1956

1956 in various calendars
Gregorian calendar	1956; MCMLVI
Ab urbe condita	2709
Armenian calendar	1405; ԹՎ ՌՆԵ
Assyrian calendar	6706
Baháʼí calendar	112–113
Balinese saka calendar	1877–1878
Bengali calendar	1363
Berber calendar	2906
British Regnal year	4 Eliz. 2 – 5 Eliz. 2
Buddhist calendar	2500
Burmese calendar	1318
Byzantine calendar	7464–7465
Chinese calendar	乙未年 (Wood Goat); 4653 or 4446; — to —; 丙申年 (Fire Monkey); 4654 or 4447
Coptic calendar	1672–1673
Discordian calendar	3122
Ethiopian calendar	1948–1949
Hebrew calendar	5716–5717
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	2012–2013
- Shaka Samvat	1877–1878
- Kali Yuga	5056–5057
Holocene calendar	11956
Igbo calendar	956–957
Iranian calendar	1334–1335
Islamic calendar	1375–1376
Japanese calendar	Shōwa 31; (昭和３１年)
Javanese calendar	1887–1888
Juche calendar	45
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 13 days
Korean calendar	4289
Minguo calendar	ROC 45; 民國45年
Nanakshahi calendar	488
Thai solar calendar	2499
Tibetan calendar	阴木羊年; (female Wood-Goat); 2082 or 1701 or 929; — to —; 阳火猴年; (male Fire-Monkey); 2083 or 1702 or 930

Centuries:	19th century · 20th century · 21st century
Decades:	1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s
Years:	1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959

1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

Events

April

April 7 - Spain relinquishes its protectorate in Morocco.
April 9 - Habib Bouirgiba is elected prime minister of Tunisia.Template:NoMention
April 14 - Videotape is first demonstrated at the 1956 NARTB (now NAB) convention in Chicago, Illinois by Ampex. It was the demonstation of the first practical and commercially successful videotape format known as 2" Quadruplex.
April 19 - British diver Lionel Crabb dives into the Portsmouth harbor to investigate visiting Soviet cruiser and vanishes.
April 19 - Actress Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco.Template:NoMention

May

early May - The Methodist Church in America decides at its General Conference to grant women full ordained clergy status.
May 8 - Austria and Israel form diplomatic relations.
May 8 - Constitutional union between Indonesia and Netherlands is dissolved.
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.
May 23 - French minister Pierre Mendes-France resigns due to government's policy on Algeria.

June

June 1 - Vyacheslav Molotov resigns as a foreign minister of Soviet Union; he later becomes ambassador in Mongolia.
June 6 - In Singapore, chief minister David Marshall resigns after breakdown of talks about internal self government in London.
June 10 - 1956 Summer Olympics: Equestrian events open in Stockholm, Sweden.
June 14 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the phrase "under God" should be added to the Pledge of Allegiance
June 18 - Last foreign troops leave Egypt.
June 23 - Gamal Abdel Nasser becomes the second president of 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. Soviet troops fire at crowd that protests high prices - 53 dead.
June 29 - Actress Marilyn Monroe marries the playwright Arthur Miller.
June 30 - A TWA Lockheed Constellation and United Airlines Douglas DC-7 collide in mid-air over the Grand Canyon in Arizona and crash. All 128 people aboard the two aircraft are killed in the disaster. The accident prompts tighter air traffic control to be implemented in the United States.

July

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 Swedish ship 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 U.S. Congress is signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing "In God We Trust" as the U.S. national motto.
July 31 - Jim Laker sets extraordinary record at Old Trafford in the fourth Test of taking nineteen wickets in a first class match (the previous best was seventeen).

August

August 8 - Fire and explosion kills 263 miners at Marcinelle, Belgium.
August 17 - West Germany bans communist party

September

September 25 - Submarine telephone cable across the Atlantic opened

October

October 10 - Finland joins UNESCO
October 14 - Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Indian Untouchable leader, converts to Buddhism along with 385,000 followers. See Neo-Buddhism.
October 15 - RAF retires its last Lancaster bomber
October 15 - Fidel Castro and Che Guevara depart from Tuxpan, Mexico enroute to Santiago de Cuba aboard ship Granma with 82 men. After the ship passes a storm, it lands on Belici, Cuba, December 2
October 23 - Hungarian revolution against the pro-Soviet 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

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 6 - Enoch A. Holtwick defeated as presidential candidate of 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 Egypt immediately.
November 14 - Fighting ends in Hungary.
November 16 - Suez canal blocked.
November 20 - In Yugoslavia, former prime minister Milovan Djilas is arrested after he critisized Josip Broz Tito
November 22 - Beginning of the Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia.
November 23 - Suez Crisis causes petrol rationing in Britain.

December

December 2 - Fidel Castro and his followers land on Cuba in the boat Granma.
December 2 - A pipe bomb explodes at a movie theater in Brooklyn (work of George Metesky), injuring six people.
December 5 - Rose Heilbron becomes Britain's first female judge
December 12 - Japan becomes member of the United Nations.
December 23 - British and French troops leave Suez Canal region

Unknown date

Eindhoven University of Technology founded in Eindhoven, The Netherlands
First hard disk (5MB) invented by IBM.
Minamata disease discovered

Births

January

January 3 - Mel Gibson, Australian actor and director
January 4 - Bernard Sumner, British guitarist (Joy Division and New Order)
January 5 - Chen Kenichi, Japanese chef
January 7 - David Caruso, American actor
January 10 - Shawn Colvin, American singer
January 14 - Ben Heppner, Canadian tenor
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 27 - Mimi Rogers, American actress
January 31 - Johnny Rotten, British singer (Sex Pistols)

February

February 3 - Nathan Lane, American actor
February 11 - Didier Lockwood, French jazz violinist
February 13 - Peter Hook, British bassist (Joy Division and New Order)
February 14 - Tom Burlinson, Australian actor
February 14 - Ron Shore, American film and television composer and producer
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 - Paula Zahn, American television journalist
February 26 - Keisuke Kuwata, Japanese musician
February 29 - Randy Jackson, American musician
February 29 - Bob Speller, Canadian politician
February 29 - Aileen Carol Wuornos, American serial killer (d. 2002)

March

March 11 - Rob Paulsen, American voice actor
March 21 - Ingrid Kristiansen, Norwegian runner

April

April 3 - Ray Combs, American game show host and comedian
April 4 - Kerry Chikarovski, Australian politician
April 4 - David E. Kelley, American writer and television producer
April 6 - Dilip Vengsarkar, Indian cricketer
April 12 - Andy Garcia, American actor
April 13 - Peter 'Possum' Bourne, Australian race car driver (d. 2003)
April 13 - Alison Wheeler, British political activist
April 14 - Barbara Bonney, American soprano
April 16 - David M. Brown, United States Naval Captain, NASA astronaut (d. 2003)
April 16 - Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier
April 19 - Sue Barker, British tennis player and television presenter
April 23 - Judy Davis, Australian actress
April 26 - Koo Stark, British actress
April 28 - Jimmy Barnes, Australian musician
April 30 - Jorge Chaminé, Portuguese baritone
April 30 - Lars von Trier, Danish film director

May

May 4 - David Guterson, American writer
May 4 - Ulrike Meyfarth, German high jumper
May 7 - Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
May 13 - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Indian guru
May 13 - Steve Blackwood, American actor and musician
May 15 - Dan Patrick, American sportscaster
May 16 - Olga Korbut, Russian gymnast
May 17 - Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer
May 17 - Bob Saget, American actor
May 19 - James Gosling, Canadian software engineer
May 20 - Ingvar Ambjørnsen, Norwegian author
May 21 - Judge Reinhold, American actor
May 23 - Buck Showalter, baseball player and manager

June

June 6 - Björn Borg, Swedish tennis player
June 9 - Patricia Cornwell, American novelist
June 11 - Joe Montana, American football player
June 23 - Glenn Danzig, American musician (Danzig)
June 25 - Boris Trajkovski, President of the Republic of Macedonia (d. 2004)
June 27 - Heiner Dopp, German field hockey player
June 30 - Ronald Winans, American musician (d. 2005)

July

July 2 - Jerry Hall, American model and actress
July 9 - Tom Hanks, American actor
July 14 - Ran Andrews, Canadian painter
July 15 - Ian Curtis, British musician (Joy Division) (d. 1980)
July 15 - Barry Melrose, Canadian hockey player, coach, and commentator
July 15 - Marky Ramone American drummer (The Ramones)
July 16 - Tony Kushner, American playwright
July 31 - Michael Biehn, American actor

August

August 5 - Maureen McCormick, American actress
August 14 - Rusty Wallace, American race car driver
August 20 - Joan Allen, American actress
August 21 - Kim Cattrall, Canadian actress
August 22 - Paul Molitor, baseball player
August 23 - Andreas Floer, German mathematician (d. 1991)
August 24 - John Culberson, American politician
August 31 - Masashi Tashiro, Japanese television performer

September

September 11 - Phil Bissett, American politican
September 12 - Ricky Rudd, American race car driver
September 14 - Costas Caramanlis, Greek politician
September 14 - Ray Wilkins, English footballer and coach
September 20 - Gary Cole, American actor
September 22 - Masayuki Suzuki, Japanese singer (Rats & Star)
September 26 - Linda Hamilton, American actress
September 30 - Fran Drescher, American actress

October

October 11 - Nicanor Duarte Frutos, President of Paraguay
October 17 - Mae Jemison, astronaut
October 18 - Martina Navratilova, Czech-born tennis player
October 19 - Carlo Urbani, Italian physician (d. 2003)
October 28 - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian president

November

November 18 - Warren Moon, American football player
November 23 - Shane Gould, Australian swimmer
November 23 - Steve Harvey, American actor and comedian
November 26 - Dale Jarrett, American race car driver
November 26 - Ed Kaz, American journalist
November 27 - William Fichtner, American actor
November 28 - Lucy Gutteridge, British actress
November 28 - Andreas Augustin, Austrian author
November 29 - Leo Laporte, Candian author and television host

December

December 5 - Krystian Zimerman, Polish pianist
December 5 - Brian Backer, American actor
December 6 - Peter Buck, guitarist with R.E.M.
December 7 - Larry Bird, American basketball player
December 7 - Mark Rolston, American actor
December 8 - Warren Cuccurullo, American musician (Missing Persons and Duran Duran)
December 12 - Johan Van der Velde, Dutch cyclist
December 18 - Ron White, American comedian
December 23 - Michele Alboreto, Italian race car driver
December 23 - Dave Murray, British guitarist
December 26 - David Sedaris, American essayist
December 28 - Nigel Kennedy, English violinist

Deaths

January

January 3 - Alexander Grechaninov, Russian composer (b. 1864)
January 5 - Mistinguett, French singer (b. 1875)
January 13 - Lyonel Charles Feininger, German painter (b. 1871)
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 (b. 1882)

February

February 8 - Connie Mack, baseball executive and manager (b. 1862)
February 18 - Gustave Charpentier, French composer (b. 1860)

March

March 17 - Irène Joliot-Curie, French physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1897)
March 20 - Fanny Durack, Australian swimmer
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

April 30 - Alben Barkley, Vice-President of the United States (b. 1877)

May

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, baseball player (b. 1902)
May 31 - Diedrich Hermann Westermann, German linguist (b. 1875)

June

June 17 - Paul Rostock, German official, surgeon, and university professor (b. 1892)
June 23 - Reinhold Glière, Russian composer (b. 1875)

July

July 7 - Gottfried Benn, German poet (b. 1886)

August

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 (b. 1898)
August 16 - Bela Lugosi, Hungarian-born film actor (b. 1882)
August 23 - Peaches Browning, American actress (b. 1910)
August 25 - Alfred Kinsey, American sex researcher (b. 1894)

September

September 21 - Anastasio Somoza García, President of Nicaragua (b. 1896)
September 22 - Frederick Soddy, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1877)
September 27 - Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American athlete and golfer (b. 1911)

October

October 12 - Don Lorenzo Perosi, Italian composer (b. 1872)
October 19 - Isham Jones, American musician (b. 1894)
October 26 - Walter Gieseking, French conductor (b. 1895)

November

November 24 - Guido Cantelli, Italian conductor (b. 1920)

December

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)

Unknown dates

James Alexander Allan, Australian poet (b. 1889)

Nobel Prizes

Physics - William Bradford Shockley, John Bardeen, Walter Houser Brattain
Chemistry - Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood, Nikolay Nikolaevich Semenov
Physiology or Medicine - André Frédéric Cournand, Werner Forssmann, Dickinson W. Richards
Literature - Juan Ramón Jiménez
Peace - not awarded

Centuries:	19th century · 20th century · 21st century
Decades:	1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s
Years:	1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959