1955 Newspapers

Find out about the 1955 headlines that captured the interest of the public. The 1950’s was a decade of technological advancement, and was particularly characterized by the introduction of television into the family home. By the middle of the 1950’s, it was impossible to predict which direction society was going in. Women had taken a step backwards, and were expected to stay at home and raise the family while men went out to work.

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1955 Newspapers

1955 Newspaper Headlines

Our 1955 newspaper articles tell the history of 1955 through the words and pictures of those who lived the experiences. Which 1955 events stood out this year? It was a year of rock and roll, where the genre took over mainstream music. Physicist and genius Albert Einstein sadly passed away, Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California, and Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her seat for a white person on a bus.

1955 newspapers cover all kinds of events, from natural disasters, to public scandals, to political dramas. Learn about this important year in history with an authentic newspaper, the perfect gift for a history fan, or someone with a connection to this year.

January 25, 1955
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in the Soviet Union announces the end of the war between the USSR and Germany. This conflict had begun during the Second World War in 1941.

March 7, 1955 
The 1954 Broadway musical version of Peter Pan is presented on television for the first time by NBC. This is the first time that a stage musical is presented in its entirety on TV exactly as performed on stage. The show gains the largest viewership of a TV special up to this time and becomes one of the first great television classics.

March 20, 1955
“Blackboard Jungle” opens in movie theaters featuring the song “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and his Comets. The impact of the song is massive, propelling Rock and Roll music as a mainstream genre.

April 12, 1955
The Salk Polio Vaccine is introduced, consisting of an injected dose of the dead polio virus. Following the subsequent development of an oral vaccine, polio is eradicated in most countries. On this date, it receives full approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

April 15, 1955
Ray Kroc opens the ninth McDonald’s fast food restaurant since the company was founded in 1940. Kroc later takes over the business and oversees its worldwide expansion.

April 18, 1955
Albert Einstein, German-born physicist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879) dies from a ruptured aortic aneurysm. Hospital pathologist Thomas Stoltz Harvey removes Einstein’s brain for preservation, without the permission of his family, hoping that neuroscience of the future will discover the source of Einstein’s exceptional intelligence.

May 9, 1955
West Germany joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

May 9, 1955 
Jim Henson introduces the earliest version of Kermit the Frog in the premiere of his puppet show Sam and Friends. 

May 21, 1955 
Chuck Berry records his first single Maybelline for Chess Records in Chicago.

June 16, 1955 
Lady and the Tramp
premieres in Chicago as Walt Disney’s 15th animated film.

July 13, 1955
Ruth Ellis (b. 1926) is hanged for murder in London. She is the last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom.

July 17, 1955
‘Disneyland’ opens in Anaheim, California.

August 27, 1955
The first edition of the “Guinness Book of World Records” is published in London.

August 28, 1955 
Black 14-year-old Emmett Till is lynched and shot in the head for allegedly grabbing and threatening a white women in Money, Mississippi. His white murderers, Roy Bryant and J. M. Milam, are acquitted by an all-white jury.

September 10, 1955 
Western series Gunsmoke debuts on CBS.

September 26, 1955 
Singers Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, known as “America’s Sweethearts,” marry.

September 30, 1955
Actor James Dean is killed when his Porsche 550 Spyder collides with another car near Cholame in California.

October 3, 1955 
The Mickey Mouse Club
airs on ABC.

December 1, 1955 
Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to surrender her seat on a bus to a white person in Montgomery, Alabama.

December 5, 1955 
The Montgomery bus boycott begins as a civil rights protest in Montgomery, Alabama. African Americans refused to ride city buses to protest segregated seating. The boycott would last until December 1956.

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ReviewsReviews

Rated 4.4 out of 5

based on 86 reviews

S&J Z March 25 2023

Great presentation, wonderful experience to read something so authentic from that time.

KAREN STEVENSON March 21 2023

Excellent quality and beautifully preserved. Highly recommended!!!

John Smith Junior March 21 2023

I never got my Newspaper. Supposedly, it was lost I'm transit. I believe I was given a refund. But I wanted the paper

  • March 21 2023

    Thank you for your review.

    We are sorry to hear this.

    Your newspaper was shipped from us on February 13, but unfortunately we were not provided with your FedEx tracking information and therefore we would confirm that your order has been lost in transit, which we do apologize for.

    You have been in contact with our Customer Service Team and the Representative went to raise a replacement for you, however with these being original newspapers, unfortunately there were no further stock available. A full refund for your order has been processed.

    Please accept our apologies for any inconvenienced caused.

    Kindest Regards
    The Historic Newspapers Team

Elena Borovitskaya March 9 2023

Fun! Great Gift! And great story!

Jim Bjork March 7 2023

Bought 3 papers.. all 3 were in great shape and shipped perfectly!!! Great to deal with!!!

Jenny February 28 2023

Authentic and a great gift!

G. Barnhouse December 12 2022

Great gift. Thank you very much.

Judith Cornes November 30 2022

Paper was in excellent condition and the presentation box was attractive.

Paula Torelli November 15 2022

It was the perfect gift. Very happy with it.

Karen Wolfarth November 11 2022

Very cool you can get a copy of an old newspaper. My dad loves history so it was the perfect 75th birthday gift.