1955 in the United Kingdom
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 1955 in the United Kingdom |
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| 1955 in British music |
Events from the year 1955 in the United Kingdom.
Contents |
[edit] Incumbents
- Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II
- Prime Minister - Winston Churchill and Anthony Eden Conservative Party
[edit] Events
- 23 January - Sutton Coldfield rail crash: fourteen people killed and dozens injured in a train crash at Sutton Coldfield. [1]
- 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. [2]
- 21 April - national newspapers published for the first time after a month-long strike by newspaper maintenance workers. [3]
- 27 May - Anthony Eden wins the general election for the Conservative Party. [4]
- 13 July - Ruth Ellis becomes the last woman to be hanged in the UK. [5]
- 17 July - Stirling Moss becomes the first English person to win the British Grand Prix. [6]
- 27 August - Guinness Book of Records first published. [5]
- 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. [7]
- 31 October - Princess Margaret calls off a wedding to Peter Townsend. [8]
- 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. [9]
- 14 December - Hugh Gaitskell becomes the leader of the Labour Party. [10]
[edit] 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 (d. 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 (d. 2001)
- 2 May - Willie Miller, footballer
- 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)
- 1 September - Bruce Foxton, musician
- 3 September - Steve Jones, guitarist (Sex Pistols)
- 5 September - John Bentley, rugby football player
- 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
[edit] Deaths
- 11 March - Sir Alexander Fleming, scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1881)
- 11 May - Gilbert Jessop, cricketer (b. 1874)
- 13 July - Ruth Ellis, murderer (b. 1926)
- 16 September - Leo Amery, politician (b. 1873)
- 27 December - Alfred Carpenter, soldier (b. 1881)
[edit] References
- ^ "Express train crashes killing 14", BBC On This Day
- ^ "Sir Winston Churchill resigns", BBC On This Day
- ^ "Fleet Street papers back after strike", BBC On This Day
- ^ "Election victory for Tories under Eden", BBC On This Day
- ^ a b The Lost Decade Timeline, BBC
- ^ "Moss claims first Grand Prix victory", BBC On This Day
- ^ "New TV channel ends BBC monopoly", BBC On This Day
- ^ "Princess Margaret cancels wedding", BBC On This Day
- ^ "Attlee steps down as Labour leader", BBC On This Day
- ^ "Gaitskell elected Labour leader", BBC On This Day
