1955 - Wikipedia

jp:1955[?] Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century

Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s - 1950s - 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s

Years: 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 - 1955 - 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960

Events:

January 2 - Panama president Jose Antonio Remon[?] is assassinated.
January 19 - The Scrabble board game debuts.
February 13 - Israel obtains 4 of the 7 Dead Sea scrolls.
February 23 - First meeting of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)
March 2 - King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia abdicates the throne in favor of his father, King Norodom Suramarit[?]
March 25 - United States Customs seizes Allen Ginsberg's Howl as obscene
April 5 - Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom amid indications of failing heath.
May 9 - Cold War: West Germany joins NATO.
May 14 - Cold War: Eight communist bloc countries including the Soviet Union sign a mutual-defense treaty called the Warsaw Pact.
December 31 - General Motors becomes the first American corporation to make sales of over one billion dollars in a year.

Dick Bruna draws Miffy for the first time.
Disneyland opens.
Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of Britain for the second time.
Mattachine Society, one of the first gay rights organizations, is founded in the City of New York.
Maurice Wilkes publishes a description of microprogramming in IEEE Spectrum.

Art, Culture & Fashion

1955 in film
- Marty
- Love is a Many-Splendored Thing
1955 in literature
1955 in music
1955 in sports
1955 in television
- April 1 - The DuMont Television network drastically cuts back its programming
- September 28 - The First World Series game broadcast in color
- The Honeymooners premieres, starring Jackie Gleason, Art Carney and Audrey Meadows[?]
- Lawrence Welk Show debuts (1955-1982)
- The Mickey Mouse Club[?] debuts, featuring "Mouseketeer" Annette Funicello[?]. (1955-1959)

Births:

January 6 - Rowan Atkinson, comedian, actor
January 12 - Kirstie Alley[?], actress
January 12 - Rockne O'Bannon, writer, producer
January 13 - Jay McInerney[?], writer
January 17 - Steve Earle, musician
January 18 - Kevin Costner, actor
January 19 - Simon Rattle, conductor
January 26 - Eddie Van Halen, musician
February 8 - John Grisham, novelist
February 10 - Greg Norman, golfer
February 12 - Arsenio Hall[?], actor, talk show host
February 19 - Jeff Daniels[?], actor
February 23 - Howard Jones, musician
February 24 - Alain Prost, Formula One driver
February 24 - Steve Jobs, computer pioneer
March 5 - Penn Jillette[?], magician, comedian
March 15 - Dee Snider[?], singer
March 16 - Jiro Watanabe, Japanese boxing world champion
March 17 - Gary Sinise[?], actor
March 19 - Bruce Willis, actor
March 28 - Reba McEntire, country music singer, actress
March 29 - Earl Campbell[?], American football star
April 1 - Ronnie Burk, surrealist and AIDS activist
April 16 - Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg[?]
April 23 - Tony Miles, chess player
May 10 - Mark David Chapman[?], assassin
May 16 - Debra Winger, actress
May 16 - Olga Korbut, gymnast
May 17 - Bill Paxton[?], actor
May 18 - Chow Yun-Fat, actor
May 20 - Zbigniew Preisner, film composer
May 26 - Doris D�rrie[?], actor and screenplay writer
June 27 - Isabelle Adjani, actress
August 4 - Billy Bob Thornton, actor
September 10 - Pat Mastelotto, musician
October 7 - Yo-Yo Ma, cellist
October 17- Mae Jemison, astronaut
November 4 - Matti Vanhanen, prime minister of Finland
November 23 - Steven Brust, fantasy author
Tor Norretranders, science author

Deaths:

March 11 - Sir Alexander Fleming, British discoverer of penicillin.
March 12 - Charlie Parker, jazz saxophonist
April 7 - Theda Bara, silent film actress
April 18 - Albert Einstein, scientist.
May 10 - Tommy Burns, World Heavyweight Boxing Champion
August 5 - Carmen Miranda, singer, actress
October 1 - Charles Christie, pioneer film studio owner in Hollywood
November 4 - Cy Young, American baseball player
November 5 - Maurice Utrillo, a "Montmartre" artist
November 27 - Arthur Honegger, composer

Nobel Prizes:

Physics - Willis Eugene Lamb[?], - Polykarp Kusch[?]
Chemistry - Vincent du Vigneaud[?]
Medicine- Axel Hugo Theodor Theorell
Literature - Halld�r Kiljan Laxness
Peace - not awarded