Year retrospective · 1950s

1955

1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1955th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 955th year of the 2nd millennium, the 55th year of the 20th century, and the 6th year of the 1950s decade.

Recorded events

10

top entries

Notable births

30

Notable deaths

30

Decade

1950s

Timeline

Defining events of 1955

  1. 1955 The EOKA rebellion against the British Empire begins in Cyprus, with the goal of unifying with Greece.

    1955–1959 Greek nationalist guerrilla organisation in Cyprus

    The Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston was a Greek Cypriot nationalist guerrilla organization that fought a campaign for the end of British rule in Cyprus, and for eventual union with Greece.

  2. 1955 The Air India Kashmir Princess is bombed and crashes in a failed assassination attempt on Zhou Enlai by the Kuomintang.

    Flag carrier of India

    Air India is the flag carrier of India, headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana. Its primary hub is located at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, with secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. 1%).

  3. 1955 The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective.

    Vaccine to prevent poliomyelitis

    Polio vaccine is a vaccine used to prevent poliomyelitis (polio). Two types are used: an inactivated poliovirus given by injection (IPV) and a weakened poliovirus given by mouth (OPV). The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends all children be fully vaccinated against polio.

  4. 1955 McDonald's restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois.

    American fast food restaurant chain

    McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food restaurant chain. As of 2024, it is the second-largest by number of locations in the world, behind the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea.

  5. 1955 Twenty-nine nations meet at Bandung, Indonesia, for the first Asian-African Conference.

    Capital city of West Java, Indonesia

    Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the western highland of Java island, it has one of the coolest climates compared to other provincial capitals in Indonesia, situated 708 meters above sea level, approximately 135 kilometres southeast of Jakarta. Bandung lies in a river basin surrounded by volcanic mountains that provide a natural defense system, which was the primary reason for the Dutch East Indies government's plan to move the capital from Batavia to Bandung.

  6. 1955 The Bandung Conference ends: Twenty-nine non-aligned nations of Asia and Africa finish a meeting that condemns colonialism, racism, and the Cold War.

    1955 meeting of Asian and African states

    The first large-scale Asian–African or Afro–Asian Conference, also known as the Bandung Conference, was a meeting of Asian and African states, most of which were newly independent, which took place on 18–24 April 1955 in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. 5 billion people, 54% of the world's population. The conference was organized by Indonesia, Burma (Myanmar), India, Ceylon, and Pakistan and was coordinated by Ruslan Abdulgani, secretary general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia.

  7. 1955 The American Civil Liberties Union announces it will defend Allen Ginsberg's book Howl against obscenity charges.
  8. 1955 Hurricane Diane made landfall near Wilmington, North Carolina, and it went on to cause major floods and kill more than 184 people.
  9. 1955 In the Northeast United States, severe flooding caused by Hurricane Diane, claims 200 lives.
  10. 1955 Battle of Philippeville: In Morocco, a force of Berbers from the Atlas Mountains region of Algeria raid two rural settlements and kill 77 French nationals.

Arrivals

Born in 1955

Steve Camp 1955– American music artist and pastor
Olivia Dahl (died 1962) 1955– Daughter of Roald Dahl (1955–1962)
Donald Pettit 1955– American astronaut and engineer (born 1955)
Svante Pääbo 1955– Swedish geneticist (born 1955)
Murathan Mungan 1955– Turkish author, short story writer, playwright, and poet (born 1955)
Mikuláš Dzurinda 1955– Slovak politician (born 1955)
Sam Simon 1955– American television writer and producer (1955–2015)
Tim Berners-Lee 1955– English computer scientist (born 1955)
José Antonio Camacho 1955– Spanish footballer (born 1955)
Chris Berman 1955– American sportscaster (born 1955)
Mark David Chapman 1955– Murderer of John Lennon (born 1955)
Meles Zenawi 1955– Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 1995 to 2012

Farewells

Died in 1955

Albert Einstein German-born theoretical physicist (1879–1955)
Jim Corbett Anglo-Indian hunter, naturalist and author (1875–1955)
Egas Moniz Portuguese neurologist (1874–1955)
Paul Claudel French diplomat, poet and playwright (1868–1955)
Isak Penttala Finnish politician (1883–1955)
Robert P. T. Coffin American poet
John Mott American ecumenical Christian awarded Nobel Peace Prize (1865–1955)
Max Meldrum Australian painter
Alexander Fleming Scottish physician and microbiologist (1881–1955)
Oscar F. Mayer German-American entrepreneur
Charlie Parker American jazz saxophonist (1920–1955)
Theodor Plievier German writer (1892–1955)

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