The temperature on August 4, 1953 was between 6.8 °C and 22.2 °C and averaged 16.1 °C. There was 0.1 mm of rain during 0.2 hours. There was 7.0 hours of sunshine (46%). The partly clouded was. The average windspeed was 4 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the southwest. Source: KNMI
February 28 » James Watson and Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA; the formal announcement takes place on April 25 following publication in April's Nature (pub. April 2).
August 12 » The 7.2 Ms Ionian earthquake shakes the southern Ionian Islands with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Between 445 and 800 people are killed.
August 12 » The first testing of a real thermonuclear weapon (not test devices): The Soviet atomic bomb project continues with the detonation of "RDS-6s" (Joe 4), the first Soviet thermonuclear bomb.
August 22 » The penal colony on Devil's Island is permanently closed.
December 9 » Red Scare: General Electric announces that all communist employees will be discharged from the company.
December 24 » Tangiwai disaster: In New Zealand's North Island, at Tangiwai, a railway bridge is damaged by a lahar and collapses beneath a passenger train, killing 151 people.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Hendrik Dreyer, "Dreyer Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/dreyer-tree/I13323.php : accessed January 23, 2026), "Frederick Napier Dreyer (1882-1953)".
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