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January 2 - José Antonio Remón Cantera president of Panama is murdered at a racetrack in Panama City

January 7 - Marian Anderson is the first African American singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

January 21 - The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union announces end of the war between the USSR and Germany, which began during World War II in 1941. Until then, despite the end of World War II, the USSR was formally at war with Germany.

January 22 - Pentagon announces plan to develop ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) armed with nuclear weapons.

January 28 - Congress authorizes President Eisenhower to use force to protect Formosa from Red China.

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February 12 - US President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends the first U.S. advisors to South Vietnam.

February 22 - In Chicago's Democratic primary, Mayor Martin H. Kennelly loses to the head of the Cook County Democratic Party, Richard J. Daley, 364,839 to 264,775

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March 5 - WBBJ signs on the air in the United States as WDXI

March 7 - The 1954 Broadway musical version of Peter Pan, starring Mary Martin, is presented on television for the first time by NBC. It also marks the first time that a stage musical is presented in its entirety on TV exactly as performed onstage. The program gains the largest viewership of a TV special up to that time, and becomes one of the first great television classics.

March 17 - The Richard Riot occurs in Montreal.

March 19 - KXTV signs on the air in the United States

March 20 - Blackboard Jungle opens in theaters featuring the song Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and his Comets, thus propelling Rock and Roll as a musical genre. Teenagers jump from their seats to dance to the song.

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April 5 - Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

April 5 - Richard J. Daley defeats Robert Merrian to become mayor of Chicago by a vote of 708,222 to 581,555.

April 6 - Anthony Eden becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

April 11 - The KMT sabotaged the "Kashmir Princess", killing 16 but fails to assassinate Zhou Enlai.

April 12 - The Salk polio vaccine is introduced.

April 15 - Ray Kroc starts the McDonald's fast food restaurant chain.

April 18 - Imre Nagy, Premier of Hungary, is ousted for being too moderate.

April 18 - Albert Einstein dies from ruptured aortic aneurysm at 1:15am

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May 5 - West Germany becomes a sovereign state.

May 9 - West Germany joins NATO.

May 14 - The Warsaw Pact is formed by the communist states of Eastern Europe and the USSR.

May 15 - The Austrian State Treaty is signed by the Allied Powers, restoring Austria as a sovereign, democratic state, to be neutral in the Cold War.

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June 11 - Eighty-three are killed and at least 100 are injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collide in the 1955 Le Mans disaster.

June 13 - Mir Mine, the first diamond mine of the USSR, is discovered.

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July 17 - Disneyland opens.

July 18 - The first atomic-generated electrical power is sold commercially.

July 18 - Illinois's Govenor William Stratton signs Loyalty Oath Act that mandates all public employees take a loyalty oath or lose their jobs.

July 18 - Beginning of Geneva Summit between US, USSR, UK, and France.

July 23 - Geneva Summit between US, USSR, UK, and France ends.

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August 19 - Hurricane Diane hits the northeast United States, killing 200 and causing over $1 billion in damage.

August 20 - Hundreds killed in anti-French rioting in Morocco and Algeria.

August 25 - The last Soviet forces leave Austria.

August 28 - Emmett Till is killed in Money, Mississippi

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September 6 - Istanbul Pogrom: Istanbul's Greek minority is the target of a government-sponsored pogrom.

September 10 - Gunsmoke debuts on CBS.

September 15 - Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita is published in Paris by Olympia Press.

September 19 - President of Argentina Juan Peron is ousted in a military coup.

September 19 - Hurricane Hilda kills 200 in Mexico.

September 22 - The UK's first commercial television broadcaster, ITV, launches

September 24 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower suffers coronary thrombosis while on vacation in Denver.

September 30 - Actor James Dean killed in car accident near Cholame, California.

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October 4 - The Reverend Sun Myung Moon is released from prison in Seoul, Korea.

October 20 - First film footage of Elvis Presley in a planned film short about Cleveland disc jockey Bill Randle

October 26 - After the last Allied troops have left the country and following the provisions of the Austrian Independence Treaty, Austria declares its permanent neutrality.

October 26 - Ngo Dinh Diem proclaims Vietnam a republic with himself as president.

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November 1 - Time bomb explodes aboard a United Airlines DC-6 killing 44 above Longmont, Colorado.

November 5 - Racial segregation is forbidden on trains and buses in interstate commerce.

November 12 - In the film Back to the Future a lightning bolt strikes the clock tower in Hill Valley, CA.

November 23 - The Cocos Islands are transferred from the control of the United Kingdom to Australia.

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December 1 - Montgomery, Alabama seamstress, Rosa Parks, refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man and is arrested.

December 5 - The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge to become the AFL-CIO.

December 5 - The Montgomery Improvement Association is formed in Montgomery, Alabama by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other Black ministers to coordinate a Black boycott of city buses.

December 14 - Tappan Zee Bridge in New York opens to traffic.

December 31 - General Motors becomes the first American corporation to make over USD $1 billion in a year.

70 mm film is introduced with Oklahoma!.

Düsseldorf-Mönchengladbach Airport (Flughafen Düsseldorf-Mönchengladbach) was founded.

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January 2 - Tex Brashear, American voice actor

January 6 - Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor

January 12 - Rockne O'Bannon, American writer and television producer

January 13 - Jay McInerney, American writer

January 15 - Nigel Benson, British author and illustrator

January 17 - Steve Earle, American musician

January 18 - Kevin Costner, American actor

January 19 - Simon Rattle, English conductor

January 25 - Terry Chimes, British drummer (The Clash)

January 26 - Eddie Van Halen, Dutch-born musician

January 27 - John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States

January 27 - Alexander Stuart, British author

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February 3 - Stephen Euin Cobb, American novelist

February 8 - John Grisham, American novelist

February 10 - Chris Adams, British professional wrestler (d. 2001)

February 10 - Greg Norman, Australian golfer

February 12 - Arsenio Hall, American actor and talk show host

February 15 - Christopher McDonald, American actor

February 16 - Hunt Block, American actor

February 19 - Jeff Daniels, American actor

February 20 - Kelsey Grammer, American actor

February 23 - Tom Bodett, American voice actor, radio personality, and writer

February 23 - Howard Jones, English musician

February 24 - Alain Prost, French race car driver

February 24 - Steve Jobs, American computer pioneer

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March 5 - Penn Jillette, American magician and comedian

March 6 - Alberta Watson, Canadian actress

March 7 - Tommy Kramer, American football player

March 15 - Dee Snider, American singer

March 16 - Jiro Watanabe, Japanese boxer

March 16 - Bruno Barreto, Brazilian film director

March 17 - Gary Sinise, American actor

March 19 - Bruce Willis, American actor

March 22 - Pete Sessions, American politician

March 23 - Moses Malone, American basketball player

March 28 - John Alderdice, Irish politician

March 28 - Reba McEntire, American singer and actress

March 29 - Earl Campbell, American football player

March 31 - Angus Young, Scottish-born guitarist (AC/DC)

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April 5 - Akira Toriyama, Japanese manga artist

April 5 - Janice Long, British radio disc jockey

April 6 - Michael Rooker, American actor

April 7 - Werner Stocker, German actor (d. 1993)

April 8 - Kane Hodder, American actor

April 11 - Kevin Brady, American politician

April 15 - Dodi Al-Fayed, Egyptian businessman (d. 1997)

April 16 - Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg

April 21 - Ebiet G Ade, Indonesian singer and songwriter

April 23 - Tony Miles, English chess player (d. 2001)

April 24 - John de Mol, Dutch media tycoon

April 29 - Kate Mulgrew, American actress

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May 1 - Ray Buttigieg, Maltese composer and poet

May 2 - Dave Winer, American software pioneer

May 2 - Willie Miller, Scottish footballer

May 3 - David Hookes, Australian cricketer (d. 2004)

May 3 - Steve Jones, English guitarist (Sex Pistols)

May 6 - Tom Bergeron, American television host

May 7 - Kevin Reed, American Presbyterian author, theologian and publisher.

May 9 - Anne-Sofie von Otter, Swedish mezzo-soprano

May 10 - Chris Berman, American sports broadcaster

May 10 - Mark David Chapman, American assassin of John Lennon

May 16 - Olga Korbut, Russian gymnast

May 16 - Jack Morris, baseball player

May 16 - Hazel O'Connor, British singer

May 16 - Debra Winger, American actress

May 17 - Bill Paxton, American actor

May 18 - Chow Yun-Fat, Hong Kong actor

May 19 - James Gosling, Canadian software engineer

May 20 - Zbigniew Preisner, Polish film composer

May 21 - Paul Barber, British field hockey player

May 21 - Stan Lynch, American drummer, songwriter, and producer

May 26 - Masaharu Morimoto, Japanese chef

May 26 - Doris Dörrie, German actress and screenplay writer

May 28 - John McGeoch, Scottish musician (Siouxsie and the Banshees and Public Image Ltd.) (d. 2004)

May 30 - Topper Headon, British drummer (The Clash)

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June 2 - Dana Carvey, American actor and comedian

June 7 - Tim Richmond, American race car driver (d. 1989)

June 8 - Tim Berners-Lee, English inventor of the World Wide Web

June 12 - Paul O'Grady, English talk show host and comedian

June 13 - Larry Mike Garmon, American author

June 14 - Gillian Bailey, British actor

June 20 - Tor Norretranders, Danish author

June 23 - Alan J. Gow Motorsport executive

June 21 - Tim Bray, Canadian computer programmer

June 26 - Mick Jones, British guitarist (The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite)

June 27 - Isabelle Adjani, French actress

June 30 - David Alan Grier, American actor and comedian

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July 1 - Sanma Akashiya, Japanese comedian and actor

July 9 - Fred Norris, American radio personality

July 21 - Howie Epstein, American musician and producer (d. 2003)

July 27 - Allan Border, Australian cricket player

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August 4 - Billy Bob Thornton, American actor

August 7 - Vladimir Sorokin, Russian writer

August 19 - Peter Gallagher, American actor

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September 1 - Bruce Foxton, English musician

September 2 - Robert Duncan, American astrophysicist

September 9 - John Kricfalusi, Canadian cartoonist

September 10 - Pat Mastelotto, American musician

September 16 - Robin Yount, baseball player

September 19 - Richard Burmer, American composer, sound designer, and musician (d. 2006)

September 21 - Richard Hieb, American astronaut

September 23 - Don Graham, American journalist

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October 7 - Yo-Yo Ma, French-born Chinese cellist

October 10 - David Lee Roth, American singer

October 15 - Kulbir Bhaura, British field hockey player

October 18 - Timmy Mallett, British television presenter

October 21 - Rich Mullins, American musician (d. 1997)

October 28 - Bill Gates, American software entrepreneur

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November 2 - Chris Burnett, American saxophone player, composer, veteran of US military jazz bands and band leader

November 3 - Phil Simms, American football player

November 4 - Matti Vanhanen, Prime Minister of Finland

November 6 - Maria Shriver, American journalist

November 7 - Detlef Ultsch, German judo athlete

November 9 - Karen Dotrice, English actress

November 11 - Jigme Singye Wangchuk, King of Bhutan

November 13 - Whoopi Goldberg, American actress, comedienne, and singer

November 21 - Kyle Gann, American composer and music critic

November 23 - Steven Brust, American author

November 24 - Ian Botham, British cricketer

November 30 - Billy Idol, British singer

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December 3 - Steven Culp, American actor

December 4 - Maurizio Bianchi, Italian musician

December 7 - Priscilla Barnes, American actress

December 12 - Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Greek politician and businesswoman

December 15 - Paul Simonon, British bassist (The Clash)

December 17 - Brad Davis, American basketball player

December 18 - Ray Liotta, American actor

December 21 - Jane Kaczmarek, American actress

December 27 - Barbara Olson, American television commentator (d. 2001)

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January 2 - Jose Antonio Remon, President of Panama (assassinated) (b. 1908)

January 15 - Yves Tanguy, French painter (b. 1900)

January 21 - Archie Hahn, American athlete (b. 1880)

January 24 - Ira Hayes, U.S. Marine (b. 1923)

January 31 - John Mott, American YMCA leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)

March 11 - Sir Alexander Fleming, Scottish scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1881)

March 12 - Charlie Parker, American saxophonist (b. 1920)

April 7 - Theda Bara, American film actress (b. 1885)

April 18 - Albert Einstein, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)

May 4 - Georges Enescu, Romanian composer (b. 1881)

May 10 - Tommy Burns, American boxer (b. 1881)

May 11 - Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer (b. 1874)

May 16 - James Agee, American writer (b. 1909)

May 18 - Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator (b. 1875)

May 26 - Alberto Ascari, Italian race car driver (b. 1918)

June 5 - Pattillo Higgins, American oil pioneer and businessman (b. 1863)

June 24 - Carlos Gardel, Argentine singer (b. 1890)

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July 23 - Cordell Hull, United States Secretary of State, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1871)

August 2 - Wallace Stevens, American poet (b. 1879)

August 5 - Carmen Miranda, Portuguese singer and actress (b. 1909)

August 12 - Thomas Mann, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1875)

August 12 - James B. Sumner, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)

September 30 - James Dean, American actor (automobile accident) (b. 1931)

October 1 - Charles Christie, American film studio owner (b. 1880)

October 9 - Theodor Cardinal Innitzer, Catholic Archbishop of Vienna (b. 1875)

November 4 - Cy Young, baseball player (b. 1867)

November 5 - Maurice Utrillo, French artist (b. 1882)

November 12 - Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer (b. 1878)

November 22 - Shemp Howard, American actor (b. 1895)

November 27 - Arthur Honegger, French-born Swiss composer (b. 1892)

December 6 - Honus Wagner, baseball player (b. 1874)

December 13 - Egas Moniz, Portuguese neurologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1874)

December 27 - Alfred Francis Blakeney Carpenter, English soldier (b. 1881)

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Physics - Willis Eugene Lamb, Polykarp Kusch

Chemistry - Vincent du Vigneaud

Physiology or Medicine- Axel Hugo Theodor Theorell

Literature - Halldór Kiljan Laxness

Peace - not awarded