1955 in the United Kingdom

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1955 in the United Kingdom

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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 1 Incumbents 2 Events 3 Births 4 Deaths 5 References

[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