List of Famous people who died in 1953

Rudolf Nadolny was a German diplomat and military officer. During the First World War he worked in a branch of the German General Staff, which experimented in biological warfare. He was the German Ambassador to Turkey (1924–1933) and the Soviet Union (1933–1934) and head of the German delegation at the World Disarmament Conference (1932–1933). He sought to pursue close relations between Germany and the Soviet Union. Nadolny left the diplomatic service in opposition to Hitler's policy towards the Soviets.

Vera Ignatyevna Mukhina was a prominent Soviet sculptor and painter. She was nicknamed "the queen of Soviet sculpture".

Jean de Bosschère was a Belgian writer and painter.

Chōjun Miyagi was an Okinawan martial artist who founded the Gōjū-ryū school of karate by blending Okinawan and Chinese influences.

William Farnum was an American stage and film actor. He was a star of American silent film cinema and became one of the highest-paid actors during that time.

John Stepan Zamecnik was an American composer and conductor. He is best known for the "photoplay music" he composed for use during silent films by pianists, organists, and orchestras.

Brigadier Henry Coventry Maitland-Makgill-Crichton, was a Scottish senior officer in the British Army. A graduate of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Maitland served as an officer in the Royal Scots Fusiliers during the Second Boer War and the First World War. He was severely wounded in both conflicts and received multiple mentions in despatches.

James Henry Scullin was an Australian Labor Party politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Scullin led Labor to government at the 1929 election. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 transpired just two days after his swearing in, which would herald the beginning of the Great Depression in Australia. Scullin's administration would soon be overwhelmed by the economic crisis, with interpersonal and policy disagreements causing a three-way split of his party that would bring down the government in late 1931. Despite his chaotic term of office, Scullin remained a leading figure in the Labor movement throughout his lifetime, and served as an éminence grise in various capacities for the party until his retirement in 1949.