istoryworld
Events relating to europe
Graham Greene's novel The Quiet American is set in contemporary Vietnam and foresees troubles ahead
Thomas Mann publishes a longer but still incomplete version of his novel Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man
Konrad Adenauer negotiates the release of the last 10,000 German prisoners of war held in the USSR
English poet Philip Larkin finds his distinctive voice in his collection The Less Deceived
British dancer Joan Benesh and her husband Rudolf develop the Benesh system of dance notation
Archaeologists at Olympia excavate the workshop of the Greek classical sculptor Phidias
British philologist J.R.R. Tolkien publishes the third and final volume of his epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings
The Sudan, declining the opportunity of union with Egypt, opts for independence as a separate state
Brigitte Bardot is directed by her husband Roger Vadim in his first film, And God Created Woman
Nikita Khrushchev denounces Stalin, dead now for three years, at a party congress in the USSR
Tunisia wins independence from France, with Habib Bourguiba as prime minister
French Morocco and Spanish Morocco win independence from the two colonial powers
English poet Ted Hughes marries US poet Sylvia Plath
After a plebiscite British Togo is merged with the neighbouring colony of the Gold Coast
Russian dancer Galina Ulanova proves a sensation on tour in Europe and the USA in her late forties
The USA and Britain withdraw their offer of financial aid for Nasser's Aswan dam
Sicilian author Giuseppe de Lampedusa completes his novel The Leopard, but does not live to see it published
John Osborne's play Look Back in Anger features in the first season of London's new English Stage Company
Students are fired on in Budapest when protesting against repressive Communist policies
Confronted by a popular uprising, Communist leaders in Hungary bring back the reformist prime minister Imre Nagy
Russian and Warsaw Pact troops invade Hungary to end the uprising and arrest Imre Nagy
The Kremlin imposes János Kádár on Hungary as head of a new government
Japanese novelist Yukio Mishima publishes The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
The ballet Spartacus, with music by Aram Khachaturian, has its premiere in Leningrad
Harold Macmillan tells a meeting in Bedford that 'most of our people have never had it so good'
