From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar.
[edit] Events of 1956
[edit] January
[edit] February
- March 1 – The International Air Transport Association finalizes a draft of the Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization.
- March 2 – Morocco declares its independence from France.
- March 9 – The British deport Archbishop Makarios from Cyprus to the Seychelles.
- March 9 – Soviet Armed Forces suppresses mass demonstrations in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, reacting to Nikita Khrushchev's de-Stalinization policy.
- March 11 – Laurence Olivier's film, Richard III, adapted from Shakespeare's play, premieres in the U.S. in theatres and on NBC Television, on the same day as an afternoon matinée. It is one of the first such experiments of its kind. Olivier is later nominated for an Oscar for his performance.
- March 12 – 96 U.S. Congressmen sign the Southern Manifesto, a protest against the 1954 Supreme Court ruling (Brown v. Board of Education) desegregating public education.
- March 12 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 500 for the first time rising 2.40 points, or 0.48%, to 500.24.
- March 13 – Elvis Presley releases his first Gold Album titled Elvis Presley.
- March 15 – The Broadway musical My Fair Lady opens in New York City.
- March 19 – At age 48, Dutch boxer Bep van Klaveren contests his last match in Rotterdam.
- March 20 – Tunisia gains independence from France.
- March 21 – The 28th Academy Awards ceremony is held.
- March 23 – Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic, and a national holiday is observed in the country including the former East Pakistan state.
- June 1 – Vyacheslav Molotov resigns as foreign minister of the Soviet Union; he later becomes ambassador in Mongolia.
- June 3 – British Rail renames 'Third Class' passenger facilities as 'Second Class' (Second Class facilities had been abolished in 1875, leaving just First Class and Third Class).
- June 6 – In Singapore, chief minister David Marshall resigns after the breakdown of talks about internal self government in London.
- June 8 – General Electric/Telechron introduces model 7H241 "The Snooz Alarm", first snooze alarm clock ever. Confirmation needed
- June 10 – 1956 Summer Olympics: Equestrian events open in Stockholm, Sweden (all other events are held in November in Melbourne, Australia).
- June 14 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the phrase "under God" to be added to the Pledge of Allegiance.
- June 14 – The Flag of the United States Army is formally dedicated.[1]
- June 15 – Eindhoven University of Technology is founded in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
- June 18 – The last foreign troops leave Egypt.
- June 23 – Gamal Abdel Nasser becomes the 2nd president of Egypt.
- June 28 – MP Sydney Silverman's bill for the abolition of the death penalty passes the British House of Commons.
- June 28 – Labour riots in Poznań, Poland, are crushed with heavy loss of life. Soviet troops fire at a crowd that protests high prices, killing 53.
- June 28 – The film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I, starring Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner, is released only a few months after the film version of R&H's Carousel.
- June 29 – Actress Marilyn Monroe marries playwright Arthur Miller.
- June 29 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Federal Aid Highway Act, creating the Interstate Highway System
- June 30 – A TWA Lockheed Constellation and United Airlines Douglas DC-7 collide in mid-air over the Grand Canyon in Arizona, killing all 128 people aboard both aircraft in the deadliest civil aviation disaster to date; the accident leads to sweeping changes in the regulation of cross-country flight and air traffic control over the United States.
[edit] August
[edit] September
[edit] October
[edit] November
- November 1 – The States Reorganisation Act of India reforms the boundaries and names of Indian states. Two new states Kerala and Karnataka were formed.
- November 3 – MGM's screen classic, The Wizard of Oz, is shown on television for the first time by CBS, as the final installment of their Ford Star Jubilee.
- November 4 – 1956 Hungarian Revolution: More 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 – United States presidential election, 1956: Republican incumbent Dwight D. Eisenhower defeats Democrat challenger Adlai E. Stevenson in a rematch of their contest 4 years earlier.
- November 6 – Enoch A. Holtwick is defeated as presidential candidate of the Prohibition Party.
- 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 Arab lands immediately.
- November 13 – The United States Supreme Court declares Alabama and Montgomery, Alabama laws requiring segregated buses illegal, thus ending the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
- November 14 – Fighting ends in Hungary. Confirmation needed
- November 15 – Middle East Technical University is founded in Ankara, Turkey.
- November 20 – In Yugoslavia, former prime minister Milovan Djilas is arrested after he criticizes Josip Broz Tito.
- November 22 – The 1956 Summer Olympics begin in Melbourne, Australia.
- November 23 – The Suez Crisis causes petrol rationing in Britain.[2]
- November 30 – Floyd Patterson becomes champion after the retirement of Rocky Marciano.
[edit] December
[edit] Undated
[edit] Ongoing
[edit] Births
[edit] January–February
- January 1 – Mark R. Hughes, American entrepreneur (d. 2000)
- January 1 – Kōji Yakusho, Japanese actor
- January 3 – Mel Gibson, Australian actor and director (Lethal Weapon)
- January 4 – Bernard Sumner, British rock guitarist (Joy Division, New Order)
- January 5 – Chen Kenichi, Japan-born Chinese chef
- January 7 – David Caruso, American actor (NYPD Blue)
- January 9 – Imelda Staunton, British actress
- January 10 – Shawn Colvin, American singer
- January 14 – Ben Heppner, Canadian tenor
- January 14 – Rosina Lippi-Green (Rosina Lippi, Sara Donati), U.S.American writer
- January 16 – Martin Jol, Dutch football manager
- January 17 – Paul Young, English musician
- January 20 – Bill Maher, American actor, comedian, and political analyst
- January 21 – Geena Davis, American actress
- January 24 – Lounès Matoub, Algerian Berber Kabyle singer
- January 25 – Bronwyn Pike, Australian politician
- January 27 – Mimi Rogers, American actress
- January 30 – Jeremy Gittins, British actor
- January 31 – Johnny Rotten, British rock singer (Sex Pistols)
- February 1 – Mike Kitchen, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- February 2 – Adnan Oktar (Harun Yahya), Famous Turkish author
- February 3 – Nathan Lane, American actor (The Birdcage)
- February 3 – Lee Ranaldo, American musician (Sonic Youth)
- February 11 – Didier Lockwood, French jazz violinist
- February 11 – Catherine Hickland, American actress
- February 12 – Brian Robertson, British rock guitarist (Thin Lizzy, Wild Horses, and Motörhead)
- February 13 – Peter Hook, British rock bassist (Joy Division, New Order)
- February 13 – Yiannis Kouros, Greek-Australian ultramarathoner
- February 13 – Paul Stojanovich, American television producer
- February 14 – Tom Burlinson, Australian actor
- February 15 – Desmond Haynes, West Indian cricketer
- February 18 – Thomas Gradin, Swedish hockey player
- February 19 – Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- February 24 – Judith Butler, American philosopher
- February 24 – Paula Zahn, American television journalist (CBS News)
- February 25 – Davie Cooper, Scottish footballer (d. 1995)
- February 26 – Keisuke Kuwata, Japanese musician
- February 29 – Bob Speller, Canadian politician
- February 29 – Aileen Wuornos, American serial killer (d. 2002)
[edit] March–April
- March 1 – Tim Daly, American actor
- March 2 – Mark Evans, Australian bassist (AC/DC)
- March 5 – Teena Marie, American singer (Lovergirl)
- March 11 – Rob Paulsen, American voice actor
- March 12 – Steve Harris, British rock bass player (Iron Maiden)
- March 16 – Vladimír Godár, Slovak composer
- March 18 – Ingemar Stenmark, Swedish alpine skier
- March 19 – Yegor Gaidar, Russian economist and politician
- March 21 – Ingrid Kristiansen, Norwegian runner
- March 23 – José Manuel Barroso, Prime Minister of Portugal
- March 23 – Win Lyovarin, Thai author, who won 2 times S.E.A. Write Award
- March 24 – Steve Ballmer, American CEO of Microsoft
- March 30 – Shahla Sherkat, Iranian feminist journalist
- April 3 – Ray Combs, American game show host and comedian (d. 1996)
- April 3 – Boris Miljković, Serbian TV & theatre director and video artist
- April 4 – Kerry Chikarovski, Australian politician
- April 4 – David E. Kelley, American writer and television producer
- April 5 – Diamond Dallas Page, American professional wrestler
- April 6 – Sebastian Spreng, American-Argentinean visual artist
- April 6 – Dilip Vengsarkar, Indian cricketer
- April 12 – Andy García, American actor
- April 12 – Yasuo Tanaka, Japanese politician, novelist
- April 13 – Possum Bourne, New Zealand rally car driver (d. 2003)
- April 14 – Barbara Bonney, American soprano
- April 16 – David McDowell Brown, American astronaut (Columbia Disaster) (d. 2003)
- April 16 – Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier
- April 19 – Sue Barker, British tennis player and television presenter
- April 21 – Phillip Longman, American demographer
- April 26 – Koo Stark, British actress
- April 28 – Jimmy Barnes, Australian musician
- April 28 – Paul Phillips, American conductor-composer
- April 30 – Lars von Trier, Danish film director
[edit] May–June
- May 1 – Alexander Ivanov, Russian-born American chess Grandmaster
- May 4 – David Guterson, American writer
- May 4 – Ulrike Meyfarth, German high jumper
- May 6 – Vladimir Lisin, Russian business oligarch
- May 7 – Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- May 7 – Jean Lapierre, Canadian politician and television host
- May 10 – Vladislav Nikolayevich Listyev, Russian journalist (d. 1995)
- May 12 – Greg Phillinganes, Amrican Keyboardist
- May 13 – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Indian guru
- May 13 – Steve Blackwood, American actor and musician
- May 13 – Kenneth Eriksson, Swedish rally driver
- May 15 – Dan Patrick, American sports commentator
- May 15 – Kjartan Poskitt, English author
- May 17 – Sugar Ray Leonard, African American boxer
- May 17 – Bob Saget, American actor and television host (America's Funniest Home Videos)
- May 20 – Ingvar Ambjørnsen, Norwegian author
- May 23 – Buck Showalter, American baseball player and manager
- May 23 – Ursula Plassnik, Austrian politician
- May 24 – Michael Jackson, Irish Anglican bishop
- May 26 – Lisa Niemi, American actress, wife of Patrick Swayze
- May 28 – Jerry Douglas, American dobro player
- June 3 – George Burley, current Scotland Football Manager
- June 6 – Björn Borg, Swedish tennis player
- June 9 – Patricia Cornwell, American novelist
- June 10 – Duke Georg Borwin of Mecklenburg, German head of the House of Mecklenburg
- June 11 – Joe Montana, American football player
- June 14 – King Diamond, Danish heavy metal musician
- June 20 – Cho Chikun, Korean professional Go player
- June 23 – Randy Jackson, African American musician and talent judge (American Idol)
- June 25 – Boris Trajkovski, President of the Republic of Macedonia (d. 2004)
- June 26 – Chris Isaak, American musician
- June 27 – Heiner Dopp, German field hockey player
- June 28 – Noel Mugavin, Australian rules football player
- June 29 – Janet Tashjian, American novelist
- June 30 – Ronald Winans, African American musician (d. 2005)
[edit] July–August
- July 2 – Jerry Hall, American model and actress
- July 3 – Rick Ducommun, Canadian actor and comedian
- July 5 – Sheila Walsh, Scottish Christian musician
- July 9 – Tom Hanks, American actor (Forrest Gump)
- July 11 – Sela Ward, American actress (Sisters)
- July 12 – Sandi Patty, American Christian musician
- July 14 – Vladimir Kulich, Czech actor
- July 15 – Ian Curtis, British rock musician (Joy Division) (d. 1980)
- July 15 – Barry Melrose, Canadian hockey player, coach, and commentator
- July 15 – Toshihiko Seko, Japanese long-distance runner
- July 16 – Tony Kushner, American playwright
- July 18 – Sheila Aldridge, American singer (The Aldridge Sisters)
- July 19 – Yoshiaki Yatsu, Japanese professional wrestler
- July 24 – Pat Finn, American game show host and producer
- July 26 – Andy Goldsworthy, British sculptor and photographer
- July 30 – Soraida Martinez, American painter (Verdadism)
- July 31 – Michael Biehn, American actor
- July 31 – Deval Patrick, African American Governor of Massachusetts
- August 1 – Steve Green, American Christian musician
- August 5 – Maureen McCormick, American actress (The Brady Bunch)
- August 17 – Dave Jones, Cardiff City Manager
- August 20 – Joan Allen, American actress (Nixon)
- August 21 – Kim Cattrall, Canadian actress
- August 22 – Paul Molitor, American baseball player
- August 23 – Andreas Floer, German mathematician (d. 1991)
- August 23 – Arabella Kennedy, daughter of John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy, stillborn
- August 24 – John Culberson, American politician
- August 26 – Mark Mangino, American football coach
- August 29 – Mark Morris, American choreographer
- August 31 – Masashi Tashiro, Japanese television performer
[edit] September–October
- September 1 – Bernie Wagenblast, American editor and broadcaster
- September 2 – Angelo Fusco, Provisional Irish Republican Army member
- September 3 – Pat McGeown, Provisional Irish Republican Army member
- September 10 – Johnny Fingers, Irish musician The Boomtown Rats
- September 11 – Phillip D. Bissett, American politician
- September 12 – Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong actor (d. 2003)
- September 12 – Ricky Rudd, American race car driver
- September 14 – Kostas Karamanlis, Greek politician
- September 14 – Ray Wilkins, English footballer and coach
- September 16 – Mickey Rourke, American actor
- September 16 – David Copperfield, American illusionist
- September 17 – Brian Andreas, American writer, sculptor, painter, and publisher.
- September 20 – Gary Cole, American actor
- September 21 – Jack Givens, American basketball player
- September 23 – Paolo Rossi, Italian soccer player
- September 24 – Gregory Peter Panos, American futurist, writer, inventor, virtual reality expert, human simulation visionary
- September 25 – Jamie Hyneman, American television co-host (MythBusters)
- September 26 – Linda Hamilton, American actress (Terminator)
- September 29 – Sebastian Coe, British athlete, co-ordinator of the London 2012 Olympic Games
- September 29 – Kenneth Newby, Canadian media artist
- October 8 – Stephanie Zimbalist, American actress
- October 10 – Amanda Burton, Irish actress
- October 11 – Nicanor Duarte, President of Paraguay
- October 17 – Mae Jemison, African American astronaut
- October 18 – Martina Navratilova, Czech-born tennis player
- October 19 – Carlo Urbani, Italian physician (d. 2003)
- October 23 – Dwight Yoakam, American country singer/musician and actor
- October 27 – Jaq D. Hawkins, British author, occultist, and lecturer
- October 28 – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran
[edit] November–December
- November 4 – Jordan Rudess, American musician (Dream Theater)
- November 8 – Steven Miller, American record producer
- November 8 – Richard Curtis, British actor and producer
- November 10 – Mohsen Badawi, Egyptian entrepreneur, political activist, and writer
- November 14 – Avi Cohen, Israeli football player
- November 18 – Noel Brotherston, Irish footballer (d. 1995)
- November 18 – Warren Moon, American football player
- November 20 – Bo Derek, American actress (10)
- November 23 – Shane Gould, Australian swimmer
- November 23 – Nikolay Sidorov, Soviet athlete
- November 26 – Dale Jarrett, American race car driver
- November 27 – William Fichtner, American actor
- November 28 – Lucy Gutteridge, British actress
- November 29 – Leo Laporte, American author and television host
- November 29 – Eric Laakso, American football player
- December 5 – Krystian Zimerman, Polish pianist
- December 5 – Brian Backer, American actor
- December 6 – Peter Buck, American rock guitarist (R.E.M.)
- December 6 – Randy Rhoads, American rock guitarist (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne) (d. 1982)
- December 7 – Larry Bird, American basketball player
- December 8 – Warren Cuccurullo, American rock musician (Missing Persons, Duran Duran)
- December 11 – Lani Brockman, American playwright
- December 12 – Johan van der Velde, Dutch cyclist
- December 12 – Ana Alicia, Mexican actress
- December 13 – Majida El Roumi, Lebanese singer
- December 18 – Ron White, American comedian
- December 23 – Michele Alboreto, Italian race car driver (d. 2001)
- December 23 – Dave Murray, British guitarist
- December 26 – David Sedaris, American essayist
- December 28 – Jimmy Nicholl, Canadian-born footballer
- December 28 – Nigel Kennedy, English violinist
- December 29 – Fred MacAulay, Scottish comedian
- December 30 – Sheryl Lee Ralph, African American actress (Moesha)
- December 31 – Hussein Ahmed Salah, Djiboutian marathon player
[edit] Date unknown
[edit] Deaths
[edit] January–June
- January 3 – Alexander Gretchaninov, Russian composer (b. 1864)
- January 3 – Joseph Wirth, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
- January 5 – Mistinguett, French singer (b. 1875)
- January 13 – Lyonel Charles Feininger, German painter (b. 1871)
- January 14 – Sheila Kaye-Smith, English writer (b. 1887)
- January 18 – Konstantin Päts, President of Estonia (b. 1874)
- January 21 – Sam Langford, Canadian boxer (b. 1883)
- January 24 – Sir Alexander Korda, Hungarian-born film director (b. 1893)
- January 27 – Erich Kleiber, German conductor (b. 1890)
- January 29 – H. L. Mencken, American writer (b. 1880)
- January 31 – A. A. Milne, English author (Winnie The Pooh) (b. 1882)
- February 8 – Connie Mack, American baseball executive and manager (b. 1862)
- February 10 – Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, British marshal of the Royal Air Force (b. 1873)
- February 18 – Gustave Charpentier, French composer (b. 1860)
- March 17 – Fred Allen, American comedian (b. 1894)
- March 17 – Irène Joliot-Curie, French physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1897)
- March 18 – Louis Bromfield, American writer (b. 1896)
- March 20 – Fanny Durack, Australian swimmer (b. 1889)
- March 20 – Wilhelm Miklas, Austrian politician and 3rd President of Austria
- March 25 – Robert Newton, English film actor (b. 1905)
- March 30 – Edmund Clerihew Bentley, English inventor (b. 1875)
- March 31 – Ralph DePalma, Italian-born race car driver (b. 1884)
- April 19 – Ernst Robert Curtius, Alsatian philologist (b. 1886)
- April 21 – Samuel Gottesman, American pulp-paper merchant (b. 1885)
- April 30 – Alben W. Barkley, Vice President of the United States (b. 1877)
- May 12 – Louis Calhern, American actor (b. 1895)
- May 17 – Austin Osman Spare, English magician (b. 1886)
- May 18 – Maurice Tate, English cricketer (b. 1895)
- May 20 – Max Beerbohm, English theater critic (b. 1872)
- May 26 – Al Simmons, American baseball player (b. 1902)
- May 31 – Diedrich Hermann Westermann, German linguist (b. 1875)
- June 6 – Margaret Wycherly, English stage & film actress (b. 1881)
- June 17 – Paul Rostock, German official, surgeon, and university professor (b. 1892)
- June 22 – Walter de la Mare, English poet, short story writer, and novelist (b. 1873)
- June 23 – Reinhold Glière, Russian composer (b. 1875)
- June 26 – Clifford Brown, American jazz trumpeter (auto accident) (b. 1930)
[edit] July–December
- July 7 – Gottfried Benn, German poet (b. 1886)
- July 8 – Giovanni Papini, Italian essayist, poet, novelist (b. 1881)
- July 10 – Joe Giard, American baseball player (b. 1898)
- July 20 – James Alexander Calder, Canadian politician (b. 1856)
- August 2 – Albert Woolson, last surviving Union veteran of the American Civil War (b. 1847)
- August 11 – Jackson Pollock, American painter (b. 1912)
- August 14 – Bertolt Brecht, German playwright (Threepenny Opera) (b. 1898)
- August 16 – Béla Lugosi, Hungarian-born film actor (Dracula) (b. 1882)
- August 23 – Peaches Browning, American actress (b. 1910)
- August 23 – Arabella Kennedy, daughter of John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy, stillborn
- August 25 – Alfred Kinsey, American sex researcher (b. 1894)
- September 11 – Billy Bishop, Canadian pilot (b. 1894)
- September 20 – Flora Eldershaw, Australian novelist, critic, and historian (b. 1897)
- September 22 – Frederick Soddy, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1877)
- September 27 – Babe Zaharias, American athlete and golfer (b. 1911)
- September 29 – Anastasio Somoza García, President of Nicaragua (b. 1896)
- October 12 – Don Lorenzo Perosi, Italian composer (b. 1872)
- October 17 – Anne Crawford, British actress (b. 1920)
- October 19 – Isham Jones, American musician (b. 1894)
- October 26 – Walter Gieseking, French conductor (b. 1895)
- November 5 – Art Tatum, American jazz pianist (b. 1909)
- November 10 – Harry F. Sinclair, American entrepreneur (b. 1876)
- November 24 – Guido Cantelli, Italian conductor (b. 1920)
- November 26 – Tommy Dorsey, American trombonist and bandleader (b. 1905)
- December 6 – Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Indian untouchable leader (b. 1891)
- December 7 – Huntley Gordon, Canadian actor (b. 1887)
- December 16 – Nina Hamnett, Welsh artist (b. 1890)
[edit] Date unknown
[edit] Ship events
[edit] Nobel Prizes
[edit] External links
