Explore 2486 historical events from 1950–1959.
Sir Albert Ernest de Silva was a Ceylonese business magnate, banker, barrister and public figure, considered to be the most prominent Ceylonese philanthropist of the 20th century. …
Ernest de Silva, Sri Lankan banker and businessman (born 1887)
Alfonso Antonio Vicente Eduardo Ángel Blas Francisco de Borja Cabeza de Vaca y Leighton, 11th Marquess of Portago, GE, best known as Alfonso de Portago, was a Spanish aristocrat, r…
Alfonso de Portago, Spanish bobsledder and racing driver (born 1928)
Michael (Mihály) Fekete was a Hungarian-Israeli mathematician.
Michael Fekete, Hungarian-Israeli mathematician and academic (born 1886)
Mariya Ivanovna Vassilieva, gallicised and known in Western sources as Marie Vassilieff, was a Russian-born painter and set designer active in Paris.
Marie Vassilieff, Russian-French painter (born 1884)
Keith Phillip Andrews was an American racecar driver. He was killed after crashing his car during practice for the 1957 Indianapolis 500.
Keith Andrews, American race car driver (born 1920)
Eliot Ness was an American Prohibition agent known for his efforts to bring down Al Capone while enforcing Prohibition in Chicago. He was leader of a team of law enforcement agents…
Eliot Ness, American federal agent (born 1903)
Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim was an Austrian-American director, screenwriter, actor and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of the …
Erich von Stroheim, Austrian-American actor, director, and producer (born 1885)
James Dickinson "Dick" Irvin Jr. was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. He played for professional teams in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, the Western Cana…
Dick Irvin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1892)
Alexander Nikolayevich Vertinsky was a Russian and Soviet artist, poet, singer, composer, cabaret artist and actor who exerted seminal influence on the Russian tradition of artisti…
Alexander Vertinsky, Ukrainian-Russian singer-songwriter, actor, and poet (born 1889)
Leo Joseph "Bud" Goodwin was an American swimmer, diver, and water polo player who competed for the New York Athletic Club. He participated for the U.S. in the 1904 and 1908 Summer…
Leo Goodwin, American swimmer, diver, and water polo player (born 1883)
James Whale was an English film director, theatre director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: Franken…
James Whale, English director (born 1889)
Piero Carini was a racing driver from Italy. He was born in Genoa and died in Saint-Étienne, France.
Piero Carini, Italian race car driver (born 1921)
Stefanos Sarafis was an officer of the Hellenic Army and Major General in EAM-ELAS, who played an important role during the Greek Resistance.
Stefanos Sarafis, Greek general and politician (born 1890)
Leopold Henryk Staff was a Polish poet; an artist of European modernism twice granted the Degree of Doctor honoris causa by universities in Warsaw and in Kraków. He was also nomina…
Leopold Staff, Polish poet and academic (born 1878)
Irving Knott Baxter was an American athlete, who won the gold medal in both the men's high jump and the pole vault at the 1900 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France.
Irving Baxter, American high jumper and pole vaulter (born 1876)
James Robert Williams was a Canadian cartoonist who signed his work J. R. Williams. He was best known for his long-run daily syndicated panel Out Our Way. As noted by Coulton Waugh…
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Claude Farrère, pseudonym of Frédéric-Charles Bargone, was a French Navy officer and writer. Many of his novels are based in exotic locations such as Istanbul, Saigon, or Nagasaki.
Claude Farrère, French captain and author (born 1876)
Johannes Stark was a German physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1919 for his discovery of the Stark effect.
Johannes Stark, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1874)
James Francis Dorsey was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards "I'm Glad There Is You " and "…
Jimmy Dorsey, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (The Dorsey Brothers and The California Ramblers) (born 190
Dorothy Miller Richardson was a British author and journalist. Author of Pilgrimage, a sequence of 13 semi-autobiographical novels published between 1915 and 1967—though Richardson…
Dorothy Richardson, English journalist and author (born 1873)
Bruno Alfred Döblin was a German novelist, essayist, and doctor, best known for his novel Berlin Alexanderplatz (1929). A prolific writer whose œuvre spans more than half a century…
Alfred Döblin, Polish-German physician and author (born 1878)
Clarence Malcolm Lowry was an English poet and novelist who is best known for his 1947 novel Under the Volcano, which was voted No. 11 in the Modern Library's 100 Best Novels list.
Malcolm Lowry, English novelist and poet (born 1909)
Hermann Buhl was an Austrian mountaineer. His accomplishments include the first ascents of Nanga Parbat in 1953 and Broad Peak in 1957. He is one of the pioneers of the alpine styl…
Hermann Buhl, Austrian soldier and mountaineer (born 1924)
Adolfo Domingo De Guzmán Luque was a Cuban starting pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1914 to 1935. He spent 12 seasons of his career (1918–1929) with the Cincinnati Reds…
Dolf Luque, Cuban baseball player and manager (born 1890)