The groundbreaking TV soap opera 'Sua Vida Me Pertence' premiered in Brazil.
The Thailand military took over the country's governance and reinstated the 1932 Constitution.
North American Numbering Plan begins.
"I Love Lucy" airs for the first time.
The award-winning drama movie 'A Streetcar Named Desire' was released in the US.
Florence Chadwick became the first female to swim across the English Channel and back.
Japan Airlines (JAL) is founded.
Walt Disney's 'Alice in Wonderland' was released in New York City, US.
Alice in Wonderland premiered in London.
American boxer Jersey Joe Walcott became the oldest heavyweight champion aged 37.
The Catcher in the Rye is published.
Ferrari secured its first Grand Prix victory at the 1951 British Grand Prix.
A 12-inch-deep hailstorm in Kansas became one of the US' most expensive hailstorms.
The European Union expanded the 1951 Stresa Convention.
Delegates of the Dalai Lama sign the Seventeen Point Agreement.
The 9th Street Art Exhibition opened.
The Talyllyn Railway in Wales became the first railway line in the world to be run solely by volunteers.
A human organ is surgically reconstructed for the first time.
The European Coal and Steel Community, a precursor of the European Union, is established.
The United Kingdom officially created its first National Park, the Peak District National Park.
Israeli Knesset chose April 13 as the official Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death.
Frank Sinatra recorded his hit 'I'm a Fool to Want You.'
The twenty-second amendment to the US Constitution was ratified.
The fast-food chain, Jack in the Box, was founded in San Diego, California.
An atomic bomb explosion was aired on TV for the first time.
The first of 126 nuclear tests started at the Nevada Test Site.
The lie detector, invented in 1921 by John Augustus Larson, was first used in the Netherlands.
The 'I Robot' collection of sci-fi short stories by Isaac Asimov was published by Genome Press in the US.
"Storm of the century" hits eastern U.S.
The Big Cat, aka Earl Lloyd, became the first African-American to play in the NBA.
Battle of Chamdo (Qamdo) ends.
The American drama film 'All About Eve,' by Joseph L. Mankiewicz starring Bette Davis, premiered in the US.
Peanuts published for the first time.
Almost 50,000 Jews were transported to Israel, known as Operation Magic Carpet.
For the first time in history, the BBC (British Broadcasting Company) transmitted a two-hour-long live broadcast from Calais, France, to television screens in the UK.
North Korea sent 75,000 soldiers to invade South Korea, which would start the Korean War.
The first Formula One World Championship season kicks off.
Bhumibol Adulyadej was crowned King of Thailand.
Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory discover Californium, a new radioactive element.
The US celebrated its very first National Book Awards.
Volkswagen's iconic Type 2 Kombi first began production.
Albert Einstein warned against hydrogen bombs on the ''Today with Mrs. Roosevelt" weekly TV show.
U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy launches his anti-communist campaign.
East Germany established their infamous State Security Service, otherwise known as the Stasi.
India becomes a republic.
Israel proclaims Jerusalem as its capital.
Indonesia gains independence from the Dutch.
Assassins of MK Gandhi executed in India.
WERD, the first African-American-owned radio station in the US, made its first broadcast.