1954

Tomoyuki Tanaka, a producer at Toho, develops an idea for a movie about a giant monster created by an H-bomb test that attacks Japan.
Nagoya TV Tower opens to the public.
Sharon Szmidt is born in Long Island, New York, United States.

January

1 January: The Lost World enters the public domain in the United States due to First National Pictures failing to renew its copyright.
22 January: Daigo Fukuryū Maru, the fishing boat that would be caught in the fallout of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, sets off from Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan for Midway Atoll. However, the accidental loss of most of the boat's trawl nets on the way to Midway led the crew to change their course and head towards the Marshall Islands.

February

22 February: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is released in Sweden.

March

1 March: The United States tests its first dry fuel H-bomb, Castle Bravo, at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. As a consequence of the nuclear explosion being much larger and more than twice as powerful than expected, extensive amounts of radioactive fallout is produced, blown by winds outside the established danger zone. The Daigo Fukuryu Maru, which had arrived at the Marshall Islands shortly beforehand, is contaminated by the fallout. The crew of 23 aboard make efforts to flee the area, but their escape is delayed by recovering equipment and caught fish, causing them to suffer radiation exposure.
14 March: The Daigo Fukuryū Maru returns to Yaizu. By this point, the crew has fallen ill with acute radiation syndrome (ARS) and are admitted to hospital, where doctors quickly identify that they had been exposed to fallout. This discovery quickly makes headlines in Japan and triggers a significant downturn in the fishing industry for several months, due to concerns of fisheries being contaminated with radiation.
26 March: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is released in Finland.
29 March: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is released in Denmark.

April

2 April: James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff found American International Pictures.

May

7 May: Wataru Mimura is born in Mie, Japan.
8 May: Okihiro Yoneda is bornin Nagano, Japan.

July

1 July: The Japanese Self-Defense Forces are established.
9 July: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is released in France.
16 July: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is released in Austria.

August

24 August: Joe Ochman is born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA.

September

Science Adventure Picture Story: Godzilla, a manga adaptation of the upcoming film Godzilla, is published in the October issue of Omoshiro Book.
23 September: Aikichi Kuboyama, the radioman of the Daigo Fukuryū Maru, succumbs to pneumonia, a complication of the radiation exposure and radiation sickness he sustained after being exposed to the fallout of the Castle Bravo nuclear test.

October

25 October: Monster Godzilla, a novelization of Godzilla authored by the film's storywriter Shigeru Kayama, is published by Iwatani Shoten.
27 October: The first Godzilla film is released in Nagoya, Gifu, Japan.
29 October: Tomoko Ai is born in Kanagawa, Japan.

November

1 November: The first Godzilla film is released in Tochigi, Japan.
2 November: The first Godzilla film is released in Kagoshima, Sasebo, Japan.
3 November: The first Godzilla film is released to major cities in Japan.
25 November: Monster Godzilla, a manga adaptation of Godzilla, is published by Reimeisha.

December

4 December: Insta-Burger King is renamed to Burger King.
13 December: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is released in Portugal.
22 December: Daiei releases The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms theatrically in Japan, under the title The Atomic Monster Appears.
29 December: The film Invisible Man is released in Japan.

In fiction

Godzilla, a 50-meter kaiju roused and irradiated by H-bomb testing, attacks Japan and completely destroys the country's capital city of Tokyo. The beast is finally killed by the Oxygen Destroyer, a device invented by Dr. Daisuke Serizawa. The doctor, however, destroys his notes on the device and sacrifices his life to detonate it, ensuring that it can never be used again. (Godzilla [1954])
- In an alternate timeline, the Oxygen Destroyer is not used and Godzilla departs Japan after destroying Tokyo. Japan moves its capital to Osaka in the aftermath. (Godzilla vs. Megaguirus)
- In another alternate timeline, Serizawa uses the Oxygen Destroyer to kill Godzilla in secret, allowing the newly-formed Japan Defense Force to take credit for the victory. Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack)
- In still another alternate timeline, the Oxygen Destroyer leaves Godzilla's bones intact after killing him. (Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla)
An H-bomb test at Bikini Atoll irradiates a Godzillasaurus living on nearby Lagos Island, mutating it into the second Godzilla. (Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah)
- In an alternate timeline where three man-made animals called Dorats are on Lagos instead of the Godzillasaurus, the radioactivity merges them into the monster King Ghidorah. (Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah)
The United States targets Godzilla with a hydrogen bomb in Bikini Atoll, seemingly killing him. (Monsterverse)
- The USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear submarine, awakens Godzilla during humanity's first exploration of the ocean's lower depths. The monster attacks both American and Soviet vessels before his identity is determined and the U.S. attempts to destroy him at Bikini Atoll. The multinational organization Monarch is formed to study him. (Godzilla [2014])
- In March, the two Shinomura fuse into one and attack Moansta Island. The Moansta Islanders contact Eiji Serizawa, who contacts Monarch. Godzilla battles it, firing his atomic breath to split Shinomura back into two. Godzilla kills one of the halves, but the other escapes and Godzilla pursues it. The U.S. Army decides to intercept them at Bikini Atoll. The Castle Bravo nuclear "test" is conducted, killing the Shinomura, though Godzilla survives. (Godzilla: Awakening)
- Lee Shaw, Dr. Keiko Miura, and Bill Randa of Monarch meet with U.S. General Puckett in the hopes of maintaining funding for the organization. They show him an impression of a Godzilla footprint recently taken in Indonesia. Higher-ranking generals decide that killing Godzilla is in the interest of global security, following Shaw's advice. Despite a last-minute attempt by Miura to sabotage the nuclear detonation at Bikini Atoll, it is seemingly successful in slaying the monster. (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters S1E3, "Secrets and Lies")
Godzilla attacks Japan, marking humanity's first encounter with giant monsters. (The Horror of Godzilla)

Gallery

3 Nov. - Godzilla (1954) theatrical release poster
22 Dec. - Japanese The Atomic Monster Appears poster
29 Dec. - Invisible Man theatrical poster

References

This is a list of references for 1954. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: ^[1]

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