Election
Resigns as Party Leader of the Labour Party after losing two general elections
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1955 in Great Britain — Page 2
Explore 150 historical events and records for Great Britain in 1955.
Historical records for Great Britain in 1955
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 40 of 150 unique records.
150Unique records
2 of 4Page
37Named events on this page
27Named people on this page
10Places on this page
December
Resignation of Clement Richard Attlee
Resigns as Party Leader of the Labour Party after losing two general elections
Patent
Patents the Hovercraft
Election
Elected Party Leader of the Labour Party
Labour Leadership Bid
Loses the Labour leadership contest to Hugh Gaitskell.
Party Leader
Appointed Party Leader of the Labour Party
Peerage
Created Earl Attlee and Viscount Prestwood
Britain Joins Proposed Western Dam Funding
Anthony Eden's government joined the discussions of British participation in funding the proposed Egyptian hydroelectric and irrigation scheme.
Chief Whip
Becomes Government Chief Whip and manages Conservative parliamentary discipline.
Labour Leadership Election
Wins the Labour leadership contest against Bevan and Morrison.
Leader of House of Commons
Appointed Leader of the House of Commons
Lord Privy Seal
Appointed Lord Privy Seal
Other events (month unknown)
A Man Alone
Directs & Stars in, "A Man Alone"
A Train of Powder
West published A Train of Powder, essays examining trials, justice and the consequences of violence.
Above Us the Waves
Appears in Above Us the Waves
Accountancy Training
Begins accountancy articles with Peat Marwick & Mitchell while also developing property interests in London.
BAFTA
Winner of a BAFTA for best actress for her part in The Divided Heart
Birth of Howard Devoto
Birth of Howard Devoto was born Howard Trotter
Birth of Peter Lord
Birth of Peter Lord, later co-founder of Aardman Animations.
Bow Group Chairmanship
Becomes chairman of the Bow Group, an influential Conservative policy organisation associated with younger modernising Conservatives.
Brentford Club Record Goalscoring Era
Towers became a prolific scorer for Brentford and formed a celebrated attacking partnership with George Francis at Griffin Park.
British Film Institute
Begins serving on the Board of Governors of the British Film Institute.
British Financing Support
Eden's government joins the preliminary Western offer to support the High Dam.
British High Dam Funding Offer Supported
Anthony Eden's government participated in discussions about Western financing of the proposed High Dam.
Budget
Reduces taxation prior to the general election
Caltech Collaboration
Works with nuclear physicists at Caltech on stellar element formation.
CBE
Appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Chancellor of the Exchequer
Appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chief Whip
Appointed Chief Whip
Cockcroft Promotes Peaceful Atomic Applications
Cockcroft supports the development of civilian uses for nuclear science amid widening public attention to atomic energy.
Commonwealth
Appointed Secretary of State for the Commonwealth
Conference of Geneva
Discusses German reunification, there is no agreement between East & West
Constitution of Great Britain
The West forward the "Eden Plan" for demilitarization of East Germany & free elections
Constitution of Great Britain
Heads a subcommittee on the organisation of the Labour Party
Constitution of Labour Party
Reports that the Labour Party is too centralized. Heads an NEC working group into why Labour had lost the last 2 elections
Death of Hubert Cecil Booth
Death of Hubert Cecil Booth
Demilitarization
The West forward the "Eden Plan" for demilitarization of East Germany & free elections
Deputy Party Leader
Appointed Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Don Revies autobiography Soccers Happy Wanderer
Publication of Don Revies autobiography Soccers Happy Wanderer
Early Radio Mapping of Andromeda
Produces early radio maps of M31 with the Cambridge Radio Astronomy Group, revealing the galaxy as an extended radio source rather than a single point.
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.