Ilya Grigorovich Ehrenburg's The Thaw is the first Russian novel to criticize the Stalin regime in the Soviet Union; "The Thaw" is taken as the name of the post-Stalin liberalization of Soviet literature.

Thomas Mann's novel Felix Krull is published.

Heinrich Boll's novel The Unguarded House is published.

William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies is published.

Salvador Dali's painting Crucifixion is exhibited.

Pablo Picasso's painting Sylvette is exhibited.

Marc Chagall's painting The Red Roofs is exhibited.

Akira Kurosawa's film The Seven Samurai premieres.

Ingmar Bergman's film Smiles of a Summer premieres.

Jean Renoir's film French Can Can premieres.

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel brings her famed Chanel Look back into haute couture after a fifteen-year absence.

Montreal physicians Heinz Lehmann and G. E. Hanrahan report success in treating psychotic patients with the French drug chlorpromazine. Philadelphia pharmaceutical company Smith, Kline, and French market it as Thorazine, a brand-name drug for...