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1955
*** Shopping-Tip: 1955
{{yearbox|
cp=19th century |
c=20th century |
cf=21st century |
yp1=1952 |
yp2=1953 |
yp3=1954 |
year=1955 |
ya1=1956 |
ya2=1957 |
ya3=1958 |
ya4=1959 |
dp3=1920s |
dp2=1930s |
dp1=1940s |
d=1950s |
dn1=1960s |
dn2=1970s |
dn3=1980s |
}}
1955' ('MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar.
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 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 8 - Nikolai Bulganin becomes Soviet Premier.
- 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 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 31 - The United States Supreme Court orders school integration at "all deliberate speed"
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|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.
September
- September 10 - Gunsmoke debuts on CBS.
- 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, 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 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 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 14 - Tappan Zee Bridge in New York opens to traffic.
- December 31 - General Motors Corporation becomes the first American corporation to make over United States dollars $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 - Edward Van Halen, Dutch-born musician
- January 27 - John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United StatesFebruary
- 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 (actor)|Jeff Daniels, American actor
- February 20 - Kelsey Grammer, American actor
- February 23 - Howard Jones (musician)|Howard Jones, English musician
- February 24 - Alain Prost, French race car driver
- February 24 - Steve Jobs, American computer pioneerMarch
- 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 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 29 - Kate Mulgrew, American actressMay
- May 1 - Ray Buttigieg, Maltese composer and poet
- May 2 - Dave Winer, American software pioneer
- May 3 - David Hookes, Australian cricketer (d. 2004)
- May 3 - Steve Jones, English guitarist (Sex Pistols)
- May 6 - Tom Bergeron, American television host
- 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 (field hockey player)|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 20 - Tor Norretranders, Danish author
- June 21 - Tim Bray, Canadian computer programmer
- June 26 - Mick Jones (The Clash)|Mick Jones, British guitarist (The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite)
- June 27 - Isabelle Adjani, French actressJuly
- 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)August
- August 4 - Billy Bob Thornton, American actor
- August 7 - Vladimir Sorokin, Russian writer
- August 19 - Peter Gallagher, American actorSeptember
- September 1 - Bruce Foxton, English musician
- September 2 - Robert Duncan, American astrophysicist
- September 10 - Pat Mastelotto, American musician
- September 16 - Robin Yount, baseball player
- September 21 - Roger Ambrose, American art directorOctober
- 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 entrepreneurNovember
- 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 24 - Elvis Ramone, American drummer (The Ramones)
- November 24 - Takashi Yuasa, Japanese lawyer
- November 27 - Bill Nye, American television personalityDecember
- 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 (basketball)|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 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 in Physics|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 Laird Jessop, English cricketer (b. Gilbert Laird 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 in Literature|Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1875)
- August 12 - James B. Sumner, American chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry|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. 1982)
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
- Nobel Prize in Physics|Physics - Willis Eugene Lamb, Polykarp Kusch
- Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Chemistry - Vincent du Vigneaud
- Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Physiology or Medicine- Axel Hugo Theodor Theorell
- Nobel Prize in Literature|Literature - Halldór Kiljan Laxness
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*** Shopping-Tip: 1955
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