1955 French Championships – Women's Doubles
The Women's Doubles tournament at the 1955 French Championships was held from 24 May to 5 June 1955 on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The American team of Beverly Fleitz and Darlene Hard won the title, defeating the British pair of Shirley Bloomer and Pat Ward in the final in three sets.


1955 French Championships – Women's Singles
Second-seeded Angela Mortimer defeated Dorothy Knode 2–6, 7–5, 10–8 in the final to win the Women's Singles tennis title at the 1955 French Championships.


1955 French Championships – Women's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Angela Mortimer is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


1955 French Makalu expedition
The 1955 French Makalu expedition was the first to successfully climb Makalu, the Himalayan mountain 12 miles (19 km) to the southeast of Mount Everest, on the border between Nepal and Tibet. At 8,485 metres (27,838 ft) Makalu is the fifth-highest mountain in the world and an eight-thousander.


1955 French Makalu expedition
The expedition, led by Jean Franco, approached the mountain from the south through Nepal and then wound around into Tibet, in China, to reach the summit from the north face. Thanks to good snow conditions and weather, as well as good leadership, the entire team of mountaineers and one of the Sherpas reached the summit – Jean Couzy and Lionel Terray on 15 May 1955, followed next day by Jean Franco, Guido Magnone and Gyalzen Norbu; and then Jean Bouvier, Serge Coupé, Pierre Leroux and André Vialatte on 17 May.


1955 French Makalu expedition, Background, Topography
Makalu is, after Mount Everest and Lhotse, the highest mountain on a ridge running east from Everest itself. The east-west Kangshung Glacier and the Kama valley in Tibet lie to the north of the ridge and the Barun Glacier and Barun River in Nepal flow along the southern flank. The high mountains Pethangse, Chago and Kangchungtse (also known as Makalu II) are also on the ridge between Everest and Makalu. At 8,485 metres (27,838 ft) Makalu is the fifth-highest mountain in the world and an eight-thousander. Chomo Lonzo (7,804 metres (25,604 ft)), is on a ridge northeast of Kangchungtse and due north of Makalu.


1955 French Makalu expedition, Background, Topography
Makalu is generally in the shape of a four-sided pyramid with its faces scooped out in vast cirques. Of its four ridges, two – the southeast and northwest – form the Tibet–Nepal border and a third ridge, the southwest, slopes down to the Barun Glacier. The west cirque forms the face between the southwest and northwest ridges down which flows the Makalu Glacier and high up beside this glacier lies the smaller northwest cirque.


1955 French Makalu expedition, Background, Exploration and climbing history
When the 1921 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition was exploring the Kama valley to discover whether it afforded a route to Everest from the east, Makalu dominated the southern view. A party led by Charles Howard-Bury on a side excursionreached a 6,600-metre (21,500 ft) peak on the ridge between Makalu and Pethangtse and photographed the scene. Local inhabitants thought Makalu was higher than Everest because it is much more visible than Everest which is obscured by the surrounding high peaks.


1955 French Makalu expedition, Background, Exploration and climbing history
In 1933 after two aircraft had flown over Mount Everest and aerial photographs had been taken of the region, The Times published a special supplement with a full-page photograph on the first page entitled "the awe-inspiring summit of Everest as seen slightly from the north-west" – in fact the photograph was of the northwest ridge of Makalu. In 1951 and 1952 two British reconnaissance expeditions in Nepal assessed the west face of Makalu from a climbing perspective.


1955 French Makalu expedition, Background, Exploration and climbing history
In 1954 the first American party to Himalaya, led by William Siri and with Ang Tharkay as sirdar, attempted the mountain from the Barun Glacier via the northwest and southeast ridges. On the latter route they reached 7,150 metres (23,460 ft). At very much the same time a party led by Edmund Hillary also examined the northwest ridge.


1955 French Makalu expedition, Background, Exploration and climbing history
Following the French triumph on Annapurna in 1950, Nepal had granted France an opportunity for climbing Everest in 1954 but this became a less prestigious  prospect after the British success in 1953. French mountaineers' ideas turned to Makalu because it was an attractive and challenging peak which had not been attempted previously. Exploration as well as mountaineering would be required. They were granted slots for autumn 1954 and spring 1955.


1955 French Makalu expedition, Background, Exploration and climbing history
So, the same French party that was to reach Makalu's summit in 1955 carried out a reconnaissance expedition in 1954 that reached Makalu Col, just below Kangchungtse on Makalu's northwest ridge. From there they reached the summits of Kangchungtse (7,660 metres (25,120 ft)) and Chomo Lonzo and ascended to about 7,800 metres (25,600 ft) on the northwest ridge towards the top of Makalu itself.


1955 French Makalu expedition, Preparations, Expedition members
In 1954 the climbers were: Jean Franco, leader; Jean Bouvier (supplies); Jean Couzy (specialised equipment including oxygen); Pierre Leroux; Guido Magnone (technical repairs and development) and Lionel Terray (filming) together with Jean Rivolier (doctor) and Pierre Bordet (geologist). In 1955 Serge Coupé and André Vialatte (transport and liaison with Gyalzen Norbu) also took part as climbers and Michel Latreille was a second geologist. André Lapras replaced Rivolier as doctor.


1955 French Makalu expedition, Preparations, Expedition members
Gyalzen Norbu was the chief Sherpa (sirdar) and Pasang Phutar the head porter (replaced in 1955 by Kindjock Tsering, on leave from the Brigade of Gurkhas). The nine Sherpas in 1954 were Ang Tsering; Da Norbu; Eila Namgyal; Gyalzen II; Mingma Tsering; Pa Norbu; Pemba Norbu; Pemba Tenzing and Tashi.


1955 French Makalu expedition, Preparations, Expedition members
In 1955 there were 23 Sherpas:  Aila; Ang Bao; Ang Phutar; Ang Tsering (cook, known as Panzy); Ang Tsering IV; Chotaree; Chumbee; Da Norbu; Dagang Norjee; Eila Namgyal; Gunden; Gyalzen II; Mingma Tsering I; Mingma Tsering II; Mingma Tenzing; Nim  Temba; Nim Tenzing; Pa Norbu; Pasang Dawa; Pemba Norbu; Pemba Tenzing; Tashi and Wongdi.


1955 French Makalu expedition, Preparations, Expedition members
In 1954 there were 180 porters, mostly men but some women, taking 6.5 tons of baggage to Base Camp and in 1955 this was increased to 315 porters and 11 tons of baggage.


1955 French Makalu expedition, Preparations, Techniques and equipment
Franco, the team leader, liaised with Maurice Herzog, leader of the 1950 Annapurna expedition. Acclimatisation issues were discussed with Griffith Pugh of the 1953 Everest expedition and Couzy developed acclimatisation and supplementary oxygen procedures. Magnone dealt with procuring suitable oxygen equipment. The 1952 Swiss Everest team, based on their own experience, advised using the autumn 1954 opportunity to mount a reconnaissance effort, followed in 1955 by a full-scale attempt on the summit.


1955 French Makalu expedition, Preparations, Techniques and equipment
Open-circuit oxygen equipment was to be used by the climbers above Camp IV and Sherpas above Camp V. An improved type, using a lighter metal alloy and able to hold a higher pressure of oxygen, was shipped out separately once the equipment was ready in January 1955. Unfortunately the new oxygen regulators  were often faulty but Magnone was able to improve them and he also enabled an increase in maximum flow by adding a second valve. They took French radio sets for receiving weather forecasts from Calcutta and for communications between camps. These they found light, simple to use and reliable.


1955 French Makalu expedition, Preparations, 1954 reconnaissance
The reconnaissance in 1954 involved finding a suitable approach route up the line of the Arun River and, as well as appointing Sherpas from Sola Khumbu and Darjeeling, they hired local porters in Biratnagar and Sedoa. This approach was successful and was also used in 1955. Equipment was tested and, in particular, lightweight crampons with long spikes were found to be a good innovation. The Sherpas' feet were found far to short and wide for their boots to fit satisfactorily so they took templates for boots to be specially made for the following year. Unfortunately, the French manufacturers could not believe feet could be this shape and so made them the same as before.


1955 French Makalu expedition, Preparations, 1954 reconnaissance
They investigated the two most likely routes to the summit – the southeast and northwest ridges – and climbed the neighbouring peaks of Chago, Pethangtse, Kangchungtse and Chomo Lonzo both for acclimatisation and to get a good view of Makalu's topography. This decided an approach up the Makalu Glacier in the west cirque leading to the upper northwest cirque and then a traverse beneath Kangchungtse leading to a steep climb up to the Makalu Col. They made an attempt for the summit along the northwest ridge but did not reach above about 7,800 metres (25,600 ft). To avoid the difficult northwest ridge in 1955 they planned to cross the Col and move onto the north face for the topmost 910 metres (3,000 ft).


1955 French Makalu expedition, Preparations, 1954 reconnaissance
It was shown from experience that it was seriously counterproductive to spend more than ten days at Camp III or above.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Departure from France and march-in
The expedition flew from Orly Airport and arrived in Calcutta on 12 March. Most of the equipment had been sent on ahead. However their oxygen sets were mistakenly transported to Rangoon rather than Calcutta so Couzy had to fly out there to sort things out while Coupé waited behind for him in Dharan with a contingent of porters to catch up the main expedition. From Calcutta the party flew to Biratnagar in Nepal where they met their Sherpas from Darjeeling. They had to deal with custom officers when entering Nepal – the previous year there had been no customs formalities.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Departure from France and march-in
Gyalzen Norbu could not speak French and had difficulty with English but in Nepalese he was very effective in dealing with matters and organising the Sherpas and porters. A very bumpy road led them by lorry to Dharan – in the 1954 monsoon they had taken three days to cover the thirty miles but this time the journey only took a few hours. Here they met the Sherpas hired from Sola Khumbu together with over a hundred porters from there who had trekked for 15 days across Nepal in the hope of being employed.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Departure from France and march-in
The student geologists Bordet and Latreille departed on their separate expedition. On 20 March the trek towards Makalu began from Dharan where the Ganges plain starts to rise to become the Himalayan foothills. On the approach march the climbers did not carry loads and Sherpas only started carrying at Base Camp so the porters were left to labour under loads of 23–36 kilograms (50–80 lb). The porters from Sola Khumbu had plaits and wore long coats and multi-coloured boots whereas those from Darjeeling, with greater contact with Western culture, were more smartly dressed but looked less picturesque. The local porters wore loincloths and went barefoot. Panzy, the cook, had been on the French Annapurna expedition but since then he had been cook on several British expeditions and had developed a cuisine that did not suit the French palette.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Departure from France and march-in
The route passed through a tropical afforested region to Dhankuta then went via Legua Ghat and on north beside the Arun river. Approaching the village of Num the Arun gorge was so deep the track had to leave the line of the river. At Num their trail had to cross the river on a 61–76-metre (200–250 ft) rope bridge 15 metres (50 ft) above the water – the bridge had been repaired specially for them. Now able to see Makalu, they passed through the last inhabited places of Etane and Sedoa.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Departure from France and march-in
The little village of Sedoa, set on the side of a mountain at 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) and far from the road north to Tibet, was where the Biratnagar porters were paid off after nine days' march. In turn 100 men from Sedoa were hired for the onward carry. It was here that mountaineering equipment was issued to replace lightweight clothing.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Departure from France and march-in
On 30 March the party left Sedoa with additional auxiliary porters to support the Sherpas, chosen from among the most capable of the Sola Khumbu and Darjeeling porters. The trail rose to 4,200 metres (13,800 ft) and, in the wind and snow and with the temperature falling to −10 °C (14 °F) at night, the porters had hardly any clothes and only emergency tarpaulins to cover them at night when they resorted to huddling together in groups of 10 to 15. Two sheep they had been taking with them for food died of cold and fatigue. The previous autumn leeches had been a big difficulty but this year, in colder, dryer conditions, they were much less of a problem.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Departure from France and march-in
A runner brought news that Couzy had successfully retrieved the oxygen sets from Rangoon and was following five or six days behind Franco's party. In the event he arrived at base camp only two days after Franco.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Base camp
On 4 April Franco and Magnone reached the snout of the Barun glacier where base camp was to be. At the previous year's site, somewhat higher, the water supply had vanished along with the vegetation. The equipment cached last year was still secure. Base Camp was well appointed. Sleeping tents were two-man with triple roofing, and there were communal tents and two very large mess-tents. In all there were thirty separate tents. They constructed a stone shack, which they called the "Makalu Hotel" with fireplace, chimney and a canvas roof. About mid April the geologists rejoined the main party.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Base camp
Back towards Sedoa there had been deep snow, which had not fallen at base camp and until this cleared they were not able to get additional supplies or post – mail runners took ten days to get from Jogbani to Base Camp, a distance of about 225 miles (362 km).


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Base camp
Packs of food and climbing gear were prepared for going up the mountain. These weighed 25 kilograms (55 lb) for taking to Camp III, 20 kilograms (45 lb) for Camp IV and 16 kilograms (35 lb) for above that. Transporting tbese supplies involved 20 to 30 people setting off for Camp I each day. On 23 April the expedition as a whole occupied Camp I with only a small group staying at base to return again to Sedoa and make a last carry to Camp I. No one returned to Base Camp until after Makalu had been climbed.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Northwest cirque
On 23 April Camp I was established in a small dip on a rocky spur at 5,300 metres (17,390 ft) and Camp II, established 29 April, was above a rocky hummock at the entry to the northwest cirque. Acclimatisation training continued during this time and Franco identified Terray and Couzy as likely lead candidates for the summit but he felt happy to have a very strong team around him. The weather was good – sunny and calm in the mornings but windy and cloudy with snow showers in the afternoons. Only once was there a violent storm.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Northwest cirque
They had arranged for radio broadcasts of weather forecasts from Radio Calcutta but nothing materialised until one day they received a forecast along with ones for the Germans concurrently on Dhaulagiri, where the forecast was for severe storms, and for the British Kangchenjunga expedition. Franco's party could see poor weather around them on Everest, Lhotse and Chamlang which encouraged them to hasten their preparations. Latreille and Vialatte took the opportunity of climbing Pethangtse prior to Latreille and Bourdet embarking on further geologising around Sola Khumbu and Namche Bazaar.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Northwest cirque
Supplies were continually being carried by the Sherpas as high as Camp III which was stocked to become Advanced Base Camp. There the tents were set in 0.91 metres (3 ft) deep platforms dug into the glacier and by 10 May the camp held sufficient supplies and equipment for a summit attempt. Cooking could not be done on paraffin stoves at such an altitude and so gas cylinders needed to be used.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Northwest cirque
The plan from Camp III to Camp V at Makalu Col was as follows. The route upward would be made suitable for Sherpas with heavy loads and eventually over 760 metres (2,500 ft) of fixed rope were set in place. Pairs of climbers each accompanied by a few Sherpas would carry loads up each day and would immediately drop down to Camp III or below to make way for a subsequent team. To be successful this would require reliable radio communications and good weather.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Northwest cirque
Above Camp III the Sherpas were to be given the same high-altitude rations as the French climbers. A single "heavy carry" would be done to establish Camp V on the Col in one large effort with at least 20 Sherpas becoming involved. An immediate descent to as low a camp as possible would be necessary because acclimatisation was impossible at the height of the Col. Bouvier and Leroux had found that on the traverse beyond Camp III what had been an easy snowy terrace in 1954 was now very slippery bare ice.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Northwest cirque
Camp IV was at a place they called the balcony, high on the back wall of the northwest cirque and between two couloirs, and to reach there high-altitude clothes were used by climbers and Sherpas alike. Fixed ropes were installed for the traverse and steps were cut up the 20-metre (65 ft) wall sloping at about 45° and crossing the bergschrund at about 6,750 metres (22,150 ft).


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Northwest cirque
Eventually, after much rope-setting and relaying of stores, Camp V, on Makalu Col, was reached on 8 May and the "heavy carry" to establish this camp took place the next day, all in favourable weather. Camp V now held supplies enough for several teams to spend a few days if they were stormbound.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Summit attempts
From the large and desolate Makalu Col the attempts on the summit were to be across the north face of Makalu because it seemed more straightforward than the direct line up the northwest ridge. They had not ventured on the north face in 1954 but had been able to observe it from Chomo Lonzo and Kangchungtse. It was hoped that only one camp would be needed for the last 910 metres (3,000 ft) of the mountain.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Summit attempts
On the north side of the mountain a wide glacier slopes gradually down into Tibet from between Kangchungtse, Makalu and Chomo Lonzo before it becomes a series of huge icefalls plunging down to the Kama valley and Kangshung glacier. After a gradual ascent to about 8,100 metres (26,600 ft) the slope gets a lot steeper when a spur leads towards the summit.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Summit attempts
From 9 May, Camp V on the Col could be accessed safely by Sherpas in fine weather, even when unaccompanied by climbers. Equipment, including three tents, left behind from 1954 was still available. Given the considerable supplies at Camp III and above, the plan was for separate groups of climbers each to attempt the summit at 24-hour intervals. The first party of Couzy and Terray with five Sherpas in support would pitch Camp VI, send the Sherpas down, and attempt the summit next day.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Summit attempts
The second party of Franco and Magnone would use Camp VI overnight before trying for the summit or, if the first party had turned back, would pitch a higher Camp VII at 8,000–8,080 metres (26,250–26,500 ft) and attempt the summit the day after. If these attempts failed, a team of Bouvier, Coupé, Leroux and Vialatte would try, succeeded a day later by a second attempt by the first four climbers. The twelve strongest Sherpas would provide support, using oxygen above Camp V whereas the French climbers would use it above Camp IV. Lapras, the doctor, ascended to Camp III and Vialatte was to be temporarily in charge of the expedition until Franco himself returned safely.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Summit attempts
Over the next few days progress went very much according to plan. On 11 May, as Franco and his team started their ascent from Camp I, he was surprised to find Gyalzen Norbu going down. He was in Franco's own summit team and yet was descending from Camp II. It turned out Gyalzen Norbu was just going down to Camp I to say goodbye to his wife and would be back up at Camp II by first thing next morning. He was wearing his high-altitude clothes – a padded suit trimmed with fur – so Franco guessed this was to impress his wife.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Summit attempts
On 13 May Couzy and Terray reached the Col while Franco and his team gained Camp IV where, unusually, the wind had dropped completely and overnight the temperature had fallen to −26 °C (−14 °F). On 14 May two of the five Sherpas on the Col, who were scheduled to help establish Camp VI, were unfit to go on so the lead climbers went ahead with only three very heavily laden Sherpas in gales that had helped to blow clear loose snow. They successfully pitched a tent at 7,800 metres (25,600 ft) and the Sherpas set off down.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Summit attempts
The wind had dropped and the snow underfoot was in good condition. When Franco reached Camp V on 14 May he sent the two ill Sherpas down with one of his own Sherpas but soon the three Sherpas descending from Camp VI turned up in an exhausted and distressed state. After they had recovered somewhat it emerged that all three had taken a fall of over 100 metres (330 ft) but the details never became clear. They could not stay at Camp V and Franco felt forced to send them on down to Camp IV for the night. At the end of the day the weather forecast came through predicting fine weather over the whole chain of mountains.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Summit attempts
On 15 May 1955, after a night when the temperature had reached −33 °C (−27 °F), the weather was indeed fine and clear as Couzy and Terray reached the summit. It was the most pointed snow summit Couzy had ever seen, "just like a pencil point" and with a knife-edged ridge leading there. When descending they crossed with Franco's team at Camp VI in "a moment of supreme joy".


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Summit attempts
A second tent was pitched at Camp VI and Franco invited Gyalzen Norbu to join with him and Magnone in trying for the summit next day and for Da Norbu to stay at Camp VI to support their return. To help the others next day, that night Da Norbu voluntarily slept without using his oxygen.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Summit attempts
For Franco, his summit day went perfectly and on the summit the weather was so calm that he, Magnone and Gyalzen Norbu stayed for a long time. The summit was so sharp all three could only stand on it together when belayed with their ice axes. Only the highest peaks could be seen above a layer of cloud but they could see Chamlang, Kangchenjunga (over 60 miles (100 km) away) and Everest. Franco accidentally let his camera slip and it fell down the south face beyond a line of rocks about 18 metres (60 ft) below.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Summit attempts
The loss of the camera was not so important but all thirty-five photographs taken on the ascent were gone. To Gyalzen Norbu's horror Franco was let down on a rope held by Magnone to where he managed to retrieve the camera. They had planted French and Nepalese flags on the summit but they took them back down with them to leave the mountain without festoons. Between Camps V and VI they met the third, reserve, party who had climbed all the way up from Camp III in one day using oxygen continuously. They also were to experience the finest climb of their lives when they reached the summit next day.


1955 French Makalu expedition, 1955 expedition, Summit attempts
They all celebrated back at Base Camp by firing their unused distress flares into the air as a violent wind blew monsoon clouds across the sky.


1955 French Makalu expedition, Assessment
The expedition marked the first time on an eight-thousand foot mountain that the entire team of climbers had reached the summit. The American Alpine Journal thought Franco deserved high praise for his excellent organisation supported by splendid equipment. R.R.E. Chorley, writing in the Alpine Journal, considered that the reason the expedition had no adventures was because it had been so well conducted. Their luck with the weather was to disguise the importance of good leadership and careful planning.


1955 French Makalu expedition, Assessment
Franco unobtrusively managed seven very individualistic climbers in a way that led to them following a coherent plan and to do so happily. Chorley thought that without supplementary oxygen perhaps only one pair would have reached the summit and so oxygen was a positive asset to the enjoyment of the expedition. Writing presciently in 1956 he continued "It is an irony of history to think that in fifty years' time the Makalu expedition will have sunk into almost complete oblivion when contrasted with Annapurna".


1955 French Togoland Territorial Assembly election
Territorial Assembly elections were held in French Togoland on 12 June 1955. The Togolese Party of Progress and the Union of Chiefs and Peoples of the North both won 15 of the 30 seats. The Committee of Togolese Unity boycotted the elections.


1955 French motorcycle Grand Prix
The 1955 French motorcycle Grand Prix was the second round of the 1955 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 15 May 1955 at the Reims-Gueux circuit.


1955 Fresno State Bulldogs football team
The 1955 Fresno State Bulldogs football team represented Fresno State College during the 1955 college football season.


1955 Fresno State Bulldogs football team
The team was led by fourth-year head coach Clark Van Galder and played home games at Ratcliffe Stadium on the campus of Fresno City College in Fresno, California. They finished the season with the best record in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) for the second consecutive year, but no champion was named. The team had a record of nine wins and one loss (9–1, 2–0 CCAA).


1955 Fresno State Bulldogs football team, Team players in the NFL
No Fresno State Bulldogs were selected in the 1956 NFL Draft.


1955 Gateshead West by-election
The Gateshead West by-election of 7 December 1955 was held after the death of Labour MP (MP) John Hall:


1955 Gateshead West by-election
The seat was safe, having been won by Labour at the 1955 United Kingdom general election by over 10,000 votes


1955 Gator Bowl
The 1955 Gator Bowl, part of the 1955 bowl game season, was the eleventh annual contest and took place on December 31, 1955, at the Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. The competing teams were the Auburn Tigers and the Vanderbilt Commodores, both representing the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Vanderbilt upset favored Auburn 25–13 to secure their first ever bowl victory. This remained the lone bowl victory for the Commodores until their 16–14 victory over Boston College in the 2008 Music City Bowl.


1955 Gator Bowl, Teams, Auburn
The 1955 Auburn squad finished the regular season 8–1–1. The Tigers lost to Tulane and tied Kentucky en route to their third-place finish in the conference. They accepted an invitation to play in the Gator Bowl against Vanderbilt in the days following their victory over long-time rival Alabama. The appearance was the fifth overall bowl appearance and third consecutive in the Gator Bowl for the Tigers.


1955 Gator Bowl, Teams, Vanderbilt
The 1955 Vanderbilt squad finished the regular season 7–3. The Commodores lost to Georgia, Ole Miss and Tennessee. They accepted an invitation to play in the Gator Bowl in the days following their loss to Tennessee. The appearance was the first all-time bowl appearance for Vanderbilt.


1955 Gator Bowl, Game summary
Vanderbilt got on the scoreboard first after Don Orr threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Joe Stephenson to give the Commodores a 7–0 lead. Auburn responded on the next drive to tie the game at seven after Howell Tubbs connected with Fob James for a 38-yard touchdown reception. The Commodores retook a 13–7 lead on the next drive after Orr scored on a three-yard touchdown run to cap a five-play, 76-yard drive that included a 45-yard run by Orr himself.


1955 Gator Bowl, Game summary
After having a 51-yard Orr touchdown pass called back because of a holding penalty, Vanderbilt scored later in the quarter on a one-yard Orr touchdown run. The Commodores then scored their final points on the first play of the fourth quarter when Don Hunt scored on a one-yard touchdown run to give Vanderbilt a 25–7 lead. Auburn scored the final points of the game late in the fourth when Joe Childress caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Jimmy Cook to make the final score 25–13. For their performances, Vanderbilt quarterback Don Orr and Auburn running back Joe Childress mere named co-MVPs of the game.


1955 Gent–Wevelgem
The 1955 Gent–Wevelgem was the 17th edition of the Gent–Wevelgem cycle race and was held on 3 April 1955. The race started in Ghent and finished in Wevelgem. The race was won by Briek Schotte.


1955 George Washington Colonials football team
The 1955 George Washington Colonials football team was an American football team that represented George Washington University as part of the Southern Conference during the 1955 college football season. In their fourth season under head coach Bo Sherman, the team compiled a 5–4 record (3–2 in the SoCon).


1955 Georgia Bulldogs football team
The 1955 Georgia Bulldogs football team represented the Georgia Bulldogs of the University of Georgia during the 1955 college football season.


1955 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team
The 1955 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology during the 1955 college football season. The Yellow Jackets were led by 11th-year head coach Bobby Dodd and played their home games at Grant Field in Atlanta.


1955 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team
Early victories over Miami (FL) and Florida had Georgia Tech eyeing the Southeastern Conference crown and a possible national championship. But the Yellow Jackets were upset by Auburn at home, their first loss to the Tigers since 1940. Another setback, a tie to Tennessee, kept them from sharing the SEC title with Ole Miss. They finished the regular season ranked 7th in the AP Poll, and accepted an invitation to the 1956 Sugar Bowl, where they defeated Pittsburgh, 7–0.


1955 German football championship
The 1955 German football championship was the culmination of the football season in West Germany in 1954-55. Rot -Weiss Essen were crowned champions for the first time after a group stage and a final.


1955 German football championship
It was Rot-Weiss Essen's first (and only) appearance in the German final, while Kaiserslautern were making their fifth appearance. It was also the fourth time Kaiserlautern had reached the final in five years, following their championship wins in 1951 and 1953, and their defeat in 1954.


1955 German football championship
The format used to determine the German champions was different from that which was used in the 1954 season. Nine teams qualified for the tournament, with those who qualified as a runner-up having to play qualifying matches. The remaining eight teams were split into two groups of four, and played two rounds of matches with games played home and away. The two group winners then played the national final.


1955 German motorcycle Grand Prix
The 1955 German motorcycle Grand Prix was the fourth round of the 1955 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 26 June 1955 at the Nürburgring circuit.


1955 Giro d'Italia
The 1955 Giro d'Italia was the 38th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro started off in Milan on 14 May with a 163 km (101.3 mi) flat stage and concluded back in Milan with a 141 km (87.6 mi) relatively flat mass-start stage on 5 June. Fourteen teams entered the race, which was won by Italian Fiorenzo Magni of the Nivea-Fuchs team. Second and third respectively were Italian riders Fausto Coppi and Gastone Nencini.


1955 Giro d'Italia
In the 20th stage, arriving in San Pellegrino Terme, Magni and Coppi attacked Gastone Nencini (who was leading the general classification) taking advantage of a puncture he suffered in an unpaved road section. Coppi won the stage (his last victory in the Giro) and Magni took the lead in the general classification.


1955 Giro d'Italia, Teams
Fourteen teams were invited by the race organizers to participate in the 1955 edition of the Giro d'Italia. Each team sent a squad of seven riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 98 cyclists. From the riders that began the race, 72 made it to the finish in Milan.


1955 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
One jersey was worn during the 1955 Giro d'Italia. The leader of the general classification – calculated by adding the stage finish times of each rider – wore a pink jersey. This classification is the most important of the race, and its winner is considered as the winner of the Giro.


1955 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
The mountains classification leader. The climbs all awarded three points to the first rider and one point to the second rider to cross the summit. Although no jerseys were awarded, there was also two classification for the teams, in which the teams were awarded points for their rider's performance during the stages. One classification was for the teams based inside Italy and the other was for teams based outside of Italy.


1955 Giro di Lombardia
The 1955 Giro di Lombardia, 49th edition of the race, was held on October 23, 1955 in Milan, Italy with a total distance of 222 km (~137.9 miles).


1955 Giro di Lombardia
116 cyclists started from Milan, 91 of them had completed the race.


1955 Governor General's Awards
In Canada, the 1955 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were the nineteenth such awards. The awards in this period had no monetary prize but were an honour for the authors.


1955 Grambling Tigers football team
The 1955 Grambling Tigers football team represented Grambling State University as a member of the Midwestern Conference (MWC) during the 1955 college football season. In their 13th season under head coach Eddie Robinson, the Tigers compiled a perfect 10–0 record, won the MWC championship, upset Florida A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic, and outscored opponents by a total of 330 to 54. The team was recognized by the Pittsburgh Courier as the black college football national champion for 1955.


1955 Grand National
The 1955 Grand National was the 109th renewal of the Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 26 March 1955.


1955 Grand National
Thirty horses ran in the race, which was won by 100/9 shot Quare Times, who was ridden by jockey Pat Taaffe and trained by Vincent O'Brien. This was O'Brien's third consecutive Grand National win.


1955 Grand National
Early Mist, the previous year's winner and another O'Brien-trained mount, was the favourite. In attendance at Aintree were The Queen Mother (who owned M'as Tu Vu who was also running in the race), and her daughters Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret.


1955 Grand National
Several fences had been reduced in severity following an outcry over four equine fatalities in the previous year's National. The heavy going meant the 16th fence (the Water Jump) was omitted — the first time in Grand National history that not all 30 fences were jumped.


1955 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 1955 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the seventh F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of eight Grand Prix races in five classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 1 May, with Spanish Grand Prix and ended with Nations Grand Prix in Italy on 4 September.


1955 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Standings, Scoring system
Points were awarded to the top six finishers in each race. Only the four best races counted in the Sidecars, 125cc and 250cc, while in the 350cc and 500cc championships, the five best results were counted.


1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak
The 1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak that struck the southern and central U.S Great Plains States on May 25–26, 1955. It produced at least 46 tornadoes across seven states including two F5 tornadoes in Blackwell, Oklahoma, and Udall, Kansas that caused most of the casualties. The outbreak killed 102 from three tornadoes while injuring hundreds more. Unusual electromagnetic activity was observed, including St. Elmo's fire.


1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak, Confirmed tornadoes, Blackwell, Oklahoma
The Blackwell tornado formed in Noble County at around 9:00 pm CDT before crossing through the eastern portions of the Kay County town of Blackwell as an F5 wedge tornado. Then about 400 yd (0.23 mi) wide (Grazulis 1991), It claimed the lives of 20 people in Blackwell and injured over 200 before crossing into and dissipating over Cowley County, Kansas. Along with destroying nearly 200 homes, the tornado also demolished the town's main employers including the Acme Foundry and the Hazel Atlas Glass plant. 400 homes were destroyed or swept away, and 500 other homes were damaged. 60 businesses were also destroyed and the local hospital also sustained major damage. Most of the western half of the town was spared the worst of the damage.


1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak, Confirmed tornadoes, Udall, Kansas
About 30 minutes after producing the Blackwell tornado, the same supercell produced another violent and long-tracked tornado just east of the first tornado track near the Kansas/Oklahoma border. It proceeded northward across Sumner and Cowley Counties. The town of Udall was especially hard hit with F5 damage that included the disintegration of numerous structures and homes all across the town. Even the town's water tower was toppled. The funnel, about 1,300 yd (0.74 mi) wide, hit Udall at around 10:30 pm CDT. Half of the town's population was killed or injured.


1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak, Confirmed tornadoes, Udall, Kansas
Numerous homes and businesses were destroyed, many of which were swept away. Vehicles were thrown hundreds of yards and mangled beyond recognition, including a pickup truck that was wrapped around a tree and stripped of everything but its frame and tires. The Udall public school building sustained major damage, with beams snapped and blown away. The tornado later dissipated after traveling over 50 mi (80 km) from the Oklahoma border to southeast of Wichita. This tornado was the deadliest in the state's history with 80 fatalities and 273 injuries.


1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak, Other tornadoes
In addition to the F5 tornadoes, NWS officials confirmed an additional F2 tornado near Tonkawa which may have been either part of the Blackwell tornado or a satellite tornado. Other tornadoes in the region occurred on May 27 near the same region but did little damage. Among them were those produced by a thunderstorm which traveled through the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area, where it produced weak tornadoes with minimal damage in the towns of Norman and Chickasha.


1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak, Other tornadoes
Another deadly tornado occurred south of Woodward and at Cheyenne in Roger Mills County in southwestern Oklahoma, killing two people. This storm originated from the Texas Panhandle. The final tornado in the hardest-hit region occurred during the early morning hours of May 26 when a weak tornado occurred in Salisaw in Sequoyah County near the Arkansas border.


1955 Great Plains tornado outbreak, Other tornadoes
Numerous tornadoes occurred across the Midwestern states from Arkansas to Illinois. The strongest tornado was located near the Little Rock area but no fatalities were reported with this tornado or any other on May 26.


1955 Green Bay Packers season
The 1955 Green Bay Packers season was their 37th season overall and their 35th season in the National Football League. The team finished with a 6–6 record under coach Lisle Blackbourn, earning them a third-place finish in the Western Conference.


1955 Green Bay Packers season, Regular season, Standings
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.


1955 Greenock by-election
The Greenock by-election, 1955 was a parliamentary by-election held on 8 December 1955 for the British House of Commons constituency of Greenock in Renfrewshire, Scotland.


1955 Greenock by-election
The vacancy had been created by the death of the incumbent Labour MP Hector McNeil, and the seat was won by the future Labour Minister Dickson Mabon.


1955 Greenock by-election, Candidates
Labour selected Mabon, who at only thirty would become the youngest Labour MP. He had served as a Bevin Boy and in the army. He had been chairman of the Labour Club (1948–50), then chairman of the National Association of Labour Students in 1949–1950, and finally president of Glasgow University Union in 1951–52, and of the Scottish Union of Students, 1954–55.


1955 Greenock by-election, Candidates
The Unionist candidate was Ian MacArthur, who was also thirty, and who worked as an associate director of a marketing and advertising company; he had also contested the seat at the general election earlier that year.


1955 Guatemalan parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Guatemala on 18 December 1955. The result was a victory for the National Democratic Movement, which won 58 of the 66 seats in Congress.


1955 Guild of Television Producers and Directors Awards
The 1955 Guild of Television Producers and Directors Awards were presented at the "Television Ball", held at the Savoy Hotel in London. They were the first major television awards of their kind in the United Kingdom. Following the Guild's merger with the British Film Academy they later became known as the British Academy Television Awards, under which title they are still given.


1955 Haitian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Haiti on 9 January 1955. They were rigged by President Paul Magloire to ensure that Daniel Fignolé (a former leader of the Peasant Worker Movement Party that Magloire had banned) would not be elected to the Chamber of Deputies.


1955 Haitian parliamentary election
Following the elections, Fignolé was jailed and his Haiti Democratique newspaper was shut down. Magloire also cracked down on institutions he saw as potential sources of dissent, dissolving the Faculty of Medicine and closing schools across the country.


1955 Hardin–Simmons Cowboys football team
The 1955 Hardin–Simmons Cowboys football team was an American football team that represented Hardin–Simmons University in the Border Conference during the 1955 college football season. In its first season under head coach Sammy Baugh, the team compiled a 5–5 record (3–2 against conference opponents), finished in third place in the conference, and was outscored by a total of 256 to 221. The team played its home games at Parramore Stadium, also known as Parramore Field, in Abilene, Texas.


1955 Hardin–Simmons Cowboys football team
No Hardin-Simmons players were named to the 1955 All-Border Conference football team.


1955 Harvard Crimson football team
The 1955 Harvard Crimson football team was an American football team that represented Harvard University during the 1955 college football season. In their sixth year under head coach Lloyd Jordan, the Crimson compiled a 3–4–1 record but outscored opponents 143 to 114. William M. Meigs was the team captain.


1955 Harvard Crimson football team
This would be Harvard's final year as a football independent, as the Ivy League, which Harvard had helped co-found in 1954, began football competition in 1956. Six of the eight opponents on the Crimson's 1955 schedule were Ivy League members (with Penn the only Ivy not scheduled); for decades, (future) Ivy members had comprised a large portion of Harvard's opponents.


1955 Harvard Crimson football team
Harvard played its home games at Harvard Stadium in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.


1955 Hawaii R6D-1 crash
The 1955 Hawaii R6D-1 crash was an accident involving a Douglas R6D-1 Liftmaster of the United States Navy which crashed into a mountain peak in Hawaii on 22 March 1955, killing all 66 people on board.


1955 Hawaii R6D-1 crash
At the time, it was the worst crash involving any variant of the Douglas DC-6 airliner the second-worst aviation accident in U.S. history, and one of the worst air accidents anywhere in history, and it equalled the 11 August mid-air collision of two United States Air Force C-119G Flying Boxcars over West Germany and the 6 October United Airlines Flight 409 crash as the deadliest air accident of 1955. It remains the worst air disaster in the history of Hawaii and the deadliest accident involving a heavier-than-air aircraft in the history of United States naval aviation.


1955 Hawaii R6D-1 crash, Aircraft
The R6D-1 involved, Bureau Number 131612, had been manufactured in 1953 and was based at Moffett Field, California. The R6D-1 was the U.S. Navy version of the United States Air Force's C-118 Liftmaster and of the civilian Douglas DC-6B airliner.


1955 Hawaii R6D-1 crash, Flight history
The R6D-1 was carrying a U.S. Navy crew of nine and was loaded to capacity with 57 passengers on a Military Air Transport Service flight from Tokyo, Japan, to Travis Air Force Base, California, via Hickam Air Force Base, Territory of Hawaii. The passengers included 55 servicemen – 17 U.S. Air Force, 22 United States Army, 12 United States Marine Corps, and four U.S. Navy personnel – and two civilians, who were the wife and three-year-old daughter of one of the military passengers. After making its stop at Hickam, the aircraft took off at 6:06 p.m. local time on 21 March 1955 for the final leg of its flight to California. The crew began to experience radio problems, and four hours and 20 minutes after departure they decided to return to Hickam.


1955 Hawaii R6D-1 crash, Flight history
The R6D-1 was flying in a heavy rainstorm as it descended to land at Hickam early on 22 March 1955. At 2:03 a.m. local time while on its descent, the aircraft flew into 3,098-foot (944 m) Pali Kea Peak at the southern end of Oahu's Waianae Range, 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Honolulu. Eyewitnesses reported that the pilot turned his landing lights on just before striking the mountain and, presumably seeing the mountain ahead, banked sharply to avoid it. The maneuver was too late, and the R6D-1 struck a sheer cliff about 200 feet (61 m) below the tip of the peak and exploded.


1955 Hawaii R6D-1 crash, Flight history
The explosion was loud enough to sound like a thunderclap to witnesses five miles (8 km) away. During the impact, the wings separated from the aircraft's fuselage, which already was ablaze as it fell in one piece to the bottom of a gully at a point about 2,000 yards (1,800 m) from the Lualualei Naval Ammunition Magazine and burned. Witnesses reported that the fire was large enough to redden the night sky for over two hours, and remained hot enough that rescuers were unable to approach the wreckage for several hours. No survivors were found.


1955 Hawaii R6D-1 crash, Flight history
The accident was the first of two major air disasters involving an R6D-1 in less than 19 months, the second being the disappearance of an R6D-1 over the Atlantic Ocean in October 1956.


1955 Hawaii R6D-1 crash, Investigation
The post-crash investigation concluded that the R6D-1's crew had made a navigational error which placed the aircraft 8 miles (13 km) off course. Straying into the Waianae Range in darkness without realizing their error until almost the last second, the crew flew the aircraft into the peak.


1955 Hawaii Rainbows football team
The 1955 Hawaii Rainbows football team represented the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa as an independent during the 1955 college football season. In their fourth season under head coach Hank Vasconcellos, the Rainbows compiled a 7–4 record.


1955 Hawaiian submarine eruption
The 1955 Hawaiian submarine eruption was a submarine eruption that occurred 90 km (56 mi) northeast of Necker Island on August 20, 1955. Steaming water, water discoloration and an eruption column took place during the eruption. A possible pumice raft was also witnessed. The eruption originated about 4 km (2.5 mi) below sea level from an unnamed submarine volcano. The eruption produced a column of smoke several meters high. It is probably the westernmost historical eruption within the Hawaiian Islands. Another but less certain submarine eruption may have occurred 60 km (37 mi) northwest of Oahu on May 22, 1956.


1955 Hawthorn Football Club season
The 1955 season was the Hawthorn Football Club's 31st season in the Victorian Football League and 54th overall.


1955 Hokkaido gubernatorial election
A gubernatorial election was held on 23 April 1955 to elect the Governor of Hokkaido Prefecture.


1955 Hokkaido gubernatorial election, Results
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1955 Holy Cross Crusaders football team
The 1955 Holy Cross Crusaders football team was an American football team that represented the College of the Holy Cross as an independent during the 1955 college football season. In its 12th year under head coach Eddie Anderson, the team compiled a 6–4 record.


1955 Holy Cross Crusaders football team
The team played its home games at Fitton Field on the college's campus in Worcester, Massachusetts.


1955 Hong Kong municipal election
The 1955 Urban Council election was held on 30 March 1955 for the 2 of the 4 elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong. It was the fourth Urban Council election in the post-war period.


1955 Hong Kong municipal election
The turnout was low compared to last year as only 3,650 voters cast their votes, 1,540 ballots from Hong Kong Island and 374 from Kowloon. Brook Bernacchi and Woo Pak-chuen of the Reform Club were reelected. G.O. Jones who ran against the Reform Club for the third time was defeated.


1955 Houston Cougars football team
The 1955 Houston Cougars football team was an American football team that represented the University of Houston in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1955 college football season. In its first season under head coach Bill Meek, the team compiled a 6–4 record (2–2 against conference opponents) and finished in third place out of five teams in the MVC. Jim Blackstone and Lavell Isbell were the team captains. The team played its home games at Rice Stadium in Houston.


1955 Howard Bulldogs football team
The 1955 Howard Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented Howard College (now known as the Samford University) as an independent during the 1955 college football season. In their first year under head coach Howard Foote, the team compiled a record of 1–8. Seniors James Chandler and Wayne Walker were the team captains.


1955 Humboldt State Lumberjacks football team
The 1955 Humboldt State Lumberjacks football team represented Humboldt State College during the 1955 college football season. Humboldt State competed in the Far Western Conference (FWC).


1955 Humboldt State Lumberjacks football team
The 1955 Lumberjacks were led by fifth-year head coach Phil Sarboe. They played home games at the Redwood Bowl in Arcata, California. Humboldt State finished with a record of seven wins, three losses and one tie (7–3–1, 2–2–1 FWC). The Lumberjacks outscored their opponents 254–171 for the season.


1955 Humboldt State Lumberjacks football team, Team players in the NFL
No Humboldt State players were selected in the 1956 NFL Draft.


1955 Hunter Valley floods
The Hunter Valley Floods (also known as the Maitland Flood) of 23 February 1955 was a major flood on the Hunter River in New South Wales, Australia. They were one of the most devastating natural disasters in Australia's history.


1955 Hunter Valley floods
The flood overwhelmed rivers on both sides of the Great Dividing Range, creating an inland sea the size of England and Wales. Worst hit was the inland city of Maitland, which is sited precariously on low-lying land on the Hunter, and which on this occasion was completely inundated by floodwaters. A total of 25 lives were claimed during a week of flooding that washed away 58 homes and damaged 103 beyond repair. In Maitland alone, 2180 homes were invaded by water.


1955 Hunter Valley floods, History, Background
Heavy rain owing to the influence of La Niña had been occurring over the catchment of the Hunter River since October 1954 when, on 23 February 1955, an extremely intense monsoonal depression developed over southern Queensland and north-east New South Wales and moved southwards. The very strong and extremely moist northeasterly airflow meant that over the basin of the Hunter and parts of the Darling River, rainfall amounts for a 24‑hour period were the highest since instrumental records began around 1885. Around Coonabarabran, as much as 327 millimetres (over 13 inches) fell in a single day, whilst falls in the upper part of the Hunter Basin the following day were generally around 200 millimetres (8 inches).


1955 Hunter Valley floods, History, Flooding
With such heavy rain on already very wet ground the Hunter, along with tributaries of the Darling (Castlereagh, Namoi and Macquarie especially). reached levels quite unprecedented since measurements were first taken about 100 years earlier. For instance, the Namoi's discharge, normally only about 25 cubic metres (875 cubic feet) per second, reached a massive 9000 cubic metres (320,000 cubic feet) per second, whilst the Macquarie peaked at around 6100 cubic metres (215,000 cubic feet) per second.


1955 Hunter Valley floods, History, Flooding
In Maitland the Hunter exceeded its August 1952 record height by nearly a metre, flooding as many as 5000 homes with as much as five metres of muddy water. 15,000 people were evacuated, most by boat or helicopter, whilst 31 homes were never rebuilt. In Dubbo, four thousand residents were evacuated as the main street was under more than a metre of turgid, muddy water, and the same thing occurred all along the Macquarie River, and at Gilgandra, a third of the buildings were completely destroyed. A hole torn in the main street was later found to contain two large semi-trailers.


1955 Hunter Valley floods, History, Flooding
The floods took altogether the lives of 25 people. Some 2,000 cattle and many thousands of head of other livestock were drowned. The damage to bridges, roads, railways and telephone lines took months to repair. There also were millions of pounds worth of crops destroyed.


1955 Hunter Valley floods, Timeline
Below in a timeline of the six days over which Maitland was ravaged by floodwaters:


1955 Hunter Valley floods, Resulting flood-warning system
At the time of the Hunter Valley flood, there was no system in place to monitor and predict the height of rivers, the likelihood of flooding, nor was there an effective system for disseminating this information. Some of these functions were done by State governments, but they were not nationally coordinated. The 1955 flood provided the political impetus for the federal Bureau of Meteorology to develop a national flood monitoring and forecasting service.


1955 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
The 1955 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were held in Tacen, Yugoslavia (now in Slovenia) under the auspices of International Canoe Federation. It was the 4th edition. The Mixed C2 event debuted at these championships.


1955 IRFU College Draft
The 1955 IRFU College Draft was the third and final official sports draft held by the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union, a predecessor of the East Division of the Canadian Football League, in the spring of 1955. 41 players were chosen from among eligible players from five eastern universities, McGill University, Queen's University, University of Toronto, University of Western Ontario, and McMaster University. The Ottawa Rough Riders had the first selection, Gino Fracas, in the last draft to feature eastern teams exclusively.


1955 Ice Hockey World Championships
The 1955 Ice Hockey World Championships was the 22nd edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Krefeld and Cologne, West Germany from February 25 to March 6, 1955. A total of 14 nations participated in this World Championship, which was a new record for the postwar era. As a result, the teams were seeded with the strongest 9 teams placed in Pool A (the championship pool) and the remaining 5 nations as well as the West German B team placed in Pool B.


1955 Ice Hockey World Championships
Canada, represented by the Penticton Vees of the Okanagan Senior League won their 16th international title. For the second straight year both the Soviets and Canadians were undefeated until they played each other in the final game of the tournament. This time Canada won 5–0 giving the Soviets the silver medal, and their second European Championship. Czechoslovakia won the bronze by dominating the weaker teams, drawing the Americans, and narrowly defeating the Swedes.


1955 Ice Hockey World Championships
Despite the victory, the Canadian Press reported sentiments from Canadian players and spectators that "Canada should never again take part in the tournament under its present setup", and Canadian Amateur Hockey Association president W. B. George was concerned that the game in Europe took on political and religious meanings in which Canada did not want to become involved.


1955 Idaho State Bengals football team
The 1955 Idaho State Bengals football team was an American football team that represented Idaho State University in the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) during the 1955 college football season. In their fourth season under head coach Babe Caccia, the Bengals compiled an 8–1 record (6–0 against conference opponents), won the RMC championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 171 to 70. The team captains were Larry Kent and Howard Green.


1955 Idaho Vandals football team
The 1955 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1955 college football season. The Vandals were led by second-year head coach Skip Stahley and were members of the Pacific Coast Conference. Home games were played on campus at Neale Stadium in Moscow, with one home game in Boise at old Bronco Stadium at Boise Junior College.


1955 Idaho Vandals football team
Idaho compiled a 2–7 overall record and lost all four games in the PCC. After seven losses to open, including three straight shutouts, they won their last two games.


1955 Idaho Vandals football team
The Vandals lost the Battle of the Palouse with neighbor Washington State, blanked 0–9 at home on October 15. Idaho won the previous year in Pullman, the first win over the Cougars since 1925; the next came in 1964. In the rivalry game with Montana, Idaho ran its  winning streak over the Grizzlies to four and retained the Little Brown Stein.


1955 Idaho Vandals football team, Notable players
This Vandal team had two sophomores who went on to extended careers in professional football.


1955 Idaho Vandals football team, Notable players
Jerry Kramer of Sandpoint played eleven seasons at right guard with the Green Bay Packers and won five NFL titles (and the first two Super Bowls) under head coach Vince Lombardi. He was an All-Pro five times and was the lead blocker on the famous Packers sweep. Kramer made the NFL's all-decade team for the 1960s and was the last member of the NFL's 50th anniversary team to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, at age 82 in 2018.


1955 Idaho Vandals football team, Notable players
Wayne Walker of Boise played fifteen seasons with the Detroit Lions as an outside linebacker and was named All-Pro three times. Both were selected in the fourth round of the 1958 NFL Draft; Kramer was 39th overall and Walker 45th, and both were periodic placekickers as pros. (As Vandals, Kramer was the kicker and Walker was the long snapper.)


1955 Idaho Vandals football team, All-conference
No Vandals were on the All-PCC team or the second team. Honorable mention were fullback Wilbur Gary and sophomore center Wayne Walker.


1955 Idaho Vandals football team, NFL Draft
One junior from the 1955 Vandals was selected in the 1957 NFL Draft:


1955 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
The 1955 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1955 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 14th year under head coach Ray Eliot, the Illini compiled a 5–3–1 record and finished in fifth place in the Big Ten Conference. Quarterback Em Lindbeck was selected as the team's most valuable player.


1955 Indian Rajya Sabha elections
Rajya Sabha elections were held on various dates in 1955, to elect members of the Rajya Sabha, Indian Parliament's upper chamber.


1955 Indian Rajya Sabha elections, Elections, Members elected
The following members are elected in the elections held in 1955. They are members for the term 1955-1961 and retire in year 1961, except in case of the resignation or death before the term. The list is incomplete.


1955 Indian Rajya Sabha elections, Bye-elections
The following bye elections were held in the year 1955.


1955 Indiana Hoosiers football team
The 1955 Indiana Hoosiers football team represented the Indiana Hoosiers in the 1955 Big Ten Conference football season. The Hoosiers played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. The team was coached by Bernie Crimmins, in his fourth year as head coach of the Hoosiers.


1955 Indianapolis 500
The 39th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1955. The event was part of the 1955 AAA National Championship Trail and was race 3 of 7 in the 1955 World Championship of Drivers.


1955 Indianapolis 500
The race is notable to many as the race in which Bill Vukovich was killed in a crash while seemingly on his way to an unprecedented third consecutive Indy 500 win.


1955 Indianapolis 500, Time trials, Saturday May 14 – Pole Day time trials
Gusty winds, as well as the threat of rain, was observed on pole day, therefore nearly all of the competitors stayed off the track. Around the garage area, the drivers and teams agreed amongst themselves to sit out time trials for the afternoon, and instead qualify together in better conditions on Sunday. However, in the final 20 minutes, Jerry Hoyt, who had not been informed about the agreement, suddenly put his car in line, and pulled away for an unexpected qualifying attempt.


1955 Indianapolis 500, Time trials, Saturday May 14 – Pole Day time trials
His speed of 140.045 mph was not spectacular, but as the fastest (and only) car thus far of the day, he sat on the pole position. Without hesitation, Tony Bettenhausen, Sr. took to the track moments later. After two fast laps, he was slowed by a gust of wind, and qualified second. Sam Hanks and Pat O'Connor got their cars ready, but neither were able to complete attempts. The day closed with only two cars in the field, and Hoyt the surprising pole winner – to the dismay of several in the garage area.


1955 Indianapolis 500, Time trials, Sunday May 15 – Second day time trials
Qualifying resumed in better conditions, and most of the drivers who stayed off the track Saturday took to the track on Sunday. Jack McGrath (142.580 mph) was the fastest qualifier, and lined up third. Hoyt's pole-winning speed from the day before ended up being only the 8th-fastest overall in the field – a record slowest ranked pole speed.


1955 Indianapolis 500, Time trials, Sunday May 15 – Second day time trials
Near the end of the day, Manny Ayulo crashed due to a possible steering fault and died the following day.


1955 Indianapolis 500, Starting grid
R  = Indianapolis 500 rookie;  W  = Former Indianapolis 500 winner


1955 Indianapolis 500, Race recap
Jack McGrath, starting from the outside despite the fastest qualifying time, grabbed the initial lead, but was quickly challenged by Bill Vukovich, who was looking for his third consecutive win. Vukovich took the lead on lap four, surrendering it back to McGrath on lap 15 but regaining it on lap 16. Fred Agabashian, who had finished in the top ten the previous two years spun on lap 39 and could not continue. McGrath chased Vukovich until lap 54, when he pulled over with mechanical problems.


1955 Indianapolis 500, Race recap
Despite getting out of the car and attempting to repair it himself, he was forced to drop out with a magneto issue. With Vukovich having a considerable lead on lap 56, Rodger Ward, several laps down, flipped over twice, either due to a problem with the wind, oil, or breaking an axle. Although he landed on his wheels, the car was facing the wrong way. Al Keller, attempting to avoid Ward, turned to the inside, going close to or on to the grass, before turning hard to the right and coming quickly back up the track and contacting Johnny Boyd.


1955 Indianapolis 500, Race recap
Boyd's car careened into Vukovich, who appeared to be attempting to also go to the left of Ward. Vukovich made a last second attempt to avoid Boyd to the right, but Boyd's car sent Vukovich hard into the outside barrier. Vukovich's front end also lifted into the air, causing the front to clear the barrier and the car to contact it with the rear, sending the car into a cartwheel, during which it hit several vehicles parked outside the track, and possibly a pole.


1955 Indianapolis 500, Race recap
The car burst into flames after it came to rest, and Vukovich died from injuries from the crash. Boyd's car also flipped but he and the other drivers escaped major injury. Driver Ed Elisian stopped his car on the infield and ran across the track in an attempt to help Vukovich.


1955 Indianapolis 500, Race recap
After 27 minutes of running under caution, Jimmy Bryan took over the lead of the race, but was forced to retire after ninety laps with a fuel pump issue, when the lead was taken over by Bob Sweikert. The only other driver to retire due to contact for the remainder of the race was Cal Niday on lap 170. Art Cross led the race from laps 133 to 156, but after surrendering the lead to Don Freeland was forced to retire due to mechanical trouble on lap 168. Freeland similarly was passed by Sweikert on lap 160, and retired on lap 178. Sweikert led the remainder of the race. Sweikert stated that the winds made racing difficult, and perhaps led to a decision of racing cautiously and taking advantage of other's difficulty.


1955 Indianapolis 500, Aftermath
The two deaths in the 500 were part of a particularly deadly year for motorsports, which also included four other Indy drivers dying in other races, Alberto Ascari being killed while testing a sports car at Monza, and a horrific accident at the 24 Hours of Le Mans which saw nearly 100 fatalities including Pierre Levegh who was driving at the time of the accident. Following the year the American Automobile Association ceased sanctioning auto races (including the Indy 500) and the United States Auto Club (USAC) was formed to handle sanctioning duties. It would take until 1959 for fire suits to be made mandatory for all drivers and roll bars for all cars after Jerry Unser's fatal accident at the 1959 Indianapolis 500.


1955 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Sid Collins served as chief announcer. The broadcast was carried by 237 affiliates in all 48 states, as well as Armed Forces Radio. The broadcast was dedicated to the memory of Wilbur Shaw, who was killed in a plane crash in October.


1955 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
Luke Walton reported from the north pits for the third year. Charlie Brockman, in his fourth appearance on the network, conducted the winner's interview in victory lane.


1955 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
All five of the major radio stations in the Indianapolis area carried the broadcast. The broadcast was notable as it reported the fatal crash of Bill Vukovich.


1955 Indianapolis 500, Broadcasting, Radio
Chief Announcer: Sid CollinsAnalyst: Gordon GrahamDriver Expert: Mauri RoseStatistician: Charlie Brockman


1955 Indianapolis mayoral election
The Indianapolis mayoral election of 1955 took place on November 8, 1955 and saw the election of Philip L. Bayt to a second non-consecutive term. Bayt's opponent was Republican James O. Birr.


1955 Individual Speedway World Championship
The 1955 Individual Speedway World Championship was the tenth edition of the official World Championship to determine the world champion rider.


1955 Individual Speedway World Championship
In a very competitive World final Peter Craven of England finished one point ahead of three other riders who had to ride off for the silver medal. The defending champion Ronnie Moore won the ride off to claim silver from fellow countryman Barry Briggs and Welshman Eric Williams who both crashed leaving Moore an easy victory, Briggs took third place from Williams who missed out on a medal.


1955 Individual Speedway World Championship, World final, Classification
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


1955 Indonesian Constitutional Assembly election
Constitutional Assembly elections were held in Indonesia on 15 December 1955. The Indonesian Provisional Constitution of 1950 had provided for the establishment of a democratically elected Constitutional Assembly to draw up a permanent constitution. In April 1953 the legislature passed the election bill. The elections for the People's Representative Council were set for September 1955, with the Constitutional Assembly elections three months later.


1955 Indonesian legislative election
Legislative elections were held in Indonesia on 29 September 1955, the first since independence. Candidates ran to be elected to the 257-seat People's Representative Council, which would replace the existing provisional legislature. Despite hopes that the elections would bring about political stability, the legislature elected only lasted four years before being dissolved by presidential decree.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Background
The first elections were originally planned for January 1946, but because the Indonesian National Revolution was still underway, this was not possible. After the war, every cabinet had elections in its program. In February 1951 the Natsir cabinet introduced an election bill, but the cabinet fell before it could be debated. The next cabinet, led by Sukiman did hold some regional elections. Finally, in February 1952, the Wilopo cabinet introduced a bill for voter registration. Discussions in the People's Representative Council did not start until September because of various objections from the political parties. According to Feith, there were three factors. Firstly, legislators were worried about losing their seats; secondly they were worried about a possible swing to Islamic parties and thirdly an electoral system in accordance with the Provisional Constitution of 1950 would mean less representation for regions outside Java.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Background
Given the fact that cabinets had fallen after introducing controversial measures, there was reluctance to introduce an election bill and there were concerns about possible political conflicts caused by electioneering. However, many political leaders wanted elections as the existing legislature was based on a compromise with the Netherlands (the erstwhile colonial power) and as such had little popular authority. They also believed elections would bring about greater political stability. The "17 October 1952 affair", when armed soldiers in front of the palace demanded dissolution of the legislature, led to greater demands from all parties for early elections.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Background
By 25 November, an elections bill had been submitted to the People's Representative Council. After 18 weeks of debate and 200 proposed amendments, the bill passed on 1 April 1953  and became law on 4 April. It stipulated one member of the legislature for 150,000 residents and gave the right to vote to everybody over the age of 18, or who was or had been married. Once the bill had passed the cabinet began appointing members of the Central Electoral Committee. This was to have one member from each government party and an independent chairman. However, the Indonesian National Party (PNI) protested that they had no members on the committee, and this dispute was still unresolved when the cabinet fell on 2 June.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Background
On 25 August 1953, the new prime minister, Ali Sastroamidjojo, announced a 16-month schedule for elections starting from January 1954. On 4 November the government announced a new Central Electoral Committee chaired by PNI member S. Hadikusomo and including all the parties represented in the government, namely Nahdatul Ulama (NU), the Indonesian Islamic Union Party (PSII) the Indonesian People's Party (PRI), the National People's Party (PRN), the Labor Party and the Peasants Front of Indonesia (BTI), as well as the government-supporting Islamic Education Movement (Perti) and the Indonesian Christian Party (Parkindo).


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Campaign
According to Feith, the first phase of the election campaign began on 4 April 1953 when the election bill passed into law, and the second phase when the Central Electoral Committee approved the party symbols on 31 May 1954.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Campaign
At the time the bill passed into law, the cabinet was a coalition of the Islamic-based Masjumi and the nationalistic PNI. The next two successive cabinets were coalitions led by one of the two aforementioned parties with the other in opposition. Therefore, the main issue of the campaign was the debate between these two parties over the role of Islam in the state. Masjumi denied aiming for an Islamic state while the PNI emphasized that their pro-Pancasila stance was not anti-Islam as Masjumi sought to portray.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Campaign
The other two main and major Islamic parties, the NU and the PSII, supported Masjumi in this debate. A third factor was the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI), which campaigned on such significant issues like poverty due to the continued imperialist-leaning/-influenced nature of the government's cabinet policy. Masjumi tried to draw a clear line between the PKI and other political parties, accusing it of being a puppet element and a tool of Moscow in the country, as well as of seeking to influence and then spread communist ideology across Indonesia.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Campaign
Party programs were rarely widely discussed during the campaign. Party symbols with or without campaign slogans were displayed on most streets and thoroughfares in cities, towns and villages all across the country, as well as on private homes, public buildings, buses and trains, trees and even calendars. The PKI made extraordinary efforts to promote its symbol, as seen in their displaying it everywhere, from political posters to simple graffiti to newspapers, to make sure people everywhere saw and noticed it.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Campaign
The PKI's election campaign was based around social activities such as organizing tool-sharing programs for farmers and leading and directing the building of irrigation canals and channels for agriculture and the peasantry. As mentioned earlier, the party was looking beyond the election to build a permanent basis of widespread and large-scale support throughout Indonesia.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Campaign
In the last few months of the election campaign, the major parties focused on educating and mass-informing voters in areas where they had managed to establish village-level influence, organization and control. This phase included persuasion as well as threats.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Campaign
All through September, party leaders constantly traveled around the country to promote their parties, themselves and their political ideologies. Daily party-newspapers and magazines were printed in constantly-increasing numbers and given away for free. The articles in such political-dailies and media like these attacked rival parties and extolled their own. In the villages across Indonesia, the emphasis shifted from large-scale mass rallies to small-scale meetings and gatherings and house-to-house canvassing of political support.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Campaign
According to former agent Joseph Smith, the CIA covertly gave a million dollars to the centrist Masyumi Party to reduce support for Sukarno and the Communist Party of Indonesia during the election.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Preparations and polling day
Although in April 1954 the Central Electoral Committee had announced that the election would be held on 29 September the following year, by July and early August, preparations had fallen behind schedule The appointment of members of polling station committees planned to start on 1 August did not begin in many regions until 15 September. In his independence day address on 17 August, President Sukarno said that anybody putting obstacles in way of elections was a "traitor to the revolution". On 8 September, the information minister said that elections would be held on September 29 except in a few areas where preparations were not complete. Eventually, as a result of "feverish activity", polling station committees were ready on election day.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Preparations and polling day
In the run up to polling day, rumors spread, including a widespread poisoning scare in Java. There was also hoarding of goods. In many parts of country there was a spontaneous and unannounced curfew for several nights before polling day.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Preparations and polling day
On polling day itself, many voters were waiting to cast their ballots by 7am. The day was peaceful as people realized nothing bad was going to happen. A total of 87.65% of voters cast a valid vote and 91.54% voted. Allowing for deaths between registration and polling, only about 6% did not vote.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Electoral system
The 257 seats of the People's Representative Council were elected in 16 multi-member constituencies by proportional representation.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Results
The election was a major success for the NU, which saw its number of seats in the People's Representative Council increase from 8 to 45. A surprise was the poor showing of Masyumi, the Socialist Party and Murba.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Results
There was a large gap between the "big 4" (PNI, Masjumi, NU and PKI, with more than three-quarters of the vote shared among them) and the rest of the parties, but contrary to expectations, the number of parties actually increased - there were now 28 with seats in the legislature as opposed to 20 before the election, with the largest party holding only 22% of seats.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Results
The distribution of votes was uneven across the country. The PNI won 85.97% of its vote in Java, the NU 85.6% and the PKI 88.6%, despite the fact that only 66.2% of the population lived on Java. Conversely only 51.3% of Masjumi's vote came from Java, and it established itself as the leading party for the one-third of people living outside Java.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Aftermath
The poor showing of the parties in the cabinet of Prime Minister Burhanuddin Harahap was a major blow. The parties who did better, such as the NU and the PSII were "reluctant" cabinet members with a weak standing. This left the government with the choice of making major concessions to the NU and PSII or seeing them leave the cabinet. With no clear electoral verdict, it was back to inter-party politicking and bargaining. The lack of a clear outcome discredited the existing political system.


1955 Indonesian legislative election, Aftermath
The new People's Representative Council convened on 4 March 1956. It was to last four years. In his opening speech, President Sukarno called for an Indonesian form of democracy, and over the next few years, he would speak more about his concept (konsepsi) of a new system of government. In 1957, the era of Liberal Democracy came to an end with the establishment of Guided Democracy. Indonesia would have to wait until 1999 for its next free national elections.


1955 International Cross Country Championships
The 1955 International Cross Country Championships was held in San Sebastián, Spain, at the Lasarte Hippodrome on March 19, 1955. In addition, an unofficial women's championship was held one week later at Ayr, Scotland on March 26, 1955. A report on the men's event as well as the women's event was given in the Glasgow Herald.


1955 International Cross Country Championships
Complete results for men, and for women (unofficial), medallists, and the results of British athletes were published.


1955 International Cross Country Championships, Participation, Men's
An unofficial count yields the participation of male 70 athletes from 8 countries.


1955 International Cross Country Championships, Participation, Women's
An unofficial count yields the participation of 12 female athletes from 2 countries.


1955 Internationale Tulpenrallye
The 1955 Internationale Tulpenrallye was the 7th Internationale Tulpenrallye. It was won for the first time by W.J.J. "Hans" Tak, driving a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL.


1955 Iowa Hawkeyes football team
The 1955 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1955 Big Ten Conference football season.


1955 Iowa State Cyclones football team
The 1955 Iowa State Cyclones football team represented Iowa State College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts (later renamed Iowa State University) in the Big Seven Conference during the 1955 college football season. In their second year under head coach Vince DiFrancesca, the Cyclones compiled a 1–7–1 record (1–4–1 against conference opponents), tied for fifth place in the conference, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 218 to 69. They played their home games at Clyde Williams Field in Ames, Iowa.


1955 Iowa State Cyclones football team
The team's regular starting lineup on offense consisted of left end  Mel Wostoupal, left tackle Ray Tweetan, left guard Bob Bird, center Grant Blaney, right guard Jim Lyons, right tackle Jim McCaulley, right end Harold Potts, quarterback John Breckenridge, left halfback Gary Lutz, right halfback Brucke Alexander, and fullback Marv Walter. Jim McCaulley and Mel Wostoupal were the team captains.


1955 Iowa State Cyclones football team
The team's statistical leaders included Donn Lorenzen with 179 rushing yards, John Breckenridge with 354 passing yards, and Harold Potts with 173 receiving yards and 18 points (three touchdowns). No Iowa State players were selected as first-team all-conference players.


1955 Iowa State Teachers Panthers football team
The 1955 Iowa State Teachers Panthers football team was an American football team that represented Iowa State Teachers College (later renamed University of Northern Iowa) in the North Central Conference during the 1955 college football season. In their 18th season under head coach Clyde Starbeck, the team compiled an 8–1 record (5–1 against NCC opponents) and finished in second place in the NCC.


1955 Irish Greyhound Derby
The 1955 Irish Greyhound Derby took place during July and August with the final being held at Harold's Cross Stadium in Dublin on 12 August 1955.


1955 Irish Greyhound Derby
The winner Spanish Battleship won £500 and was trained by Tom Lynch and owned by Tim 'Chubb' O'Connor. Spanish Battleship won a historic third consecutive title, a feat that had not been achieved before or since.


1955 Irish Greyhound Derby, Competition Report
Spanish Battleship was a national icon by the time he lined for an attempt to win a third title. He suffered a surprise first round defeat when he was caught before the line by Crostys Bell but he still qualified for the next round by virtue of finishing second. Trainer Tom Lynch had other entries in the competition and two dead heated in the first round, they were Imperial Toast and Dancing Jester. Makra Bibs who had defeated Spanish Battleship in the Tostal Cup earlier in the year was the fastest heat winner in 29.68.


1955 Irish Greyhound Derby, Competition Report
Due to there being only 36 greyhounds in the event this year there was a rest before the semi-finals got underway and Lynch gave Spanish Battleship a trial. In the semi-finals Spanish Battleship returned to winning form by beating Mile Bush Champion by three lengths but Makra Bibs failed to make the final. A very fast time of 29.53 from Crostys Bell was good enough to take the second semi-final from Sailaway Sailor and Dancing Jester completed the round after he beat Claremont John in the third heat.


1955 Irish Greyhound Derby, Competition Report
Harold's Cross stadium was overwhelmed by crowds attempting to see Spanish Battleship and they backed him into favourite at 5-4 with Crostys Bell drifting in the market at 7-4. Spanish Battleship was first away from the traps again and stretched to a three length victory from Crostys Bell to cement his place into the record books.


1955 Irish local elections
The 1955 Irish local elections were held in all the counties, cities and towns of the Republic of Ireland in 1955 under the Local Government Act, 1955.


1955 Isle of Man TT
In the 1955 Isle of Man TT the Lightweight 250cc race moved to the 10.75 miles long Clypse Course, also used for the Lightweight 125cc TT race, and the Sidecar TT, and the course was used for these races until 1959. During this period the rest of the TT program remained on the Mountain Circuit.


1955 Isle of Man TT
In the Junior TT, Norton rider Bob McIntyre led for four of the seven laps, but brake overheating and suspension problems forced him to slow, allowing Bill Lomas on a Moto Guzzi to pass, and go on to victory.


1955 Israeli legislative election
Elections for the third Knesset were held in Israel on 26 July 1955. Voter turnout was 82.8%.


1955 Israeli legislative election, Parliament factions
The table below lists the parliamentary factions represented in the 2nd Knesset.


1955 Israeli legislative election, Results
Mapai retained its plurality in the Knesset, although its share of the vote dropped by 5.1 and its share of seats dropped from 47 (at the end of the Second Knesset) to 40. Meanwhile, Herut overtook the General Zionists, Mapam, and Hapoel HaMizrachi to become the second-largest party, with its share of seats nearly doubling (from 8 in the Second Knesset to 15 in the Third).


1955 Israeli legislative election, Results
The Third Knesset is notable for being the only Knesset thus far in which none of the represented parties merged or split (although two parties did change their names) and no MKs switched parties, making it the most stable Knesset in Israel's history.


1955 Israeli legislative election, Aftermath
Unlike the second Knesset, the third Knesset was one of the most stable in Israel's history. There were only two governments, and it was the only Knesset to date during which none of the parties split or merged. As with the first and second Knesset, the speaker was Yosef Sprinzak until his death on 28 January 1959. He was replaced by Ahdut HaAvoda's Nahum Nir.


1955 Israeli legislative election, Aftermath, Seventh government
The third Knesset started with David Ben-Gurion forming the seventh government of Israel (the previous two Knessets had six governments; two in the first and four in the second) on 3 November 1955. His Mapai party formed a coalition with the National Religious Front (which later changed its name to the National Religious Party), Mapam, the Progressive Party, Ahdut HaAvoda, and the three Israeli Arab parties, the Democratic List for Israeli Arabs, Progress and Work, Agriculture and Development. The government had 16 ministers. It collapsed when Ben-Gurion resigned on 31 December 1957 over the leaking of information from ministerial meetings.


1955 Israeli legislative election, Aftermath, Eighth government
Ben-Gurion formed the eighth government a week later on 7 January 1958 with the same coalition partners. The number of ministers remained the same. The eighth government collapsed when Ben-Gurion resigned again on 5 July 1959 after Labour Unity and Mapam had voted against the government on the issue of selling arms to West Germany and refused to leave the coalition. Elections for the fourth Knesset were called for 3 November 1959.


1955 Italian Grand Prix
The 1955 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, in Monza, Italy on 11 September 1955. It was the seventh and final race of the 1955 World Championship of Drivers.


1955 Italian Grand Prix
In the wake of the 1955 Le Mans disaster, the championship was still open after the British Grand Prix; although after that race (with the French Grand Prix already having been cancelled) the German, Swiss and Spanish Grands Prix were all cancelled. This meant that Fangio won the world driver's championship for the 3rd time and the 2nd time in succession.


1955 Italian Grand Prix
A new concrete banking had been constructed over where the original slightly banked version was, and the combined 10 km (6.214 mi) Monza circuit was used for the first time since 1933. The Curva Sud had also been modified from 2 right hand corners into one sweeping right-hander known as the "Parabolica".


1955 Italian Grand Prix
Of the 4 factory Mercedes cars in the race, Fangio and Moss drove the streamlined, closed-wheel W196's, while Kling and Taruffi drove open-wheel W196's. This was the 4th and last appearance of the streamlined Mercedes cars at a championship GP.


1955 Italian Grand Prix
This was the last Grand Prix race for 1950 world champion Nino Farina. This was also the last Mercedes 1-2 finish until the 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix, 59 years later. This was also the last Grand Prix win for a Mercedes as an engine manufacturer until the 1997 Australian Grand Prix. This was also the last Grand Prix win for Mercedes as a constructor until the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix.


1955 Italian presidential election
The Italian presidential election of 1955 was held in Italy on 28–29 April 1955.


1955 Italian presidential election
Only members of Parliament and regional delegates were entitled to vote, most of these electors having been elected in the 1953 general election. As head of state of the Italian Republic, the President has a role of representation of national unity and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the Italian Constitution, in the framework of a parliamentary system.


1955 Italian presidential election, Procedure
In accordance to the Italian Constitution, the election was held in the form of a secret ballot, with the Senators and the Deputies entitled to vote. The election was held in the Palazzo Montecitorio, home of the Chamber of Deputies, with the capacity of the building expanded for the purpose. The first three ballots required a two-thirds majority of the 843 voters in order to elect a president, or 562 votes. Starting from the fourth ballot, an absolute majority was required for candidates to be elected, or 422 votes. The presidential mandate lasts seven years.


1955 Italian presidential election, Procedure
The election was presided over by the President of the Chamber of Deputies Giovanni Gronchi, who proceeded to the public counting of the votes, and by the President of the Senate Cesare Merzagora.


1955 Italian presidential election, Chronology
On 28 April 1955 the Italian Parliament convened to elect the new President of the Republic, since President Luigi Einaudi's term was about to end. After the death of Alcide De Gasperi, the new leader of Christian Democracy party Amintore Fanfani decided to endorse the candidacy of the incumbent President of the Senate Cesare Merzagora, but failed to control his own party's representatives, who on the first ballot succeeded in making Merzagora's candidacy sink.


1955 Italian presidential election, Chronology
On the first round left-wing parties decided to sustain the actionist Ferruccio Parri, while liberals and monarchists decided to vote for the outgoing President Luigi Einaudi.


1955 Italian presidential election, Chronology
After Merzagora's candidacy failed to gain a large majority, Fanfani decided to endorse the incumbent President of the Chamber of Deputies Giovanni Gronchi. As a member of the leftist faction of the Christian Democracy, Gronchi was able to gain the support of left-wing parties. On 29 April 1955 on the fourth round vote, Gronchi was elected the new President of Italian Republic by a large margin.


1955 Italian presidential election, Inauguration
Giovanni Gronchi officially sworn in as the new President of Italy on 11 May 1955.


1955 Italian presidential election, Inauguration, Gallery
Gronchi and Einaudi during the swearing in ceremony at the Quirinal Palace


1955 Jamaican general election
General elections were held in Jamaica on 12 January 1955. The result was a victory for the People's National Party, which won 18 of the 32 seats. Voter turnout was 65.1%.


1955 Japan Series
The 1955 Japan Series was the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) championship series for the 1955 season. It was the sixth Japan Series and featured the Pacific League champions, the Nankai Hawks, against the Central League champions, the Yomiuri Giants.


1955 Japan Series, Matchups, Game 1
Saturday, October 15, 1955 – 2:02 pm at Osaka Stadium in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture


1955 Japan Series, Matchups, Game 2
Sunday, October 16, 1955 – 2:00 pm at Osaka Stadium in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture


1955 Japan Series, Matchups, Game 3
Tuesday, October 18, 1955 – 2:03 pm at Korakuen Stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo


1955 Japan Series, Matchups, Game 4
Friday, October 21, 1955 – 2:00 pm at Korakuen Stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo


1955 Japan Series, Matchups, Game 5
Saturday, October 22, 1955 – 1:01 pm at Korakuen Stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo


1955 Japan Series, Matchups, Game 6
Sunday, October 23, 1955 – 2:00 pm at Osaka Stadium in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture


1955 Japan Series, Matchups, Game 7
Monday, October 24, 1955 – 2:00 pm at Osaka Stadium in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture


1955 Japanese general election
General elections were held in Japan on 27 February 1955. The result was a victory for the Japan Democratic Party, which won 185 of the 467 seats. Voter turnout was 75.8%.


1955 Japanese general election
On 15 November 1955, the Japan Democratic Party and the Liberal Party combined as the modern Liberal Democratic Party, which ruled Japan contiuously until 1993. The Rightist Socialist Party of Japan and the Leftist Socialist Party of Japan also merged to form the Japan Socialist Party, which was Japan's largest opposition party in the 1955 system.


1955 Kansas City Athletics season
The 1955 Kansas City Athletics season was the 55th season for the franchise in MLB's American League, and the first in Kansas City after playing the previous 54 in Philadelphia. The team won 63 games – only the fifth time in 20 years that they won more than 60 games – and lost 91, finishing sixth in the American League, 33 games behind the AL Champion New York Yankees.


1955 Kansas City Athletics season, Offseason
In 1954, the Mack family decided to sell the Philadelphia Athletics. Charlie Finley made an offer to purchase the team, but was refused. Clint Murchison also made an offer to purchase the team with plans to relocate to Southern California, but was also refused. On October 12, 1954, the owners approved the sale of the Athletics to Chicago businessman Arnold Johnson, who moved the team from Philadelphia to Kansas City for the 1955 season. Finley would later buy the A's from Johnson's estate in 1960. Murchison's son, Clint Jr., would later become one of the founders of the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys franchise in 1960.


1955 Kansas City Athletics season, Offseason
In 1955, the new Kansas City Athletics drew 1,393,054 to Municipal Stadium.


1955 Kansas City Athletics season, Offseason, Spring training
The A's and Philadelphia Phillies had played a Philadelphia City Series since 1903. The Kansas City A's returned to Philadelphia at the end of spring training in 1955, and the teams played two games. The A's beat the Phillies in the second game, 10–2, at Wilmington Park, home of the original Wilmington Blue Rocks. Both games were played at Wilmington Park, Wilmington, Delaware, on April 9 and April 10, 1955, immediately prior to the start of the regular season.


1955 Kansas City Athletics season, Regular season, Opening game
The first game in Kansas City's Major League history was played at home at Municipal Stadium on Tuesday, April 12, 1955, before 32,147 fans. Facing the Detroit Tigers, the Athletics broke a 2–2 deadlock in the sixth inning with a three-run rally keyed by pinch hitter Don Bollweg's two-run single, and went on to win, 6–2.