Other 1955 Events

OTHER EVENTS OF 1955

Christian Dior launches the A-line skirt.

Sir Winston Churchill stands down as British Prime Minister at the age of 80 and is succeeded by Anthony Eden.

West Germany joins NATO.

A new military alliance of Eastern-bloc nations is created as Soviet leader Bulganin signs the Warsaw Pact.

83 spectators are killed in an accident at the Le Mans race track resulting in a permanent ban on motor racing in Switzerland.

Hopes are raised for an end to the Gaza hostilities when UN cease-fire terms are accepted by Egypt.�

Commercial television commences in the UK. The first advertisement is for toothpaste.

The first floodlit international soccer match between England and Spain is played at Wembley Stadium.

Police radar traps are introduced in the UK.

Dorothy Hodgkinson discovers the composition of vitamin B12.

Gunsmoke premieres on television and eventually becomes the longest running TV western.

The Benny Hill Show premiers and the employment statistics for big, beautiful, buxom blondes are mysteriously reduced.

FBI director J. Edgar Hoover reports an increase of over 26% in crime in the US since 1950 compared to a population rise of 7%.

Vladimir Nabakov's Lolita is published.

A study of medical services in the US states that mental illness is the greatest single health problem with 6% of the public suffering from some sort of mental disorder.

The Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine was built for the US Navy.� In its first two years the submarine traveled 62,000 miles without refueling.

SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIPS

WIMBLEDON
Men's Champion: Tony Trabert
Women's Champion: Louise Brough

WORLD SERIES BASEBALL
Brooklyn (NL) defeats New York (AL) 4-3

NATIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE
Syracuse Nationals

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Eastern - Cleveland Browns
Western - Los Angeles Rams

BEST-SELLERS

FICTION
1. Marjorie Morningstar - Herman Wouk
2. Auntie Mame - Patrick Dennis
3. Andersonville - MacKinley Kantor
4. Bonjour Tristesse - Francoise Sagan
5. The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit - Sloan Wilson
6. Something of Value - Robert Ruark
7. Not as a Stranger - Morton Thompson
8. No Time for Sergeants - Mac Hyman
9. The Tontine - Thomas B. Costain
10. Ten North Frederick - John O'Hara

AWARDS

PHYSICS
Willis E. Lamb, Jr. (US) for discoveries on the structure of the hydrogen spectrum,
and Polykarp Kusch (US) for determining the magnetic moment of the electron.

CHEMISTRY
Vincent Du Vigneaud (US) for discovering a process for making synthetic hormones.

MEDICINE
Hugo Theorell (Sweden) for his discoveries on the nature and action of oxidation enzymes.

LITERATURE
Halldor K. Laxness (Iceland) for his novels.

PEACE
No award.