On This Day

Historical Events in September 1956

  • Sep 1 Indian state of Tripura becomes a territory
  • Sep 1 KELP (now KCOS) TV channel 13 in El Paso, TX (PBS) begins broadcasting
  • Sep 2 Collapse of a rail bridge under a train kills 120 (India)
  • Sep 2 San Francisco Washington-Jackson cable line replaced by bus service
  • Sep 2 Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina finishes 2nd in Italian GP at Monza to win his 3rd straight F1 World Drivers Championship by 3 points from Englishman Stirling Moss
  • Sep 2 British Ferrari driver Peter Collins sportingly hands over his car to retired teammate Juan Manuel Fangio during season ending Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Fangio finishes 2nd to win F1 World Drivers Championship
  • Sep 3 Tanks are deployed against racist demonstrators in Clinton, Tennessee
  • Sep 3 American Johnny Longden becomes thoroughbred racing's winningest rider, breaking the record of 4,870 wins by British jockey Sir Gordon Richards; rides Arrogate to victory in the Del Mar Handicap
  • Sep 5 20 die in a train crash in Springer NM
  • Sep 7 Bell X-2 sets Unofficial manned aircraft altitude record 126,000'+
  • Sep 8 Harry Belafonte's album "Calypso" goes #1 & stays #1 for 31 weeks
  • Sep 9 African Party for Liberation of Guinea-Bissau & Cape Verde forms

Appears on tv showTV Show Appearance

Sep 9 Elvis Presley appears on the Ed Sullivan Show for the 1st time

Singer & Cultural Icon Elvis Presley
Singer & Cultural Icon
Elvis Presley
TV Host Ed Sullivan
TV Host
Ed Sullivan

Sport awardUS Men's Tennis Open

Sep 9 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: In an all-Australian final Ken Rosewall wins his first US singles title, beating Lew Hoad 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3

Tennis Player and Eight-Time Major Champion Ken Rosewall
Tennis Player and Eight-Time Major Champion
Ken Rosewall
Tennis Player and Four-Time Major Champion Lew Hoad
Tennis Player and Four-Time Major Champion
Lew Hoad

Sport awardUS Open Women's Tennis

Sep 9 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: In an all-American final Shirley Fry Irvin beats Althea Gibson 6-3, 6-4 for her only US singles crown

Tennis Player Althea Gibson
Tennis Player
Althea Gibson
  • Sep 10 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Maralinga, Australia

  • Sep 10 Louisville Ky public schools integrates
  • Sep 10 WSYE (now WETM) TV channel 18 in Elmira-Corning, NY (NBC) 1st broadcast

Event of interestEvent of Interest

Sep 11 Cincinnati Reds outfielder Frank Robinson ties rookie record with his 38th HR

MLB Hall of Fame Outfielder and Manager Frank Robinson
MLB Hall of Fame Outfielder and Manager
Frank Robinson
  • Sep 11 Vladimir Kuts runs world record 10k (28:42.8)

Sports record brokenBaseball Record

Sep 11 Yanks Yogi Berra ties career record for HRs (236) by a catcher

MLB Catcher and Manager Yogi Berra
MLB Catcher and Manager
Yogi Berra
  • Sep 12 Black students enter & are barred from Clay Ky elementary school
  • Sep 13 Dike around Dutch polder Eastern Flevoland closes
  • Sep 13 Stravinsky's "Canticum Sacrum," premieres in Venice

Historic InventionIBM 305 RAMAC

Sep 14 IBM introduces the RAMAC 305, 1st commercial computer with a hard drive that uses magnetic disk storage, weighs over a ton

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IBM 305 RAMAC at the U.S. Army Red River Arsenal; foreground: two 350 disk drives; background: 380 console and 305 processing unit
IBM 305 RAMAC at the U.S. Army Red River Arsenal; foreground: two 350 disk drives; background: 380 console and 305 processing unit
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  • Sep 17 Black students enter Clay Ky elementary school
  • Sep 17 Yanks clinch pennant #22 on Mantle's 50th homer of year
  • Sep 17 Television is first broadcast in Australia.

Sports record brokenBaseball Record

Sep 18 Mickey Mantle is 8th to hit 50 HRs in a season

Baseball Legend Mickey Mantle
Baseball Legend
Mickey Mantle
  • Sep 19 1st international conference of black writers & artists meets (Sorbonne)
  • Sep 21 New York Yankees set dubious MLB record, stranding 20 on base; Mickey Mantle hits a 500' plus homer but rival Boston Red Sox win 13-9 at Fenway Park
  • Sep 25 Transatlantic telephone cable goes into operation from Newfoundland to Oban
  • Sep 25 Brooklyn Dodger Sal Maglie no-hits Philadelphia Phillies, 5-0

Event of interestEvent of Interest

Sep 28 "Johnny Carson Show" TV Variety last airs on CBS-TV

Comedian and TV Host Johnny Carson
Comedian and TV Host
Johnny Carson
  • Sep 28 RCA Records reports Elvis Presley sold over 10 million records
  • Sep 29 "I Love Mickey" by Mickey Mantle & Teresa Brewer peaks at #87
  • Sep 29 "Oh! Susanna" debuts on CBS-TV
  • Sep 29 Yanks Mickey Mantle hits his 52nd HR of season
  • Sep 30 Phillies Robin Roberts gives up a major league record 46th HR
  • Sep 30 White Sox Jim Derrington, 16, is youngest to start a game (he loses)

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