1955

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

Events

Monkey Island, constructed in 1955

The 1955 Red Diamond building fire

• January 23: Martin Luther King Jr delivered a speech to a Birmingham NAACP meeting at Tabernacle Baptist Church.
• February 14: The Town & Gown Theater opened their newly-donated Little Theater home with a performance of "Candles in the Canebrake".
• March 15: The Paul Hayne School time capsule was opened.
• March 14–May 25: The Communications Workers of America held a successful 72-day regional strike against Southern Bell.
• April 2: Monkey Island, the Jimmy Morgan Zoo's first exhibit at Lane Park, opened.
• May 15: The Birmingham Symphony Orchestra held their fourth annual "Music Under the Stars" concert at Legion Field.
• May 28: Jefferson-Hillman Hospital was renamed University Hospital and Hillman Clinic.
• June 8: Walt Disney's feature "Davy Crockett" opened at the Melba Theatre.
• July 4: Mona, a female elephant, went on exhibit at the Jimmy Morgan Zoo.
• September: Birmingham voters approved, by a 5,952 to 5,365 vote, a bond referendum to provide local funding for the Southside Urban Renewal project and Avondale Urban Renewal project.
• October 3–8: The 1955 Alabama State Fair was held.
• 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.
• November 14: The communities of Oak Grove and Drexel Hills were annexed into Homewood.
• 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.
• Rickwood Caverns opened to the public.
• The first Country Boy Eddie Show appeared on WAPI-TV.
• The Jefferson County Department of Health noted that tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in the county.

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.
• The Goodgame Company was founded.
• Legacy Community Federal Credit Union was chartered.

Religion

• March 20: Roebuck Park Baptist Church was established.
• Ed Baker donated land for the rebuilding of McElwain Baptist Church.
• Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Gate City became its own parish under the care of the Salesians of Don Bosco.
• Oakmont United Methodist Church was organized.
• The Episcopal Foundation of Jefferson County founded St Martin's Home for the Aged.

Sports

• May 27: Red Sox first baseman Norm Zauchin set single-game records by hitting three home runs and driving in 10 in a game against the Washington Senators.
• August 14: Red Sox first baseman Norm Zauchin won Homer, a bear cub, at "State of Maine Day" at Fenway Park and donated him to the Birmingham Zoo.
• 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

Individuals

• Jim Folsom Sr returned to office for a second term as Governor of Alabama, succeeding Gordon Persons.
• 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.
• 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.
• Ben McKinnon came to Birmingham to be general manager of WSGN-AM.
• Carol Hayes married Mary Ellen Davis.
• August 19: William Rushton III married LaVona Price.

Births

• January 3: Ed Reynolds, writer and musician
• January 19: Michael O'Connor, chief of the North Shelby Fire and Emergency Medical District
• February 1: T. R. Dunn, basketball player
• March 17: India Henson, yoga instructor
• April 4: Michael R. Jordan, pastor of New Era Baptist Church
• April 6: Michael Rooker, actor
• April 9: Buck Brock, banker and Samford University vice president
• April 16: Mart Avant, musician
• May 6: Debra Ghigna, author and poet
• May 7: Dale Quin, English teacher
• May 8: Donnie "Candy Man" Goodin, street vendor
• June 4: Sandra Little Brown, t-shirt shop owner
• June 6: James Spann, meteorologist
• June 13: Danny Rary, chief of Vestavia Hills Police Department
• June 23: Franklin Biggs, chef and restaurateur
• July 7: Gary Ivey, auto dealer and Mayor of Hoover
• July 13: Ronald Cheatham, Wenonah High School football coach
• July 24: Ann Berry, Secretary of the U.S. Senate
• July 25: Patricia Todd, Alabama representative
• July 26: Wardine Alexander, Birmingham Board of Education member
• July 31: Gilles Bilodeau, Birmingham Bulls left winger
• August 18: baseball player Bruce Benedict in Birmingham
• August 28: educator Donna Mitchell in Bessemer
• September 27: Photographer Michael Sheehan.
• October 2: AIDS researcher Michael Saag in Louisville, Kentucky
• October 2: McDonald's franchise owner Larry Thornton in Montgomery.
• October 7: Children's book author Jo Kittinger in Miami, Florida
• October 17: Artist Kerry James Marshall
• November 15: Football coach Neil Callaway
• November 17: Mark Gaines, judge
• December 1: Mark Thompson, radio host
• Paul Alexander, reporter, biographer and playwright
• Jon Anthony, WSGN-AM deejay
• Buck Brock, Vice President of Business Affairs at Samford University
• Kenneth Coachman, former Mayor of Fairfield
• John Draper, school administrator
• Bobby Duke, Jr, halfback and murder victim
• Trieu Duong, jeweler
• Paul Finebaum, sports radio host
• Jim Hammond, knife maker
• Janet Hall, WBRC 6 news anchor
• Stephannie Huey, math teacher
• Primus Mack, pastor and day care owner
• Charles Norman Mason, composer
• Herman Maurice, street dweller
• Berry Perry, street vendor
• Dawn Robertson, retail executive
• Mark Schantz, Professor of history at Birmingham-Southern College
• Quenette Shehane, murder victim
• Van Sykes, Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q

Graduations

• Richard Arrington, Jr graduated cum laude in biology from Miles College.
• Frances Carter earned her doctorate from the University of Illinois.
• Warren Crow III from the University of Alabama School of Law.
• Owen Drake, graduated from Leeds High School.
• Thomas Hearn from Shades Valley High School
• George Kirchoff completed a Bachelor of Science in Engineering at Auburn University.
• Constance Shen Pittman earned an M.D. at Harvard Medical School
• John Porter from Alabama State University
• Sonia Sanchez received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Hunter College.
• Jabo Waggoner graduated from Ensley High School.

Deaths

• Carrie Bridewell, opera mezzo-soprano
• Mattie Harris, president of Davenport & Harris Funeral Home
• February 5: Theodore Swann, industrial chemist
• July 29: Roscoe Chandler, restaurateur
• October 17: Raymond Jones, insurance executive

See also: List of Birmingham homicides in 1955

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
• "Phenix City: The Wickedest City in America" by Edwin Strickland and Gene Wortsman, Vulcan Press

Buildings

• American Liberty Building on 20th Street South
• Avondale Presbyterian Church
• 1955 Idea Home
• Birmingham Trust National Bank, Southside office on 6th Avenue South
• Center Street Middle School in Titusville
• Ensley Library
• Gate City Elementary School
• Knesseth Israel Congregation on Montevallo Road
• La Paree restaurant on 5th Avenue North, remodeling
• Mountain Brook Shopping Center
• Office Park in Mountain Brook
• Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School 4-classroom addition
• Our Lady Queen of the Universe Catholic Church
• Parke Memorial Branch Library at Five Points South
• Oak Grove High School
• Patton Hill Baptist Church in Oakman
• St Anthony's Church in Ensley
• Renovations to the Jefferson County Courthouse Bessemer Division
• Renovations to St Paul's Cathedral
• St Michael Catholic Church in Brookside

Demolitions

• The Tarrant Depot on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad was demolished.
• The original East Lake School was demolished for expansion of Barrett Elementary School.

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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