1956 - What happened in 1956 ?

January 1956

Sunday 01:

The Republic of the Sudan achieves independence from the Egyptian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Monday 09:

First "Dear Abby" column appears in newspapers.

Monday 16:

President Gamal Abdal Nasser of Egypt vows to reconquer Palestine.

Thursday 26:

1956 Winter Olympic Games open in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

Tuesday 31:

Guy Mollet becomes Prime Minister of France.

February 1956

Wednesday 22:

Elvis Presley enters the music charts for the first time, with "Heartbreak Hotel".

Thursday 23:

Nikita Khrushchev attacks the veneration of Joseph Stalin as a "cult of personality".

March 1956

Thursday 01:

Samuel Alphonsus Stritch, is appointed Pro-Perfect of the Propagation of Faith and thus becomes the first American member of the Roman Curia.

Friday 02:

Morocco declares its independence from France.

Friday 16:

1956 - St. Urho's Day is first celebrated.

Tuesday 20:

1956 – Tunisia gains independence from France.

Friday 23:

Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic in the world.

April 1956

Saturday 07:

Spain relinquishes its protectorate in Morocco.

Saturday 14:

Videotape is first demonstrated at the 1956 NARTB (now NAB) convention in Chicago, Illinois. It was the demonstation of the first practical and commercially successful format called 2" Quadruplex.

Thursday 19:

Actress Grace Kelly marries Rainier III of Monaco.

Saturday 21:

Elvis Presley's song "Heartbreak Hotel" becomes the "King's" first song to reach the top of the Cash Box magazine http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/randypny/cashbox/1956.html music charts.

Monday 23:

Elvis Presley makes his first appearance in Las Vegas, Nevada.

May 1956

Tuesday 01:

The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public.

Thursday 03:

The judo World Championships are first held.

Wednesday 09:

First ascent of Manaslu, the world's eighth-highest mountain.

Monday 21:

Nuclear testing: In the Pacific Ocean, Bikini Atoll is nearly obliterated by the first airborne explosion of a hydrogen bomb.

Thursday 24:

In Lugano, Switzerland, Lys Assia wins the first Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland singing "Refrain".

June 1956

Tuesday 05:

Elvis Presley introduces his new single, Hound Dog, on The Milton Berle Show, scandalizing the audience with his suggestive hip movements.

Wednesday 06:

David Marshall, Singapore's first Chief Minister, resigns.

Saturday 16:

Ted Hughes marries Sylvia Plath

Saturday 23:

Gamal Abdel Nasser elected president of Egypt.

Saturday 30:

A TWA Super Constellation and a United Airlines DC-7 collide above the Grand Canyon in Arizona, United States, killing 128.

July 1956

Monday 23:

1956 - The Loi Cadre is passed by the French Republic in order to order French overseas territory affairs.

Tuesday 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.

Wednesday 25:

45 miles south of Nantucket Island, the Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria sinks after colliding with the SS Stockholm in heavy fog, killing 51.

Thursday 26:

Following the World Bank's decline to fund building the Aswan High Dam, Egyptian leader Gamal Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal sparking international condemnation.

Tuesday 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 1956

Saturday 11:

Jackson Pollack Died in car crash East Hampton, NY

September 1956

Sunday 09:

Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time.

Thursday 13:

The dyke around the Dutch polder East Flevoland is closed.

Sunday 16:

Play-Doh is introduced to the world

October 1956

Monday 22:

A concrete girder weighing 200 tons kills 48 in Karachi, Pakistan.

Tuesday 23:

Thousands of Hungarians protest Soviet influence and occupation in their nation (Hungarian Revolution is put down on November 4).

Wednesday 24:

Soviet Union invades Hungary

Monday 29:

Tangier Protocol signed: The international city Tangier is reintegrated into Morocco.

Wednesday 31:

Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.

November 1956

Thursday 01:

Formation of Kerala state in India.

Saturday 03:

The Wizard of Oz is shown on television for the first time, with a viewing audience estimated at 45 million people.

Sunday 04:

Soviet troops invade Hungary to crush the Hungarian revolution that started on October 23. Thousands are killed, more are wounded, and nearly a quarter million leave the country.

Wednesday 07:

Suez Crisis: The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution calling for the United Kingdom, France and Israel to immediately withdraw their troops from Egypt.

Thursday 15:

The first film starring Elvis Presley, Love Me Tender, opens.