• Track & Field - The Mile Barrier : England's premier miler, Roger Bannister became the first runner to run a mile in under 4 minutes (3:59.4).
• Track & Field - English woman Diane Leather became the first woman runner to run a mile in under 5 minutes in Birmingham, England.
• January 21 - USS Nautilus, the first nuclear powered submarine was launched in Groton, Connecticut.
• Indochina - The battle of Dien Bien Phu lasted almost three months and was the final encounter between Viet Mihn and French forces. The battle ended the French involvement in the Indochina War.
• USA - The Supreme Court handed down decision in the Brown vs. Board of Education, ending segregation in schools.
• Rock & Roll - Bill Haley & His Comets recorded teh classic song "Rock Around the Clock". The Hit Song set off the Rock & Roll craze.
Notable Deaths -
George Kelly Barnes, 1895 - 1954, better known as "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster during the ‘prohibition era’ in the USA, died at the age of 59. Machine Gun Kelly died in prison after 21 years on Alcatraz (prison) Island.
