 1955 in the United Kingdom |
| Other years |
| 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 |
| British and Irish current events |
| Sport and Music |
| 1955 English cricket season |
Football  England |  Scotland |
| 1955 in British music |
Events from the year 1955 in the United Kingdom.
Contents |
Incumbents
- Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II
- Prime Minister - Winston Churchill and Anthony Eden Conservative Party
Events
- 23 January - Sutton Coldfield rail crash: fourteen people killed and dozens injured in a train crash at Sutton Coldfield.[1]
- 25 February - The aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal completed.[2]
- 29 March - Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen calls a strike which continues until 14 June, leading to a State of emergency being declared on 31 May.
- 5 April - resignation of Winston Churchill as Prime Minister due to ill-health at the age of 80.[3]
- 21 April - national newspapers published for the first time after a month-long strike by newspaper maintenance workers.[4]
- 27 May - Anthony Eden wins the general election for the Conservative Party.[5]
- 9 July - Bertrand Russell issues the Russell-Einstein Manifesto highlighting the dangers posed by nuclear weapons.
- 13 July - Ruth Ellis becomes the last woman to be hanged in the UK.[6]
- 17 July - Stirling Moss becomes the first English person to win the British Grand Prix.[7]
- 18 July - Winterborne St Martin enters the UK Weather Records with the Highest 24-hour total rainfall at 279 mm. As of July 2006 this record remains.
- 27 August - Guinness Book of Records first published.[6]
- 4 September - Richard Baker and Kenneth Kendall become the first BBC television newsreaders to be seen reading the news.[2]
- 21 September - United Kingdom annexes Rockall.[8]
- 22 September - first ITV franchises of Independent Television Authority begin broadcasting the UK's first commercial television ending the 18-year monopoly of the BBC.[9]
- 26 September - Clarence Birdseye begins selling fish fingers in Britain.[2]
- 31 October - Princess Margaret calls off her proposed marriage to Peter Townsend.[10]
- 20 November - Milton rail crash: a passenger train takes a crossover too fast and derails at Milton, near Didcot. 11 killed, 157 injured.
- 2 December - Barnes rail crash, Barnes, South London: collision due to signal error and consequent fire. 13 killed, 35 injured.
- 7 December - Clement Atlee resigns as leader of the Labour Party.[11]
- 14 December - Hugh Gaitskell becomes the leader of the Labour Party.[12]
- 16 December - The Queen opens a new airport terminal at London Airport.[13]
Publications
- Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot novel Hickory Dickory Dock.
- Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Moonraker.
- Graham Greene's novel The Quiet American.
- Aldous Huxley's novel The Genius and the Goddess.
- C. S. Lewis' novel The Magician's Nephew.
- Alistair MacLean's novel HMS Ulysses.
- J.R.R. Tolkien's The Return of the King, third and final part of The Lord of the Rings.
- Evelyn Waugh's novel Officers and Gentlemen, second of the Sword of Honour trilogy.
- John Wyndham's novel The Chrysalids.
Births
- 6 January - Rowan Atkinson, comedian and actor
- 15 January - Nigel Benson, author and illustrator
- 19 January - Simon Rattle, conductor
- 25 January - Terry Chimes, drummer (The Clash)
- 27 January - Alexander Stuart, author
- 3 February - Kirsty Wark, television presenter
- 10 February - Chris Adams, professional wrestler (died 2001)
- 23 February - Howard Jones, musician
- 31 March - Angus Young, guitarist (AC/DC)
- 5 April - Janice Long, radio disc jockey
- 23 April - Tony Miles, chess player (died 2001)
- 2 May - Willie Miller, footballer
- 6 May - John Hutton, politician
- 16 May - Hazel O'Connor, singer
- 21 May - Paul Barber, field hockey player
- 30 May - Topper Headon, drummer (The Clash)
- 8 June - Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web
- 12 June - Paul O'Grady, talk show host and comedian
- 14 June - Gillian Bailey, actor
- 26 June - Mick Jones, guitarist (The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite)
- 29 July - Stephen Timms, politician
- 1 September - Bruce Foxton, musician
- 3 September - Steve Jones, guitarist (Sex Pistols)
- 5 September - John Bentley, rugby football player
- 9 October - Steve Ovett, athlete
- 15 October - Kulbir Bhaura, field hockey player
- 18 October - Timmy Mallett, television presenter
- 9 November - Karen Dotrice, actress
- 24 November - Ian Botham, cricketer
- 30 November - Billy Idol, singer
- 15 December - Paul Simonon, bassist (The Clash)
- 23 December - Carol Ann Duffy, poet
Deaths
- 29 January - Sir Rhys Rhys-Williams, politician (born 1865)
- 11 March - Sir Alexander Fleming, scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1881)
- 22 April - Herbert MacNair, artist (born 1868)
- 27 April - Ambrose Bebb, author (born 1894)
- 11 May - Gilbert Jessop, cricketer (born 1874)
- 13 July - Ruth Ellis, murderer (born 1926)
- 18 July - Billy McCandless, footballer (born 1894)
- 16 September - Leo Amery, politician (born 1873)
- 28 September - Lionel Rees, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1883)
- 11 October - Hector McNeil, politician (born 1907)
- 14 October - Harry Parr Davies, songwriter (born 1914)
- 15 October - Thomas Jones (T. J.), founder of Coleg Harlech (born 1870)
- 27 December - Alfred Carpenter, soldier (born 1881)
References
- ^ ""Express train crashes killing 14", BBC On This Day". http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/23/newsid_2671000/2671481.stm. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ a b c Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-141-02715-0.
- ^ ""Sir Winston Churchill resigns", BBC On This Day". http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/5/newsid_2822000/2822959.stm. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ ""Fleet Street papers back after strike", BBC On This Day". http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/21/newsid_2525000/2525427.stm. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ ""Election victory for Tories under Eden", BBC On This Day". http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/27/newsid_3850000/3850389.stm. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ a b "The Lost Decade Timeline, BBC". http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/lostdecade/timeline_html.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ ""Moss claims first Grand Prix victory", BBC On This Day". http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/17/newsid_2981000/2981372.stm. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ ""Britain claims Rockall", BBC On This Day". http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/21/newsid_4582000/4582327.stm. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ ""New TV channel ends BBC monopoly", BBC On This Day". http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/22/newsid_3131000/3131477.stm. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ ""Princess Margaret cancels wedding", BBC On This Day". http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/31/newsid_3202000/3202307.stm. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ ""Attlee steps down as Labour leader", BBC On This Day". http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/7/newsid_3267000/3267929.stm. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ ""Gaitskell elected Labour leader", BBC On This Day". http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/14/newsid_3254000/3254118.stm. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ ""1955: Queen opens London Airport terminal", BBC On This Day". http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/16/newsid_4035000/4035801.stm. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
See also
No comments have been added.
