What Happened in 1951 — Events, Births & Deaths

Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time.

Korean War: Beginning of the Ganghwa massacre, in the course of which an estimated 200–1,300 South Korean communist sympathizers are slaughtered.

First Indochina War: The Battle of Vĩnh Yên begins.

National Airlines Flight 83 crashes during landing at Philadelphia International Airport, killing seven passengers and crew.

The catastrophic eruption of Mount Lamington in Papua New Guinea claims 2,942 lives.

Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with Operation Ranger.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 90 relating to the Korean War is adopted.

The Canadian Army enters combat in the Korean War.

The Broker, a Pennsylvania Railroad passenger train derails near Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. The accident kills 85 people and injures over 500 more. The wreck is one of the worst rail disasters in American history.

Korean War: More than 700 suspected communist sympathizers are massacred by South Korean forces.

Korean War: The two-day Geochang massacre begins as a battalion of the 11th Division of the South Korean Army kills 719 unarmed citizens in Geochang, in the South Gyeongsang district of South Korea.

Korean War: Battle of Chipyong-ni, which represented the "high-water mark" of the Chinese incursion into South Korea, commences.

The first Pan American Games are officially opened in Buenos Aires by Argentine President Juan Perón.

The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, is ratified.

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 307 crashes in Lynnhurst, Minneapolis, killing 15 people.

Korean War: Operation Ripper: United Nations troops led by General Matthew Ridgway begin an assault against Chinese forces.

Iranian prime minister Ali Razmara is assassinated by Khalil Tahmasebi, a member of the Islamic fundamentalist Fada'iyan-e Islam, outside a mosque in Tehran.

Korean War: United Nations troops recapture Seoul for the second time.

The Iranian oil industry is nationalized.

Fujiyoshida, a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, in the center of the Japanese main island of Honshū is founded.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.

Hypnosis murders in Copenhagen.

Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau.

Cold War: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death for spying for the Soviet Union.

Korean War: President Truman relieves Douglas MacArthur of the command of American forces in Korea and Japan.

The Stone of Scone, the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned, is found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey. It had been taken by Scottish nationalist students from its place in Westminster Abbey.

The Peak District becomes the United Kingdom's first National Park.

Korean War: The Chinese People's Volunteer Army begin assaulting positions defended by the Royal Australian Regiment and the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry at the Battle of Kapyong.

Cold War: American journalist William N. Oatis is arrested for espionage by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia.

Korean War: Assaulting Chinese forces are forced to withdraw after heavy fighting with UN forces, primarily made up of Australian and Canadian troops, at the Battle of Kapyong.

London's Royal Festival Hall opens with the Festival of Britain.

The United States Senate Committee on Armed Services and United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations begin their closed door hearings into the relief of Douglas MacArthur by U.S. President Harry Truman.

The 400th anniversary of the founding of the National University of San Marcos is commemorated by the opening of the first large-capacity stadium in Peru.

Trains run on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales for the first time since preservation, making it the first railway in the world to be operated by volunteers.

The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between Idlewild Airport (now John F Kennedy International Airport) in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines.

The opening of the Ninth Street Show, otherwise known as the 9th Street Art Exhibition: A gathering of a number of notable artists, and the stepping-out of the post war New York avant-garde, collectively known as the New York School.

Tibetans sign the Seventeen Point Agreement with China.

The Uniform Code of Military Justice takes effect as the legal system of the United States Armed Forces.

Washington State Ferries, the largest ferry system in the United States, begins operation under state ownership after a buyout of the Puget Sound Navigation Company.

UNIVAC I is dedicated by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The ocean liner SS United States is christened and launched.

Cold War: A court in Czechoslovakia sentences American journalist William N. Oatis to ten years in prison on charges of espionage.

William Shockley announces the invention of the junction transistor.

Korean War: Armistice negotiations begin at Kaesong.

Vuoristorata, one of the oldest still-operating wooden roller coasters in Europe, is opened at the Linnanmäki amusement park in Helsinki, Finland.

Ferrari take their first Formula One grand prix victory at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

King Leopold III of Belgium abdicates in favor of his son, Baudouin of Belgium.

J. D. Salinger publishes his popular yet controversial novel, The Catcher in the Rye.

King Abdullah I of Jordan is assassinated by a Palestinian while attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem.

Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 3505 disappears while flying from Vancouver to Tokyo. The aircraft and its 37 occupants are never found.

Soviet space dogs: Dezik and Tsygan were launched into a sub-orbital spaceflight from Kapustin Yar and became the first dogs to fly in space and the first to safely return.

Walt Disney's 13th animated film, Alice in Wonderland, premieres in London, England, United Kingdom.

United Air Lines Flight 615 crashes near Decoto, California, killing 50 people.

The first live transcontinental television broadcast takes place in San Francisco, United States, from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference.

George VI, king of the United Kingdom, has his left lung removed in an operation after a malignant tumour was found.

CBS makes the first color televisions available for sale to the general public, but the product is discontinued less than a month later.

Korean War: The First Battle of Maryang San pits Commonwealth troops against communist Chinese troops.

Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes completes the synthesis of norethisterone, the basis of an early oral contraceptive.

The first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, is assassinated in Rawalpindi.

The "Johnny Bright incident" occurs during a football game between the Drake Bulldogs and Oklahoma A&M Aggies.

Operation Buster–Jangle: Six thousand five hundred United States Army soldiers are exposed to 'Desert Rock' atomic explosions for training purposes in Nevada. Participation is not voluntary.

Canada in the Korean War: A platoon of The Royal Canadian Regiment defends a vital area against a full battalion of Chinese troops in the Battle of the Song-gok Spur. The engagement lasts into the early hours the next day.

With the rollout of the North American Numbering Plan, direct-dial coast-to-coast telephone service begins in the United States.

Nikos Beloyannis, along with 11 comrades, is sentenced to death for attempting to reestablish the Communist Party of Greece.

A Miami Airlines Curtiss C-46 Commando crashes in Elizabeth, New Jersey, killing all 58 aboard including dancer Doris Ruby.

The American Civil Rights Congress delivers "We Charge Genocide" to the United Nations.

The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity. The electricity powered four light bulbs.

Libya becomes independent. Idris I is proclaimed King of Libya.

A bomb explodes at the home of Harry T. Moore and Harriette V. S. Moore, early leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, killing Harry instantly and fatally wounding Harriette.

Cold War: The Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than US$13.3 billion in foreign aid to rebuild Western Europe.

Óscar Carmona, Portuguese field marshal and politician, 11th President of Portugal (born 1869)