On 1 December 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old seamstress and secretary of the local NAACP, refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white passenger, and was arrested. Four days later the Women's Political Council and local ministers began a boycott of the buses, led by the 26-year-old Martin Luther King Jr., which lasted 381 days. Black people walked or organised car pools. In December 1956 the Supreme Court ruled that segregated buses were unconstitutional. The boycott brought King to national attention and became a model for the civil rights movement.
Before and after
- from 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975Vietnam War
- 11 November 1955Birth of Friedrich Merz
- 13 November 1955Birth of Whoopi Goldberg
- 16 November 1955Birth of Guillermo Lasso
- from 1 December 1955 to 20 December 1956Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat
- 28 December 1955Birth of Liu Xiaobo
- 1956Founding of United Nations peacekeeping
- 1956Premiere of Eurovision Song Contest
- 1956Founding of Paris Club
More in Society, economy & sport
- 16 November 1945Founding of UNESCO
- 7 April 1948Founding of World Health Organization
- 4 April 1949Founding of NATO
- 1959HIV/AIDS
- 1 November 1993Founding of European Union
- from 15 November 2019 to 5 May 2023COVID-19 pandemic
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.