1955 – The Baby Boomer Journey
Babies born in 1955 will be 71 years old at some point in 2026. I turned nine years old in January and I was in the fourth grade.
Major world news and events: On May 6, 1955, West Germany joined NATO, strengthening the Western alliance during the Cold War. Just eight days later, on May 14, the Soviet Union and seven Eastern European communist nations formed the Warsaw Pact, creating a rival military alliance and further dividing Europe into opposing armed camps. The nuclear arms race also intensified as the United States accelerated development of the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), giving the program the highest national development priority later that year.
Other major news and events: On April 12, 1955, Dr. Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine was declared safe and effective, bringing tremendous relief to American families after years of fear and leading to widespread vaccination. On July 11, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation requiring “In God We Trust” to appear on all U.S. currency and coins; the motto began appearing on paper money in 1957. On July 17, Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California, introducing a new kind of family entertainment that would influence theme parks around the world. On August 28, fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was brutally murdered in Mississippi. Photographs published after his funeral exposed the horror of racial violence to millions of Americans and helped galvanize the growing Civil Rights Movement. On December 1, Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. Her arrest helped spark the Montgomery Bus Boycott and brought a young minister named Martin Luther King Jr. to national prominence.
Broadway audiences enjoyed popular shows such as Damn Yankees, The Pajama Game and Peter Pan. Popular movies of 1955 included The Seven Year Itch, Mister Roberts, To Catch a Thief, East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause. Television continued to grow in popularity, with I Love Lucy, The Ed Sullivan Show, The $64,000 Question and Gunsmoke among the programs attracting large audiences. On October 3, The Mickey Mouse Club premiered on ABC and quickly became an after-school favorite for Baby Boomer children, making the Mouseketeers—and especially Annette Funicello—household names.
1955 was a major turning point in popular music as younger listeners embraced the growing sound of rock and roll. Popular songs included Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets, Maybellene by Chuck Berry, Ain’t That a Shame by Fats Domino and Only You (And You Alone) by The Platters, while traditional pop remained popular with songs such as The Yellow Rose of Texas by Mitch Miller and Love and Marriage by Frank Sinatra.
Other popular trends and events: On April 15, Ray Kroc opened his first McDonald’s restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, helping launch the expansion of what would become one of America’s most recognizable fast-food chains. Frozen TV dinners became increasingly popular as families spent more evenings gathered around their television sets. Gelatin salads, tuna casseroles and other one-dish meals remained staples in many American kitchens, while backyard barbecues grew in popularity as suburban neighborhoods expanded. The Davy Crockett craze swept the country, with children wearing coonskin caps and singing “The Ballad of Davy Crockett.” Teenagers were also emerging as a powerful consumer group, influencing music, movies, fashion and popular culture in ways that would become even more important as Baby Boomers grew older.
The teenagers of 1955 weren’t Baby Boomers—the oldest Boomers were only nine years old. But these older teenagers were helping set the trends that Boomers would soon follow, from rock and roll and dancing to fashion and teenage culture. They were, in many ways, the trendsetters and trailblazers we looked up to.
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