1953 – 1956★★★★★
Land reform in North Vietnam
A land reform campaign in the North redistributes land, accompanied by many executions; the government later acknowledges errors and launches a rectification in 1956.
PoliticsEconomy· Vietnam
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Events this year
March 5, 1953★★★★★
Death of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union since the mid-1920s, dies near Moscow, opening the way to de-Stalinisation under Khrushchev.
DeathPolitics· Russia
April 25, 1953★★★★★
Structure of DNA published
James Watson and Francis Crick publish the double-helix model of DNA in Nature, drawing in part on Rosalind Franklin's X-ray diffraction data.
Science· United Kingdom
May 29, 1953★★★★★
First ascent of Mount Everest
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay become the first people confirmed to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world's highest peak.
Exploration· Nepal
August 19, 1953★★★★★
1953 Iranian coup d'état
Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, who had nationalised the oil industry, is overthrown in a US- and UK-backed coup that strengthens the Shah.
Politics· Iran
Ongoing
December 19, 1946 – 1954★★★★★
First Indochina War
War between the Việt Minh and France breaks out in Hanoi and lasts until the Geneva Accords of 1954.
War· Vietnam, France, Laos, Cambodia
June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953★★★★★
Korean War
North Korean forces cross the 38th parallel; the war, drawing in US-led UN forces and China, ends in an armistice in 1953.
War· South Korea, North Korea, China, United States