April 1954#April 11, 1954 (Sunday)

• The U.S. Congress and President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized the founding of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.
• South Point School was founded in Kolkata, India. It would become the largest school in the world by 1988.{{cite encyclopedia |first=S. B. |last=Bhattacherje |title=Events By Years |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Indian Events & Dates |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oGVSvXuCsyUC&pg=SL1-PA222 |date=1 May 2009 |publisher=Sterling Publishers Ltd |isbn=978-81-207-4074-7 |page=A222 |access-date=23 October 2023 |via=Google Books}}
• The new Cardiff Airport at Rhoose in South Wales opened to passenger transport after operations were transferred from RAF Pengam Moors.{{cite book |title=Passenger Transport |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oNo6AAAAMAAJ |year=1954 |page=488 |via=Google Books}}
• 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake

• Walt Disney signed a contract with ABC television for the Disneyland series, and plans were announced for the building of the Disneyland theme park (provisionally called "Disneylandia") in California, along with a prospectus for the company's potential investors.{{cite book |first=Dave |last=Smith |author-link=Dave Smith (archivist) |title=Disney A to Z: the official encyclopedia |url=https://archive.org/details/disneytozofficia00smit |url-access=registration |year=1996 |publisher=Hyperion |isbn=978-0-7868-8149-9 |via=Internet Archive}}
• Died: Hoyt Vandenberg, 55, United States Air Force general{{cite book |first1=Billy C. |last1=Mossman |first2=M. W. |last2=Stark |title=The Last Salute: Civil and Military Funerals, 1921-1969 |url=https://archive.org/details/lastsalutecivila00moss |url-access=registration |year=1972 |publisher=Department of the Army |page=[https://archive.org/details/lastsalutecivila00moss/page/n93 68] |via=Internet Archive}}

• Petrov Affair: Diplomat Vladimir Petrov defected from the Soviet Union and asked for political asylum in Australia, beginning a major political incident.{{cite book |first=Ken |last=Webb |title=Excel School Certificate Australian History, Civics and Citizenship |via=Google Books |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2dM2G_J8KT8C&pg=PA78 |year=2003 |publisher=Pascal Press |isbn=978-1-877085-16-1 |page=78}}
• A Douglas C-47A-80-DL Skytrain, operated by Devlet Hava Yolları, crashed 15 minutes after taking off from Adana Airport in Turkey, bound for Istanbul. All 25 people on board were killed.[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19540403-0 Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description]
• On the River Thames in London, UK, the 100th annual Boat Race between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge was won by Oxford.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/3/newsid_2889000/2889013.stm |title=Oxford wins 100th Boat Race |work=On This Day |publisher=BBC News |access-date=2008-02-06 |date=3 April 1954 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307130451/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/3/newsid_2889000/2889013.stm |archive-date=7 March 2008 |url-status=live}}

• Suffering from failing memory, legendary symphony conductor Arturo Toscanini was obliged to abandon plans for the German Requiem and introduce an alternative programme at his last concert.{{cite book |first=Christopher |last=Dyment |title=Conducting the Brahms Symphonies: From Brahms to Boult |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cPKjCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA96 |year=2016 |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |isbn=978-1-78327-100-9 |pages=96– |via=Google Books}}
• Died:
• Pierre S. du Pont, 84, American entrepreneur, businessman and philanthropist{{cite news |title=PIERRE S. DU PONT DIES AT AGE OF 84; Was Honorary Chairman and Former President of Huge Chemical Organization |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/04/06/archives/pierre-s-dij-pont-dies-at-age-of-84-1-was-honorary-chairman-and.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=6 April 1954 |at=Page 29, columns 1-2 |access-date=21 May 2024}}
• Leigh Mitchell Hodges, 77, American journalist, writer and lecturer{{cite news |title=LEIGH M. HODGES, COLUMNIST, DIES; Philadelphia Newsman, Who Co-Founded TB Seal Drive, Began 'Optimist' in 1902 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/04/05/archives/leigh-m-hodges-columnist-dies-philadelphia-newsman-who-cofounded-tb.html |date=5 April 1954 |at=Page 26, columns 3-4 |access-date=22 May 2024}}

• Died:
• Princess Märtha of Sweden, 53, Crown Princess of Norway{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/04/06/archives/norway-mourns-martha-king-orders-a-4month-period-of-tributtheatres.html |title=NORWAY MOURNS MARTHA; King Orders a 4-Month Period of Tribute Theatres Closed |newspaper=The New York Times |date=6 April 1954 |at=Page 29, column 3 |access-date=21 May 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.kongehuset.no/seksjon.html?tid=28674&sek=27314 |title=Crown Princess Märtha |website=Det norske kongehus |language=en |access-date=22 May 2024}}
• Mary Riter Hamilton, 86, Canadian war artist{{cite news |url=https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/our-company/news-and-media/corporate-news/news-release/2020-10-28-mary-riter-hamilton |title=Canada Post salutes country's unofficial first woman battlefield artist: Remembrance Day stamp issue features the work of Mary Riter Hamilton |date=28 October 2020 |publisher=Canada Post Corporation |access-date=21 May 2024}}

• United States Senator Joseph McCarthy appeared on See It Now to confront journalist Edward R. Murrow: he described Murrow as "a symbol, a leader, and the cleverest of the jackal pack which is always found at the throat of anyone who dares to expose individual Communists and traitors".{{cite web |url=http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/josephmccarthycbsseeitnow.htm |title=Prosecution of E. R. Murrow on CBS' "See It Now" |work=See It Now |publisher=CBS |date=April 6, 1954 |access-date=August 10, 2016}}]
• WALB TV channel 10 in Albany, GA (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting

• U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his "domino theory" speech during a news conference.{{cite book |first=Andreas |last=Wenger |title=Living with Peril: Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Nuclear Weapons |via=Google Books |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eT85AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA340 |date=1 January 2000 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn=978-0-585-11418-7 |page=340}}
• Born: Jackie Chan, actor and film director; in Beijing, China{{cite book |first=Jackie |last=Chan |author-link=Jackie Chan |title=100% Jackie Chan: The Essential Companion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JvXLgs0EcdoC |date=1 September 2003 |publisher=Titan |isbn=978-1-84023-491-6 |page=10 |via=Google Books}}

• Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 9: A Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair Harvard and a Trans-Canada Airlines Canadair North Star collided over Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. The total number of deaths was 37, including 36 people aboard the two aircraft and one person on the ground.
• South African Airways Flight 201: A de Havilland Comet 1, operated by South African Airways, disintegrated in mid-air as a result of fatigue failure while flying over the Mediterranean Sea from Rome to Cairo. All 14 passengers and seven crew were killed.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/04/10/archives/comet-wreckage-found-in-sea-3-americans-among-21-victims-comet.html |title=Comet Wreckage Found in Sea; 3 Americans Among 21 Victims; Comet Wreckage Found in Sea; 3 Americans Among 21 Victims |last=Whitney |first=Peter D. |date=10 April 1954 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2019-05-02 |page=1 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}
• Born: Gary Carter, American baseball player and Baseball Hall of Fame member; in Culver City, California (d. 2012)
• Died: Fritzi Scheff, 74, US actress and singer{{cite news |via=Google News |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AL9QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=niMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7263,4445749&dq=fritzi-scheff&hl=en |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714224023/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AL9QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=niMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7263,4445749&dq=fritzi-scheff&hl=en |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 14, 2012 |title=Saucy Kiss Me Again Girl Singer Fritzi Scheff Is Dead |date=April 9, 1954 |newspaper=The Milwaukee Journal |access-date=June 17, 2011}}

• Joseph Laniel, Prime Minister of France, warned the People's Republic of China to stop sending aid to the Viet Minh revolutionaries fighting in the First Indochina War.{{cite news |url=http://media.proquest.com/media/pq/hnp/pc/2237232/page/1/pdf?hl=%2Capril+10+1954&_a=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%3D%3D&_s=rPOdBmbP9PZ77PF1Tuc5vp2MRus%3D#statusbar=1&zoom=150 |title=France Warns Red China Aid to Indo Rebels Must Cease: Dulles Off Today for Parleys |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 10, 1954 |page=A1}}
• Died:
• Philip Greeley Clapp, 65, American composer and educator

• KRGV-TV began operation.Television Factbook - Issue 49, Part 2 - Page 865 (1980) "... KRGV , 5 - kw , 1290 kHz . ... Began Operation : April 10 , 1954."
• Born:
• Anne Lamott, American novelist and nonfiction writer; in San Francisco, California{{cite book |url=http://ark.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb128065506 |title=Notice de personne "Lamott, Anne (1954-...)" |trans-title=Person notice "Lamott, Anne (1954-...)" |date=March 31, 2015 |publisher=Bibliothèque nationale de France |language=fr |access-date=February 3, 2022}}
• Peter MacNicol, American actor; in Dallas, Texas{{cite web |title=Peter MacNicol |website=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Fandango |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/peter_macnicol |access-date=February 3, 2022}}
• Juan Williams, Panamanian-born American journalist and political analyst; in Colón, Panama{{cite web |url=https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/juan-williams |title=Juan Williams's Biography |publisher=The HistoryMakers |access-date=3 February 2022}}

• Died:
• Auguste Lumière, 91, French film pioneer{{cite book |last=Blum |first=Daniel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mv1SB5MLwBMC&pg=PA224 |title=Screen World Vol. 6 1955 |publisher=Biblo & Tannen Publishers |year=1969 |isbn=978-0-8196-0261-9 |page=224 |via=Google Books}}

File:1954-04-11 Coppa Toscana WINNER Ferrari 375 0360AM Scotti.jpg

• Italian driver Piero Scotti won the 1954 Coppa della Toscana sports car race in a Ferrari 375 MM.{{cite web |title=Coppa della Toscana 1954 - Race Results |publisher=RacingSportsCars |url=https://www.racingsportscars.com/results/Coppa_della_Toscana-1954-04-11-4493.html |access-date=3 February 2022}}
• In a general election in Belgium, the Christian Social Party won 95 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives, and 49 of the 106 seats in the Senate.{{cite book |first1=Dieter |last1=Nohlen |author-link1=Dieter Nohlen |first2=Philip |last2=Stöver |year=2010 |title=Elections in Europe: A data handbook |page=289 |publisher=Nomos |isbn=978-3-8329-5609-7}} The government, led by Jean Van Houtte, lost its majority in parliament. The two other main parties, the Socialist and Liberal Party, subsequently formed a rare "purple" government, with Achille Van Acker as Prime Minister.
• Raymond Impanis won the 52nd edition of the Paris–Roubaix cycling race.
• The 1954 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship opened with the first round of the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship.{{cite book |last=Donegan |first=Des |title=The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games |publisher=DBA Publications Limited |year=2005}}
• The 1954 New Orleans Women's Open golf tournament, part of the LPGA Tour, concluded. Marlene Bauer won the tournament, with Betty Jameson coming in second.{{cite web |url=http://www.lpga.com/content/Chronology50-59.pdf |publisher=LPGA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227042554/http://www.lpga.com/content/Chronology50-59.pdf |archive-date=27 February 2012 |title=Tournament Chronology |page=3 |access-date=3 February 2022}}
• April 11, 1954, is considered by search engine Evi as the least eventful day in the 20th century. Very few significant newsworthy events, births, or deaths are known to have happened on this day.{{cite news |last=Pace |first=Gina |title=Was April 11, 1954 the Most Boring Day in History? |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/was-april-11-1954-the-most-boring-day-in-history/ |date=30 November 2010 |work=CBS News |access-date=2 February 2022}}{{cite news |last=Memmott |first=Mark |title=Was April 11, 1954, Really 'The Most Boring Day'? |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/11/30/131701307/was-april-11-1954-really-the-most-boring-day |date=30 November 2010 |work=NPR |access-date=2 February 2022}}
• Born:
• Ian F. Akyildiz (born Ilhan Fuat Akyildiz), Turkish American electrical engineer; in Istanbul, Turkey{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}
• Abdullah Atalar, Turkish scientist and academic
• Aleksandr Averin, Soviet Olympic cyclist; in Baku, Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union{{cite web |url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/13458 |title=Aleksandr Averin |website=Olympedia |publisher=OlyMADMen |access-date=2 February 2022}}
• Benedykt Kocot, Polish Olympic cyclist; in Chrząstowice, Opole Voivodeship, Poland{{cite web |url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/15108 |title=Benedykt Kocot |website=Olympedia |publisher=OlyMADMen |access-date=2 February 2022}}
• Francis Lickerish (born John Francis Lickerish), British composer, guitarist and lutenist; in Cambridge, England{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}
• David Perrett, Scottish evolutionary psychologist{{cite book |chapter=Perrett, Prof. David Ian, (born 11 April 1954), Professor of Psychology and Wardlaw Professor, University of St Andrews |title=Who's Who 2022 & Who Was Who |year=2007 |chapter-url=https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-56117 |publisher=A & C Black |doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U56117 |isbn=978-0-19-954088-4 |access-date=2 February 2022 |via=Oxford University Press}}
• Teo Peter, Romanian rock musician (Compact); in Cluj-Napoca, Romania (d. 2004, traffic collision){{cite web |url=http://www.cat-music.ro/home.php?identifier=comp |title=Compact |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007071016/http://www.cat-music.ro/home.php?identifier=comp |archive-date=7 October 2008 |website=cat-music.ro |language=ro |access-date=3 February 2022}}{{cite web |title=STATEMENT FOR THE PRESS ON THE ACCIDENT THAT TOOK THE LIFE OF TEO PETER |url=http://romania.usaid.gov/fwww/Documents/Statement_0412.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090718121127/http://romania.usaid.gov/fwww/Documents/Statement_0412.htm |archive-date=18 July 2009 |date=4 December 2004 |website=United States Agency for International Development |author-link=List of ambassadors of the United States to Romania |author=Embassy of the United States of America |access-date=3 February 2022}}
• Ian Redmond, English field biologist and conservationist; in Malaysia{{cite book |chapter=Redmond, Ian Michael, (born 11 April 1954), independent wildlife biologist, since 1979; Consultant: Born Free Foundation, since 1987 |title=Who's Who 2022 & Who Was Who |chapter-url=https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-2000158 |publisher=A & C Black |doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U2000158 |isbn=978-0-19-954088-4 |access-date=2 February 2022 |via=Oxford University Press}}
• Éric Renaut, French professional footballer; in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France{{cite web |url=https://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/eric-renaut/ |title=Eric Renaut|website=worldfootball.net |access-date=12 April 2025}}
• Willie Royster, American professional baseball catcher; in Clarksville, Virginia (d. 2015){{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=royste001wil |title=Willie Royster Minor Leagues Statistics & History |publisher=Sports Reference LLC |access-date=2 February 2022}}
• Attila Sudár, Hungarian Olympic champion water polo player; in Budapest, Hungary{{cite web |url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/54210 |title=Attila Sudár |website=Olympedia |publisher=OlyMADMen |access-date=2 February 2022}}
• Died: Paul Specht, 59, American dance bandleader{{cite web |title=Paul Specht and His Orchestra: "That's What I Call Sweet Music" |url=http://www.jazzage1920s.com/paulspecht/paulspecht.php |publisher=David Garrick |date=27 December 2012 |access-date=3 February 2022}}{{Self-published source|date=February 2022}}

• Bill Haley and His Comets recorded the ground-breaking single "Rock Around the Clock" at the Pythian Temple studios in New York City.{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p4426/biography|label=Bill Haley|access-date=August 6, 2009}}
• Died:
• Luis Cabrera Lobato, 77, Mexican lawyer, politician and writer{{cite journal |title=Emissary from a Revolution: Luis Cabrera and Woodrow Wilson |first=Kendrick A. |last=Clements |author-link=Kendrick Clements |journal=The Americas |volume=35 |number=3 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1979 |pages=353–371 |doi=10.2307/980979 |jstor=980979 |s2cid=147250505}}
• Prince Nikola of Yugoslavia, 25, was killed in a road accident.{{cite news |title=Prince Dies In Car Crash |newspaper=The West Australian |location=Perth, Western Australia |date=13 April 1954 |page=17}}

• While taking off from Xiengkhouang, Laos, a Lockheed C-60A-5-LO Lodestar operated by Société Indochinoise de Ravitaillement crashed, killing 16 of the 23 people on board.{{cite web |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19540413-1 |title=Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description |website=Aviation Safety Network |access-date=14 April 2020}}
• A Douglas C-47-DL Skytrain belonging to the Chilean Air Force, carrying a cargo of meat from Santiago to Los Cóndores Air Base, crashed near Batuco, killing all 14 people on board.[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19540413-2 Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description]
• Died: Angus L. Macdonald, 63, Canadian politician, Premier of Nova Scotia (heart attack){{cite book |last=Hawkins |first=John |year=1969 |title=The Life and Times of Angus L |location=Windsor, Nova Scotia |publisher=Lancelot Press Limited |oclc=1867550 |pages=252–254}}

• Aneurin Bevan resigned from the British Labour Party's Shadow Cabinet in protest over his party's failure to oppose the rearmament of West Germany.{{cite book |first=Harry W. |last=Laidler |author-link=Harry W. Laidler |title=History of Socialism: An Historical Comparative Study of Socialism, Communism, Utopia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F3qQXS_FjZkC&pg=PA788 |date=4 July 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-23143-8 |page=788 |via=Google Books}}
• Harold Connolly became interim Premier of Nova Scotia, Canada, after the sudden death of Angus L. Macdonald.{{cite book |last=Beck |first=J. Murray |year=1988 |title=Politics of Nova Scotia |volume=Two 1896–1988 |location=Tantallon, Nova Scotia |publisher=Four East Publications |isbn=0-920427-16-2 |pages=239–240}}

• While towing a barge from Skagway, Alaska, to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the 541-ton Canadian tug Chelan sank off the entrance to Sumner Strait west of Cape Decision in Southeast Alaska. All 14 people on the ship were lost.[https://alaskashipwreck.com/shipwrecks-a-z/alaska-shipwrecks-c/ alaskashipwreck.com Alaska Shipwrecks (C)]
• KARK TV channel 4 in Little Rock, AR (NBC) begins broadcasting

• U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon told the press that the United States might be "putting our own boys in Indochina regardless of Allied support".{{cite book |first=John Stewart |last=Bowman |title=The Vietnam War: an almanac |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tRTcAAAAIAAJ |year=1985 |publisher=World Almanac Publications |page=35 |isbn=978-0-345-32631-7 |via=Google Books}}
• Steam trains operated for the last time on the Clinchfield Railroad, between Kingsport and Erwin, Tennessee, United States.{{cite book |first=James A. |last=Goforth |title=Building the Clinchfield |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IJogvQseFS4C&pg=PA112 |date=June 2004 |publisher=The Overmountain Press |isbn=978-1-57072-291-2 |page=112 |via=Google Books}}
• Born: Ellen Barkin, American actress; in New York City{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/24/magazine/mag-24barkin-t.html |title=Ellen Barkin Is No Uptown Girl |last=Witchel |first=Alex |author-link=Frank Rich#Personal life |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 22, 2011 |access-date=April 24, 2011 |quote=Barkin, who turned 57 on April 16...}}

• Born: Roddy Piper, Canadian wrestler; in Saskatoon (d. 2015){{cite news |last=Gelston |first=Dan |title=WWE Hall of Famer Roddy Piper dies at 61 |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/bfaf8a22e11d4736ae988cfd1733eaad/wwe-hall-famer-roddy-piper-dies-61 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=28 April 2020 |archive-date=3 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150803091410/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/bfaf8a22e11d4736ae988cfd1733eaad/wwe-hall-famer-roddy-piper-dies-61}}
• Died: Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu, 53, and Remus Koffler, 52, Romanian communist activists, were executed after a show trial.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cIpMCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT90 |title=De-Stalinising Eastern Europe: The Rehabilitation of Stalin's Victims after 1953 |publisher=Springer |last1=McDermott |first1=Kevin |last2=Stibbe |first2=Matthew |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-137-36892-8 |via=Google Books}}

• A British minesweeper, operated by the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, caught fire and sank in the English Channel off Ostend, Belgium. All 31 crew members were rescued by the Dutch steamship Phoenix and the French ship {{SS|Tunisie||2}}.{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Rescued Crew's Return |date=19 April 1954 |page=4 |issue=52909 |column=A }}

• Two KGB couriers from the USSR arrived at Sydney Airport to escort Evdokia Petrova, a Soviet intelligence officer and the wife of Vladimir Petrov, who had recently defected to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, back to the USSR. The couriers were met by anti-Communist demonstrators, and the incident made world headlines. The photograph of Petrova being manhandled by the two couriers became an iconic Australian image of the 1950s, and she was removed from the plane at Darwin.{{cite book |first=Stuart |last=Macintyre |author-link=Stuart Macintyre |title=A Concise History of Australia |url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof0000maci_y5k3 |url-access=registration |date=29 June 2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-51608-2 |via=Internet Archive |page=[https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof0000maci_y5k3/page/n233 218]}}

• A United States Air Force Kaiser-Frazier C-119F Flying Boxcar, after a flight from Williams Air Force Base in Mesa, Arizona, crashed into a fog-shrouded ridge on Mission Point while approaching Burbank Airport in California. All seven people on board were killed.[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19540423-0 Aviation Safety Network: Accident Description]
• A new station was opened at Tacoma, Washington, United States, on the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.{{cite journal |date=May 1954 |title=A New Station for Tacoma |journal=Milwaukee Road Magazine |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=4–5 |url=http://milwaukeeroadarchives.com/MilwaukeeRoadMagazine/1954May.pdf |access-date=31 August 2013}}
• Died: Michael Manning, 25, Irish murderer, the last person to be executed in the Irish Republic{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/sixty-years-since-dublin-s-last-hanging-1.1765531 |title=Sixty years since Dublin's last hanging |date=18 April 2014 |first=Ian |last=O'Donnell |newspaper=Irish Times |access-date=11 May 2018}}

• Died: Emil Leon Post, 57, Polish American mathematician and logician{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Martin |year=1994 |chapter=Emil L. Post: His Life and Work |title=Solvability, Provability, Definability: The Collected Works of Emil L. Post |publisher=Birkhäuser |pages=xi–xxviii}}

• France's Foreign Minister Georges Bidault told US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles that only U.S. air strikes could save Điện Biên Phủ; France dropped its objections to a multinational effort. British PM Winston Churchill refused to give any undertakings about United Kingdom military action in Indochina.Doyle et al, p. 72
• Senator Joseph McCarthy began hearings investigating the United States Army for being "soft" on Communism. The hearings were broadcast live on U.S. television.{{cite book |first=Rich |last=Underwood |title=Roll! Shooting TV News: Views from Behind the Lens |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UwYQKFIOIM8C&pg=PA15 |date=19 June 2007 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-136-03329-2 |page=15 |via=Google Books}}
• The 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees came into force, defining the status of refugees and setting out the basis for granting right of asylum.

• An Aerolineas Argentinas Douglas C-47A-5-DK Skytrain, diverted to La Rioja, Argentina, from El Plumerillo Airport in Mendoza because of severe turbulence in the Córdoba area, crashed in mountainous terrain near Sierra del Vilgo, killing all 25 people on board.{{cite web |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19540423-0 |title=Friday 23 April 1954 |website=Aviation Safety Network |access-date=15 April 2020}}
• Born: Michael Moore, American documentary filmmaker; in Flint, Michigan{{cite book |first=Emily |last=Schultz |title=Michael Moore: A Biography |url=https://archive.org/details/michaelmoore00emil |url-access=registration |year=2005 |publisher=ECW Press |isbn=978-1-55022-699-7 |via=Internet Archive |pages=[https://archive.org/details/michaelmoore00emil/page/n21 18]}}
• Died: Shmerke Kaczerginski, 45, Yiddish-speaking author, musician and cultural activist, was killed in the Aerolineas Argentinas crash.

• Wolverhampton Wanderers football club won the English Football League First Division title for the first time in its history.[http://www.world-football-legends.co.uk/wolves50s.php World Football Legends homepage] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705145450/http://www.world-football-legends.co.uk/wolves50s.php |date=5 July 2011}}

• Bell Labs announced the invention of the first practical silicon solar cell. These cells had about 6% efficiency.

• The 1954 Geneva Conference, an international conference on Korea and Indo-China, opened in Switzerland.{{cite book |via=Google Books |title=Bulletin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TJk-cgQQMgsC&pg=PA12 |year=2007 |publisher=Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars |page=12}}
• Akira Kurosawa's film, The Seven Samurai, was released in Japan.{{cite book |first=Stuart IV |last=Galbraith |author-link=Stuart Galbraith IV |title=The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f7o8pq6G_dYC&pg=PA101 |date=16 May 2008 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-1-4616-7374-3 |page=101 |via=Google Books}}

• Celtic F.C. defeated Aberdeen F.C. 2-1 in the final of the Scottish Cup football competition.{{cite book |first=Tom |last=Campbell |title=The Glory and the Dream: The History of Celtic F.C. 1887-1987 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z1zjDG4T8DMC |year=1987 |publisher=Grafton |isbn=978-0-586-20005-6 |page=190 |via=Google Books}}
• Born: Frank Bainimarama, prime minister of Fiji from 2007 to 2022{{cite book |first=B. |last=Turner |title=The Statesman's Yearbook 2009: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World |via=Google Books |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ipPlDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA451 |date=12 January 2017 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-349-74027-7 |page=451}}
• Died: Antoni Bolesław Dobrowolski, 81, Polish scientist and explorer{{cite book |title=Polish Polar Research |via=Google Books |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_W0fAQAAIAAJ |year=1998 |publisher=Państwowe Wydawn. Naukowe |page=10}}

• U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles accused Communist China of sending combat troops to Indo-China to train Viet Minh guerrillas.
• Died: Léon Jouhaux, 74, French labor leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate{{cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1951/jouhaux/facts |title=Nobel Committee information on Jouhaux |access-date=21 April 2020}}

• Born:
• Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian and actor; in Brooklyn, New York{{cite magazine |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/23/magazine/jerry-seinfeld-intends-to-die-standing-up.html |title=Jerry Seinfeld Intends to Die Standing Up |first=Jonah |last=Weiner |date=December 20, 2012 |magazine=The New York Times Magazine}}
• Jake Burton Carpenter, American co-inventor of the snowboard; in Manhattan, New York (died 2019){{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/snowboard-pioneer-jake-burton-carpenter-dies-at-65/2019/11/21/d1cdd34e-0c73-11ea-8054-289aef6e38a3_story.html |title=Snowboard pioneer Jake Burton Carpenter dies at 65 |last=Pells |first=Eddie |date=November 21, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=November 21, 2019}}
• Died: Joe May, 73, Austrian-born film director and producer{{cite encyclopedia |editor1-first=Hans-Michael |editor1-last=Bock |editor1-link=Hans-Michael Bock |editor2-first=Tim |editor2-last=Bergfelder |title=Joe May |encyclopedia=The Concise Cinegraph: Encyclopaedia of German Cinema |access-date=23 October 2023 |via=Google Books |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Z4kDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA315 |date=1 September 2009 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-0-85745-565-9 |page=315}}

• Bengali leader A. K. Fazlul Huq began a visit to Kolkata, against the wishes of Mohammad Ali Bogra, Prime Minister of Pakistan.{{cite book |author=Bhashani Foundation |title=Moulana Bhashani Leader of the Toiling Masses |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jR5QAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT174 |date=27 March 2012 |isbn=978-1-4691-3790-2 |page=174 |via=Google Books}}
• The last passenger services ran on the Clinchfield Railroad between Elkhorn and Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States.
• Born: Jane Campion, New Zealand screenwriter, producer, and director; in Wellington{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U5Zv_Uaa-WUC&pg=PA32 |title=Jane Campion: Authorship and Personal Cinema |last=Fox |first=Alistair |author-link=Alistair Fox |page=32 |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-253-22301-2 |access-date=30 December 2015 |via=Google Books}}

{{reflist}}

{{Events by month links}}

1954

*1954-04