1955 in Singapore

A thali pirikkal ceremony at Katong Beach, Marine Parade, in Singapore, 1955.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

← 1954 1953 1952 1955 in Singapore → 1956 1957 1958
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
See also:	Other events of 1955 Timeline of Singaporean history

The following lists events that happened during 1955 in Colony of Singapore .

Incumbents

• Governor:
  • until 2 June: Sir John Fearns Nicoll
  • 2 June-30 June: Sir William Goode (as Officer Administrating the Government)
  • starting 30 June: Sir Robert Brown Black
• Chief Minister: David Marshall
• Colonial Secretary: Sir William Goode (till January 1955)
• Chief Secretary: Sir William Goode (starting February 1955)

Events

January

• 1 January – The Singapore Telephone Board (STB) and Telephone Department (TD) are formed after the British Colonial Government terminated Oriental Telephone and Electric Company's licence, thus acquiring its assets. The STB takes control of domestic telephone lines, with the TD controlling trunk and international services. ^[1]

April

• 2 April – Singapore held its first Legislative Assembly elections. The Singapore Labour Front (LF) won the elections, the first where a majority of seats were contested. ^{[2] [3] [4]}
• 6 April – David Marshall became the first Chief Minister of Singapore. ^[5]
• 7 April – The Ministry of Education is established. ^[6]
• 23 April – The Hock Lee bus workers' strike began.
• 30 April – Singapore Harbour Board Staff Association Strike. ^[7]

May

• 12 May – The Hock Lee strikes escalated into a riot, resulting in 4 fatalities. ^[8]

June

• 2 June – Sir John Nicoll retires and William Goode becomes acting Governor of Singapore. ^[9]
• 30 June – Sir Robert Black becomes the 3rd Governor of Singapore.

July

• 1 July – The Central Provident Fund is formed as a savings scheme to support workers during retirement. ^[10]
• 6 July – The Singapore Harbour Board Staff Association Strike ends. ^[11]

August

• 20 August – The Paya Lebar Airport is officially opened, replacing the Kallang Airport which opened on 12 June 1937. ^[12]

September

• 8 September – The Van Kleef Aquarium is opened. ^{[13] [14]}
• 22 September – To deal with crimes, the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act is passed, allowing for detentions.

October

• 7 October – The Singapore Chinese Middle School Students Union is formed. ^[15]

November

• 23 November – The administration of Cocos (Keeling) Islands is transferred to Australia after several delays. ^[16]

December

• 10 December – The Asia Insurance Building is opened, then Southeast Asia's tallest building. ^[17]
• 28-29 December – David Marshall represented the government of the Crown Colony of Singapore in the Baling Talks.

Births

• 7 January – Lee Wei Ling, neurologist (d. 2024).
• 24 January – Ang Yong Guan, politician and psychiatrist.
• 30 January – Zhu Houren, actor and filmmaker.
• 11 July – Balaji Sadasivan, former Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (d. 2010).
• 10 August – Bey Soo Khiang, business executive and former RSAF lieutenant general.
• 3 October – Yaacob Ibrahim, former politician.
• 27 October – Michael Chiang, playwright.
• 9 December – Rahimah Rahim, singer.

Dates unknown

• Sim Wong Hoo, founder of Creative Technology (d. 2023).

Deaths

• 12 April – Teo Kim Eng, Hokkien businessman (b. 1893). ^[18]
• 9 October – Tham Soong, concubine of Cheong Chin Nam (b. 1880). ^[19]

See also

• 1955 Singaporean general election
• List of years in Singapore

References

1. "Singapore Telecom goes public". NLB. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
2. "Singapore Labour Front is formed". NLB. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
3. "Legislative Assembly General Election 1955". Singapore Elections. Archived from the original on 29 August 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
4. "1955 Legislative Assembly General Election". NLB. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
5. "David Marshall is appointed the first Chief Minister". NLB. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
6. "Ministry of Education is established". NLB. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
7. "1955 Singapore Harbour Board Staff Association Strike". www.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
8. "Hock Lee bus strike and riot". NLB. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
9. "Retiring Governor of Singapore Sir John Nicoll with Chief …". www.nas.gov.sg. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
10. "Central Provident Fund is introduced". NLB. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
11. "66-day harbour strike is over". NLB. 6 July 1955. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
12. "Paya Lebar Airport is officially opened". NLB. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
13. "Another fine landmark for Singapore". The Singapore Free Press (retrieved from NLB). 8 September 1955. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
14. "Van Kleef Aquarium". NLB. 14 May 1991. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
15. "交流站：华中浴火重生自强不息". www.zaobao.com.sg (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 8 June 2025.
16. "Handover of Cocos (Keeling) Islands to Australia". NLB. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
17. "Asia Insurance Building is opened". NLB. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
18. "聞僑張金榮逝世明日中午出殯". NLB. 16 April 1955. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
19. "张振南 一个人两条街名". www.zaobao.com.sg (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 9 June 2025.