Information for the Year 1955

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  • Nikolai A. Bulganin becomes Soviet premier, replacing Malenkov (Feb. 8).
  • Churchill resigns (April 5); Anthony Eden succeeds him (April 6).
  • Federal Republic of West Germany becomes a sovereign state (May 5).
  • The Soviet Union and seven East European countries sign the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defense treaty (May 14).
  • Argentina ousts dictator Juan Perón (Sept. 19).
  • US starts sending $216 million in aid to Vietnam.
  • The US, UK, USSR, and France meet at a summit in Geneva.
  • Population:  2.780 billion
  • Nobel Peace Prize:  The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund for this year.
  • President Eisenhower suffers coronary thrombosis in Denver (Sept. 24).
  • Rosa Parks refuses to sit at the back of the bus, breaking Montgomery, Ala., segregated seating law (Dec. 1).
  • Martin Luther King, Jr., leads 381-day black boycott of Montgomery bus system; desegregated service begins Dec. 21, 1956.
  • AFL and CIO merge to become the AFL-CIO (Dec. 5).
  • President:  Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • Vice President:  Richard M. Nixon
  • Population:   165,931,202
  • Life expectancy:  69.6 years
  • US GDP (1998 dollars):  $415.1 billion
  • Federal spending:   $68.44 billion
  • Federal debt:  $274.4 billion
  • Median Household Income(current dollars):  $4,418
  • Consumer Price Index:  26.8
  • Unemployment:   5.5%
  • Cost of a first-class stamp:  $0.03
  • Super Bowl  The first Super Bowl was not played until the year 1967.
  • World Series of Baseball  Brooklyn Dodgers defeated New York Yankees.
  • National Basketball Association Championship  Syracuse defeated Ft. Wayne Pistons
  • National Hockey League Stanley Cup  Detroit Red Wings defeated the Montreal Canadians
  • Women Wimbledon Tennis  Louise Brough defeated B. Fleitz (7-5 8-6)
  • Men Wimbledon Tennis   Tony Trabert defeated K. Nielsen (6-3 7-5 6-1)
  • Kentucky Derby Horse Race Champion   Swaps
  • National College Athletic Association Basketball Championship  San Francisco defeated La Salle (SCORE 77-63)
  • National College Athletic Association Football Champions  Oklahoma (RECORD 11-0-0)
  • Gunsmoke debuts on CBS, and will go on to be television's longest-running western.
  • 70mm film is introduced with the movie Oklahoma!
  • James Dean dies in a car accident at age 26.
  • Academy Award, Best Picture:  On the Waterfront
  • Grammy Award - Record of the Year  The first Grammy Awards were not until 1959
  • Emmy Award - Best Television Comedy  Make Room for Daddy - ABC
  • Miss America:  Lee Meriwether (California)
  • Narinder Kapany (England) develops fiber optics.
  • Severo Ochoa at NYU synthesizes DNA- and RNA-like molecules.
  • The corticosteroid prednisone is developed.

 

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