Year by year · 20th century

1955

1955 in world history: 14 events, 8 births, 17 deaths, 2 works, 1 state founded and 3 that came to an end. 352 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 5 April

    Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister

    Aged 80 and in failing health, Winston Churchill stepped down as Prime Minister and was succeeded by Anthony Eden. It closed a career at the top of British politics spanning more than half a century.

    British EmpireAnthony Eden

  2. 12 April

    Salk's polio vaccine is declared safe and effective

    Results of a nationwide trial involving more than a million children showed Jonas Salk's vaccine worked. Mass vaccination soon cut polio cases dramatically.

  3. 18 April

    Albert Einstein dies in Princeton

    Albert Einstein died aged 76. His theories of special and general relativity and his work on light quanta transformed physics in the twentieth century.

  4. 14 May

    Soviet bloc signs the Warsaw Pact

    The USSR and seven Eastern European states formed a military alliance days after West Germany joined NATO. The pact lasted until 1991.

    Warsaw

  5. 30 September

    James Dean dies in a car crash aged 24

    Actor James Dean was killed when his Porsche collided with another car in California. Two of his three starring films were released after his death, making him a lasting icon of youth.

  6. 26 October

    Ngô Đình Diệm proclaims the Republic of Vietnam

    After a heavily rigged referendum deposed the former emperor Bảo Đại, Ngô Đình Diệm proclaimed the Republic of Vietnam in the south. US support for the regime drew America into the Vietnam War.

  7. 1 December

    Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat

    Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give her seat to a white passenger. The 381-day bus boycott that followed brought Martin Luther King Jr. to national prominence.

  8. Event

    Bandung Conference

    The Asian–African Conference, or Bandung Conference, was a meeting of 29 newly independent and emerging states of Asia and Africa held at Bandung, Indonesia, in April 1955.

  9. Treaty

    Austrian State Treaty

    The Austrian State Treaty, signed in Vienna on 15 May 1955 by the four occupying powers and Austria, restored Austria as a sovereign, independent and democratic state.

  10. Event

    Philippeville massacre

    The Philippeville massacre took place on 20 August 1955 in and around Philippeville, now Skikda, in north-eastern Algeria.

ProfileState339 states with a known seat in 1955Open the atlas at 1955 →

In the profiles

  • IndonesiaIndonesia hosts the Asian–African Conference at Bandung

Wars and longer events

Born in 1955 8

Died in 1955 17

Works 2

States founded 1

States that came to an end 3

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1955. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1955
MLA
“1955.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1955. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1955.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1955.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1955’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1955 (Accessed: ).