The year 1853 in science and technology included many events, some of which are listed here.

Awards

• Copley Medal: Heinrich Wilhelm Dove
• Wollaston Medal for Geology: Adolphe d'Archiac; Edouard de Verneuil

Births

• July 18 - Hendrik Lorentz (d. 1928), Dutch physicist and Nobel laureate.
• September 2 - Wilhelm Ostwald (d. 1932), chemist.

Deaths

• April 23 - Auguste Laurent (b. 1807), chemist.

sv:Vetenskapsåret 1853