February 18 » Second Boer War: Imperial forces suffer their worst single-day loss of life on Bloody Sunday, the first day of the Battle of Paardeberg.
March 14 » The Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing the United States currency on the gold standard.
June 5 » Second Boer War: British soldiers take Pretoria.
July 9 » The Governor of Shanxi province in North China orders the execution of 45 foreign Christian missionaries and local church members, including children.
July 27 » Kaiser Wilhelm II makes a speech comparing Germans to Huns; for years afterwards, "Hun" would be a disparaging name for Germans.
August 14 » The Eight-Nation Alliance occupies Beijing, China, in a campaign to end the bloody Boxer Rebellion in China.
Day of death June 17, 1955
The temperature on June 17, 1955 was between 7.7 °C and 15.1 °C and averaged 11.9 °C. There was 11.6 hours of sunshine (69%). The partly clouded was. The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the north-northeast. Source: KNMI
April 24 » The Bandung Conference ends: Twenty-nine non-aligned nations of Asia and Africa finish a meeting that condemns colonialism, racism, and the Cold War.
June 11 » Eighty-three spectators are killed and at least 100 are injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collide at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the deadliest ever accident in motorsports.
August 20 » Battle of Philippeville: In Morocco, a force of Berbers from the Atlas Mountains region of Algeria raid two rural settlements and kill 77 French nationals.
October 26 » After the last Allied troops have left the country, and following the provisions of the Austrian Independence Treaty, Austria declares that it will never join a military alliance.
December 8 » The Flag of Europe is adopted by Council of Europe.
December 14 » Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Ceylon, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, Portugal, Romania and Spain join the United Nations through United Nations Security Council Resolution 109.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: James Downs, "Downs Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/downs-tree/I312392305120.php : accessed January 17, 2026), "Austin Halbrook (1900-1955)".
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