1955

Encyclopedia : 1 : 19 : 195 : 1955

| align="center" style="vertical-align:middle;" | }}} }}} }}} }}} }}} }}} }}} |- style="background-color:#f3f3f3" | align="right" | Centuries: | align="center" | 19th century · 20th century · 21st century |- | align="right" | Decades: | align="center" | 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s |- style="background-color:#f3f3f3" | align="right" | Years: | align="center" | 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958

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1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar.

Contents

Events

January

January 2 - José Antonio Remón Cantera president of Panama is murdered at a racetrack in Panama City
January 7 - Marian Anderson is the first African American singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
January 21 - The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union announces end of the war between the USSR and Germany, which began during World War II in 1941. Until then, despite the end of World War II, the USSR was formally at war with Germany.
January 22 - Pentagon announces plan to develop ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) armed with nuclear weapons.
January 28 - Congress authorizes President Eisenhower to use force to protect Formosa from Red China.

February

February 12 - US President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends the first U.S. advisors to South Vietnam.
February 22 - In Chicago's Democratic primary, Mayor Martin H. Kennelly loses to the head of the Cook County Democratic Party, Richard J. Daley, 364,839 to 264,775

March

March 17 - The Richard Riot occurs in Montreal.
March 19 - KXTV signs on the air in the United States
March 20 - Blackboard Jungle opens in theaters featuring the song Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and his Comets, thus propelling Rock and Roll as a musical genre. Teenagers jump from their seats to dance to the song.

April

April 5 - Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
April 5 - Richard J. Daley defeats Robert Merrian to become mayor of Chicago by a vote of 708,222 to 581,555.
April 6 - Anthony Eden becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
April 12 - The Salk polio vaccine is introduced.
April 15 - Ray Kroc starts the McDonald's fast food restaurant chain.
April 18 - Imre Nagy, Premier of Hungary, is ousted for being too moderate.

May

May 5 - West Germany becomes a sovereign state.
May 9 - West Germany joins NATO.
May 14 - The Warsaw Pact is formed by the communist states of Eastern Europe and the USSR.
May 15 - The Austrian State Treaty is signed by the Allied Powers, restoring Austria as a sovereign, democratic state, to be neutral in the Cold War.

June

June 11 - Eighty-three are killed and at least 100 are injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collide at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

July

July 17 - Disneyland opens.
July 18 - The first atomic-generated electrical power is sold commercially.
July 18 - Illinois's Govenor William Stratton signs Loyalty Oath Act that mandates all public employees take a loyalty oath or lose their jobs.
July 18 - Beginning of Geneva Summit between US, USSR, UK, and France.
July 23 - Geneva Summit between US, USSR, UK, and France ends.

August

August 19 - Hurricane Diane hits the northeast United States, killing 200 and causing over $1 billion in damage.
August 20 - Hundreds killed in anti-French rioting in Morocco and Algeria.
August 25 - The last Soviet forces leave Austria.
August 28 - Emmett Till is killed in Money, Mississippi

September

September 10 - Gunsmoke debuts on CBS.
September 15 - Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita is published in Paris by Olympia Press.
September 19 - President of Argentina Juan Peron is ousted in a military coup.
September 19 - Hurricane Hilda kills 200 in Mexico.
September 22 - The UK's first commercial television broadcaster, ITV, launches
September 24 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower suffers coronary thrombosis while on vacation in Denver.
September 30 - Actor James Dean killed in car accident near Cholame, California.

October

October 4 - The Reverend Sun Myung Moon is released from prison in Seoul, Korea.
October 20 - First film footage of Elvis Presley in a planned film short about Cleveland disc jockey Bill Randle
October 26 - Ngo Dinh Diem proclaims Vietnam a republic with himself as president.

November

November 1 - Time bomb explodes aboard a United Airlines DC-6 killing 44 above Longmont, Colorado.
November 5 - Racial segregation is forbidden on trains and buses in interstate commerce.
November 12- A lightning bolt struck the main town hall of Hill Valley, CA. They are ready for the new constuction of this clock tower hall.
November 23 - The Cocos Islands are transferred from the control of the United Kingdom to Australia.

December

December 1 - Montgomery, Alabama seamstress, Rosa Parks, refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man and is arrested.
December 5 - The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge to become the AFL-CIO.
December 5 - The Montgomery Improvement Association is formed in Montgomery, Alabama by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other Black ministers to coordinate a Black boycott of city buses.
December 14 - Tappan Zee Bridge in New York opens to traffic.
December 31 - General Motors becomes the first American corporation to make over USD $1 billion in a year.
70 mm film is introduced with Oklahoma!.
Düsseldorf-Mönchengladbach Airport (Flughafen Düsseldorf-Mönchengladbach) was founded.

Births

January

January 2 - Tex Brashear, American voice actor
January 6 - Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor
January 12 - Rockne O'Bannon, writer and television producer
January 13 - Jay McInerney, American writer
January 15 - Nigel Benson, British author and illustrator
January 17 - Steve Earle, American musician
January 18 - Kevin Costner, American actor
January 19 - Simon Rattle, English conductor
January 25 - Terry Chimes, British drummer (The Clash)
January 26 - Eddie Van Halen, Dutch-born musician
January 27 - John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States
January 27 - Alexander Stuart, British author of The War Zone

February

February 3 - Stephen Euin Cobb, American novelist
February 8 - John Grisham, American novelist
February 10 - Chris Adams, British professional wrestler (d. 2001)
February 10 - Greg Norman, Australian golfer
February 12 - Arsenio Hall, American actor and talk show host
February 15 - Christopher McDonald, American actor
February 19 - Jeff Daniels, American actor
February 20 - Kelsey Grammer, American actor
February 23 - Tom Bodett, American voice actor, radio personality, and writer
February 23 - Howard Jones, English musician
February 24 - Alain Prost, French race car driver
February 24 - Steve Jobs, American computer pioneer

March

March 5 - Penn Jillette, American magician and comedian
March 6 - Alberta Watson, Canadian actress
March 7 - Tommy Kramer, American football player
March 15 - Dee Snider, American singer
March 16 - Jiro Watanabe, Japanese boxer
March 16 - Bruno Barreto, Brazilian film director
March 17 - Gary Sinise, American actor
March 19 - Bruce Willis, American actor
March 22 - Pete Sessions, American politician
March 23 - Moses Malone, American basketball player
March 28 - John Alderdice, Northern Irish politician
March 28 - Reba McEntire, American singer and actress
March 29 - Earl Campbell, American football star
March 31 - Angus Young, Scottish-born lead guitarist for AC/DC.

April

April 5 - Akira Toriyama, Creator of Dragon Ball series
April 6 - Michael Rooker, American actor
April 7 - Werner Stocker, German actor (d. 1993)
April 8 - Kane Hodder, American actor
April 11 - Kevin Brady, American politician
April 15 - Dodi Al-Fayed, Egyptian businessman (d. 1997)
April 16 - Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg
April 23 - Tony Miles, English chess player (d. 2001)
April 24 - John de Mol, creator of Big Brother (TV series)
April 29 - Kate Mulgrew, American actress

May

May 1 - Ray Buttigieg, Maltese composer and poet
May 2 - Dave Winer, American software pioneer
May 2 - Willie Miller, British/Scottish footballer
May 3 - David Hookes, Australian cricketer (d. 2004)
May 3 - Steve Jones, English guitarist (Sex Pistols)
May 6 - Tom Bergeron, American television host
May 7 - Kevin Reed, American Presbyterian author, theologian and publisher.
May 9 - Anne-Sofie von Otter, Swedish mezzo-soprano
May 10 - Chris Berman, American sports broadcaster
May 10 - Mark David Chapman, American assassin of John Lennon
May 16 - Olga Korbut, Russian gymnast
May 16 - Jack Morris, baseball player
May 16 - Hazel O'Connor, British singer
May 16 - Debra Winger, American actress
May 17 - Bill Paxton, American actor
May 18 - Chow Yun-Fat, Hong Kong actor
May 19 - James Gosling, Canadian software engineer
May 20 - Zbigniew Preisner, Polish film composer
May 21 - Paul Barber, British field hockey player
May 21 - Stan Lynch, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
May 26 - Masaharu Morimoto, Japanese chef
May 26 - Doris Dörrie, German actress and screenplay writer
May 28 - John McGeoch, Scottish musician (Siouxsie and the Banshees and Public Image Ltd.) (d. 2004)
May 30 - Topper Headon, British drummer (The Clash)

June

June 2 - Dana Carvey, American actor and comedian
June 7 - Tim Richmond, American race car driver (d. 1989)
June 8 - Tim Berners-Lee, English inventor of the World Wide Web
June 12 - Paul O'Grady, English talk show host and comedian
June 13 - Larry Mike Garmon, American author
June 14 - Gillian Bailey, British actor
June 20 - Tor Norretranders, Danish author
June 23 - Alan J. Gow Motorsport executive
June 21 - Tim Bray, Canadian computer programmer
June 26 - Mick Jones, British guitarist (The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite)
June 27 - Isabelle Adjani, French actress
June 30 - David Alan Grier, American actor and comedian

July

July 1 - Sanma Akashiya, Japanese comedian and actor
July 9 - Fred Norris, American radio personality
July 21 - Howie Epstein, American musician and producer (d. 2003)
July 27 - Allan Border, Australian cricket captain

August

August 4 - Billy Bob Thornton, American actor
August 7 - Vladimir Sorokin, Russian writer
August 19 - Peter Gallagher, American actor

September

September 1 - Bruce Foxton, English musician
September 2 - Robert Duncan, American astrophysicist
September 9 - John Kricfalusi, Cartoonist (creator of Ren & Stimpy)
September 10 - Pat Mastelotto, American musician
September 16 - Robin Yount, baseball player
September 21 - Richard Hieb, American astronaut
September 23 - Don Graham, Seven Chapters Composer
September 29 - Tjibbe Joustra, Dutch artist

October

October 7 - Yo-Yo Ma, French-born Chinese cellist
October 10 - David Lee Roth, American rock singer
October 15 - Kulbir Bhaura, British field hockey player
October 17 - Mae Jemison, astronaut
October 21 - Rich Mullins, American musician (d. 1997)
October 28 - Bill Gates, American software entrepreneur

November

November 3 - Phil Simms, American football player
November 4 - Matti Vanhanen, Prime Minister of Finland
November 6 - Maria Shriver, American journalist
November 7 - Detlef Ultsch, German judoka
November 9 - Karen Dotrice, English actress
November 13 - Whoopi Goldberg, American actress, comedienne, and singer
November 21 - Kyle Gann, American composer and music critic
November 23 - Steven Brust, American author
November 24 - Ian Botham, British cricketer
November 30 - Billy Idol, British singer

December

December 3 - Steven Culp, American actor
December 4 - Maurizio Bianchi, Italian experimental musician
December 7 - Priscilla Barnes, American actress
December 12 - Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Greek politician and businesswoman
December 15 - Paul Simonon, British bassist (The Clash)
December 17 - Brad Davis, American basketball player
December 18 - Ray Liotta, American actor
December 21 - Jane Kaczmarek, American actress
December 27 - Barbara Olson, American television commentator (d. 2001)

Deaths

January

January 2 - Jose Antonio Remon, President of Panama (assassinated) (b. 1908)
January 15 - Yves Tanguy, French painter (b. 1900)
January 21 - Archie Hahn, American athlete (b. 1880)
January 24 - Ira Hayes, Native American U.S. Marine (b. 1923)
January 31 - John Mott, American YMCA leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)

March

March 11 - Sir Alexander Fleming, Scottish scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1881)
March 12 - Charlie Parker, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1920)

April

April 7 - Theda Bara, American film actress (b. 1885)
April 18 - Albert Einstein, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)

May

May 4 - Georges Enescu, Romanian composer (b. 1881)
May 9 - Kate Booth, the oldest daughter of William and Catherine Booth (b. 1858)
May 10 - Tommy Burns, American boxer (b. 1881)
May 11 - Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer (b. 1874)
May 16 - James Agee, American writer (b. 1909)
May 18 - Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator (b. 1875)
May 26 - Alberto Ascari, Italian race car driver (b. 1918)

July

July 23 - Cordell Hull, United States Secretary of State, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1871)

August

August 2 - Wallace Stevens, American poet (b. 1879)
August 5 - Carmen Miranda, Portuguese singer and actress (b. 1909)
August 12 - Thomas Mann, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1875)
August 12 - James B. Sumner, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)

September

September 30 - James Dean, American actor (automobile accident) (b. 1931)

October

October 1 - Charles Christie, American film studio owner (b. 1880)
October 9 - Theodor Cardinal Innitzer, Archbishop of Vienna (b. 1875)

November

November 4 - Cy Young, baseball player (b. 1867)
November 5 - Maurice Utrillo, French artist (b. 1882)
November 12 - Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer (b. 1878)
November 22 - Shemp Howard, American Actor and member of the Three Stooges (b. 1895)
November 27 - Arthur Honegger, French-born Swiss composer (b. 1892)

December

December 6 - Honus Wagner, baseball player (b. 1874)
December 13 - Egas Moniz, Portuguese neurologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1874)
December 27 - Alfred Francis Blakeney Carpenter, English soldier (b. 1881)

Nobel prizes

Physics - Willis Eugene Lamb, Polykarp Kusch
Chemistry - Vincent du Vigneaud
Physiology or Medicine- Axel Hugo Theodor Theorell
Literature - Halldór Kiljan Laxness
Peace - not awarded

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