1955 State of Vietnam referendum Đại, and police went door-to-door, warning people of the consequences of failing to vote. After his brother Ngô Đình Nhu successfully rigged the poll, Diệm proclaimed himself president of the newly created Republic of Vietnam. The defeat of the French Army at Điện Biên Phủ in 1954, followed by the Geneva Accords, led to a divided Vietnam. The French-backed State of Vietnam, led by former Emperor Bảo Đại, provisionally held control south of the 17th parallel. Hồ Chí Minh's Viet Minh held the north under the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which Hồ Chí Minh had proclaimed in 1945. The agreements
1954 NCAA Cross Country Championships team national championship was won by the Oklahoma A&M Cowboys, their first. The individual championship was won by Alien Frame, from Kansas, with a time of 19:54.20. 1954 NCAA Cross Country Championships The 1954 NCAA Cross Country Championships were the 16th annual cross country meet to determine the team and individual national champions of men's collegiate cross country running in the United States. Held on November 22, 1954, the meet was hosted by Michigan State College at the Forest Akers East Golf Course in East Lansing, Michigan. The distance for the race was 4 miles (6.4 kilometers). Since the current