Important Events in 1956
- 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 14 IBM introduces the RAMAC 305, 1st commercial computer with a hard drive that uses magnetic disk storage, weighs over a ton
- Oct 6 Scientist Albert Sabin announces that his oral Polio vaccine is ready for testing; it would soon supplant Jonas Salk's vaccine in many parts of the world
- 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
- Sep 9 Elvis Presley appears on the Ed Sullivan Show for the 1st time
1956 in Music
- Jan 8 Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog" single goes #1 and 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
1956 in Sport
- Mar 3 Dutch swimmer Cockie Gastelaars breaks 20-year old world record for 100m freestyle (1:04.2)
- Apr 27 Undefeated world heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano, retires from the ring
Did You Know?
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
Björn Borg
Homer Simpson
Mae Jemison
Martina Navratilova
Michael Biehn
Tom HanksFamous People in 1956
Ingrid Bergman
Oscar for Best Actress- Yul Brynner
Oscar for Best Actor
Ingrid Bergman
Yul BrynnerWorld Leaders in 1956
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
34th US President & WWII General - Mao Zedong
Chinese Revolutionary and Chairman of the Communist Party - Nikita Khrushchev
Soviet First Secretary
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Mao Zedong
Nikita KhrushchevFamous Weddings in 1956
- 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
More Weddings & Divorces
A. A. Milne
Bela Lugosi
Connie Mack
Elpidio Quirino
Hiram Bingham
Irene Joliot-Curie1956 in Articles and Photos
My Fair Lady's Special Day
This was a day to remember for Eliza Doolittle, the 'My Fair Lady' of the stage and film musical that won and broke hearts.
May 20, 1956IBM 305 RAMAC
IBM 305 RAMAC at the U.S. Army Red River Arsenal; foreground: two 350 disk drives; background: 380 console and 305 processing unit
September 13, 1956
