1955
Events that took place in Fairfax County in 1955:
January
- January 1 – 65-year-old Cecil Coleman is suffocated when a fire caused by an overheating stove breaks out in his trailer home, parked near Woodburn Road in Annandale.[1]
- January 17 – The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approves a five-day work week for officers of the Fairfax County Police Department, beginning July 1.[2]
February
- February 5 – An early morning fire kills 73-year-old Christopher Pettit in his home on Pole Road in the Engleside section of Alexandria.[3]
March
- March 8 – Burton E. Archer unintentionally kills himself in Fairfax when he loses control of his car and crashes into a dump truck on Route 50 at Fairfax Circle.[4]
- March 14 – 62-year-old Pauline Hall commits suicide near her home in Falls Church by placing her head on the tracks of the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad and allowing a freight car to decapitate her.[5]
- March 18 – 17-year-old Robert L. Sigmon shoots his aunt, 35-year-old Isabel Harris, to death in the bedroom of her home in the Jefferson Manor neighborhood of Alexandria.[6][7]
July
- July 1 – The new Fairfax County Police Juvenile Squad, headed by Detective David R. Eike, and Traffic Squad, headed by Lieutenant Lewis Shumate, begin operating out of the old Fairfax County Jail building. Private Eugene G. Columbus joins the new Juvenile Squad. Additionally, the Detective Bureau headed by Lieutenant Grafton L. Wells is consolidated, and Marvin Harell, Donald Hurst, and Willard Bennett are promoted to the bureau.[8]
- July 19 – Charles A. Fitzgerald, a 45-year-old bricklayer, fatally shoots his drunken 26-year-old nephew Andrew W. Beasley, Jr. in the back yard of his home in Falls Church to settle an argument. Beasley is taken to the Arlington Hospital, where he dies about two hours later.[9][10]
August
- August 18 – School officials announce that the Fairfax County Public Schools program of special education classes for mentally retarded children will double in size in the coming school year, with four new classes for those considered educable and one for those considered trainable.[11]
September
- September 13 – The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors votes 6-1 to purchase the Annandale Water Company for $950,000.[12]
- September 24 – 31-year-old Willie E. Burns lives up to his name in the worst way possible when he crashes his car into an abutment on the bridge on Route 236 over Turkeycock Run in Alexandria, bounces into the other abutment, and the car bursts into flames. Suffering severe injuries from the blaze, Burns is taken to Alexandria Hospital, where he dies the following day.[13][14][15]
October
- October 3 – In a 6-1 vote, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors votes to delay the planned $950,000 purchase of the Annandale Water Company until November 18.[16]
- October 9 – The Lee Highway Drive-In Theatre movie theater in Merrifield is robbed of $1100.[17]
November
- November 11 – 39-year-old Mary M. Alexander is shot to death by 48-year-old William E. Burner behind the Culmore Shopping Center in Falls Church. Burner then commits suicide.[18]
- November 16 – The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors votes 5-1 to cancel the planned $950,000 purchase of the Annandale Water Company.[19]
- November 27 – The congregation that will become the Emmanuel Lutheran Church holds its first service in Copp's Garden Room in Vienna.[20][21]
References
- ↑ "Tenant Dies when Trailer Home Burns." The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959): A13. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1994). Jan 02 1955. Web. 1 Jan. 2012.
- ↑ "Fairfax Police on 5-Day Week After July 1"Evening Star, 18 Jan. 1955, Two Star, p. 23. NewsBank. Accessed 27 Dec. 2017.
- ↑ "Burns Fatal to Man, 73, in Fairfax." The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959): 1. Feb 06 1955. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1996). Web. 7 Dec. 2012.
- ↑ "Driver Dies in Crash of Auto, Truck." The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959): 17. Mar 09 1955. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1995). Web. 5 Oct. 2012.
- ↑ "Widow, 62, Decapitated by Train." The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959): 3. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1995). Mar 15 1955. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.
- ↑ "Court Orders Mental Test in Aunt Slaying." The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959): 3. Mar 25 1955. ProQuest. Web. 13 Aug. 2016.
- ↑ "County Youth Pleads Guilty in Slaying." The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959): 3. Aug 17 1956. ProQuest. Web. 13 Aug. 2016.
- ↑ "Fairfax Creates Two Police Units." The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959): 26. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1995). Jun 30 1955. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.
- ↑ "Virginia Man Fatally Shot during Family Argument." The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959): 27. Jul 20 1955. ProQuest. Web. 4 Oct. 2016.
- ↑ "Bond Releases Suspect in Slaying of Nephew." The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959): 3. Jul 21 1955. ProQuest. Web. 4 Oct. 2016.
- ↑ Smith, Marie. "Fairfax Will Increase Classes for Retarded." The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959): 22. Aug 19 1955. ProQuest. Web. 29 Aug. 2014.
- ↑ Smith, Marie. "Fairfax Will Buy Annandale Water Firm." The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959): 1. Sep 14 1955. ProQuest. Web. 27 Sep. 2014.
- ↑ "Auto Accidents Fatal to Three From D. C. Area" Evening Star, 25 Sep. 1950, Two Star, p. 21. NewsBank. Accessed 27 Dec. 2017.
- ↑ "Woman Dies, 2 Men Badly Burned in 2 Accidents." The Washington Post (1923-1954): 1. Sep 25 1950. ProQuest. Web. 27 Dec. 2017.
- ↑ "Injuries Fatal to Virginian in Crash-Fire." The Washington Post (1923-1954): 1. Sep 26 1950. ProQuest. Web. 27 Dec. 2017.
- ↑ "Fairfax Supervisors Vote 6 to 1 to Delay Water Co. Deal Until Nov. 18." The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959): 17. Oct 04 1955. ProQuest. Web. 27 Sep. 2014.
- ↑ "Drive-in Theater Robbed of $1100 as Film Changes." The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959): 1. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1996). Oct 10 1955. Web. 1 Dec. 2012.
- ↑ "Jilted Suitor Kills Divorcee and then Takes Own Life." The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959): 3. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1995). Nov 12 1955. Web. 8 Feb. 2012.
- ↑ "Water Plant Deal Dropped by Fairfax." The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959): 25. Nov 17 1955. ProQuest. Web. 27 Sep. 2014.
- ↑ "Lutherans to Organize Vienna Church." The Washington Post and Times Herald (1954-1959): 28. May 26 1956. ProQuest. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
- ↑ "History." Emmanuel Lutheran Church. Emmanuel Lutheran Church, n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
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