1955

1955 was the 84th year after the founding of the city of Birmingham.

Events

Monkey Island, constructed in 1955

• April 2: Monkey Island, the Jimmy Morgan Zoo's first exhibit at Lane Park, opened.
• July 4: Mona, a female elephant, went on exhibit at the Jimmy Morgan Zoo.
• October 22: "Birmingham Days" concert with 11 bands at Municipal Auditorium.
• November 1: The City of Birmingham formally took over operations of the Birmingham Zoo at Lane Park.
• The municipalities of Gardendale and Kansas were incorporated.
• The Birmingham Civic Opera Association was founded.
• The first public exhibition of the Rucker Agee Collection of Maps of the Southeast was held.
• The C. Powell Noland family purchased the Birmingham Little Theater and donated it to the Town & Gown Theatre.
• Red Diamond's production facility was destroyed by fire.
• Ed Baker donated land for the rebuilding of McElwain Baptist Church.
• Rickwood Caverns opened to the public.
• The first Country Boy Eddie Show appeared on WAPI-TV.

Business

• February 14: Sike's Children's Shoes opened in Homewood.
• John A. Hand became president of the First National Bank of Birmingham.
• Hamburger Heaven (Homewood) closed.
• Harry Brock, Jr took a position with the Exchange Security Bank.
• November 2: WFHK-AM received its FCC license.
• A King Edward Cigar Plant opened in Cullman.

Sports

• August 14: Satchel Paige signed a contract to play for the Greensboro Patriots of the Carolina League.
• War Eagle was introduced as Auburn's new fight song.
• October: Alabama A&M defeated Alabama State 13-6 in the Magic City Classic at Legion Field.
• November 26: Auburn beat Alabama 26-0 in the 1955 Iron Bowl.
• Sam Hairston was named to the Western League All-Star Team.
• See also: 1955 Birmingham Barons

Works

• Andre Williams began recording with the Don Juans for Fortune Records.
• Hugh Martin arranged the score for MGM's The Gold Rush.
• The Cousin Cliff Magic Set was produced by the Magic City Toy Company

Books

• From Faith to Faith by B. Davie Napier
• The Teachings of Classical Puritanism on Conjugal Love by Roland Frye

Buildings

• Avondale Presbyterian Church
• 1955 Idea Home
• Center Street Middle School in Titusville
• Ensley Library
• Gate City Elementary School
• Knesseth Israel Congregation on Montevallo Road
• Monkey Island, the first attraction at the Birmingham Zoo in Lane Park
• Mountain Brook Shopping Center
• St Anthony's Church (Ensley)
• The original East Lake School was demolished for expansion of Barrett Elementary School.
• Renovations to the Jefferson County Courthouse Bessemer Division

People

• Joseph A. Durick was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Mobile-Birmingham Diocese.
• Annie Easley began working for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in Cleveland, Ohio.
• Jim Folsom, Sr succeeded Gordon Persons as Governor of Alabama.
• Hank Hartsfield joined the United States Air Force.
• George Huddleston, Jr joined the United States House of Representatives.
• Herbert Longenecker took a job with the University of Illinois at Chicago.
• Stanleigh Malotte retired from his position as organist for the Alabama Theatre.
• Jamie Moore succeeded G. L. Pattie as Chief of the Birmingham Police Department.
• Mae Rosenberger began working at Rosenberger's Birmingham Trunk.
• Guy E. Snavely succeeded George R. Stuart as President of Birmingham-Southern College.

Awards

• Richard Arrington, Jr graduated cum laude in biology from Miles College.
• Frances Carter earned her doctorate from the University of Illinois.
• Sonia Sanchez received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Hunter College.
• Jabo Waggoner graduated from Ensley High School.

Births

• February 1: T. R. Dunn, basketball player
• March 17: India Henson, yoga instructor
• April 4: Michael R. Jordan, pastor of New Era Baptist Church
• May 6: Debra Ghigna, author and poet
• June 4: Sandra Little Brown, t-shirt shop owner
• June 6: James Spann, meteorologist
• June 23: Franklin Biggs, chef and restauranteur
• July 25: Patricia Todd, Alabama representative
• August 18: baseball player Bruce Benedict in Birmingham
• October 2: AIDS researcher Michael Saag in Louisville, Kentucky
• October 7: Children's book author Jo Kittinger in Miami, Florida
• October 17: Artist Kerry James Marshall
• November 17: Mark Gaines, judge
• December 1: Mark Thompson, radio host
• Buck Brock: Vice President of Business Affairs at Samford University
• John Draper, school administrator
• Trieu Duong, jeweler
• Stephannie Huey, math teacher
• Charles Norman Mason, composer
• Dawn Robertson, retail executive
• Quenette Shehane, murder victim
• Herman Maurice, street dweller
• Van Sykes, Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q

Deaths

• Carrie Bridewell, opera mezzo-soprano

See also: List of Birmingham homicides in 1955

Context

In 1955 Panamanian president José Antonio Remón Cantera was assassinated. Winston Churchill resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Jonas Salk's polio vaccine was introduced. West Germany was recognized as a sovereign state and joined NATO. Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California. Gunsmoke premiered on CBS. Juan Peron was ousted by coup in Argentina. Racial segregation in interstate buses was banned. Rosa Parks kicked off the Montgomery bus boycott.

Notable births in 1955 included Kevin Costner, Eddie Van Halen, John Grisham, Arsenio Hall, Bruce Willis, Reba McEntire, Billy Bob Thornton, Edwin Moses, Yo-Yo Ma, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Deaths in 1955 included Albert Einstein, James Agee, Charlie Parker, James Dean, and Honus Wagner.

Top grossing films of 1955 included Lady and the Tramp, Rebel Without a Cause, and Oklahoma. Nobakov's Lolita was published in Paris. William Faulkner won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature for A Fable and Tennessee Williams won the Pulitzer for Drama for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The top pop songs were Bill Haley and the Comets' "Rock Around the Clock", Tennessee Ernie Ford's "Sixteen Tons", and Mitch Miller's "Yellow Rose of Texas."

1950s

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