The almanac
The 1955 Edition
Limited to about 102 million copies: the babies born worldwide in 1955. About 53 million are still in circulation.
Estimates from the UN World Population Prospects 2024. How we count
What happened in 1955
- First fully transistorized computer announcedBell Labs unveiled TRADIC, a computer that used transistors instead of vacuum tubes.March 14 · Source: Computer History Museum, This Day in History
- Stirling Moss won the British Grand PrixMoss drove a Mercedes-Benz to victory at his home Grand Prix, held at Aintree.July 16 · Source: Formula 1 (official site), 1955 race results
- Disneyland opened in CaliforniaWalt Disney's Anaheim theme park opened with national television coverage.July 17 · Source: EBSCO Research Starters
- Gunsmoke rode onto CBSThe Western began a twenty-year run, the start of TV's adult Western era.September 10 · Source: EBSCO Research Starters
- ITV ended the BBC's TV monopolyBritain's first commercial television station went on air, bringing advertisements to British screens.September 22 · Source: BBC On This Day
- The Mickey Mouse Club premieredWalt Disney's children's show, with its Mouseketeers, began on ABC.October 3 · Source: EBSCO Research Starters
- Rebel Without a Cause openedJames Dean starred as a restless teenager in Nicholas Ray's drama.October 27 · Source: Box Office Mojo
Famous people born in 1955
- Tim Berners-LeeEnglish computer scientist · born June 8
- Rowan AtkinsonEnglish actor, comedian, and screenwriter · born January 6
- Kevin CostnerAmerican actor · born January 18
- Willem DafoeAmerican actor · born July 22
- Gilbert GottfriedAmerican stand-up comedian · born February 28
- Gary SiniseAmerican actor · born March 17
- Akira ToriyamaJapanese manga artist and character designer · born April 5
- Katalin KarikóHungarian biochemist · born January 17
From Wikidata, ranked by how many Wikipedia languages write about them. Spotted a mistake?
If you were born in 1955
- Older than Elvis on The Ed Sullivan ShowElvis Presley made his first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on September 9, 1956.
- Older than SputnikThe Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite on October 4, 1957.
- Older than the LEGO brickThe LEGO Group filed the patent for the modern interlocking LEGO brick on January 28, 1958.
- Older than the microchipJack Kilby demonstrated the first working integrated circuit (microchip) at Texas Instruments on September 12, 1958.
- Younger than the four-minute mileRoger Bannister became the first person to run a mile in under four minutes, in Oxford on May 6, 1954.
- Younger than the first climb of EverestEdmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953.
- Younger than the DNA double helixWatson and Crick's paper describing the double-helix structure of DNA was published in Nature on April 25, 1953.