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January 9 - United Nations headquarters officially opens (New York City).

January 15 - Ilse Koch, The "Witch of Buchenwald," wife of the Commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment in a court in West Germany.

January 17 - Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul.

January 20 - Avalanches in the Alps - 240 die and 45,000 are buried for a time in Switzerland, Austria and Italy

January 27 - Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with a one-kiloton bomb dropped on Frenchman Flats, northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.

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February 1 - United Nations General Assembly declares that China is the aggressor in the Korean War

February 4-8 - Surgeons remove an ovarian cyst from Gertrude Levandowski in 96-hour long operation in Chicago. She loses almost half of her weight and emerges weighing 140 kg / 308 lb

February 6 - A Pennsylvania Railroad passenger train derails near Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. The accident kills 85 people and injures over 500 more; one of the worst rail disasters in American history.

February 6 - Paul Harvey arrested for trying to break into Argonne National Laboratory.

February 12 - Marriage of Muhammad Reza Shah to Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiari

February 19- Jean Lee becomes the last woman hanged in Australia, when Lee and her two pimps are hanged for the murder and torture of a 73 year old bookmaker.

February 27 - The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, is ratified.

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March 6 - The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg begins.

March 7 - Korean War: Operation Ripper - In Korea, United Nations troops led by General Matthew Ridgeway begin an assault against the Chinese "volunteers".

March 12 - The Dennis the Menace comic strip appears in newspapers across the U.S. for the first time.

March 14 - Korean War: For the second time, United Nations troops recapture Seoul.

March 14 - West Germany joins UNESCO

March 29 - Red Scare: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. On April 5 they are sentenced to receive the death penalty.

March 29 - Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I opens on Broadway and runs for three years. It is the first Rodgers and Hammerstein show specifically written for someone - actress Gertrude Lawrence asked them to write it after seeing the film Anna and the King of Siam. Unfortunately, Ms. Lawrence is stricken with cancer during the run of the show and dies halfway through its run. The show makes a star of Yul Brynner, who repeats his role as the King in the 1956 film version and wins an Oscar for it.

March 30 - Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau.

April 1 - Female suffrage begins in Greece

April 11 - President Truman relieves General MacArthur of his Far Eastern commands.

April 18 - Treaty of Paris (1951) adopted, establishing European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC); see EU.

April 21 - The National Olympic Committee of the USSR is formed. The USSR first participates in the Olympic Games at Helsinki, Finland, in 1952.

April 28 - Robert Menzies' Liberal Party government in Australia is re-elected for a second term.

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May 1 - Opera house of Geneva, Switzerland almost destroyed in a fire

May 3 - London's Royal Festival Hall opens.

May 3 - The U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services and U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations begins its closed door hearings into the dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur by U.S. President Harry S. Truman.

May 9 - The first test of a nuclear weapon with thermonuclear materials, the "George" test on Enewetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands, by the United States.

May 14 - First volunteer-run passenger trains on Talyllyn Railway, Wales.

May 15 - Military coup in Bolivia

May 25 - The first test of an atomic bomb "boosted" by the inclusion of thermonuclear materials, in the "Item" test on Enewetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands by the U.S.A.

June 14 - UNIVAC I is dedicated by U.S. Census Bureau.*

June 15 - July 1- In New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, thousands of hectares (many square miles) of forests were destroyed in fires.

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July 1 - Judy Garland, opened the first of 14 concerts in Dublin, Ireland at the Theatre Royal.

July 5 - William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain announce the invention the junction transistor.

July 10 - Korean War: At Kaesong, armistice negotiations begin.

July 13 - The Great Flood of 1951 reaches its highest point in Northeast Kansas, culminating in the greatest flood damage to date in the Midwestern United States.

July 13 - MGM's Technicolor film version of Show Boat, starring Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, and Howard Keel, premieres at Radio City Music Hall, the same theatre in which the 1936 film version premiered. The 1951 film receives mixed reviews, but becomes a box office smash. It introduces bass-baritone William Warfield (singing Ol' Man River) to movie audiences and makes him nationally famous overnight.

July 14 - In Joplin, Missouri, the George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument in honor of an African American.

July 16 - King Léopold III of Belgium signs the act of abdication in favour of his son Baudouin.

July 17 - Baudouin takes the oath as king of Belgium, after his father abdicated the day before.

July 20 - King Abdullah I of Jordan is assassinated while attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem.

July 30 - David Lean's Oliver Twist (1948 film) is finally shown in the United States, after ten minutes of supposedly anti-Semitic references and closeups of Alec Guinness as Fagin are cut. The film receives excellent reviews, but few theatre engagements, and is a flop in the United States. It is not shown uncut in the U.S. until 1970.

August 11 - René Pleven becomes Prime Minister of France

September 1 - The United States, Australia and New Zealand all sign a mutual defense pact, called the ANZUS Treaty (for "Australia, New Zealand, United States").

September 8 - Treaty of San Francisco: In San Francisco, California, 48 nations sign a peace treaty with Japan in formal recognition of the end of the Pacific War.

September 9 - Chinese communist forces move into Lhasa, the capital of Tibet

September 10 - The United Kingdom begins an economic boycott of Iran.

September 20 - NATO accepts Greece and Turkey as members

September 26-28 - Blue sun seen over Europe - the effect is due to ash coming from the Canadian forest fires four months previously

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October 3 - "Shot Heard 'Round the World" One of the greatest moments in Major League Baseball history occurs when the New York Giants Bobby Thomson hits a game winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning off of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca, to win the National League pennant after being down 14 games.

October 4 - The Gene Kelly film An American in Paris (film) premieres in New York. It will eventually receive the Oscar for Best Picture of 1951.

October 7 - Malayan Emergency - communist insurgents kill British commander Sir Henry Gurney

October 15 - First oral contraceptive invented by Luis E. Miramontes

October 15 - I Love Lucy debuts on CBS.

October 16 - Judy Garland, Opened her legendary concerts in New York's famed Palace Theatre

October 16 - Assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan

October 20 - The "Johnny Bright Incident" occurred in Stillwater, Oklahoma

October 21 - Storm in southern Italy - over 100 dead

October 24 - President Truman declares official end to war with Germany.

October 26 - Winston Churchill re-elected British Prime Minister; his foreign minister is Anthony Eden

October 27 - Farouk of Egypt declares himself also as a king of Sudan - no support

October 31 - The 1951 version of Scrooge (1951 film) , starring Alastair Sim, opens in England. In this version, unlike the 1935 one, the ghosts are vividly shown.

November 1 - First military exercises for nuclear war, with infantry troops included, in the Nevada desert

November 10 - Direct dial coast-to-coast telephone service begins in the United States.

November 11 - Juan Peron re-elected president of Argentina

November 20 - Po river floods in northern Italy

November 24 - The Broadway play Gigi opens starring little known actress Audrey Hepburn playing the lead character.

November 28 - Scrooge, starring Alastair Sim, opens in the United States under the title of Charles Dickens's original novel, A Christmas Carol. Virtually unnoticed then, except for a favorable review in the New York Times, the film will become a classic upon its first television showings on local PBS stations in the early 1970's. It is now considered the finest film version of the novel.

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December 3 - The Lebanese University is founded in Lebanon

December 6 - State of emergency in Egypt due to increasing riots

December 13 - Water storage tank collapses in Tucumcari, New Mexico - 4 dead, 200 buildings destroyed

December 16 - Salar Jung Museum is opened to the public by the Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru

December 20 - EBR-1, World's first (experimental) nuclear power plant

December 24 - Libya becomes independent from Italy

December 24 - Gian-Carlo Menotti's 45-minute opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, premieres live on NBC, becoming the first opera written especially for television. It is a great success, repeated annually every year for the next fourteen years.

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A fourth, and final, forest fire starts in the Tillamook Burn; but unlike earlier fires this one only burns 32,700 acres (132 km²), and within area already affected by the earlier fires.

IBM United Kingdom formed

1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute lasts for 151 days

Munich Germany – A collection of mementos and personal papers belonging to Adolf Hitler are turned over to the Bayerische Bank for authentication and eventual sale. Among the documents are his appointment as Chancellor, signed by President von Hindenburg, his Austrian passport, as well as an assortment of swastika insignia pins and medals. An initial offer of $200,000.00 was made for the collection.

Stockholm, Sweden – An 18-year-old sailor is fined for kissing in public. The court calls his actions “obnoxious behavior repulsive to the public morals.”

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January 1 - Ashfaq Hussain, Urdu poet

January 5 - Steve Arnold, English footballer

January 6 - Kim Wilson, American singer and harmonica player

January 8 - Kenny Anthony, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia

January 12 - Kirstie Alley, American actress

January 12 - Rush Limbaugh, American radio personality

January 25 - Steve Prefontaine, American runner (d. 1975)

January 30 - Phil Collins, English musician and producer

January 31 - Harry Wayne Casey, American musician, songwriter, and producer

February 14 - Kevin Keegan, English footballer and football manager

February 15 - Melissa Manchester, American singer

February 15 - Jane Seymour, English actress

February 17 - Janice Dickinson, American supermodel

February 19 - Tahir-ul-Qadri, Islamic scholar and leader

February 20 - Gordon Brown, Scottish politician

February 25 - Don Quarrie, Jamaican sprinter

February 27 - Steve Harley, British musician (Cockney Rebel)

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March 1 - Mike Read, British television presenter and radio disc jockey

March 4 - Kenny Dalglish, Scottish footballer and football manager

March 4 - Chris Rea, British singer and musician

March 6 - Gerrie Knetemann, Dutch cyclist (d. 2004)

March 8 - Karen Kain, Canadian ballerina

March 12 - Susan Musgrave Canadian poet and children's writer

March 13 - Fred Berry, American actor (d. 2003)

March 14 - Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream

March 17 - Kurt Russell, American actor

March 18 - Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream

March 24 - Tommy Hilfiger, American fashion designer

March 26 - Carl Wieman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

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April 5 - Dean Kamen, American inventor and entrepreneur

April 5 - Guy Vanderhaeghe, Canadian author

April 6 - Bert Blyleven, Dutch Major League Baseball player

April 7 - Janis Ian, American singer and songwriter

April 10 - David Helvarg, American journalist and activist

April 10 - Steven Seagal, American martial artist, holy man, musician, and actor

April 11 - Doris McGowen Beck Angleton, American socialite and murder victim (d. 1997)

April 13 - Peabo Bryson, American singer

April 13 - Peter Davison, British actor

April 13 - Max Weinberg, American drummer

April 14 - Julian Lloyd Webber, English cellist and composer

April 16 - Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian writer

April 19 - Jóannes Eidesgaard, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands

April 20 - Louise Jameson, British actress

April 29 - Dale Earnhardt, American race car driver (d. 2001)

May 9 - Christopher Dewdney, Canadian poet

May 13 - Sharon Sayles Belton, Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota

May 15 - Jonathan Richman, American musician

May 15 - Frank Wilczek, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

May 19 - Joey Ramone, American musician (The Ramones) (d. 2001)

May 23 - Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player

May 26 - Madeleine Taylor-Quinn, Irish politician

May 26 - Sally Ride, astronaut

May 30 - Stephen Tobolowsky, American actor

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June 2 - Larry Robinson, Canadian hockey player

June 8 - Bonnie Tyler, Welsh singer

June 14 - Paul Boateng, British politician

June 20 - Tress MacNeille, American voice actress

June 20 - Paul Muldoon, Irish poet

June 27 - Mary McAleese, eighth President of Ireland

June 28 - Lalla Ward, British actress

June 28 - Lloyd Maines, American musician and record producer

June 29 - Keno Don Rosa, American comic book author

July 3 - Richard Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer

July 5 - Rich "Goose" Gossage, baseball player

July 8 - Anjelica Huston, American actress

July 10 - Cheryl Wheeler, American singer and songwriter

July 14 - Erich Hallhuber, German actor (d. 2003)

July 16 - Stewart Copeland, American drummer

July 18 - Elio Di Rupo, Belgian politician

July 24 - Chris Smith, British politician

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August 3 - Marcel Dionne, Canadian hockey player

August 6 - Daryl Somers, Australian television personality

August 8 - Mamoru Oshii, Japanese film director

August 8 - Randy Shilts, American journalist and author (d. 1994)

August 19 - John Deacon, English bassist (Queen)

August 20 - Greg Bear, American author

August 21 - Eric Goles, Chilean mathematician and computer scientist

August 23 - Akhmad Kadyrov, President of Chechnya

August 23 - Queen Noor of Jordan

August 24 - Orson Scott Card, American writer

September 5 - Michael Keaton, American actor

September 7 - Julie Kavner, American actress

September 12 - Joe Pantoliano, American actor

September 13 - Linda Wong, Pornstar (d. 1987)

September 21 - Aslan Maskhadov, President of Chechnya

September 22 - David Coverdale, English singer

September 25 - Mark Hamill, American actor

September 26 - Stuart Tosh, Scottish musician

September 27 - Paul Craig, English professor of law

September 29 - Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile

September 29 - Andrés Caicedo, Colombian writer (d. 1977)

September 29 - Maureen Caird, Australian hurdler

September 30 - Barry Marshall, Australian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine

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October 2 - Sting, British musician

October 3 - Bernard Cooper, American writer

October 3 - Dave Winfield, baseball player

October 3 - Keb Mo', American musician

October 5 - Bob Geldof, Irish musician (The Boomtown Rats)

October 6 - Manfred Winkelhock, German race car driver

October 7 - John Mellencamp, American musician and songwriter

October 10 - Epeli Ganilau, Fiji soldier and statesman

October 11 - Jean-Jacques Goldman, French singer and songwriter

October 18 - Terry McMillan, American author

October 25 - Richard Lloyd, American guitarist of Television

October 26 - Bootsy Collins, American musician, singer, and songwriter

October 30 - Harry Hamlin, American actor

November 2 - Thomas Mallon, American author and critic

November 3 - Diego Traibel, Uruguayan politician

November 11 - Marc Summers, American television host

November 15 - Alamgir Hashmi, English poet

November 18 - Justin Raimondo, American author

November 19 - Lord Falconer of Thoroton, British politician

November 24 - Chet Edwards, American politician

November 26 - Cicciolina, Italian actress and politician

November 30 - Christian Bernard, French-born mystic

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December 1 - Jaco Pastorius, American bassist

December 6 - Tomson Highway, Canadian writer

December 8 - Jan Eggum, Norwegian singer and songwriter

December 10 - Doug Allder, English footballer

December 12 - Wau Holland, German hacker (d. 2001)

December 14 - Jan Timman, Dutch chess player

December 17 - Ken Hitchcock, Canadian hockey coach

December 20 - Peter May - Writer, Scottish novelist and television dramatist

December 30 - Meredith Vieira, American television host

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Brian Keenan, Irish writer and hostage in Lebanon

John Kindness, Irish artist

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January 7 - René Guénon, French-born author (b. 1886)

January 10 - Sinclair Lewis, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)

January 18 - Amy Carmichael, Irish missionary to India (b. 1867)

January 21 - Yuriko Miyamoto, Japanese novelist (b. 1899)

January 29 - Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer (b. 1880)

February 9 - Eddy Duchin, American pianist and bandleader (b. 1909)

February 13 - Lloyd C. Douglas, American author (b. 1877)

February 18 - Lyman Gilmore, American aviation pioneer (b. 1874)

February 19 - André Gide, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)

February 12 - Choudhary Rahmat Ali, one of the founding fathers of Pakistan (b. 1895)

March 6 - Ivor Novello, Welsh actor, musician, and composer (b. 1893)

March 10 - Shidehara Kijuro, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1872)

March 21 - Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor (b. 1871)

March 25 - Eddie Collins, baseball player (b. 1887)

March 25 - Oscar Micheaux, American filmmaker (b. 1884)

April 4 - Al Christie, Canadian-born film director and producer (b. 1881)

April 4 - George Albert Smith, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1870)

April 6 - Robert Broom, Scottish paleontologist (b. 1866)

April 22 - Horace Donisthorpe, English myrmecologist (b. 1870)

April 23 - Charles G. Dawes, Vice President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)

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May 7 - Warner Baxter, American actor (b. 1889)

May 27 - Sir Thomas Albert Blamey, Australian soldier (b. 1884)

May 30 - Hermann Broch, Austrian author (b. 1886)

June 4 - Serge Koussevitzky, Russian conductor (b. 1874)

June 13 - Ben Chifley, Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1885)

June 21 - Charles Dillon Perrine, American-born astronomer (b. 1867)

July 9 - Harry Heilmann, baseball player (b. 1894)

July 13 - Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian composer (b. 1874)

July 20 - King Abdullah I of Jordan (b. 1882)

July 23 - Robert J. Flaherty, American filmmaker (b. 1884)

July 23 - Philippe Pétain, leader of Vichy France (b. 1856)

July 29 - Hozumi Shigeto, Japanese author (b. 1883)

August 14 - William Randolph Hearst, American newspaper publisher (b. 1863)

August 15 - Artur Schnabel, Polish pianist (b. 1882)

August 21 - Constant Lambert, British composer (b. 1905)

August 26 - Bill Barilko, Canadian hockey player (b. 1927)

October 6 - Otto Fritz Meyerhof, German-born physician and biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1884)

October 16 - Liaquat Ali Khan, first Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1896)

November 5 - Reggie Walker, South African athlete (b. 1889)

November 9 - Sigmund Romberg, Hungarian-born composer (b. 1887)

November 13 - Nikolai Medtner, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1880)

December 5 - Shoeless Joe Jackson, baseball player (b. 1889)

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Physics - John Cockcroft, Ernest Walton

Chemistry - Edwin McMillan, Glenn T. Seaborg

Physiology or Medicine - Max Theiler

Literature - Pär Lagerkvist

Peace - Léon Jouhaux

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List of ship launches in 1951

List of ship commissionings in 1951

List of ship decommissionings in 1951