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  5. Calouste Gulbenkian

Deaths on July 20

Calouste Gulbenkian
1955Jul, 20

Calouste Gulbenkian

Calouste Gulbenkian, Armenian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1869)
Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (, Western Armenian: Գալուստ Կիւլպէնկեան; 23 March 1869 – 20 July 1955), nicknamed "Mr Five Per Cent", was a British-Armenian businessman and philanthropist. He played a major role in making the petroleum reserves of the Middle East available to Western development and is credited with being the first person to exploit Iraqi oil. Gulbenkian travelled extensively and lived in a number of cities including Istanbul, London, Paris and Lisbon.

Throughout his life, Gulbenkian was involved with many philanthropic activities including the establishment of schools, hospitals, and churches. The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, a private foundation based in Portugal, was created in 1956 by his bequest and continues to promote arts, charity, education, and science throughout the world. It is now among the largest foundations in Europe. By the end of his life he had become one of the world's wealthiest people and his art acquisitions one of the greatest private collections.

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Choose Another Date

Events on 1955

  • 7Jan

    Metropolitan Opera

    Contralto Marian Anderson becomes the first person of color to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera.
  • 13Feb

    Dead Sea Scrolls

    Israel obtains four of the seven Dead Sea Scrolls.
  • 18Feb

    Nevada Test Site

    Operation Teapot: Teapot test shot "Wasp" is successfully detonated at the Nevada Test Site with a yield of 1.2 kilotons. Wasp is the first of fourteen shots in the Teapot series.
  • 14May

    Warsaw Pact

    Cold War: Eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defense treaty called the Warsaw Pact.
  • 23Oct

    State of Vietnam referendum, 1955

    Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm defeats former emperor Bảo Đại in a referendum and founds the Republic of Vietnam.

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