On this day

December 24, 1955

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from December 24, 1955

FLOODS RISE IN CALIFORNIA; CITY OF 12,500 IS EVACUATED; 'MAJOR DISASTER' AID SPED; DEATH TOLL IS 21 Eisenhower Authorizes Blank-Check Help -- River Perils Reno Flood Waters From Yuba River Threaten Evacuated California Town CALIFORNIA IS HIT BY MAJOR FLOODS

By the Associated Press

Eisenhower declares Calif floods 'major disaster' following appeal from Knight; authorizes 'blank check' aid; Sec Benson says Agr Dept has food available; Army Engineers alerts disaster teams; ARC assigns 55 additional workers to area; E R Harriman sends message to Eisenhower; SBA declares N Calif, S Oregon, W Nev disaster areas, opening way for loans; floods rise; death toll at 21; conditions, Calif; Marysville ordered evacuated before mounting flood threat at juncture of Feather and Yuba Rivers; most of 12,500 residents leave city over 1 open bridge; illus; victims float down Eel and Klamath Rivers; Klamath deserted; water there 18 ft deep; Eureka isolated; 3 helicopters shuttle in mass evacuation of over 250 from Russian River basin; river floods Guerneville; illus; Nacimiento River washes out dam near Paso Robles, port of multi-million-dollar project; floods threaten San Joaquin Valley; major rds, rrs washed out; Southern Pacific and Western Pacific main tracks blocked; conditions, Oregon; rivers begin to recede; conditions, Nev; Truckee River floods Reno; emergency declared; map

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ARGENTINE RULERS LIMITED IN TENURE; Elective Office Barred to All Current Government Aides by Aramburu Decree LIMIT FOR REGIME SET IN ARGENTINA

By Edward A. Morrowspecial To the New York Times

Aramburu decree makes all members of current Govt ineligible for elective office; reassures nation it will freely choose rulers; reaffirms provisional nature of present Govt; decree supplements recent one barring mil men from election roles; nation's gains revd; some unrest noted

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Notable Births

Grand L. Bush

1955Grand L. Bush, American actor[†]

Grand Lee Bush is an American former actor of stage, television and film.

Scott Fischer

1955Scott Fischer, American mountaineer and guide (died 1996)[†]

Scott Eugene Fischer was an American mountaineer and mountain guide. He was renowned for ascending the world's highest mountains without supplemental oxygen. Fischer and Wally Berg were the first Americans to summit Lhotse, the world's fourth highest peak. Fischer, Charley Mace, and Ed Viesturs summitted K2 without supplemental oxygen. Fischer first climbed Mount Everest in 1994 and later died during the 1996 blizzard on Everest while descending from the peak.

Clarence Gilyard

1955Clarence Gilyard, American actor and educator (died 2022)[†]

Clarence Darnell Gilyard Jr. was an American actor. He was best known to television audiences for his roles as private investigator Conrad McMasters on the legal drama series Matlock (1986–95) and Texas Ranger Jimmy Trivette on Walker, Texas Ranger (1993–2001).

Historical Events

1955 Yuba–Sutter floods

1955A flood devastates California, killing 74 people across portions of the state.[†]

From December 16 to 25, 1955, a devastating flood event struck portions of California, located in the United States. The floods, which were triggered by heavy rainfall and a levee break on the Feather River, resulted in the direct deaths of 74 people and left damages that totaled an estimated $150 million ; they were one of the costliest flooding event ever recorded in the state of California. The floods are commonly known as the Yuba–Sutter floods due to the areas where extensive damage was produced, notably in Yuba and Sutter counties.

Historical Context for December 24, 1955

In 1955, the world population was approximately 2,740,213,792 people[†]