1956 in History

Events 1 - 100 of 317

• Jan 1 Sudan (Anglo-Egyptian Sudan) declares independence from Egypt & UK
• Jan 1 A new year event causes panic and stampedes at Yahiko Shrine, Yahiko, central Niigata, Japan, killing at least 124 people
• Jan 2 Poujadists/communists win French parliamentary elections
• Jan 3 A fire damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower.
• Jan 6 Federal court bars former Little League Commissioner Carl Stotz from forming a rival group
• Jan 7 Vinoo Mankad scores 231 v NZ, 413 opening stand with Roy
• Jan 8 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Conrad Aiken
• Jan 8 Operation Auca: Five U.S. missionaries are killed by the Huaorani of Ecuador shortly after making contact with them.
• Jan 9 Abigail Van Buren's [Pauline Phillips] "Dear Abby" advice column 1st appears in newspapers
• Jan 9 Samir el-Rifai forms government in Jordan
• Jan 12 FBi arrests 6 members of the Great Brink's robbery gang, 6 days before statute of limitations runs out
• Jan 14 Jordan government refuses to join Pact of Baghdad
• Jan 14 Little Richard releases "Tutti Frutti"
• Jan 16 Egyptian President Nasser pledges to reconquer Palestine
• Jan 18 German Democratic Republic (East Germany) forms own army (National People's Army)
• Jan 21 "The Wizard of Oz" succeeds Harold Ross as editor of "The New Yorker"


• Jan 22 30 people die in a train crash in Los Angeles
• Jan 22 Canadian Football Council forms
• Jan 24 96.5 cm precipitation at Kilauea Plantation, Hawaii (state record)
• Jan 24 An inquiry considers building homes in a war devastated area in London
• Jan 25 96.5 cm (38.0") of rainfall, Kilauea Plantation, Hawaii (state record)
• Jan 26 Porkkala military base returned to Finland by USSR
• Jan 29 F Durrenmatt's "Der Besuch der Alten Dame" premieres in Zurich

• Jan 31 French government of Guy Mollet forms
• Jan 31 Juscelino Kubitschek becomes president of Brazil
• Feb 1 Hague Daily Newspaper reveals war crimes of Hague mayor Schokking
• Feb 2 Coasters sign with Atlantic Records
• Feb 3 Autherine Lucy admitted to University of Alabama, suspended 2/7 after a riot
• Feb 4 AL plans to test automatic intentional walk during spring training
• Feb 6 Chicago's Daily Defender, begins publishing
• Feb 6 French Prime Minister Guy Mollet pelted with tomatoes in Algiers
• Feb 6 University of Alabama suspends African-American student Autherine Lucy claiming that it can no longer provide for her safety
• Feb 8 Mine disaster in Quaregnon Belgium, 8 die
• Feb 9 -5°F (-20.6°C) in Sicily
• Feb 9 R Lacoste follows Catroux as premier of Algeria
• Feb 11 British diplomats Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean deny working as spies for Soviet Russia after reappearing in the Soviet Union after going missing 5 years earlier
• Feb 13 KYW-AM in Philadelphia Penn gives calls to WTAM (now WWWE) Cleveland
• Feb 14 20th Congress of CPSU opens in Moscow
• Feb 14 Indonesia withdraws from Netherlands Indonesian Union
• Feb 14 Verhoeven, Nauta and De King/Wijnhout win Dutch 11 city skate


• Feb 15 Urho Kekkonen appointed president of Finland
• Feb 15 Pirates & KC As cancel an exhibition game in Birmingham Alabama, because of local ordinance barring black from playing against white
• Feb 17 Ice Pairs Championship at Garmisch won by Schwarz & Oppelt of AUT
• Feb 17 Ladies' Figure Skating Championship in Garmisch won by Carol Heiss USA
• Feb 17 Men's Figure Skating Championship in Garmisch won by H A Jenkins USA
• Feb 23 20th Congress of CPSU closes in Moscow

• Feb 27 Female suffrage granted in Egypt
• Feb 28 13 die in a train crash in Swampscott, Massachusetts
• Feb 28 American engineer Wright Forrester issued a patent for computer core memory
• Feb 29 Islamic Republic forms in Pakistan

• Mar 1 The International Air Transport Association finalizes a draft of the Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization.
• Mar 2 Morocco tears up the Treaty of Fez, declaring independence from France
• Mar 3 Indonesian government of Harahap resigns
• Mar 3 Morocco gains independence from France (Anniversary of throne)
• Mar 3 Manhattan Borough President Hulan Jack makes plans for a new 110,000-seat stadium to entice Giants to stay in NY
• Mar 9 Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus arrested & exiled to Seychelles
• Mar 9 Weather forecasting phone line set up in London England
• Mar 10 General strike in Cyprus protesting exile of archbishop Makarios
• Mar 10 Peter Twiss sets new world air record 1,132 mph (1,823 kph)
• Mar 12 Dow Jones closes above 500 for 1st time (500.24)
• Mar 14 Satchel Paige signs with the Birmingham Black Barons (Negro League)
• Mar 15 Whipper Billy Watson beats Lou Thesz in Toronto, to become NWA wrestling champion
• Mar 16 US Ladies Figure Skating championship won by Tenley Albright
• Mar 16 US Mens Figure Skating championship won by Hayes A Jenkins
• Mar 20 E Ochab succeeds Beirut as 1st secretary of Polish CP
• Mar 20 Mount Bezymianny on Kamchatka Peninsula (USSR) explodes
• Mar 20 Tunisia gains independence from France
• Mar 20 USSR performs nuclear test
• Mar 20 Union workers ended a 156-day strike at Westinghouse Electric Corp
• Mar 23 Pakistan proclaimed an Islamic republic in Commonwealth (National Day)
• Mar 23 Sudan becomes independent
• Mar 26 Medic Alert Foundation forms
• Mar 26 Red Buttons debuts on TV in Studio One
• Mar 27 French commandos land in Algeria
• Mar 30 USSR performs nuclear test
• Apr 1 10th Tony Awards: Diary of Anne Frank & Damn Yankees win
• Apr 1 Violent clashes in Algeria, kills at least 380
• Apr 2 Peter Ustinovs' "Romanoff & Juliet" premieres in Manchester
• Apr 3 Bulgarian vice premier Traitsjo Kostov rehabilitated
• Apr 3 German war criminals Hinrichsen, Ruhl, Siebens and Viebahn freed
• Apr 3 Hudsonville-Standale Tornado: The western half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan is struck by a deadly F5 tornado
• Apr 4 Enid Bagnold's "Chalk Garden" premieres in London
• Apr 5 Ceylon's Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), led by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike wins the general elections in a landslide
• Apr 6 Polish communist Gomulka freed from prison
• Apr 7 Spain relinquishes her protectorate in Morocco
• Apr 8 6 marine recruits drown during exercise at Paradise Island, South Carolina
• Apr 11 French government decides to send 200,000 reservists to Algeria
• Apr 12 S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike's government takes office in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)
• Apr 16 1st solar powered radios go on sale
• Apr 17 Bulgaria premier Tchervenkov resigns
• Apr 17 Premium Savings Bonds introduced in Great Britain
• Apr 17 USSR's Cominform (Parliament) dissolves
• Apr 17 Willie Mosconi sinks 150 consecutive balls in a billiard tournament
• Apr 18 Egypt & Israel agree to a cease fire
• Apr 26 First modern container ship, the Ideal X, leaves Port Newark, New Jersey for Houston, Texas
• Apr 27 Burma Premier U Nu's Volksliga voor Vrijheid loses election

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Birthdays 1 - 100 of 179

• Jan 1 Anatoli Borisovich Polonsky, Russian lt-colonel/cosmonaut
• Jan 1 Sergei Vasiliyevich Avdeyev, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-15, SK:TM-28)
• Jan 1 Mark R. Hughes, American entrepreneur (d. 2000)
• Jan 2 Lynda Barry, American cartoonist
• Jan 5 Chen Kenichi, Japanese-born chef
• Jan 9 Mike Walczewski, American Public Address Announcer at Madison Square Garden
• Jan 10 Antonio Muñoz Molina, Spanish writer (Royal Spanish Academy), born in Úbeda, Jaén, Spain
• Jan 15 Mayawati, Indian politician
• Jan 16 Ivan Safronov, Russian journalist (d. 2007)
• Jan 16 Saadeddine Othmani, Moroccan politician and Prime Minister of Morocco (2017-present), born in Inezgane, Morocco
• Jan 20 Maria Larsson, Swedish politician
• Jan 26 Simon Howard, English large landowner (Castle Howard)
• Jan 31 Trevor A Manuel, South African UDF/ANC-leader
• Feb 5 Betty Ong, flight attendant that died on September 11, 2001, on American Airlines Flight 11
• Feb 12 Ad P Melkert, Dutch minister of Social Affairs (1994- ), born in Gouda, Netherlands
• Feb 13 Princess Alia bint Al Hussein, Jordanian Royal Family member
• Feb 15 Hilda Beatriz "Hildita" Guevara, Cuba, daughter of "Che" Guevara
• Feb 19 George David Low, astronaut (STS 32, STS 43), born in Cleveland, Ohio
• Feb 19 Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist, Nobel laureate

• Feb 20 Charles Cummins, Clintwood Va, 3rd of 5 siblings born on 2/20
• Feb 24 Judith Butler, American philosopher
• Feb 29 Jonathan Coleman, Anglo-Australian entertainer
• Feb 29 Bob Speller, Canadian politician
• Feb 29 Aileen Wuornos, American serial killer (d. 2002)
• Feb 29 J. Randy Taraborrelli, American celebrity journalist
• Mar 5 Mark Handley, writer (Nell)
• Mar 9 Shashi Tharoor, Indian politician and diplomat (United Nations Under-Secretary General), born in London
• Mar 9 David Willetts, English Conservative Party politician, born in Birmingham, England
• Mar 11 Curtis L Brown Jr, NC, astronaut (STS 47, STS 66, 77, 85, sk:95)

• Mar 14 Natalya Dmitriyevna Kuleshova, Russian cosmonaut
• Mar 14 Alexey Pajitnov, Russian video game designer (Tetris), born in Moscow, Soviet Union
• Mar 17 Patrick McDonnell, American cartoonist
• Mar 18 Deborah Jeane Palfrey, American escort owner, born in Charleroi, Pennsylvania (d. 2008)
• Mar 19 Alina Castro, Havanna Cuba, daughter of Fidel
• Mar 19 Yegor Gaidar, Russian politician and economist.
• Mar 20 Phillip Oppenhein, British MP
• Mar 22 Generosa Ammon, widow of Ted Ammon (d. 2003)
• Mar 23 Andrew Mitchell, British MP
• Mar 23 Laura Thorne, chef (named one of 10 best American chefs)
• Mar 23 José Manuel Barroso, Portuguese politician, president of the European Commission
• Mar 29 Lisa J Allen, TV reporter/lawyer
• Mar 30 Bill Butler, Scottish politician
• Apr 3 Boris Miljković, Serbian TV and theatre director, writer and lecturer, born in Zagreb, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia
• Apr 4 Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, Suk Giuma Libya, bomber (Pan Am Flight 103)
• Apr 7 Annika Billström, Swedish politician
• Apr 7 Christopher Darden, American O.J. Simpson prosecutor
• Apr 15 Gregory J Harbaugh, astronaut (STS 39, 54, 71, 82), born in Cleveland, Ohio
• Apr 16 David M Brown, Cmdr USN/astronaut, born in Arlington, Virginia
• Apr 16 Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier
• Apr 17 Faye Young, WBL forward (NY Stars, NJ Stars)
• Apr 17 Kaye Young, WBL forward (NY Stars, NJ Stars)
• Apr 17 Pillow, [Therese Joan Bell], California, bodybuilder (Gold Classic 1983)
• Apr 20 Beatrice Ask, Swedish politician (Moderate Party), born in Sveg, Sweden
• Apr 21 Phillip Longman, American demographer
• Apr 28 Paul S Lockhart, Amarillo Tx, Major USAF/astronaut
• May 3 Marc Bellemare, French-Canadian lawyer and politician, born in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec

• May 4 Michael L. Gernhardt, American NASA astronaut (STS 69, 83, 94, sk 100), born in Mansfield, Ohio
• May 4 David Guterson, American author (Snow Falling on Cedars), born in Seattle, Washington
• May 7 Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (2002-10), born in Biezelinge, Netherlands
• May 10 Vladislav Listyev, Russian television anchor and journalist (d. 1995)
• May 11 Theresa Burke, Canadian journalist
• May 13 Aleksandr Yuriyevich Kaleri, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-14)
• May 13 Ravi Shankar [Sri Sri], Indian spiritual leader and founder of the Art of Living Foundation, born in Papanasam, India
• May 14 Gillian [Marucha] Bradshaw, American sci-fi author (Hawk of May)
• May 14 Steve Hogarth, Kendal England, vocals (Marillion-Clutching at Straws)
• May 17 Dave Sim, Canadian cartoonist
• May 19 Althea Gwyn, WBL center (NY Stars)
• May 20 Ingvar Ambjørnsen, Norwegian author (Elling tetralogy, Brødre i blodet), born in Tønsberg, Norway
• May 20 William Michaelian, American novelist and poet
• May 22 Lucie Brock-Broido, American poet and academic (Noctuary), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2018)
• May 23 Ursula Plassnik, Austrian politician and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2004-8), born in Klagenfurt, Austria
• May 24 Michael Jackson, Northern Irish clergyman
• May 26 Frédéric Dutoit, French politician
• May 27 Cynthia McFadden, American television anchor
• May 28 Germaine Montenesdro, 2nd victim of NYC's Zodiac killer (survives)
• May 28 Mark Alexander Lees, rowing Coach
• May 30 Jonathan Idema, Poughkeepsie, New York, torturer, kidnapper and con artist (d. 2012)
• Jun 2 Mark L Polansky, pilot/astronaut, born in Paterson, New Jersey
• Jun 2 Malcolm Garrett, English graphic designer
• Jun 4 John Hockenberry, American journalist
• Jun 5 Richard A Searfoss, Mount Clemons Mich, Astronaut (STS 58, 76, sk 90)
• Jun 6 Jay C Buckey, American physician/astronaut (STS 58 alt, sk: 90), born in NYC, New York
• Jun 9 Patricia Cornwell, American author
• Jun 10 Georg Borwin, Duke of Mecklenburg, head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
• Jun 22 Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pakistani Politician and Foreign Minister
• Jun 25 Boris Trajkovski, 2nd President of the Republic of Macedonia, born in Monospitovo, Strumica, SR Macedonia, Yugoslavia (d. 2004)
• Jun 25 Bongiwe (Bongi) Dhlomo-Mautloa, South African artist, born in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
• Jun 26 Azhar Cachalia, Scottish-South African leader (United Democratic Front), born in Scotland
• Jun 26 Bernard A. Harris Jr., African American astronaut (STS 55, 63), born in Temple, Texas
• Jun 27 Ted Haggard, American evangelical preacher (New Life Church, Colorado), born in Yorktown, Indiana
• Jun 28 Noel Mugavin, Australian Rules Football player
• Jun 29 Pedro Santana Lopes, former Prime Minister of Portugal
• Jul 3 Montel Williams, TV talk show host (Montel)
• Jul 3 Don Vito, American Viva La Bam castmember
• Jul 10 Tom McClintock, American politician (U.S. House of Representatives from California), born in White Plains, New York
• Jul 17 Julie Bishop, Australian Liberal Party politician and Minister for Foreign Affairs (2013-present), born in Lobethal, South Australia
• Jul 17 Julie Bishop, Australian politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs (2017-), born in Lobethal, Australia

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• Aug 14 Writer Iris Murdoch (37) marries academic John Bayley (31)
• Aug 27 Socialite Gloria Vanderbilt (32) weds "12 Angry Men" director Sidney Lumet (32)

• Oct 6 South African politician "Kobie" Coetsee marries Helena E Malan

Deaths 1 - 100 of 102

• Jan 3 Joseph Wirth, 5th Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (Germany) (b. 1876)
• Jan 5 Jeanne F Bourgeois, French head mistress (Moulin Rouge), dies at 84
• Jan 8 Jim Elliot, American Christian missionary, dies at 28
• Jan 10 Henricus P Bremmer, Dutch art historian (Beeldende Kunst), dies at 84
• Jan 10 Karl L Schmidt, German/Swiss theologist (Urchristentum), dies at 64
• Jan 12 John Raedecker, Dutch sculptor (WW II Monument Amsterdam), dies at 70
• Jan 14 Siegfried Frederick Nadel, Austrian-British anthropologist (Nuba), dies at 52
• Jan 22 P A M Speet, Dutch broadcast CEO (KRO), dies

• Jan 30 Gerrit Mannoury, mathematician/philosopher, dies at 88

• Feb 2 Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (b. 1876)
• Feb 3 Émile Borel, French mathematician (b. 1871)
• Feb 4 Leendert Antonie Donker, Dutch Minister of Justice (PvdA), dies at 56
• Feb 26 Herman Courtens, Belgian baron/painter, dies at 72
• Feb 28 Emile Buisson, French murderer executed (b. 1902)

• Mar 3 Willem Hendrik Keesom, Dutch physicist (Helium I/II), dies at 79

• Mar 18 Friedrich Panzer, German germanist (Hilde-Gudrun), dies at 85
• Mar 18 Louis Bromfield, writer, dies at 59
• Mar 20 Wilhelm Miklas, Austrian politician and 3rd President of Austria (1928-38), dies at 83
• Mar 22 George A L Sarton, Belgian/US historian, dies at 71
• Mar 24 Edmund Taylor Whittaker, British mathematician (applied mathematics and the theory of special functions), dies at 82
• Mar 27 Frans Beelaerts van Blokland, minister of Foreign affairs, dies at 84
• Mar 29 Infante Alfonso of Spain (b. 1941)
• Apr 2 Albert Marie Leon Adolphe de Bassompierre, Belgium ambassador to Tokyo (1921-39), dies at 82
• Apr 2 Philippo de Pisis, Italian painter, dies at 59
• Apr 3 T Kostov, Bulgarian vice-premier, executed
• Apr 15 Emile Nolde [Hansen], German painter (Grablegung Christi), dies at 88
• Apr 19 Ernst R Curtius, German literature historian, dies at 70
• Apr 19 Leon N H Jungschlaeger, head milt intelligence Neth-Indies, dies at 52
• Apr 21 Charles MacArthur, American writer (b. 1895)
• Apr 24 Albrecht G Alt, German theologist (Small Schriften), dies at 72
• Apr 30 Alben W Barkley, (VP-D-1949-53), dies at 78
• May 5 Karel Rudolph Gallas, Dutch lexicographer (French Dictionary), dies at 88
• May 11 Walter S Adams, US astronomer/director of Mount Wilson, dies at 79
• May 12 Hendrik P Marchant, Dutch minister of Education, dies at 87
• May 13 Aleksandr A Fadejev, Russ author (Young Guard), commits suicide at 54
• May 15 Austin Osman Spare, English magician (b. 1886)
• May 16 H. B. Reese, American inventor of Reese's, dies at 76
• May 20 Max Beerbohm, English caricaturist, writer and parodist (Saturday Review), dies at 83
• May 29 Albert H Edelkoort, theologist (Christusverwachting), dies at 65

• Jun 7 Julien Benda, Fren philosopher/writer (La trahison des clercs), dies
• Jun 8 Marie Laurencin, French painter, dies at 72
• Jun 11 Corrado Alvaro, Italian writer (Poesie grigio-verdi), dies at 61
• Jun 17 Paul Rostock, German doctor (b. 1892)
• Jun 19 Lulu [Luise] Strauss und Torney, German poet/writer, dies at 82

• Jun 23 Michael Arlen [Dikran Kouyoumdjian], British author and scriptwriter (An American Verdict), dies at 60
• Jun 25 Ernest J King, US fleet admiral/Chief of Naval Operations, dies at 77
• Jul 7 Gottfried Benn, German poet and essayist, dies at 70
• Jul 8 Gerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart, dutch min of Justice (Nobel 54), dies
• Jul 8 Giovanni Papini, Italian author/poet (Un Uomo Finito), dies at 75
• Jul 12 Maurice Lippens, Belgian governor of Congo (1921-23), dies at 80
• Jul 18 Willem J A Kerncamp, Dut overseas minister (Islam & Woman), dies at 57
• Jul 18 Willem Kernkamp, Dutch minister of Colonies (Islam & Woman), dies at 57
• Jul 20 James Alexander Calder, Canadian politician (b. 1868)
• Jul 29 Ludwig Klages, German philosopher (study of graves), dies at 83
• Aug 2 Albert Woolson, last veteran US Union army, dies at 109

• Aug 14 Freiherr Constantine von Neurath, German foreign min (1932-38), dies
• Aug 14 Bertolt Brecht, German poet and playwright (Mother Courage), dies of a heart attack at 58
• Aug 15 Constantine Freiherr von Neurath, German foreign minister, dies at 83
• Aug 25 Alfred Kinsey, American entomologist and sexologist (Kinsey Report), dies from a heart ailment and pneumonia at 62
• Aug 26 Alfred Wagenknecht, German-born American activist, dies at 75
• Sep 8 Gerrit Bolkestein, Dutch minister of Education (1939-45), dies at 84
• Sep 8 Vital Celen, Flemish writer ('t Pastoorke van Vossendonck), dies at 69

• Sep 12 Hans Carossa, German writer, dies at 77
• Sep 12 Sándor Graf Festetics, Hungarian politician (b. 1882)
• Sep 18 Adélard Godbout, Canadian politician (15th Premier of Quebec), dies at 63
• Sep 21 Anastasio Somoza García [Tacho], General, dictator and President of Nicaragua (1937-56), assassinated by Roliberto Lopez at 60

• Sep 26 Lucien Febvre, French historian (Un Destin, Martin Luther), dies at 78
• Sep 27 Milburn Apt, in X-2 rocket plane reaches 3370 kph, but, dies in crash
• Sep 28 William Boeing, American aviation pioneer who founded The Boeing Company, dies at 74
• Oct 2 Paul de Backer, Belgian radiologist, dies at 73
• Oct 6 Charles E. Merrill, American investment banker (Merrill Lynch), dies at 70

• Oct 8 Dirk Koster, literary (New noises), dies at 69
• Oct 16 Jules Rimet, French football administrator (3rd President of FIFA 1921-54), dies at 83
• Oct 24 Henry Nicholas Ridley, British botanist (Malay Peninsula rubber industry), dies at 100
• Oct 25 Risto Ryti, Finnish minister/premier/president, dies at 67

• Nov 1 Pietro Badoglio, 41st Prime Minister of Italy (1943-44) and Italian General (1922-43), dies at 85
• Nov 2 Leo Baeck, President of World Union for Progressive Judaism, dies at 83
• Nov 9 Aino Kallas, Finnish writer (White Ship, Estonian Tales), dies at 78

• Nov 22 Vincent de Moro-Giafferi, French criminal attorney, dies at 77
• Nov 23 Jeanne Cappe, Belgian author (Tres Grand Cardinal), dies at about 61
• Dec 4 Alexander Rodchenko, Russian painter and photographer, dies at 64

• Dec 14 Juho Kusti Paasikivi, president of Finland (b. 1870)
• Dec 16 Nina Hamnett, Welsh artist and writer, dies at 66
• Dec 20 Ramon Carrillo, Argentine neuroscientist and Public Health minister (b. 1906)
• Dec 21 Lewis M Terman, psychologist (Genetic studies of genius), dies at 79
• Dec 25 Robert Walser, Swiss writer, dies at 78
• Dec 27 Lambert McKenna, Irish editor and lexicographer, dies at 86

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