese pop star
- March 6 - Gerrie Knetemann, Dutch cyclist (d. 2004)
- March 8 - Karen Kain, Canadian ballerina
- March 12 - Susan Musgrave Canadian poet and children's writer
- March 13 - Fred Berry, American actor (d. 2003)
- March 14 - Jerry Greenfield, American co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream
- March 17 - Scott Gorham, American rock guitarist (Thin Lizzy)
- March 17 - Kurt Russell, American actor (The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes)
- March 18 - Ben Cohen, American co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream
- March 24 - Tommy Hilfiger, American fashion designer
- March 26 - Carl Wieman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- April 5 - Joe Bowen, Canadian hockey broadcaster
- April 5 - Dean Kamen, American inventor and entrepreneur
- April 5 - Frank Moulaert, Flemish scholar
- April 5 - Guy Vanderhaeghe, Canadian author
- April 6 - Bert Blyleven, Dutch Major League Baseball player
- April 7 - Janis Ian, American singer and songwriter (Society's Child)
- April 10 - David Helvarg, American journalist and activist
- April 10 - Steven Seagal, American martial artist and actor(Under Siege)
- April 11 - Doris McGowen Beck Angleton, American socialite and murder victim (d. 1997)
- April 13 - Peabo Bryson, African-American singer
- April 13 - Peter Davison, British actor
- April 13 - Max Weinberg, American drummer
- April 14 - Julian Lloyd Webber, English cellist
- April 16 - Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian writer
- April 16 - Pierre Toutain-Dorbec, French photographer
- April 16 - Björgvin Halldórsson, Icelandic singer
- April 16 - Mordechai Ben David, Jewish singer
- April 17 - Olivia Hussey, Argentine-born actress
- April 19 - Jóannes Eidesgaard, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands
- April 20 - Luther Vandross, African-American soul musician (d. 2005)
- April 20 - Louise Jameson, British actress
- April 21 - Tony Danza, American actor and comedian (Taxi)
- April 27 - Ace Frehley, American rock guitarist (Kiss)
- April 29 - Dale Earnhardt, American race car driver (d. 2001)
May–June
- May 3 - Tuula Palaste-Eerola, Finnish architect and politician
- May 4 - Mick Mars, American musician
- May 9 - Christopher Dewdney, Canadian poet
- May 9 - Joy Harjo, Native American poet
- May 13 - Sharon Sayles Belton, Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota
- May 13 - Jumbo Tsuruta, Japanese professional wrestler (d. 2000)
- May 15 - Jonathan Richman, American musician
- May 15 - Frank Wilczek, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- May 19 - Joey Ramone, American rock musician (The Ramones) (d. 2001)
- May 19 - Dick Slater, American professional wrestler
- May 23 - Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player
- May 26 - Madeleine Taylor-Quinn, Irish politician
- May 26 - Sally Ride, American astronaut
- May 30 - Stephen Tobolowsky, American actor
- June 2 - Larry Robinson, Canadian hockey player
- June 5 - Suze Orman, American financial advisor, writer, and television personality
- June 8 - Bonnie Tyler, Welsh singer (It's A Heartache)
- June 12 - Andranik Margaryan, 14th Prime Minister of Armenia (d. 2007)
- June 12 - Brad Delp, American rock vocalist (Boston) (d. 2007)
- June 13 - Stellan Skarsgård, Swedish actor
- June 14 - Paul Boateng, British politician
- June 16 - Roberto Duran, Panamanian boxer
- June 20 - Tress MacNeille, American voice actress
- June 20 - Paul Muldoon, Irish poet
- June 21 - Nils Lofgren, American musician
- June 24 - David Rodigan, British radio DJ/actor
- June 27 - Mary McAleese, 8th President of Ireland
- June 28 - Lalla Ward, British actress
- June 28 - Lloyd Maines, American musician and record producer
- June 29 - Keno Don Rosa, American comic book author
- June 30 - Stanley Clarke, American bassist
July–August
- July 1 - Terrence Mann, American actor and dancer
- July 1 - Anne Feeney, American folk singer
- July 3 - Richard Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer
- July 5 - Rich "Goose" Gossage, American baseball player
- July 8 - Anjelica Huston, American actress
- July 10 - Cheryl Wheeler, American singer and songwriter
- July 14 - Erich Hallhuber, German actor (d. 2003)
- July 16 - Stewart Copeland, American drummer
- July 16 - Jean-Luc Mongrain, Canadian news anchor and journalist
- July 18 - Elio Di Rupo, Belgian politician
- July 21 - Robin Williams, American actor (Mork and Mindy)
- July 23 - Edie McClurg, American actress
- July 23 - Michael McConnohie, American actor
- July 24 - Chris Smith, British politician
- July 25 - Yuriy Kovalchuk, Russian oligarch
- July 28 - Garrett Hongo, Japanese-American poet
- July 28 - Doug Collins, American basketball player, coach and analyst
- August 3 - Marcel Dionne, Canadian hockey player
- August 6 - Daryl Somers, Australian television personality
- August 8 - Mamoru Oshii, Japanese film director
- August 8 - Randy Shilts, American journalist and author (d. 1994)
- August 12 - Willie Horton, African-American criminal
- August 13 - Dan Fogelberg, American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (Longer) (d. 2007)
- August 16 - Richard Hunt, American puppeteer (d. 1992)
- August 19 - John Deacon, English rock bassist (Queen)
- August 20 - Greg Bear, American author
- August 21 - Eric Goles, Chilean mathematician and computer scientist
- August 22 - Chandra Prakash Mainali, Nepalese politician
- August 23 - Akhmad Kadyrov, President of Chechnya
- August 23 - Queen Noor of Jordan
- August 24 - Orson Scott Card, American writer
- August 25 - Rob Halford, English rock singer (Judas Priest)
- August 26 - Edward Witten, American mathematician and Fields medalist
- August 27 - Mack Brown, University of Texas football coach
September–October
- September 5 - Michael Keaton, American actor (Batman)
- September 7 - Chrissie Hynde, American rock singer (The Pretenders)
- September 7 - Bert Jones, American football player
- September 12 - Joe Pantoliano, American actor
- September 13 - Linda Wong, Asian-American porn star (d. 1987)
- September 18 - Darryl Stingley, American football player for the NFL New England Patriots (d. 2007)
- September 21 - Aslan Maskhadov, President of Chechnya
- September 22 - David Coverdale, English singer
- September 25 - Mark Hamill, American actor (Star Wars)
- September 26 - Stuart Tosh, Scottish musician
- September 27 - Paul Craig, English professor of law
- September 29 - Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile
- September 29 - Andrés Caicedo, Colombian writer (d. 1977)
- September 29 - Maureen Caird, Australian hurdler
- September 30 - Barry Marshall, Australian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine
- October 2 - Sting, British rock musician (The Police)
- October 3 - Bernard Cooper, American writer
- October 3 - Dave Winfield, baseball player
- October 3 - Keb Mo', American musician
- October 4 - Bakhytzhan Kanapyanov, Kazakh poet
- October 5 - Bob Geldof, Irish musician (The Boomtown Rats)
- October 6 - Manfred Winkelhock, German race car driver
- October 7 - John Mellencamp, American musician and songwriter
- October 10 - Epeli Ganilau, Fiji soldier and statesman
- October 11 - Jean-Jacques Goldman, French singer and songwriter
- October 18 - Mike Antonovich, American ice hockey player and executive
- October 18 - Terry McMillan, American author
- October 22 - William David "Dave" Sanders, American victim of the Columbine High School massacre
- October 25 - Richard Lloyd, American rock guitarist (Television)
- October 26 - Bootsy Collins, African-American musician, singer, and songwriter (P-Funk)
- October 26 - Willie P. Bennett, Canadian songwriter and singer (d. 2008)
- October 27 - K. K. Downing, English rock guitarist (Judas Priest)
- October 27 - Éric Morena, French singer
- October 30 - Harry Hamlin, American actor (L.A. Law)
November–December
- November 2 - Thomas Mallon, American author and critic
- November 3 - Diego Traibel, Uruguayan politician
- November 3 - Ed Murawinski, American cartoonist (New York Daily News)
- November 11 - Marc Summers, American television host
- November 15 - Alamgir Hashmi, English poet
- November 16 - Paula Vogel, American playwright
- November 16 - Miguel Sandoval, American actor
- November 18 - Justin Raimondo, American author
- November 19 - Lord Falconer of Thoroton, British politician
- November 24 - Chet Edwards, American politician
- November 26 - Cicciolina, Italian actress and politician
- November 29 - Roger Troutman, African-American funk musician (Roger and Zapp) (d. 1999)
- November 30 - Christian Bernard, French-born mystic
- December 1 - Sherry Aldridge, American singer (The Aldridge Sisters)
- December 1 - Obba Babatundé, American actor
- December 1 - Jaco Pastorius, American bassist
- December 1 - Treat Williams, American actor
- December 2 - Adrian Devine, American baseball pitcher
- December 3 - Riki Chōshū, Korean professional wrestler
- December 6 - Tomson Highway, Canadian writer
- December 8 - Bill Bryson, American-born British author
- December 8 - Jan Eggum, Norwegian singer and songwriter
- December 10 - Doug Allder, English footballer
- December 11 - Peter T. Daniels, American scholar
- December 12 - Wau Holland, German hacker (d. 2001)
- December 14 - Jan Timman, Dutch chess player
- December 17 - Ken Hitchcock, Canadian hockey coach
- December 20 - Peter May, Scottish novelist and television dramatist
- December 29 - Georges Thurston, Canadian singer (d. 2007)
- December 30 - Meredith Vieira, American television host (The View)
Unknown dates
Deaths
January–March
- January 5 - Ken Le Breton, Australian speedway rider (b. 1925)
- January 7 - René Guénon, French-born author (b. 1886)
- January 10 - Sinclair Lewis, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
- January 18 - Amy Carmichael, Irish missionary to India (b. 1867)
- January 18 - Jack Holt, American actor (b. 1888)
- January 21 - Yuriko Miyamoto, Japanese novelist (b. 1899)
- January 28 - Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, President of Finland (b. 1867)
- January 29 - Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer (b. 1880)
- January 30 - Ferdinand Porsche, German auto engineer (b. 1875)
- February 9 - Eddy Duchin, American pianist and bandleader (b. 1909)
- February 13 - Lloyd C. Douglas, American author (b. 1877)
- February 18 - Lyman Gilmore, American aviation pioneer (b. 1874)
- February 19 - André Gide, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)
- February 12 - Choudhary Rahmat Ali, one of the founding fathers of Pakistan (b. 1895)
- March 6 - Ivor Novello, Welsh actor, musician, and composer (b. 1893)
- March 10 - Kijūrō Shidehara ("Shidehara Kijūrō"), Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1872)
- March 21 - Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor (b. 1871)
- March 25 - Eddie Collins, American baseball player (b. 1887)
- March 25 - Oscar Micheaux, African-American filmmaker (b. 1884)
April–June
- April 4 - Al Christie, Canadian-born film director and producer (b. 1881)
- April 4 - George Albert Smith, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1870)
- April 6 - Robert Broom, Scottish paleontologist (b. 1866)
- April 14 - Ernest Bevin, British labour leader, politician, and statesman (b. 1881)
- April 22 - Horace Donisthorpe, English myrmecologist (b. 1870)
- April 23 - Charles G. Dawes, Vice President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)
- April 29 - Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian philosopher (b. 1889)
- May 7 - Warner Baxter, American actor (b. 1889)
- May 27 - Sir Thomas Albert Blamey, Australian soldier (b. 1884)
- May 29 - Fanny Brice, American entertainer (b. 1891)
- May 30 - Hermann Broch, Austrian author (b. 1886)
- June 4 - Serge Koussevitzky, Russian conductor (b. 1874)
- June 7 - Oswald Pohl, German S.S. officer (b. 1892)
- June 13 - Ben Chifley, Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1885)
- June 21 - Charles Dillon Perrine, American-born astronomer (b. 1867)
July–September
- July 9 - Harry Heilmann, American baseball player (b. 1894)
- July 13 - Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian composer (b. 1874)
- July 20 - King Abdullah I of Jordan (b. 1882)
- July 23 - Robert J. Flaherty, American filmmaker (b. 1884)
- July 23 - Philippe Pétain, French World War I marshal, leader of Vichy France (b. 1856)
- August 3 - Bee Ho Gray, Native American Wild West star, silent film actor and vaudeville performer (b. 1885)
- August 14 - William Randolph Hearst, American newspaper publisher (b. 1863)
- August 15 - Artur Schnabel, Polish pianist (b. 1882)
- August 21 - Constant Lambert, British composer (b. 1905)
- August 26 - Bill Barilko, Canadian hockey player (b. 1927)
- August 28 - Robert Walker, American actor (b. 1918)
- September 29 - Thomas Cahill, American soccer coach (b. 1864)
October–December
- October 6 - Otto Fritz Meyerhof, German-born physician and biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1884)
- October 16 - Liaquat Ali Khan, first Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1896)
- November 5 - Reggie Walker, South African athlete (b. 1889)
- November 9 - Sigmund Romberg, Hungarian-born composer (b. 1887)
- November 13 - Nikolai Medtner, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1880)
- November 20 - Thomas Quinlan (impresario), English opera singer (b. 1881)
- December 5 - Shoeless Joe Jackson, American baseball player (Say It Ain't So, Joe) (b. 1889)
- December 6 - Harold Ross, American editor (b.1892)
Nobel Prizes
Ship events
Notes
- ^ CNN.com - 50th anniversary of the UNIVAC I - June 14, 2001
- ^ "Year by Year 1951" -- History Channel International
External links
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