See:
Wikipedia.
Events:
January 1 - End of Anglo-Egyptian Condominium in Sudan.
January 16 - President Gamal Abdal Nasser of Egypt vows to reconquer Palestine.
January 26 - 1956 Winter Olympic Games open in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.
January 26 - United Kingdom bans heroin.
January 26 - The last Soviet troops leave the military base in Porkkala, Finland.
February 15 - Urho Kekkonen is elected President of Finland.
February 22 - Elvis Presley enters the music charts for the first time, with "Heartbreak Hotel".
February 23 - Nikita Khrushchev attacks the veneration of Joseph Stalin as a "cult
of personality".
March 1 - the International Air Transport Association finalises a draft of the Radiotelephony
spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization.
March 2 - Morocco declares its independence from France.
March 9 - British deport Archbishop Makarios from Cyprus.
March 15 - The Broadway musical My Fair Lady opens in New York City.
March 20 - Tunisia gains independence from France.
March 23 - Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic.
April 7 - Spain relinquishes its protectorate in Morocco.
April 19 - Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco.
May 9 - First ascent of Manaslu, eighth highest mountain in the world.
May 18 - First ascent of Lhotse (main), fourth highest mountain.
May 21 - Nuclear testing: In the Pacific Ocean, Bikini Atoll is nearly obliterated by the
first airborne explosion of a hydrogen bomb.
June 10 - 1956 Summer Olympics: Equestrian events open in Stockholm, Sweden.
June 14 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill into law that places the words
"under God" to the United States' Pledge of Allegiance.
June 18 - Last foreign troops leave Egypt.
June 28 - MP Sydney Silverman's bill for abolition of death penalty passes the British
House of Commons.
June 28 - Labour riots at Poznan, Poland, are crushed with heavy loss of life.
June 29 - Marilyn Monroe marries the playwright Arthur Miller.
July 8 - First ascent of Gasherbrum II.
July 10 - British House of Lords defeats the abolition of death penalty.
July 24 - At New York City's Copacabana Club, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis perform
their last comedy show together which started on July 25, 1946.
July 25 - 45 miles south of Nantucket Island, the Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria
sinks after colliding with the SS Stockholm in heavy fog, killing 51.
July 26 - Egyptian leader Gamal Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal sparking
international condemnation.
July 30 - A Joint Resolution of the United States Congress is signed by President
Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing "In God We Trust" as the U.S. national motto.
August 8 - Fire and explosion kills 263 miners at Marcinelle, Belgium.
October 14 - Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Indian Untouchable leader, converts to Buddhism
along with 385,000 followers.
October 23 - Hungarian revolution against the communist government. Soviet Union
intervenes. Hungary attempts to leave the Warsaw Pact.
October 26 - Warsaw Pact troops invade Hungary.
October 29 - Suez Crisis begins: Israel invades the Sinai Peninsula and push Egyptian
forces back toward the Suez Canal.
October 29 - Tangier Protocol signed: The international city Tangier is reintegrated
into Morocco.
October 31 - Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to
force the reopening of the Suez Canal.
November 4 - 1956 Hungarian Revolution: Soviet troops invade Hungary to crush a
revolt that started on October 23. Thousands are killed, more are wounded and nearly
a quarter million leave the country.
November 6 - U.S. presidential election, 1956: Republican incumbent Dwight D. Eisenhower
is reelected by defeating Democrat challenger Adlai E. Stevenson in a rematch of their
contest four years earlier.
November 7 - Suez Crisis: The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution
calling for the United Kingdom, France and Israel to withdraw their troops from
Egypt immediately.
November 14 - Fighting ends in Hungary.
November 16 - Suez canal blocked.
November 23 - Suez Crisis causes petrol rationing in Britain.
December 2 - Fidel Castro and his followers land on Cuba.
December 2 - Pipe bomb explodes at a movie theater in Brooklyn (work of George
Metesky)- six people injured.
December 5 - Rose Heilbron becomes Britain's first female judge.
December 12 : Japan becomes member of the United Nations.
Minamata disease discovered.
Unknown date:
Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia.
Eindhoven University of Technology founded in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
First hard disk (5MB) invented by IBM.
Year in topic:
1956 in
film:
Around the World in Eighty Days.
The King and I.
The Ten Commandments.
Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much starring Jimmy Stewart.
The Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
1956 in
music:
First ever Eurovision Song Contest - May 24.
1956 in
television:
April - WNBQ Chicago becomes the first TV station to broadcast all its local
programming in color.
April Ampex demonstrates a videotape recorder at the NAB Convention in Chicago.
The three networks place orders for the recorders.
August 8 - Final telecast of the DuMont Network.
September 16 - Australia's first television station TCN-9 commences
transmission in Sydney.
October 1 - Ernie Kovacs becomes the host for NBC's Tonight Show on Mondays
and Tuesdays.
October 29 - First use of videotape in network television programming; CBS uses
its Ampex VTR to record the evening news, anchored by Douglas Edwards. The tape
is then fed to West Coast stations three hours later.
October 29 - Chet Huntley and David Brinkley take over anchor duties of the NBC
evening newscast, which is renamed The Huntley-Brinkley Report.
November - The first use of videotape on a network television entertainment program;
Jonathan Winters, uses videotape and superimposing techniques to be able to play two
characters in the same skit for his NBC television show.
The Price is Right game show premieres.
Black-and-white portable TV sets hit the market.
Births:
January 3 -
Mel Gibson, actor and director.
January 7 -
David Caruso, actor.
January 10 -
Shawn Colvin, singer.
January 12 -
Cornelis van den Houten.
January 14 -
Ben Heppner, tenor.
January 17 -
Paul Young, English musician.
January 18 -
Ray Dolby.
January 19 -
Susan (Sue) Veenstra.
January 19 -
Elizabeth Vander Wiele.
January 20 -
Bill Maher, actor, comedian, political analyst.
January 21 -
Geena Davis, actress.
January 27 -
Mimi Rogers, actress.
January 31 -
Johnny Rotten, musician (The "Sex Pistols").
February 2 -
Martina Tuinder.
February 3 -
Nathan Lane, actor.
February 6 -
Ken Lorraway, Australian athlete.
February 11 -
Kathleen Beller, actress.
February 14 -
Tom Burlinson, Australian actor.
February 15 -
Desmond Haynes, West Indies cricketer.
February 22 -
Rudolf Motz.
February 24 -
Paula Zahn, television journalist.
February 29 -
Randy Jackson, American musician, American Idol judge.
February 29 -
Bob Speller, Canadian politician.
February 29 -
Aileen Carol Wuornos, serial killer.
March 2 -
Mark Evans, bassist of AC/DC.
March 6 -
Steve Vizard, Australian entrepreneur.
March 13 -
Dana Delany, actress.
March 17 -
Patrick McDonnell, creator of syndicated cartoon strip "Mutts".
March 18 -
Ingemar Stenmark.
March 20 -
Ian Moss, Australian singer.
March 21 -
Ingrid Kristiansen, Olypmpic athlete.
March 22 -
Lena Olin, actress.
March 29 -
Jozina Matthea Jeannette (Jose) van den Houten.
March 29 -
Kurt Thomas, gymnast.
March 30 -
Elizabeth Laurina Dammers.
April 3 -
Ray Combs, game show host, comedian.
April 4 -
Kerry Chikarovski, Australian politician.
April 4 -
David E. Kelley, writer, television producer.
April 5 -
Dingeman Frans (Dick) van den Houten.
April 6 -
Dilip Vengsarkar, Indian cricketer.
April 7 -
Marc de Hay.
April 9 -
Irma Gonzalez, Queen of the Universe.
April 12 -
Andy Garcia, US actor.
April 14 -
Barbara Bonney, US soprano.
April 16 -
Lise-Marie Morerod, slalom skier.
April 21 -
Izaäk van den Houten.
April 21 -
Rick DeMont, US cyclist.
April 23 -
Judy Davis, Australian actress.
April 26 -
Koo Stark, UK actress.
April 28 -
Jimmy Barnes, Australian rocker.
May 4 -
Ulrike Meyfarth, German high jumper.
May 7 -
Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
May 15 -
Dan Patrick, sportscaster.
May 16 -
Olga Korbut, Russian Olympic gymnast.
May 17 -
Sugar Ray Leonard, boxer.
May 17 -
Bob Saget, US actor.
May 19 -
James Gosling, the "father" of Java programming language.
May 20 -
Ingvar Ambjørnsen, Norwegian author.
May 21 -
Judge Reinhold, actor.
May 23 -
Buck Showalter, baseball player, manager.
June 6 -
Björn Borg, tennis great.
June 9 -
Patricia Daniels (later Patricia Cornwell), American crime novelist.
June 11 -
Joe Montana, Pro Football Hall of Famer.
June 23 -
Glenn Danzig, rock and roll performer of Danzig.
July 5 -
Ans Manuhutu.
July 9 -
Tom Hanks, actor.
July 15 -
Barry Melrose, hockey player, coach, commentator.
July 16 -
Tony Kushner, playwright.
July 25 -
Mark Rolston, actor.
July 31 -
Michael Biehn, actor.
August 5 -
Maureen McCormick, actress (The Brady Bunch).
August 14 -
Rusty Wallace, NASCAR driver.
August 20 -
Joan Allen, US film actress.
August 22 -
Paul Molitor, Baseball Hall of Famer.
September 12 -
Ricky Rudd, NASCAR race car driver.
September 14 -
Costas Caramanlis, Greek politician.
September 26 -
Linda Hamilton, actress.
October 11 -
Nicanor Duarte Frutos, President of Paraguay.
October 18 -
Martina Navratilova, tennis great.
November 18 -
Warren Moon, Canadian football and American football star.
November 23 -
Shane Gould, Australian Olympic swimmer.
November 23 -
Steve Harvey, actor, comedian.
November 26 -
Dale Jarrett, NASCAR race car driver.
November 27 -
Herbert Van Den Houten.
November 28 -
Lucy Gutteridge, British actress.
December 5 -
Krystian Zimerman, Polish pianist.
December 7 -
Larry Bird, Basketball Hall of Famer.
December 23 -
Michele Alboreto, Italian racing car driver.
December 28 -
Nigel Kennedy, English violinist.
Deaths:
January 3 -
Alexander Grechaninov, Russian composer.
January 5 -
Mistinguett, French cabaret singer.
January 11 -
Pieternella van den Berge.
January 13 -
Lyonel Charles Feininger, German painter.
January 24 - Sir
Alexander Korda, Hungarian/UK film director.
January 27 -
Erich Kleiber, German conductor.
January 29 -
H. L. Mencken.
January 31 -
A. A. Milne, author of Winnie the Pooh.
February 2 -
Charley Grapewin, US actor.
February 8 -
Connie Mack, baseball executive, coach.
February 18 -
Gustave Charpentier, French composer.
March 17 -
Irène Joliot-Curie, French scientist.
March 20 -
Fanny Durack, Australian Olympic swimmer.
March 25 -
Robert Newton, English film actor.
March 30 -
Edmund Clerihew Bentley, English inventor of the clerihew.
March 30 -
Fritz Lehmann, German conductor.
April 30 -
Alben W Barkly, US Vice-President.
May 12 -
Louis Calhern, US film actor.
May 17 -
Austin Osman Spare, magician.
May 20 -
Max Beerbohm, theater critic.
May 26 -
Al Simmons, Baseball Hall of Famer (b. 1902).
May 31 -
Diedrich Hermann Westermann, German linguist.
August 11 -
Jackson Pollock, US painter.
August 14 -
Bertolt Brecht, German playwright.
August 16 -
Bela Lugosi, Hungarian/US film actor.
August 18 -
Matilda Rosenboom.
August 23 -
Peaches Browning, American actress.
August 25 -
Alfred Kinsey, sex researcher.
September 27 -
Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American athlete and golfer.
October 5 -
Jan van den Houten.
October 19 -
Isham Jones, jazz musician (b. 1894).
November 24 -
Guido Cantelli, conductor.
December 6 - Dr.
B. R. Ambedkar, Indian Untouchable leader.
December 7 -
Huntley Gordon, pioneer Hollywood actor.
December 16 -
Nina Hamnett, artist.
December 14 -
Hermanus Kranenborg.
December 24 -
Gijsbert van den Houten.
Awards/Prizes:
Winner of Eurovision Song Contest 1956: Lys Assia with Refrain.
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