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1955

Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar).

Events of 1955

January

January 2 - José Antonio Remón Cantera, president of Panama, is assassinated 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 18 - Battle of Yijiangshan started in China. Fighting lasted until January 20 with a Communist victory.
January 22 - Pentagon announces plan to develop ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) armed with nuclear weapons.
January 23 - The Sutton Coldfield rail crash.
January 25 - 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 1937. Until then, despite the end of World War II, the USSR was formally at war with Germany.
January 28 - The United States Congress authorizes President Dwight D. Eisenhower to use force to protect Formosa from the People's Republic of China.

February-March

February 10 - The seventh fleet of the United States Navy helps the Republic of China evacuate Chinese Nationalist army and residents from Tachen Islands to Taiwan.
February 12 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends the first U.S. advisors to South Vietnam.
February 16 - Nearly 100 die in fire at a home for the elderly in Yokohama, Japan.
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 5 - WBBJ signs on the air in the United States as WDXI.
March 7 - The 1954 Broadway musical version of Peter Pan, starring Mary Martin, is presented on television for the first time by NBC - also the first time that a stage musical is presented in its entirety on TV exactly as performed on stage. The program gains the largest viewership of a TV special up to that time, and becomes one of the first great television classics.
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 movie 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-May

April 5 -

Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
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 11 - The Taiwanese Kuomintang sabotaged the "Kashmir Princess", killing 16 but fails to assassinate People's Republic of China leader Zhou Enlai.
April 12 - The Salk polio vaccine is introduced.
April 15 - Ray Kroc opens a McDonald's fast food restaurant; it is the company's ninth since it was founded in 1940, but Kroc would later take over the company and oversee its worldwide expansion.
April 16 - The Burma-Japanese peace treaty signed in Rangoon on November 5, 1954 comes into force, formally ending the state of war.
April 17 - Imre Nagy, Premier of Hungary, is ousted for being too moderate.

May 5 - West Germany becomes a sovereign state.
May 9 - West Germany joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
May 11 - Japanese ferry Shiun Maru sinks off of Takamatsu, Shikoku. 168 are killed.
May 14 - Eight communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defence treaty called the Warsaw Pact.

June

June 7 - The $64,000 Question premieres on CBS television, with Hal Marks as the host.
June 11 - Eighty-three are killed and at least 100 are injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collide in the 1955 Le Mans disaster.
June 13 - Mir Mine, the first diamond mine of the USSR, is discovered.
June 16 - Lady and the Tramp, Walt Disney's fifteenth animated feature film, debuts in U.S. movie theaters.

July

July 7 - The New Zealand Special Air Service was formed.
July 13 - Ruth Ellis (b. 1926) is hanged for murder in London - the last woman ever to be executed in the United Kingdom.
July 17 - Disneyland opens, in Anaheim, California.
July 18

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

July 19 - Estonian Television (ETV) begins broadcasting.
July 23 - Geneva Summit between US, USSR, UK, and France ends.
July 27 - El Al Airlines Flight 402 from Vienna to Tel Aviv-Yafo via Istanbul shot down over Bulgaria. All passengers and crew aboard the Lockheed Constellation were killed.
July 28 - The first Interlingua congress in Tours, France, leads to the founding of the Union Mundial pro Interlingua.

August

August 19 - Hurricane Diane hits the northeast United States, killing 200 and causing over $1 billion in damage.
August 20 - Hundreds are killed in anti-French rioting in Morocco and Algeria.
August 22 - Eleven schoolchildren are killed when their school bus is hit by a freight train in Spring City, Tennessee.
August 25 - The last Soviet forces leave Austria.
August 27 - The first copy of a Guinness World Records book is printed and sold.
August 28 - Emmett Till is killed in Money, Mississippi.

September

September 6 - Istanbul Pogrom: Istanbul's Greek minority is the target of a government-sponsored pogrom.
September 10 - Gunsmoke debuts on the CBS television network.
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.
Hurricane Hilda kills 200 in Mexico.

September 22 - Independent (Commercial) Television begins broadcasting in UK .

September 24 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower suffers coronary thrombosis while on vacation in Denver.
September 30 - Actor James Dean is killed when his Porsche 550 Spyder collides with another automobile at a highway junction near Cholame, California.

October

October 3 - The Mickey Mouse Club premieres on the ABC television network.
October 4 - The Reverend Sun Myung Moon is released from prison in Seoul, Korea.
October 4 - The Brooklyn Dodgers finally win the World Series, defeating the New York Yankees 2-0 in Game 7 of the 1955 Fall Classic.
October 11 - 70 mm film is introduced with the theatrical release of Oklahoma!
October 20 - First film footage of Elvis Presley in a planned film short about Cleveland disc jockey Bill Randle.
October 20 - Cardiff is proclaimed as the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom.
October 26 - After the last Allied troops have left the country and following the provisions of the Austrian Independence Treaty, Austria declares its permanent neutrality.
October 26 - Ngo Dinh Diem proclaims Vietnam a republic with himself as president.

November

November 1 - A time bomb explodes in the cargo hold of United Airlines Flight 629, a Douglas DC-6B airliner flying above Longmont, Colorado, killing all 39 passengers and five crew members on board the aircraft.
November 3 - The five-and-a-half-mile Rimutaka Railway tunnel opens in New Zealand.
November 5 - Racial segregation is forbidden on trains and buses in U.S. interstate commerce.
November 12 - The Bugs Bunny cartoon Roman-Legion Hare debuts in the USA.
November 20 - Bo Diddley makes his television debut on Ed Sullivan's Toast Of The Town show for the CBS network.
November 23 - The Cocos Islands are transferred from the control of the United Kingdom to Australia.
November 27 - Fred Phelps establishes the Westboro Baptist Church, an anti-gay church, in Topeka, Kansas.

December

December 1 - Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white person, and the national civil rights movement begins.
December 5

The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge to become the AFL-CIO.
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.
Bulgaria joins the United Nations.

December 22 - Joe Hin Tjio discovers correct number of human chromosomes.
December 31 - General Motors becomes the first American corporation to make over USD $1 billion in a year.

Undated

Düsseldorf-Mönchengladbach Airport (Flughafen Düsseldorf-Mönchengladbach) is founded.

Ongoing

World population

World population: 2,755,823,000

- Africa: 246,746,000

- Asia: 1,541,947,000

- Europe: 575,184,000

- Latin-America: 190,797,000

- Northern America: 186,884,000

- Oceania: 14,265,000

Births

January

January 1 - Mario Andreacchio, Australian film director
January 2 - Tex Brashear, American voice actor
January 6 - Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor
January 12 - Rockne O'Bannon, American writer and television producer
January 13

Paul Kelly, Australian musician
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 20 - Joe Doherty, Provisional Irish Republican Army member
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
Alexander Stuart, British author

January 28 - Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France
February 3

Stephen Euin Cobb, American novelist
Kirsty Wark, Scottish television presenter

February

February 6 - Michael Pollan, American journalist
February 7 - Miguel Ferrer, American actor
February 8 - John Grisham, American novelist
February 10

Chris Adams, British professional wrestler and judoka (d. 2001)
Greg Norman, Australian golfer

February 12 - Arsenio Hall, American actor and talk show host
February 15 - Christopher McDonald, American actor
February 16 - Hunt Block, American actor
February 17 - Mo Yan, Chinese writer, author of Red Sorghum (novel)
February 19 - Jeff Daniels, American actor
February 20 - Kelsey Grammer, American actor
February 23

Tom Bodett, American voice actor, radio personality, and writer
Howard Jones, English musician
Flip Saunders, American basketball coach

February 24

Alain Prost, French race car driver
Steve Jobs, American computer pioneer

March

March 4 - Dominique Pinon, French actor
March 5 - Penn Jillette, American magician and comedian
March 6 - Alberta Watson, Canadian actress
March 7 - Tommy Kramer, American football player
March 8 - Don Ashby, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 30 May, 1981)
March 10 - Youssra, Egyptian actress and singer
March 11 - Nina Hagen, German pop star
March 15 - Dee Snider, American singer
March 16

Jiro Watanabe, Japanese boxer
Bruno Barreto, Brazilian film director

March 17 - Gary Sinise, American actor
March 18 - Guillermo Dávila, Venezuelan actor and singer
March 19 - Bruce Willis, American actor
March 22

Pete Sessions, American politician
Valdis Zatlers, president of Latvia
Lena Olin, Swedish actress

March 23 - Moses Malone, American basketball player
March 26 - Danny Arndt, Canadian ice hockey player
March 28

John Alderdice, Irish politician
Reba McEntire, American singer and actress

March 29

Earl Campbell, American football player
Brendan Gleeson, Irish actor

March 30 - Paul Reiser, American actor
March 31 - Angus Young, Scottish-born guitarist (AC/DC)

April

April 1 - Gregg Jarrett, American lawyer turned journalist
April 5

Akira Toriyama, Japanese manga artist
Janice Long, British radio disc jockey

April 6

Michael Rooker, American actor
Janet Ellis, children's TV presenter

April 7 - Werner Stocker, German actor (d. 1993)
April 8

Barbara Kingsolver, American fiction writer
Kane Hodder, American actor

April 9

Kate Heyhoe, American food writer

April 11 - Kevin Brady, American politician
April 13 - Steve Camp, American musician
April 15 - Dodi Al-Fayed, Egyptian businessman (d. 1997)
April 16 - Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg
April 20 - Seema Mustafa, Journalist and Indian Politician
April 21 - Ebiet G Ade, Indonesian singer and songwriter
April 23 - Tony Miles, English chess player (d. 2001)
April 24 - John de Mol, Dutch media tycoon
April 25

John Nunn, English chess player and mathematician
Parviz Parastui, Iranian actor

April 29

Kate Mulgrew, American actress
Wendee Lee, American voice actress

May

May 1

Ray Buttigieg, Maltese composer and poet
Nick Feldman, English musician

May 2

Willie Miller, Scottish footballer
Dave Winer, American software pioneer

May 3 - David Hookes, Australian cricketer (d. 2004)
May 4 - Robert Ellis Orrall, American singer
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
Mark David Chapman, American assassin of John Lennon

May 16

Olga Korbut, Russian gymnast
Jack Morris, American baseball player
Hazel O'Connor, British singer
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
Stan Lynch, American drummer, songwriter, and producer

May 22

Chalmers "Spanky" Alford, American jazz guitarist (d. 2008)
Jimmy Lyon, American guitarist
Dale Winton, English radio DJ and television presenter

May 24

Rosanne Cash, American entertainer
Rumiko Ukai, Jpanese voice actress

May 26

Doris Dörrie, German actress and screenplay writer
Masaharu Morimoto, Japanese chef

May 28 - John McGeoch, Scottish musician (Siouxsie and the Banshees and Public Image Ltd.) (d. 2004)
May 29 - John Hinckley, Jr., American who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan
May 30 - Topper Headon, British drummer (The Clash)
May 31 - Tommy Emmanuel, Australian Guitarist, CGP

June

June 1 - Ralph Morse (actor), British actor, singer, and writer of historical dramas
June 2

Dana Carvey, American actor and comedian
Michael Steele, bassist for The Bangles

June 5 - Fernando Borrego Linares, Cuban singer and songwriter, Also known as Polo Montañez.
June 6 - Sandra Bernhard, American comedian, actress, author and singer
June 7 - Tim Richmond, American race car driver (d. 1989)
June 8 - Tim Berners-Lee, English inventor of the World Wide Web
June 10 - Andrew Stevens. American actor and film producer
June 13 - Larry Mike Garmon, American author
June 14 - Paul O'Grady, English talk show host and comedian
June 16 - Laurie Metcalf, American actress
June 18 - Sandy Allen, Tallest Woman (d. 2008)
June 20 - Tor Norretranders, Danish author
June 21 - Michel Platini, French football player
June 22

Glenn Danzig, American singer and founder of The Misfits, Samhain and Danzig
Green Gartside, Welsh singer songwriter

June 23 - Alan J. Gow, motorsport executive
June 21 - Tim Bray, Canadian computer programmer
June 24 - Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, head of Siddha Yoga
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-August

July 1

Sanma Akashiya, Japanese comedian and actor
Lisa Scottoline, American novelist

July 8

Mihaela Mitrache, Romanian actress

July 9

Fred Norris, American radio personality
Jimmy Smits, American actor

July 18 - Bernd Fasching, Austrian painter and sculptor
July 21 - Howie Epstein, American musician and producer (d. 2003)
July 22

Willem Dafoe, American Actor
Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistani politician

July 27 - Allan Border, Australian cricketer
August 2 - Caleb Carr, American writer
August 4 - Billy Bob Thornton, American actor
August 7 - Vladimir Sorokin, Russian writer
August 8 - Diddú (Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir), Icelandic soprano and songwriter
August 9 - Doug Williams, American football quarterback
August 19 - Peter Gallagher, American actor
August 24 - Mike Huckabee, American politician, former Governor and 2008 Presidential candidate
August 27 - Laura Fygi, Dutch singer
August 31 - Edwin Moses, American athlete