What Happened in 1956

Significant Events

  • Feb 25 Nikita Khrushchev denounces Joseph Stalin at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
  • Mar 2 Morocco tears up the Treaty of Fez, declaring independence from France
  • Apr 26 First modern container ship, the Ideal X, leaves Port Newark, New Jersey for Houston, Texas
  • Jun 13 The last British troops leave the Suez Canal Zone in Egypt
  • Sep 13 IBM introduces the RAMAC 305, 1st commercial computer with a hard drive that uses magnetic disk storage, weighs over a ton
  • Sep 14 1st prefrontal lobotomy performed in Washington, D.C.
  • Sep 25 First transatlantic telephone cable goes into operation from Newfoundland to Oban
  • Oct 6 Dr Albert Sabin discovers oral polio vaccine
  • Nov 5 Britain and France land airborne forces at Port Said in Egypt, escalating the Suez Crisis
  • Nov 13 US Supreme court rules race separation on buses in Alabama unconstitutional
More Historical Events

1956 in Film & TV

  • Mar 13 "The Searchers" American western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Natalie Wood is released
  • May 10 9th Cannes Film Festival: "The Silent World" directed by Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle wins the Palme d'Or
  • Aug 28 17th Venice Film Festival opens. No Golden Lion awarded
  • Oct 29 NBC anchors Chet Huntley and David Brinkley first team up in "The Huntley–Brinkley Report"
  • Nov 5 The Nat King Cole Show debuts on NBC, the first variety program to be hosted by an African-American

1956 in Music

  • Jan 8 Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog" single goes #1 & stays #1 for a record 11 weeks (for a single)
  • Jan 27 "Heartbreak Hotel" single released by Elvis Presley, his first million-selling single
  • Apr 21 Elvis Presley's 1st hit record, "Heartbreak Hotel", becomes #1
  • May 24 1st Eurovision Song Contest: Lys Assia for Switzerland wins singing "Refrain" in Lugano
  • Aug 4 Elvis Presley releases "Hound Dog"

1956 in Sport

  • Mar 3 Dutch swimmer Cockie Gastelaars breaks 20-year old world record for 100m freestyle (1:04.2)
  • Apr 27 Heavyweight champ, Rocky Marciano, retires undefeated from boxing

Did You Know?

Colo is born, the first gorilla to be bred in captivity at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Columbus, Ohio

On December 22, 1956


World Leaders in 1956

Famous People in 1956

Famous People Born in 1956

More Famous Birthdays

Famous Weddings

  • Jan 1 Actor Gene Hackman (25) weds Fay Maltese
  • Jan 28 Science student later astronaut Neil Armstrong marries fellow student Janet Elizabeth Shearon in Wilmette, Illinois
  • Feb 14 MLB center fielder Willie Mays (24) weds Margherite Wendell Chapman in NYC, New York
  • Mar 3 Prime Minister of Australia Bob Hawke (26) weds first wife Hazel Masterson (26) at Perth Trinity Church in Australia
  • Mar 19 Author Aldous Huxley (62) weds musician and author Laura Archera (45)
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Famous Deaths

More Famous Deaths

Articles on Events in 1956