The world in
What happened in 1955?
14 events across 5 world regions, each with its sources.
Europe
- Cold War
After World War II, the Western Bloc led by the United States and the Eastern Bloc led by the Soviet Union engaged in a nearly half-century-long political, economic, and military confrontation. Although the two superpowers never fought directly, they competed globally through proxy wars, an arms race, and the Space Race. The Cold War began in the late 1940s and ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Signing of the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR
On December 30, 1922, the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR was signed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, officially establishing the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Plenipotentiary delegates from the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, and Byelorussian Soviet republics signed the treaty, along with a declaration serving as its preamble. The treaty legally formalized the political union of the Soviet republics that had existed since 1919, creating a new federal government with centralized functions in Moscow. Legislative power was vested in the Congress of Soviets and the Central Executive Committee, while executive power lay with the Council of People's Commissars.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Austrian State Treaty
In 1955, the Austrian State Treaty was signed at Vienna’s Belvedere Palace by Austria and the four Allied occupying powers (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union). It restored Austria as a sovereign, independent state, ending wartime German rule and the postwar occupation. The treaty entered into force on 27 July 1955.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Establishment of the Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was established in May 1955 in Warsaw, Poland, by the Soviet Union and seven Central and Eastern European socialist states, forming a key Cold War military alliance. Formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, it provided a collective defense mechanism as a counterbalance to NATO. The Warsaw Pact also served as the military complement to the Comecon.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Palace of Moncloa becomes Prime Ministerial residence
The Palace of Moncloa, located in the Moncloa-Aravaca district of Madrid, became the official residence and workplace of the Spanish prime minister. Since then, ‘Moncloa’ has become a metonym for the central government.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
South Asia
- Outbreak of the Vietnam War
In 1955, armed conflict erupted between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), marking the start of the Vietnam War. This war was simultaneously a civil war, a Cold War proxy war, and a postcolonial independence conflict, with North Vietnam backed by the Soviet Union and China, and South Vietnam supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The fighting later spread to Laos and Cambodia, ending with all three countries under communist rule in 1975.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Malayan Emergency
In 1948, the British colonial government declared an emergency due to an armed struggle by the Malayan Communist Party. The guerrilla war against the independence-seeking Malayan National Liberation Army, with the involvement of Commonwealth forces, lasted until the lifting of the emergency in 1960.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- The Bandung Conference
In April 1955, 29 newly independent Asian and African states held a large-scale international conference in Bandung, Indonesia, for the first time without colonial powers, discussing peace, independence, and development, and fostering the Non-Aligned Movement.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Jadavpur University established as a full university
The former Bengal Technical Institute was converted into Jadavpur University on 24 December 1955, becoming a state public research university in West Bengal, India. Its main campus is in Jadavpur, south Kolkata, with a second campus in Bidhannagar.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
North America
- Peak Phase of the African American Civil Rights Movement (1954–1968)
Between 1954 and 1968, the African American civil rights movement peaked, using nonviolent means to challenge racial segregation and discrimination in the United States. Originating in the Reconstruction era and influenced by Gandhi's nonviolent philosophy, it involved mass protests and civil disobedience. This led to new federal protections, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Signing of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty
On September 8, 1951, the United States and Japan signed the Security Treaty in San Francisco, alongside the Treaty of San Francisco that ended World War II in Asia. Imposed by the U.S. as a condition for ending the Occupation and restoring Japan's sovereignty, it established a long-lasting military alliance and allowed the U.S. to maintain forces in the Far East.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Establishment of Dinosaur Provincial Park
Dinosaur Provincial Park was established in the wilderness of Alberta, Canada, situated about 220 kilometres east of Calgary. Located in the heart of the badlands, the park is renowned for its rich dinosaur fossils, with 35 species discovered dating back approximately 75 million years; it later became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
North Africa
- Algerian War
The Algerian War was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front from 1954 to 1962, leading to Algeria's independence. Considered a major decolonization war, it involved guerrilla warfare and war crimes by both sides.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Oceania
- Southwest National Park established
Around the mid-20th century, Australia established the Southwest National Park in south-west Tasmania. Bounded by the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park to the north and the Hartz Mountains National Park to the east, it forms part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. It is Tasmania's largest national park, covering over six thousand square kilometres.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Around 1955
These are known only to the century, not to the year. They are listed separately so a rough date is never mistaken for an exact one.
- Emergence of the Green Revolution
- Beginning of the Digital Revolution
- Establishment of Women's Suffrage Worldwide
- Establishment of Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park
- Construction of Grimeton Longwave Radio Station
- Construction of the Trans-Iranian Railway begins
- Construction of the 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright Begins
- Construction of the Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in 'The Centre of Heaven and Earth'