Dashed left edge = started before December 1955 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond December 1955
Events in December 1955 11
1874 – 1955Egas MonizNobel in MedicineThe first Portuguese person to win a Nobel Prize, awarded for the development of cerebral angiography.
1952 – 1955Early Solo Exhibitions in JapanStaged several solo exhibitions of her paintings in Matsumoto and Tokyo throughout the early 1950s, showing abstract natural forms in watercolour, gouache and oil paint. Began covering surfaces — walls, floors, canvases — with the polka dots that would become her trademark.
1952 – 1955The AdvertiserBegan his career as a copy boy at The Advertiser in Adelaide and was eventually promoted to staff cartoonist at the age of 20. Found inspiration in the work of English cartoonist Ronald Searle and Mad magazine.
1953 – 1955Early Theatre and Creating Mrs EverageBegan appearing in revues at Melbourne University. In December 1955, he first performed as Mrs Norm Everage, a dowdy Moonee Ponds housewife, at the campus Union Theatre.
1953 – 1955Hollywood FilmsMade her Hollywood debut in the 3D film Wings of the Hawk (1953), followed by Ride Clear of Diablo (1954) with Audie Murphy and The Americano (1955) with Glenn Ford.
19551955: Juan Manuel FangioMercedesFangio's third title came in a season overshadowed by the catastrophic Le Mans disaster that killed 83 spectators and prompted Mercedes to withdraw from racing.
1955Correspondence with Georgia O'KeeffeWrote to the American artist Georgia O'Keeffe seeking advice about pursuing an art career in the United States. O'Keeffe replied encouragingly, and the exchange gave Kusama the confidence to leave Japan. Before departing, she destroyed many of her early works.
1955Joined ToyotaGraduated from the prestigious Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo with a degree in business and joined Toyota Motor Sales Co., beginning a 45-year career with the company.
1955AFL and CIO mergeRival labor federations unite to form the AFL-CIOThe American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO, ending a two-decade rivalry between the two labor federations. George Meany became the combined organization's first president. The merger created the largest labor federation in United States history.
1955Montgomery Bus Boycott beginsAfrican Americans boycott segregated buses after Rosa Parks's arrestOn December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. Local Black leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., organized a boycott of the city's buses that began four days later and lasted over a year. The boycott became a landmark of the American civil rights movement.
1955 – 2017Liu Xiaobo (1955-2017)Died 13 July 2017, aged 61Chinese writer and human rights activist who won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize while imprisoned for co-authoring a manifesto calling for political reform. He died in Chinese custody from liver cancer, having never been permitted to leave the country to receive treatment abroad. He was the first Nobel Peace laureate to die in state custody since 1938.