Events

January

January 1 January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in the Gregorian Calendar; 364 days remain until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the year. __TOC__ Events ...

– The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

after 57 years. *

January 8 Events Pre-1600 * 307 – Emperor Huai of Jin, Sima Chi becomes emperor of the Jin dynasty (266–420), Jin dynasty in succession to his brother, Emperor Hui of Jin, Sima Zhong, despite a challenge from his other brother, Sima Ying. * 871 ...

– Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

Nate Saint Nathanael Saint (30 August 19238 January 1956) was an evangelicalism, evangelical Christian missionary Aviator, pilot who, along with four others, was killed in Ecuador while attempting to Evangelism, evangelize the Huaorani people, Huaorani peop ...

, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully,

Jim Elliot Philip James Elliot (October 8, 1927 – January 8, 1956) was an American Christian missionary and one of five people killed during Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the Huaorani people of Ecuador. Early life Elliot was born in Portla ...

and

Pete Fleming Peter Sillence Fleming (November 23, 1928 – January 8, 1956) was a Christian who was one of five missionaries killed while participating in Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the Huaorani people of Ecuador. Early life Fleming was born ...

, are killed for trespassing by the Waorani people of

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, shortly after making contact with them. *

January 16 Events Pre-1600 * 1458 BC – Hatshepsut dies at the age of 50 and is buried in the Valley of the Kings. * 27 BC – Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus is granted the title Augustus by the Roman Senate, marking the beginning of the R ...

–

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian leader

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

vows to reconquer

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. *

January 25 Events Pre-1600 * 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman emperor by the Senate. * 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to the overthrow of the dyn ...

– 26 – Finnish troops reoccupy Porkkala, after

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

troops vacate its military base. Civilians can return

February 4 Events Pre–1600 * 211 – Following the death of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarrellin ...

. *

January 26 Events Pre-1600 * 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph. * 1531 – The 6.4–7.1 Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people. * 1564 – The Council of T ...

– The

1956 Winter Olympics The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 ( or ), were a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 26 January to 5 February 1956. Cortina, which ...

open in

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; , ; historical ) sometimes abbreviated to simply Cortina, is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

February

February 2 Events Pre-1600 * 506 – Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths, promulgates the Breviary of Alaric (''Breviarium Alaricianum'' or ''Lex Romana Visigothorum''), a collection of " Roman law". * 880 – Battle of Lüneburg Heath: ...

– Austria and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

establish diplomatic relations. *

February 11 Events Pre-1600 * 660 BC – Traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. * 55 – The death under mysterious circumstances of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman Empire, on the eve of his comin ...

– British spies Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean resurface in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, after being missing for 5 years. *

February 14 It is observed in most countries as Valentine's Day. Events Pre-1600 * 748 – Abbasid Revolution#Persian phase, Abbasid Revolution: The Kaysanites Shia#History, Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad ...

– 25 – The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union is held in Moscow. *

February 16 Events Pre-1600 * 1249 – Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khagan of the Mongol Empire. * 1270 – The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Livonian Order in the Battl ...

– The 1956 World Figure Skating Championships open in Garmisch, West Germany. *

February 22 Events Pre-1600 * 1076 – Having received a letter during the Lenten synod of 14–20 February demanding that he abdicate, Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. * 1316 – The Battle of Picotin, between Fer ...

–

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

enters the United States music charts for the first time, with "

Heartbreak Hotel "Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being g ...

". *

February 23 Events Pre-1600 * 303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution. * 532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I lays the foundation stone o ...

–

Norma Jean Mortenson Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 196 ...

legally changes her name to

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

. *

February 24 Events Pre-1600 * 484 – King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica. * 1303 – The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of Scottish Independence. ...

–

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

records her most famous song, " Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)"; it is from

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

's '' The Man Who Knew Too Much'', in which Day co-stars with

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...

. *

February 25 Events Pre-1600 * 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor. * 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II. * ...

–

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

attacks the veneration of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

, in a speech " On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences", at a secret session concluding the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. This is not officially made public in the Soviet Union at this time but becomes known in the West in June.

March

March 1 Events Pre-1600 * 509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia. * 293 – Emperor Diocleti ...

– The

International Air Transport Association The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

finalizes a draft of the radiotelephony spelling alphabet, for the

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

. *

March 2 Events Pre-1600 * 537 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his '' bucellarii'' are almost ...

–

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

declares its independence from France. *

March 9 Events Pre-1600 *141 BC – Liu Che, Posthumous name, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han dynasty of China. *1009 – First known mention of Lithuania, in the Annals of Quedlinburg, annals of the mo ...

** The British deport Archbishop

Makarios Macarius is a Latinized form of the old Greek given name Makários (Μακάριος), meaning "happy, fortunate, blessed"; compare the Latin ''beatus'' and ''felix''. Ancient Greeks applied the epithet ''Makarios'' to the gods. In other la ...

from

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

to the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

. ** The

Soviet Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, the Red Army (1918–1946) and the Soviet Army (1946–1991), were the armed forces of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republi ...

suppress mass demonstrations in the

Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...

, reacting to

de-Stalinization De-Stalinization () comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and Khrushchev Thaw, the thaw brought about by ascension of Nik ...

policy. *

March 10 Events Pre-1600 * 241 BC – First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates: The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end. * 298 – Roman Emperor Maximian concludes his campaign in North Africa and makes ...

– The Fairey Delta 2 breaks the World Air Speed Record, raising it to or Mach 1.73, an increase of some over the previous record, and thus becoming the first aircraft to exceed in level flight. *

March 11 Events Pre-1600 * 843 – Triumph of Orthodoxy: Empress Theodora II restores the veneration of icons in the Orthodox churches in the Byzantine Empire. * 1343 – Arnošt of Pardubice becomes the last Bishop of Prague (3 March 13 ...

– After having opened in London the previous year,

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

's film, ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'', adapted from

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's play, has its U.S. premiere in theatres and on NBC-TV on the same day. On television it is not shown in prime time, but as an afternoon matinée, in a slightly cut version, one of the first such experiments. Olivier is later nominated for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

for his performance. *

March 12 Events Pre-1600 * 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius. * 1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of th ...

– 96

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

men sign the

Southern Manifesto The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manife ...

, a protest against the 1954

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

ruling (''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the ...

'') that desegregated public education. *

March 13 Events Pre-1600 * 222 – Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias. He is replaced by his 14-year old cousin, Severus Alexander. * 624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Mu ...

–

releases his first gold album titled ''

'' in the United States. *

March 15 Events Pre-1600 * 474 BC – Roman consul Aulus Manlius Vulso celebrates an ovation for concluding the war against Veii and securing a forty years truce. * 44 BC – The assassination of Julius Caesar, the dictator of the Roman R ...

– The Broadway musical ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...

'' opens in New York City. *

March 19 Events Pre-1600 * 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire. * 1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen en ...

– At age 48, Dutch boxer Bep van Klaveren contests his last match in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. *

March 20 Events Pre-1600 *1206 – Michael IV of Constantinople, Michael IV Autoreianos is appointed Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. *1600 – The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden: five Swedish n ...

–

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

gains independence from France. *

March 21 Events Pre-1600 * 537 – Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the '' Vivarium'', by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas ...

– The 28th Academy Awards Ceremony is held in Los Angeles. '' Marty'' is awarded Best Picture. *

March 23 Events Pre-1600 * 1400 – The Trần dynasty of Vietnam is deposed, after one hundred and seventy-five years of rule, by Hồ Quý Ly, a court official. * 1540 – Waltham Abbey is surrendered to King Henry VIII of England; the las ...

–

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

becomes the first

Islamic republic The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been used for a s ...

, and a national holiday is observed in the country, including the state of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

April

2-inch Quad Tape Reel with miniDV cassette

April 7 Events Pre-1600 * 451 – Attila the Hun captures Metz in France, killing most of its inhabitants and burning the town. * 529 – First '' Corpus Juris Civilis'', a fundamental work in jurisprudence, is issued by Eastern Roman Em ...

– Spain relinquishes its protectorate in Morocco. *

April 9 Events Pre-1600 * 193 – The distinguished soldier Septimius Severus is proclaimed emperor by the army in Illyricum. * 475 – Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (''Enkyklikon'') to the bishops of his empire, ...

–

Habib Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba (3 August 19036 April 2000) was a Tunisian politician and statesman who served as the Head of Government of Tunisia, prime minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia from 1956 to 1957, and then as the first president of Tunisia from 1 ...

is elected President of the National Constituent Assembly of the Kingdom of Tunisia; on April 15 he becomes

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. *

April 14 Events Pre-1600 * 43 BC – Legions loyal to the Roman Senate, commanded by Gaius Pansa, defeat the forces of Mark Antony in the Battle of Forum Gallorum. * 69 – Vitellius, commanding Rhine-based armies, defeats Roman emperor ...

–

Videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually Sound recording and reproduction, sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog signal, analog or Digital signal (signal processing), digital signal. V ...

is first demonstrated at the 1956 NARTB (modern-day NAB) convention in Chicago, United States, by

Ampex Ampex Data Systems Corporation is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff as a spin-off of Dalmo-Victor. The name ''AMPEX'' is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excell ...

. It is the demonstration of the first practical and commercially successful

videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually Sound recording and reproduction, sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog signal, analog or Digital signal (signal processing), digital signal. V ...

format known as 2" Quadruplex. *

April 18 Events Pre-1600 * 796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The ''patrician'' Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days. * 1428 – Peace of Ferrara ...

** American actress Grace Kelly legally marries Rainier III, Prince of Monaco; a religious ceremony follows next day. **

Maria Desylla-Kapodistria Maria Desylla-Kapodistria (, 1898–1980) was the mayor of Corfu from 1956 until 1959. Her election as mayor on 15 April 1956 made her the first woman elected mayor of a city in the history of modern Greece. She donated the land on which the Kapo ...

is elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

, becoming the first female mayor in Greece. *

April 19 Events Pre-1600 *AD 65 – The freedman Milichus betrays Pisonian conspiracy, Piso's plot to kill the Roman emperor, Emperor Nero and all of the List of conspiracies (political), conspirators are arrested. * 531 – Battle of Callini ...

** British diver Lionel (Buster) Crabb (working for

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

) dives into

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

Harbour, to investigate a visiting

cruiser, and vanishes. ** The 5.0 1956 Atarfe-Albolote earthquake strikes southern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

killing 12 and injuring dozens more. *

April 21 Events Pre-1600 * 753 BC – Romulus founds Rome ( traditional date). * 43 BC – Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Antony fails to capture Mutina and Decimus Brutus is mur ...

– Former U.S. First Daughter

Margaret Truman Mary Margaret Truman Daniel (February 17, 1924 – January 29, 2008) was an American classical soprano, actress, journalist, radio and television personality, writer, and New York socialite. She was the only child of President Harry S. Truman a ...

marries Clifton Daniel. *

April 27 Events Pre-1600 * 247 – Philip the Arab marks the millennium of Rome with a celebration of the '' ludi saeculares''. * 395 – Emperor Arcadius marries Aelia Eudoxia, daughter of the Frankish general Flavius Bauto. She becomes ...

–

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

boxing champion

Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955. He held the world heavyweight championship from 1952 to 1956, and re ...

retires, without losing a professional boxing match.

May

May 1 Events Pre-1600 * 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor. * 880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches. * 1169 & ...

–

Minamata disease is a neurological disease caused by severe mercury poisoning. Signs and symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, loss of peripheral vision, and damage to hearing and speech. In extreme cases, insanity, ...

is discovered in Japan. *

May 2 Events Pre-1600 * 1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first royal charter. * 1230 – William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great. * 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and impris ...

** The

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

in America decides, at its General Conference, to grant women full

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

status. It also calls for an end to

racial segregation Racial segregation is the separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, ...

in the denomination. ** Violet Gibson, who attempted to assassinate Mussolini in 1926, dies in a mental hospital in England, after a lifetime of imprisonment. *

May 8 Events Pre-1600 * 453 BC – Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin. * 413 – Emperor Honorius signs a ...

– The constitutional union between

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and the Netherlands is dissolved. *

May 9 Events Pre-1600 * 328 – Athanasius is elected Patriarch of Alexandria. * 1009 – Lombard Revolt: Lombard forces led by Melus revolt in Bari against the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy. * 1386 – England and Portugal formall ...

–

Manaslu Manaslu (; , also known as Kutang) is the List of highest mountains#List, eighth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in west-central Nepal. Manaslu means "mountain of the ...

, eighth highest mountain in the world (in the Nepalese Himalayas) is first ascended, by a Japanese team. *

May 18 Events Pre-1600 * 332 – Emperor Constantine the Great announces free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople. * 872 – Louis II of Italy is crowned for the second time as Holy Roman Emperor at Rome, at the age of 47 ...

–

Lhotse Lhotse ( ; ; ) is the List of highest mountains#List, fourth-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. At an elevation of above sea level, the main summit is on the border between Tibet Autonomous Region of Chin ...

main summit, the fourth highest mountain (on the Nepalese–Tibetan border) is first ascended, by Fritz Luchsinger and Ernst Reiss. *

May 23 Events Pre-1600 * 1430 – Joan of Arc is captured at the Siege of Compiègne by troops from the Burgundian faction. * 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy. *1533 – The marriage of King Henry ...

– French minister Pierre Mendès France resigns, due to his government's policy on

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. *

May 24 Events Pre-1600 * 919 – The nobles of Franconia and Saxony elect Henry the Fowler at the Imperial Diet in Fritzlar as king of the East Frankish Kingdom. * 1218 – The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. * 1276 – Magnus ...

– The first

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

is broadcast from

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

, Switzerland. The winning song is the host country's ''Refrain'' by

Lys Assia Rosa Mina Schärer (3 March 1924 – 24 March 2018), known by her stage name Lys Assia, was a Swiss singer who won the first Eurovision Song Contest in . Assia was born in Rupperswil, Aargau, and began her stage career as a dancer, but changed ...

(music by Géo Voumard, lyrics by Émile Gardaz). *

May 25 Events Pre-1600 * 567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans. * 240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. * 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes ...

– India announces the institution of diplomatic relations with

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

June

June 1 Events Pre-1600 * 1252 – Alfonso X is proclaimed king of Castile and León. * 1298 – Residents of Riga and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeat the Livonian Order in the Battle of Turaida. * 1495 – A monk, John Cor, rec ...

–

Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov (; – 8 November 1986) was a Soviet politician, diplomat, and revolutionary who was a leading figure in the government of the Soviet Union from the 1920s to the 1950s, as one of Joseph Stalin's closest allies. ...

resigns as foreign minister of the

; he later becomes

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

. * June 4 –

Montgomery bus boycott The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social boycott, protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a foundational event in the civil rights movement in the United ...

: The related civil suit is heard in federal district court; the U.S. Supreme Court will uphold the ruling in November. * June 5 – The text of

's February attack on

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

's reputation, " On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences", is first published in the

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

, in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. *

June 6 Events Pre-1600 * 913 – Constantine VII, the eight-year-old illegitimate son of Leo VI the Wise, becomes nominal ruler of the Byzantine Empire under the regency of a seven-man council headed by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, appointe ...

– In

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, chief minister David Marshall resigns, after the breakdown of talks about internal self-government in London. * June 8 –

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

/Telechron introduces model 7H241 "The Snooz Alarm", the first snooze

alarm clock An alarm clock or alarm is a clock that is designed to alert an individual or group of people at a specified time. The primary function of these clocks is to awaken people from their night's sleep or short naps; they can sometimes be used for o ...

ever. *

June 10 Events Pre-1600 * 671 – Emperor Tenji of Japan introduces a water clock ( clepsydra) called ''Rokoku''. The instrument, which measures time and indicates hours, is placed in the capital of Ōtsu. * 1190 – Third Crusade: Frederic ...

–

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

: Equestrian events open in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

(all other events are held in November in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia). *

June 13 Events Pre-1600 * 313 – The decisions of the Edict of Milan, signed by Constantine the Great and co-emperor Valerius Licinius, granting religious freedom throughout the Roman Empire, are published in Nicomedia. * 1325 – Ibn ...

** The International Criminal Police Organization adopts

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

as its official name. **

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

beats Stade Reims 4–3 at

Parc des Princes The Parc des Princes (, ) is an all-seater stadium, all-seater football stadium in Paris, France. It is located in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin (P ...

, Paris and wins the 1955–56 European Cup (football). *

June 14 Events Pre-1600 * 1158 – The city of Munich is founded by Henry the Lion on the banks of the river Isar. * 1216 – First Barons' War: Prince Louis of France takes the city of Winchester, abandoned by John, King of England, and soo ...

– The Flag of the United States Army is formally dedicated. *

June 15 Events Pre-1600 * 763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history. * 844 – Louis II is crowned as king of Italy at Rome by pope Sergius II. * 923 – Battle of So ...

–

Eindhoven University of Technology The Eindhoven University of Technology (), Abbreviation, abbr. TU/e, is a public university, public technical university in the Netherlands, situated in Eindhoven. In 2020–21, around 14,000 students were enrolled in its Bachelor of Science, BS ...

is founded in

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

, The Netherlands. *

June 18 Events Pre-1600 * 618 – Li Yuan becomes Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of Tang dynasty rule over China. * 656 – Ali becomes Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate. * 860 – Siege of Constantinople (860), Byzantine� ...

– The last British troops leave

. * June 21 – Playwright

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

appears before the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

June 23 Events Pre-1600 * 229 – Sun Quan proclaims himself emperor of Eastern Wu. * 1266 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Trapani, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet, capturing all its ships. * 1280 – The Spanish ...

–

becomes the 2nd president of

, a post he holds until his death in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

. *

June 28 Events Pre-1600 *1098 – Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha, Kerbogha of Mosul at the Battle of Antioch (1098), battle of Antioch. *1360 – Muhammed VI, Sultan of Granada, Muhammed VI becomes the tenth Nasrid dynasty, Nas ...

** Poznań 1956 protests: Labour riots in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

, Poland, are crushed with heavy loss of life.

troops fire at a crowd protesting high prices, killing 53 people. ** The film version of

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...

's ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childr ...

'', starring

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a Scottish actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first person from Scotland to be no ...

and

Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner (), was a Russian-born actor. He was known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical ''The King and I'' (19 ...

, is released only a few months after the film version of R&H's ''Carousel''. It becomes the most financially successful film version of a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical up to this time, and the only one to win an acting Oscar (Yul Brynner wins Best Actor for his performance as the King of Siam). It is also one of two Rodgers and Hammerstein films to be nominated for Best Picture (which it does not win). *

June 29 Events Pre-1600 * 226 – Cao Rui succeeds his father as emperor of Wei. * 1149 – Raymond of Poitiers is defeated and killed at the Battle of Inab by Nur ad-Din Zangi. * 1170 – A major earthquake hits Syria, badly damagi ...

** Actress

marries playwright Arthur Miller, in

White Plains, New York White Plains is a city in and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, and a commercial hub of Westchester County, a densely populated suburban county that is home to about one milli ...

. ** President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

signs the

Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, also known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, was enacted on June 29, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law. With an original authorization of $25 billion (e ...

, creating the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

in the United States. *

June 30 Events Pre-1600 * 296 – Pope Marcellinus begins his papacy. * 763 – The Byzantine army of emperor Constantine V defeats the Bulgarian forces in the Battle of Anchialus. * 1422 – Battle of Arbedo between the duke of Mil ...

– 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision: A TWA

Lockheed Constellation The Lockheed Constellation ("Connie") is a propeller-driven, four-engined airliner built by Lockheed Corporation starting in 1943. The Constellation series was the first civil airliner family to enter widespread use equipped with a pressurized cab ...

and

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

Douglas DC-7 collide in mid-air over the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, killing all 128 people aboard both aircraft, in the deadliest civil

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

disaster to date; the accident leads to sweeping changes in the regulation of cross-country flight and

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

over the United States.

July

* July 2 – A laboratory experiment involving scrap

thorium Thorium is a chemical element; it has symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is a weakly radioactive light silver metal which tarnishes olive grey when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft, malleable, and ha ...

at Sylvania Electric Products in Bayside, New York, results in an

explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume of a given amount of matter associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Explosions may also be generated ...

. *

July 4 Events Pre-1600 * 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans. * 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and procla ...

– An American

Lockheed U-2 The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed the "''Dragon Lady''", is an American single-engine, high–altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) since the 1950s. Designed for all- ...

reconnaissance aircraft makes its first flight over the

. *

July 8 Events Pre-1600 * 1099 – Some 15,000 starving Christian soldiers begin the siege of Jerusalem by marching in a religious procession around the city as its Muslim defenders watch. * 1167 – The Byzantines defeat the Hungarian army ...

– The mountain

Gasherbrum II Gasherbrum II (; ; ); surveyed as K4, is the 13th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is the third-highest peak of the Gasherbrum massif, and is located in the Karakoram, on the border between Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan and ...

, on the border of

and China, is first ascended, by an Austrian expedition. *

July 9 Events Pre-1600 * 118 – Hadrian, who became emperor a year previously on Trajan's death, makes his entry into Rome. * 381 – The end of the First Council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople by the Roman emperor Theodo ...

– The 7.7 Amorgos earthquake shakes the

Cyclades The CYCLADES computer network () was a French research network created in the early 1970s. It was one of the pioneering networks experimenting with the concept of packet switching and, unlike the ARPANET, was explicitly designed to facilitate i ...

island group in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''). The shaking and the subsequent tsunami leave 53 people dead. * July 10 – The British

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

defeats the abolition of the death penalty. * July 13 – John McCarthy (Dartmouth),

Marvin Minsky Marvin Lee Minsky (August 9, 1927 – January 24, 2016) was an American cognitive scientist, cognitive and computer scientist concerned largely with research in artificial intelligence (AI). He co-founded the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ...

(MIT),

Claude Shannon Claude Elwood Shannon (April 30, 1916 – February 24, 2001) was an American mathematician, electrical engineer, computer scientist, cryptographer and inventor known as the "father of information theory" and the man who laid the foundations of th ...

(Bell Labs) and Nathaniel Rochester (IBM) assemble the first coordinated research meeting on the topic of

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

, at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a New England town, town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university ...

, in the United States. * July 25 – The Italian ocean liner sinks after colliding with the Swedish ship SS ''Stockholm'' in heavy fog south of

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, about south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck Island, Tuckernuck and Muskeget Island, Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and Co ...

island, killing 51. * July 26 –

ian president

nationalizes the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

, sparking international condemnation. * July 30 – A

joint resolution In the United States Congress, a joint resolution is a legislative measure that requires passage by the Senate and the House of Representatives and is presented to the president for their approval or disapproval. Generally, there is no legal diffe ...

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

is signed by President

, authorizing "

In God we trust "In God We Trust" (also rendered as "In God we trust") is the United States national motto, official motto of the United States as well as the motto of the U.S. state of Florida, along with the nation of Nicaragua (Spanish language, Spanish: '' ...

" as the U.S. national

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

. * July 31 **

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

: Jim Laker sets an extraordinary record at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

in the fourth

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

between England and Australia, taking 19 wickets in a first class match (the previous best was 17). **

Luzhniki Stadium The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, commonly known as Luzhniki Stadium, is the national stadium of Russia, located in its capital city, Moscow. Its total seating capacity of 78,011 makes it the List of football stadiums in R ...

, well known sports venue of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and the

, officially opens in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

August

* August 7 – Seven ammunition trucks loaded with 1,053 boxes of dynamite explode in Cali, Colombia. Death estimates range from 1,300 to 10,000, in a city that at this time has 120,000 inhabitants. * August 8 – 262 miners (chiefly Italian nationals) die in a fire at the Bois du Cazier coal mine, in

Marcinelle Marcinelle (; ) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. Until 1977, it was a municipality of its own. The town of Marcinelle is renowned as the home ...

, Belgium. * August 9 – Art exhibition '' This Is Tomorrow'' opens at Whitechapel Art Gallery in London. * August 12 – Around 5,000 members of the

Romanian Greek-Catholic Church The Romanian Greek Catholic Church or Romanian Church United with Rome is a ''sui iuris'' Eastern Catholic Church, in full union with the Catholic Church. It has the rank of a Major Archbishop, Major Archiepiscopal Church and it uses the Byzanti ...

hold a

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

outside Cluj-Napoca Piarists' Church to demonstrate that their church, proscribed by the government in 1948, has not ceased to exist as the regime claims. * August 17 – West Germany bans the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (, ; KPD ) was a major Far-left politics, far-left political party in the Weimar Republic during the interwar period, German resistance to Nazism, underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and minor party ...

. * The first

interfaith dialogue Interfaith dialogue, also known as interreligious dialogue, refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religion, religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spirituality, spiritual or humanism, hum ...

between Christians, Jews and Muslims with over 850 participants takes place at the monastery of Toumliline in

Azrou Azrou () is a Morocco, Moroccan town 89 kilometres south of Fes, Fez in Ifrane Province of the Fès-Meknès regions of Morocco, region. Etymology ''Azrou'' is a geomorphological name taken from the landform of a large rock outcrop (Aẓro, ⴰⵥ ...

September

* September 13 ** The

hard disk drive A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating hard disk drive platter, pla ...

is invented by an

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

team, led by Reynold B. Johnson. ** The dike around the Dutch polder East

Flevoland Flevoland () is the twelfth and newest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the countr ...

is closed. * September 16 –

Television broadcasting in Australia Television broadcasting in Australia began officially on 16 September 1956, with the opening of TCN-9, quickly followed by national and commercial stations in Sydney and Melbourne, all these being in 625-line black and white. The commencement d ...

commences. * September 21 – Nicaraguan dictator

Anastasio Somoza García Anastasio Somoza García (1 February 1896 – 29 September 1956) was the leader of Nicaragua from 1936 until his assassination in 1956. He was officially the 21st President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1937 to 1 May 1947 and from 21 May 1950 unt ...

is assassinated. *

September 25 Events Pre-1600 * 275 – For the last time, the Roman Senate chooses an emperor; they elect 75-year-old Marcus Claudius Tacitus. * 762 – Led by Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, the Hasanid branch of the Alids begins the Alid Revolt ...

– The

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

transatlantic telephone cable opens. *

September 27 Events Pre-1600 * 1066 – William the Conqueror and his army set sail from the mouth of the Somme river, beginning the Norman conquest of England. * 1331 – The Battle of Płowce is fought, between the Kingdom of Poland and the Teut ...

– The

Bell X-2 The Bell X-2 (nicknamed "Starbuster") was an X-plane research aircraft built to investigate flight characteristics in the Mach 2–3 range. The X-2 was a rocket-powered, swept-wing research aircraft developed jointly in 1945 by Bell Aircraft Co ...

becomes the first crewed aircraft to reach

Mach The Mach number (M or Ma), often only Mach, (; ) is a dimensionless quantity in fluid dynamics representing the ratio of flow velocity past a Boundary (thermodynamic), boundary to the local speed of sound. It is named after the Austrian physi ...

October

October 5 Events Pre-1600 * 610 – Heraclius arrives at Constantinople, kills Byzantine Emperor Phocas, and becomes emperor. * 816 – King Louis the Pious is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by the Pope. * 869 – The Fourth Co ...

– Cecil B. DeMille's

epic film Epic films have large scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The term is slightly ambiguous, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply big-budget films. Like epics in the classical literary sense, it is often focused on a her ...

'' The Ten Commandments'', starring

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

, is released in the United States. It will be in the top ten of the worldwide

list of highest-grossing films Films generate income from several revenue streams, including movie theater, theatrical exhibition, home video, Broadcasting rights, television broadcast rights, and merchandising. However, theatrical box office, box-office earnings are the p ...

of all time, adjusted for inflation. *

October 8 Events Pre-1600 * 316 – Constantine I Battle of Cibalae, defeats Roman Emperor Licinius, who loses his European territories. * 451 – The first session of the Council of Chalcedon begins. * 876 – Frankish forces led by Louis ...

–

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Don Larsen of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

throws the only perfect game in

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

history, in Game 5 of the

1956 World Series The 1956 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1956 Major League Baseball season, 1956 season. The 53rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the American Leagu ...

against the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (born Lorenzo Pietro Berra; May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of Manager (baseball), manager and Coach (baseball), coach. He played 19 seas ...

catches the game. Dale Mitchell is the final out. The

win the series in seven games. Larsen is named series

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

. *

October 10 Events Pre-1600 * 19 – The Roman general Germanicus dies near Antioch. He was convinced that the mysterious illness that ended in his death was a result of poisoning by the Syrian governor Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, whom he had ordered to ...

** Finland joins

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. ** The prototype Lockheed L-1649 Starliner, the final

model, makes its first flight. * October 14 – Dalit Buddhist movement (India): B. R. Ambedkar,

Dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

leader, converts to

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, along with 385,000 followers. *

October 15 Events Pre-1600 *1066 – Following the death of Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, Edgar the Ætheling is proclaimed King of England by the Witan; he is never crowned, and concedes power to William the Conqueror two months later. * 121 ...

– The British

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

retires its last

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British World War II, Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to ...

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

. * October 17 ** The world's first industrial-scale commercial

nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...

is opened at Calder Hall in the UK. ** The Game of the Century (chess): 13-year-old

Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Chess Champi ...

beats grandmaster Donald Byrne, in the Rosenwald Memorial Tournament in New York City. * October 19 – The Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 is signed in Moscow, ending the legal state of war between the Soviet Union and Japan (with effect from December 12) and making possible the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two nations. * October 23 – The Hungarian Revolution breaks out against the pro-Soviet government, originating as a student demonstration in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. Hungary attempts to leave the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

. *

October 24 Events Pre-1600 *AD 69 – In the Second Battle of Bedriacum, troops loyal to Vespasian defeat those of Emperor Vitellius. * 1260 – Chartres Cathedral is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France. * 1260 – Afte ...

– The

Protocol of Sèvres The Protocol of Sèvres (French, ''Protocole de Sèvres'') was a secret agreement reached between the governments of Israel, France and the United Kingdom during discussions held between 22 and 24 October 1956 at Sèvres, France. The protocol co ...

, a secret agreement between

, France and the United Kingdom, is signed, allowing the former to invade the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai ( ; ; ; ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Afri ...

and occupy the

with the support of the other two governments, giving rise to the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

. *

October 26 Events Pre-1600 * 1185 – The Uprising of Asen and Peter begins on the feast day of St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki and ends with the creation of the Second Bulgarian Empire. * 1341 – The Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347 formally ...

– Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

troops invade Hungary. * October 29 **

invades the

and pushes

ian forces back toward the

. ** Tangier Protocol: The

international city An international city is an autonomous or semi-autonomous city-state that is separate from the direct supervision of any single nation-state. Rationale for establishment International cities have had either one or both of the following characte ...

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

is reintegrated into

. ** The '' Huntley-Brinkley Report'' debuts on NBC-TV in the United States. *

October 31 Events Pre-1600 * 475 – Romulus Augustulus is proclaimed Western Roman Emperor. * 683 – During the Siege of Mecca, the Kaaba catches fire and is burned down. * 802 – Empress Irene is deposed and banished to Lesbos. Consp ...

: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing

to force the reopening of the

. ** A

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

team becomes the third group to reach the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...

(arriving by air), and commences construction of the first permanent

Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is a science and technology in the United States, United States scientific research station at the South Pole of the Earth. It is the List of extreme points of the United States, southernmost point under ...

November

November 1 Events Pre-1600 * 365 – The Alemanni cross the Rhine and invade Gaul. Emperor Valentinian I moves to Paris to command the army and defend the Gallic cities. * 996 – Emperor Otto III issues a deed to Gottschalk, Bishop of Freisin ...

** The

States Reorganisation Act The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's States and union territories of India, states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines. Although additional changes to India's state boundaries ...

of India reforms the boundaries and names of Indian states. Three new states,

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

and

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

, are formed. ** The film ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

'' (1955), previously released to select cities in

Todd-AO Todd-AO is an American post-production company founded in 1953 by Mike Todd and Robert Naify, providing sound-related services to the motion picture and television industries. The company retains one facility, in the Los Angeles area. Todd-AO ...

, now receives a U.S. national release in

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic format, anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its cr ...

, since not all theatres are yet equipped for Todd-AO. To accomplish this, the film has actually been shot twice, rather than printing one version in two different film processes, as is later done. * November 3 ** Khan Yunis massacre (

): Israeli soldiers shoot dead hundreds of Palestinian refugees and local inhabitants in Khan Yunis Camp. ** MGM's film '' The Wizard of Oz'' is the first major Hollywood film running more than 90 minutes to be televised uncut in one evening, in the United States. * November 4 – Hungarian Revolution of 1956: More

troops invade Hungary, to crush the revolt that started on October 23. Thousands are killed, more are wounded, and nearly a quarter million leave the country. * November 6 – 1956 United States presidential election: Republican Party (United States), Republican incumbent

defeats Democratic Party (United States), Democratic challenger Adlai Stevenson II, Adlai Stevenson, in a rematch of their contest 1952 United States presidential election, 4 years earlier. * November 7 –

: The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution calling for the United Kingdom, France and

to withdraw their troops from Arab lands immediately. * November 11 – Hungarian Revolution of 1956: Last insurgents succumb to the invading Soviet army. * November 12 –

, Sudan and Tunisia join the United Nations. * November 13 – ''Browder v. Gayle'': The United States Supreme Court declares illegal the state and municipal laws requiring segregated buses in Montgomery, Alabama, thus ending the

. * November 14 – An eight-mile long stretch of highway is opened west of Topeka, Kansas, creating the first portion of the

in the United States and the first highway to be completed with funds from the

. * November 15 – Middle East Technical University is founded in Ankara, Turkey. * November 18 – At a reception for Western ambassadors at the Polish embassy in Moscow,

utters his famous phrase "We will bury you". * November 20 – In Yugoslavia, former prime minister Milovan Đilas is arrested after he criticizes Josip Broz Tito. * November 22 – The

begin in

, Australia. * November 23 – The

causes petrol rationing in Britain. * November 25 – Fidel Castro and Che Guevara depart from Tuxpan, Veracruz, Mexico, en route to Santiago de Cuba aboard the yacht ''Granma (yacht), Granma'', with 82 men. * November 28 – Roger Vadim's film ''And God Created Woman (1956 film), And God Created Woman'' (''Et Dieu… créa la femme''), is released in France, making Brigitte Bardot an international sex symbol. * November 30 – African-American Floyd Patterson wins the world heavyweight boxing championship that is vacant after the retirement of

December

* December 3 – The 1956 Bush Terminal explosion occurs in Brooklyn, United States. * December 4 – The Million Dollar Quartet (

, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash) get together at Sun Studio, for the first and last time in history. * December 9 – Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, a Canadair North Star, crashes into Slesse Mountain near Chilliwack, British Columbia. All 62 people aboard, including five Canadian Football League players, are killed. * December 12 – Japan becomes a member of the United Nations. * December 19 – British doctor John Bodkin Adams is arrested for the murder of 2 patients in Eastbourne, England; he will be acquitted. * December 23 – British and French troops leave the

region.

Births

January

** Mark R. Hughes, American entrepreneur (d. 2000) ** Kōji Yakusho, Japanese actor ** Christine Lagarde, French lawyer and politician, IMF Managing Director and European Central Bank, ECB president ** Dzulkefly Ahmad, Malaysian politician ** Andrew Lesnie, Australian cinematographer (d. 2015) ** Andy Gill, English musician (Gang of Four (band), Gang of Four) (d. 2020) * January 3 – Mel Gibson, American actor and director * January 4 – Bernard Sumner, British musician * January 5 ** Ana Pessoa Pinto, East Timorese politician and jurist ** Celso Blues Boy, Brazilian singer and guitarist (d. 2012) ** Chen Kenichi, Japan-born Chinese chef ** Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German politician * January 7 ** David Caruso, American actor ** Uwe Ochsenknecht, German actor ** Johnny Owen, Welsh boxer (d. 1980) *

– Anatolii Brezvin, Ukrainian businessman, politician, and ice hockey executive * January 9 ** Kimberly Beck, American actress ** Imelda Staunton, English actress * January 12 – Nikolai Noskov, Soviet and Russian rock singer and songwriter * January 15 – Vitaly Kaloyev, Russian convicted murderer, architect deputy minister of construction of North Ossetia-Alania *

– Martin Jol, Dutch football manager * January 17 – Paul Young, English musician * January 18 ** Sharon Mitchell, American sexologist ** Jim Mothersbaugh, American rock drummer * January 19 ** Adriana Acosta, Argentine militant and field hockey player (d. 1978) ** Susan Solomon, American atmospheric chemist * January 20 – Bill Maher, American actor, comedian and political analyst * January 21 ** Robby Benson, American actor, voice actor, director, singer and educator ** Geena Davis, American actress * January 24 – Lounès Matoub, Algerian Berber Kabyle singer (d. 1998) *

– Bronwyn Pike, Australian politician *

– Pat Musick, American voice actress * January 27 ** Susanne Blakeslee, American actress ** Mimi Rogers, American actress * January 28 – Peter Schilling, German singer * January 29 – Jan Jakub Kolski, Polish film director * January 30 – Keiichi Tsuchiya, Japanese racing driver * January 31 ** John Lydon, British punk musician and TV personality ** Trevor Manuel, South African politician

February

* February 1 – Mike Kitchen, Canadian ice hockey player and coach *

– Alireza Soleimani, Iranian heavyweight freestyle wrestler (d. 2014) * February 3 ** Nathan Lane, American actor ** Lee Ranaldo, American musician * February 10 – Enele Sopoaga, 12th prime minister of Tuvalu *

– Didier Lockwood, French jazz violinist (d. 2018) * February 13 ** Peter Hook, British bass player ** Yiannis Kouros, Greek-Australian ultra marathoner ** Jay Nixon, 55th governor of Missouri *

– Tom Burlinson, Australian actor * February 15 – Desmond Haynes, West Indian cricketer * February 18 – Thomas Gradin, Swedish hockey player * February 19 ** Kathleen Beller, American actress ** Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry * February 20 – François Bréda, Romanian essayist, poet, literary critic, literary historian, translator and theatrologist (d. 2018) *

– Reinhold Beckmann, German television presenter *

– Judith Butler, American philosopher *

** Davie Cooper, Scottish footballer (d. 1995) ** Michel Friedman, German lawyer, politician and talk show host * February 26 – Keisuke Kuwata, Japanese musician * February 28 – Thomas Remengesau Jr., 7th and 9th president of Palau * February 29 – Aileen Wuornos, American serial killer (d. 2002)

March

Tim Daly - Monte-Carlo Television Festival

** Tim Daly, American actor and producer ** Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of Lithuania *

– Eduardo Rodríguez (politician), Eduardo Rodríguez, President of Bolivia * March 5 ** Teena Marie, American singer (d. 2010) ** Marco Paolini, Italian stage actor, dramaturge and author * March 7 ** Andrea Levy, English novelist (d. 2019) ** Bryan Cranston, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter *

** Kadyrzhan Batyrov, Kyrgyz businessman and politician (d. 2018) ** Shashi Tharoor, Indian politician *

– Prasanna Jayawardena, Sri Lankan puisne justice of the Supreme Court (d. 2019) *

– Rob Paulsen, American voice actor and singer *

– Dana Delany, American actress * March 16 ** Boaz Arad, Israeli visual artist (d. 2018) ** Vladimír Godár, Slovak composer * March 18 – Ingemar Stenmark, Swedish alpine skier *

– Yegor Gaidar, Russian economist and politician (d. 2009) *

** Minken Fosheim, Norwegian actress and author (d. 2018) ** Catherine Ashton, British politician ** Naoto Takenaka, Japanese actor, comedian, singer and director ** José Manuel Barroso, Prime Minister of Portugal ** Ingrid Kristiansen, Norwegian runner ** Win Lyovarin, Thai author * March 22 ** Tyrone Brunson (musician), Tyrone Brunson, American singer (d. 2013) ** Ilana Kloss, South-African born tennis player, tennis coach, and commissioner of World Team Tennis ** Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, consort of Grand Duke Henri * March 24 – Steve Ballmer, American businessman, CEO of Microsoft (2000–2014), owner of the Los Angeles Clippers * March 25 – Matthew Garber, English child actor (d. 1977) * March 28 ** Susan Ershler, American mountaineer ** Evelin Jahl, German athlete * March 30 – Paul Reiser, American actor

April

* April 3 ** Miguel Bosé, Panamanian-born musician and actor ** Boris Miljković, Serbian TV & theatre director and video artist * April 4 ** Kerry Chikarovski, Australian politician ** David E. Kelley, American writer and television producer * April 5 ** Diamond Dallas Page, American professional wrestler ** El Risitas, Spanish comedian and actor (d. 2021) * April 6 ** Sebastian Spreng, American-Argentinean visual artist ** Dilip Vengsarkar, Indian cricketer *

– Christopher Darden, African-American attorney, author, actor and lecturer *

– Edmund Chong Ket Wah, Malaysian politician (d. 2010) * April 12 ** Andy García, Cuban-American actor ** Herbert Grönemeyer, German musician and actor ** Yasuo Tanaka (politician), Yasuo Tanaka, Japanese politician, novelist *

– Barbara Bonney, American soprano * April 16 ** David M. Brown, American astronaut (d. 2003) ** Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier *

** Melody Thomas Scott, American actress ** Karim Abdul Razak, Ghanaian footballer ** Eric Roberts, American actor *

– Sue Barker, British tennis player and television presenter * April 22 – Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Finnish conductor * April 26 – Koo Stark, British actress * April 28 – Hanka Paldum, Bosnian singer * April 30 – Lars von Trier, Danish film director and screenwriter

May

– Alexander Ivanov (chess player), Alexander Ivanov, Russian-born American chess grandmaster * May 4 ** David Guterson, American writer ** Ulrike Meyfarth, German high jumper * May 5 – Lisa Eilbacher, American actress * May 6 – Vladimir Lisin, Russian business oligarch * May 7 ** S. Scott Bullock, American actor and voice actor ** Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (2002–2010) ** Jean Lapierre, Canadian politician and television host (d. 2016) *

** Frank Andersson, Swedish wrestler (d. 2018) ** Wendy Crewson, Canadian actress * May 10 ** Vladislav Listyev, Russian journalist (d. 1995) ** Paige O'Hara, American actress, voice actress, singer and painter ** Bikenibeu Paeniu, 2-Time Prime Minister of Tuvalu * May 12 – Jānis Bojārs, Latvian shot putter (d. 2018) * May 13 ** Kenneth Eriksson, Swedish rally driver ** Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Indian guru ** Mirek Topolánek, 7th Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, prime minister of the Czech Republic ** Kirk Thornton, American voice actor * May 15 – Dan Patrick (sportscaster), Dan Patrick, American sports commentator * May 17 ** Cheenu Mohan, Indian actor (d. 2018) ** Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer, motivational speaker and actor * May 19 – Steven Ford, American actor * May 20 ** Boris Akunin, Russian novelist and essayist ** Dean Butler (actor), Dean Butler, American actor and producer *

** Ursula Plassnik, Austrian politician ** Buck Showalter, American baseball player and manager * May 26 – Lisa Niemi, American actress and dancer * May 27 – Giuseppe Tornatore, Italian film director * May 28 ** Jerry Douglas, American dobro player ** John O'Donoghue (politician), John O'Donoghue, Irish Fianna Fáil politician ** Sayuri Yamauchi, Japanese voice actress (d. 2012) * May 29 – La Toya Jackson, American singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman and television personality * May 30 – David Sassoli, 16th president of the European Parliament (d. 2022) * May 31 – Yoshiko Sakakibara, Japanese voice actress

June

** Chintaman Vanaga, Indian politician (d. 2018) ** Peter Tomka, Judge, International Court of Justice * June 3 – George Burley, Scottish football manager * June 4 – Keith David, African-American actor and voice actor * June 5 – Kenny G, American saxophonist *

** Yuri Shundrov, Russian-Ukrainian ice hockey goaltender (d. 2018) ** Christopher Adamson (actor), Christopher Adamson, British actor ** Björn Borg, Swedish tennis player * June 7 ** Paul Sherwen, English racing cyclist and broadcaster (d. 2018) ** Antonio M. Reid, American record executive * June 8 – Péter Besenyei, Hungarian pilot * June 9 – Patricia Cornwell, American novelist *

– Borwin, Duke of Mecklenburg, German head of the House of Mecklenburg * June 11 ** Joe Montana, American football player ** Arthur Porter (physician), Arthur Porter, Canadian physician (d. 2015) *

– Yurik Vardanyan, Soviet weightlifter (d. 2018) *

– King Diamond, Danish heavy metal musician *

– Robin Curtis, American actress * June 17 – Kelly Curtis, American actor * June 20 – Cho Chikun, Korean Go player * June 21 – Thomas James O'Leary, American actor * June 22 ** Abdulbaset Sieda, Kurdish-Syrian academic and politician ** François Hadji-Lazaro, French actor and musician *

– Randy Jackson, African-American musician and talent judge * June 24 – Turid Leirvoll, Norwegian-Danish politician * June 25 ** Madeleine Petrovic, Austrian politician ** Isabel de Navarre, German figure skating coach ** Boris Trajkovski, President of the Republic of Macedonia (d. 2004) ** Anthony Bourdain, American chef, writer and television personality (d. 2018) ** Chloe Webb, American actress and singer * June 26 ** Catherine Samba-Panza, President of the Central African Republic ** Chris Isaak, American musician * June 27 ** Sultan bin Salman Al Saud, Royal Saudi Air Force pilot ** Heiner Dopp, German field hockey player *

– Noel Mugavin, Australian rules football player *

– Honorato Hernández, Spanish long-distance runner *

** Sun Chanthol, Cambodian politician ** Jessi Lintl, Austrian politician ** David Alan Grier, African-American actor and comedian ** Piero Aiello, Italian politician

July

* July 1 ** Alan Ruck, American actor ** Gregg L. Semenza, American cellular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine * July 2 – Jerry Hall, American model and actress * July 3 – Dorota Pomykała, Polish actress * July 5 ** Sapawi Ahmad, Malaysian politician ** Horacio Cartes, former president of Paraguay ** Louis Herthum, American actor and producer * July 7 ** Janet Cruz, American politician ** Mullah Krekar, Iraqi Kurdish scholar and militant ** Ryuho Okawa, Japanese religious leader (d. 2023) ** Giam Swiegers, South African-Australian business executive *

– Tom Hanks, American actor and director * July 10 – K. Rajagopal (footballer), K. Rajagopal, Malaysian football manager and national player * July 11 ** Amitav Ghosh, Indian novelist ** Sela Ward, American actress * July 12 – Mel Harris, American actress * July 13 ** Günther Jauch, German television host ** Koffi Olomide, Congolese soukous singer, dancer, producer and composer ** Michael Spinks, African-American boxer * July 14 ** Dragan Despot, Croatian actor ** Vladimir Kulich, Czechoslovak actor * July 15 ** Ian Curtis, English rock musician (Joy Division) (d. 1980) ** Barry Melrose, Canadian hockey player, coach and commentator ** Toshihiko Seko, Japanese long-distance runner * July 16 ** Jerry Doyle, American talk show host and actor (d. 2016) ** Tony Kushner, American playwright * July 17 – Robert Romanus, American actor and musician * July 18 – Sheila Aldridge, American singer * July 19 ** Peter Barton (actor), Peter Barton, American actor ** Yoshiaki Yatsu, Japanese professional wrestler * July 24 ** Charlie Crist, American politician, 44th governor of Florida ** Carmen Nebel, German television presenter * July 25 ** Frances Arnold, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry ** Andy Goldsworthy, British sculptor and photographer * July 26 – Dorothy Hamill, American figure skater, Olympic gold medalist * July 30 – Delta Burke, American actress * July 31 ** Michael Biehn, American actor ** Deval Patrick, American politician, first African-American Governor of Massachusetts

August

* August 4 ** Gerry Cooney, American boxer ** Randall Wright, Canadian economist * August 6 – Stepfanie Kramer, American actress * August 7 – Christiana Figueres, Costa Rican diplomat and environmentalist * August 10 ** Dianne Fromholtz, Australian tennis player ** Fred Ottman, American professional wrestler * August 12 – Bruce Greenwood, Canadian actor * August 14 ** Jackée Harry, American actress and television personality ** Rusty Wallace, American NASCAR race car driver * August 19 – Adam Arkin, American actor * August 20 ** Joan Allen, American actress ** Jan Henry T. Olsen, Norwegian politician (d. 2018) * August 21 – Kim Cattrall, English-born Canadian actress * August 22 – Paul Molitor, American baseball player * August 23 ** Andreas Floer, German mathematician (d. 1991) ** Cris Morena, Argentine actress and television producer * August 25 – Henri Toivonen, Finnish rally car driver (d. 1986) * August 26 – Mark Mangino, American football coach * August 29 – Mark Morris (choreographer), Mark Morris, American choreographer * August 31 ** Masashi Tashiro, Japanese television performer ** Tsai Ing-wen, President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)

September

* September 1 – Bernie Wagenblast, American editor and broadcaster * September 2 ** Nandamuri Harikrishna, Indian actor and politician (d. 2018) ** Angelo Fusco, Provisional Irish Republican Army member * September 3 – Pat McGeown, Provisional Irish Republican Army member (d. 1996) * September 5 – Low Thia Khiang, Singaporean businessman and politician * September 11 – Phillip D. Bissett, American politician * September 12 ** Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong actor (d. 2003) ** Ricky Rudd, American race car driver ** Walter Woon, law professor, Nominated Member of Parliament and Attorney-General of Singapore * September 13 – Ilie Balaci, Romanian football player (d. 2018) * September 14 ** Kostas Karamanlis, Greek politician ** Ray Wilkins, English footballer and coach (d. 2018) * September 15 – George Howard (jazz), George Howard, American jazz saxophone musician (d. 1998) * September 16 ** Sergei Beloglazov, Russian free-style wrestler ** David Copperfield (illusionist), David Copperfield, American illusionist * September 17 – Almazbek Atambayev, 3-Time Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan and 4th president of Kyrgyzstan * September 18 – Tim McInnerny, English actor * September 20 ** Gary Cole, American television, film and voice actor ** Debbi Morgan, African-American actress * September 21 – Jack Givens, American basketball player * September 23 ** Mait Riisman, Estonian water polo player (d. 2018) ** Peter David, comic book writer and novelist (d. 2025 ** Paolo Rossi, Italian soccer player (d. 2020) *

– Jamie Hyneman, American television co-host * September 26 – Linda Hamilton, American actress * September 29 – Sebastian Coe, Baron Coe, British athlete; co-ordinator of the 2012 Summer Olympics, London 2012 Olympic Games

October

* October 1 ** Tara Buckman, American actress ** Andrus Ansip, Estonian politician, 10th Prime Minister of Estonia, prime minister of Estonia ** Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom * October 2 – Charlie Adler, American voice actor and director * October 3 – Ralph Morgenstern, German actor * October 4 – Christoph Waltz, German-Austrian actor *

** Danny Jacob, American composer, songwriter and guitarist ** Stephanie Zimbalist, American actress *

– Amanda Burton, Irish actress * October 11 – Nicanor Duarte, 47th president of Paraguay * October 12 – Trần Đại Quang, President of Vietnam (d. 2018) * October 16 – Rudra Mohammad Shahidullah, Bangladeshi poet (d. 1991) * October 17 – Mae Jemison, African-American astronaut * October 18 ** Craig Bartlett, American animator, writer, storyboard artist, director and voice actor ** Martina Navratilova, Czech-American multiple Grand Slam title winning tennis player * October 19 – Carlo Urbani, Italian physician (d. 2003) * October 20 – Danny Boyle, English film director * October 21 – Carrie Fisher, American actress and novelist (d. 2016) * October 22 – Marvin Bush, American businessman * October 23 – Dwight Yoakam, American country singer, musician and actor *

– Rita Wilson, American actress and producer * October 28 – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 6th president of Iran

November

* November 7 – Mikhail Alperin, Soviet-Norwegian jazz pianist (d. 2018) * November 8 ** Richard Curtis, English film director, producer and screenwriter ** Kurt Sorensen, New Zealand rugby league player * November 10 – Sinbad (comedian), Sinbad, African-American stand-up, comedian and actor * November 11 ** Talat Aziz, ghazal singer ** Edgar Lungu, president of Zambia (d. 2025) * November 14 ** Avi Cohen, Israeli football player (d. 2010) ** Greg Pence, American businessman and politician ** Peter R. de Vries, Dutch crime reporter (d. 2021) * November 17 – Angelika Machinek, German glider pilot (d. 2006) * November 18 – Noel Brotherston, Irish footballer (d. 1995) * November 20 ** Bo Derek, American actress and model ** Olli Dittrich, German actor, comedian, television personality and musician * November 22 – Richard Kind, American actor * November 23 ** Shane Gould, Australian Olympic triple gold medallist swimmer (1972) ** Nikolay Sidorov, Soviet athlete * November 24 – Jouni Kaipainen, Finnish composer * November 26 – Dale Jarrett, American race car driver * November 27 ** Nazrin Shah of Perak, 35th Sultan of Perak ** William Fichtner, American actor

December

* December 1 – Sultan bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Emirati politician and royal (d. 2019) * December 4 – Bernard King, American basketball player and commentator * December 5 ** Klaus Allofs, German football player ** Krystian Zimerman, Polish pianist * December 6 ** Peter Buck, American guitarist ** Randy Rhoads, American guitarist (d. 1982) * December 7 ** Chuy Bravo, Mexican-American actor and entertainer (d. 2019) ** Larry Bird, American basketball player ** Iveta Radičová, Prime Minister of Slovakia * December 9 – Baruch Goldstein, American-Israeli physician and mass murderer (d. 1994) * December 10 – Rod Blagojevich, American politician and convicted felon, Governor of Illinois (2003–2009) * December 12 ** Ana Alicia, Mexican actress ** Johan van der Velde, Dutch cyclist * December 13 – Majida El Roumi, Lebanese singer * December 14 – Béla Réthy, German sports journalist * December 18 – Ron White, American comedian * December 19 – Masami Akita, Japanese noise music, noise musician (also known as Merzbow) * December 20 – Anita Ward, American disco singer. * December 21 – Anna Erlandsson, Swedish filmmaker and animator * December 23 ** Michele Alboreto, Italian racing driver (d. 2001) ** Dave Murray (musician), Dave Murray, British musician (Iron Maiden) * December 24 – Anil Kapoor, Indian actor * December 26 – David Sedaris, American essayist * December 28 ** Nigel Kennedy, English violinist ** Jimmy Nicholl, Canadian-born footballer * December 30 ** Patricia Kalember, American actress ** Sheryl Lee Ralph, African American-actress * December 31 – Hussein Ahmed Salah, Djiboutian marathon runner

Deaths

January

* January 3 ** Alexander Gretchaninov, Russian composer (b. 1864) ** Joseph Wirth, Chancellor of Germany (German Reich), Chancellor of Germany (b. 1879) * January 5 – Mistinguett, French singer and actress (b. 1875) * January 9 – Marion Leonard, American actress (b. 1881) * January 12 – Norman Kerry, American actor (b. 1894) * January 18 – Konstantin Päts, 1st president of Estonia (b. 1874) * January 23 – Sir Alexander Korda, Hungarian-born film director (b. 1893) * January 27 – Erich Kleiber, German conductor (b. 1890) * January 29 – H. L. Mencken, American writer (b. 1880) * January 31 – A. A. Milne, English author (''Winnie The Pooh'') (b. 1882)

February

** Bob Burns (comedian), Bob Burns, American comedian (b. 1890) ** Charley Grapewin, American actor (b. 1869) * February 3 – Robert Yerkes, American psychologist and ethologist (b. 1876) * February 8 – Connie Mack, American baseball executive and manager (Philadelphia Athletics) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1862) * February 10 – Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, British marshal of the Royal Air Force (b. 1873) * February 18 – Gustave Charpentier, French composer (b. 1860) * February 20 – Heinrich Barkhausen, German physicist (b. 1881) * February 26 – Elsie Janis, American singer and actress (b. 1889) * February 28 ** Carlo Gnocchi, Italian Roman Catholic priest and blessed (b. 1902) ** Frigyes Riesz, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1880) * February 29 – Elpidio Quirino, 6th president of the Philippines (b. 1890)

March

– Bolesław Bierut, Polish Communist politician and statesman, former Prime Minister of Poland, prime minister and President of Poland, president of Poland (b. 1892) * March 14 – David Browning, American Olympic diver (b. 1931) * March 17 ** Fred Allen, American comedian (b. 1894) ** Irène Joliot-Curie, French physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1897) * March 18 – Louis Bromfield, American writer (b. 1896) *

** Fanny Durack, Australian swimmer (b. 1889) ** Wilhelm Miklas, 3rd president of Austria (b. 1872) * March 22 ** Eduardo Lonardi, 30th president of Argentina (b. 1896) ** George Sarton, Belgian-American chemist and historian (b. 1884) * March 25 – Robert Newton, English actor (b. 1905) * March 28 – Thomas de Hartmann, Russian composer (b. 1885) * March 30 – Edmund Clerihew Bentley, English writer (b. 1875) * March 31 – Ralph DePalma, Italian-born American race car driver (b. 1884)

April

* April 13 – Emil Nolde, German-Danish painter (b. 1867) * April 15 – Kathleen Howard, Canadian-born American actress and opera singer (b. 1884) *

– Ernst Robert Curtius, Alsatian philologist (b. 1886) *

** Charles MacArthur, American playwright and screenwriter (b. 1895) * April 24 – Henry Stephenson, British actor (b. 1871) * April 26 – Edward Arnold (actor), Edward Arnold, American actor (b. 1890) * April 29 ** Harold Bride, English-born junior radio officer on RMS ''Titanic'' (b. 1890) ** Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, German field marshal (b. 1876) * April 30 – Alben W. Barkley, List of Vice Presidents of the United States, 35th Vice President of the United States (b. 1877)

May

* May 6 – Fergus Anderson, British motorcycle racer (b. 1909) * May 12 – Louis Calhern, American actor (b. 1895) * May 15 – Austin Osman Spare, English artist and occultist (b. 1886) * May 20 ** Max Beerbohm, English essayist, parodist and caricaturist (b. 1872) ** Zoltán Halmay, Hungarian Olympic swimmer (b. 1881) *

– Gustav Suits, Estonian poet (b. 1883) *

– Guy Kibbee, American actor (b. 1882) * May 26 – Al Simmons, American baseball player (b. 1902) * May 29 – Frank Beaurepaire, Australian Olympic swimmer (b. 1891) * May 30 – George Murray Levick, British Antarctic explorer and naval surgeon (b. 1876) * May 31 – Diedrich Hermann Westermann, German linguist (b. 1875)

June

* June 2 – Jean Hersholt, Danish-born American actor (b. 1886) * June 4 – Katherine MacDonald, American actress (b. 1891) *

** Hiram Bingham III, American explorer, discoverer of Machu Picchu (b. 1875) ** Margaret Wycherly, English actress (b. 1881) * June 7 – Julien Benda, French philosopher and novelist (b. 1867) * June 11 ** Frank Brangwyn, Anglo-Welsh artist (b. 1867) ** Ralph Morgan, American actor (b. 1883) * June 17 – Artur Văitoianu, Romanian general and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Romania, prime minister of Romania (b. 1864) * June 19 – Thomas J. Watson, American computer pioneer (b. 1874) * June 22 – Walter de la Mare, English poet, short story writer, and novelist (b. 1873) *

– Reinhold Glière, Russian composer (b. 1875) * June 25 – Ernest King, American Navy Fleet Admiral and Commander in Chief (b. 1878) * June 26 – Clifford Brown, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1930)

July

* July 1 – Tawfik Abu Al-Huda, 4-Time Prime Minister of Jordan (b. 1895) * July 7 – Gottfried Benn, German poet (b. 1886) *

– Giovanni Papini, Italian essayist, poet, novelist (b. 1881)

August

* August 1 – Johnny Murray (voice actor), Johnny Murray, American voice actor (b. 1904) * August 11 ** Jackson Pollock, American painter (b. 1912) ** Mincho Neychev, former chairman of the Presidium of the National Assembly (head of state) of Bulgaria (b. 1887) * August 14 ** Bertolt Brecht, German playwright (b. 1898) ** Konstantin von Neurath, Nazi German diplomat and foreign minister (b. 1873) * August 16 – Bela Lugosi, Hungarian-born American film actor (''Dracula'') (b. 1882) * August 19 – Bernard Griffin, English Cardinal (b. 1899) * August 24 – Kenji Mizoguchi, Japanese film director (b. 1898) * August 25 – Alfred Kinsey, American sex researcher (b. 1894) * August 26 – Yeung Kwo, Malayan politician and Deputy Secretary-General of the Malayan Communist Party (b. 1919)

September

* September 7 – C. B. Fry, English sportsman and writer (b. 1872) * September 11 ** Billy Bishop, Canadian World War I flying ace (b. 1894) ** Carlos Bulosan, Filipino-American novelist and poet (b. 1913) ** Lucien Febvre, French historian (b. 1878) * September 20 – Flora Eldershaw, Australian novelist, critic, and historian (b. 1897) * September 22 – Frederick Soddy, English chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1877) *

** Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American golfer (b. 1911) * September 28 – William E. Boeing, American engineer and airplane manufacturer (b. 1881) * September 29 –

, 29th president of Nicaragua (b. 1896)

October

* October 2 – George Bancroft (actor), George Bancroft, American actor (b. 1882) * October 6 – Charles E. Merrill, American banker, co-founder of Merrill Lynch (b. 1885) * October 9 – Marie Doro, American actress (b. 1882) * October 12 – Lorenzo Perosi, Italian composer (b. 1872) * October 14 – Jules Richard (mathematician), Jules Richard, French mathematician (b. 1862) * October 16 – Jules Rimet, French football administrator, 3rd president of FIFA (b. 1873) * October 17 – Anne Crawford, British actress (b. 1920) * October 19 – Isham Jones, American musician (b. 1894) * October 22 – Hannah Mitchell, English socialist and suffragette (b. 1872) * October 25 – Risto Ryti, 23rd Prime Minister of Finland, prime minister of Finland and 5th president of Finland (b. 1889) *

– Walter Gieseking, French-born German pianist (b. 1895) * October 30 – Pío Baroja, Spanish novelist (b. 1872)

November

** Pietro Badoglio, Italian field marshal and 28th Prime Minister of Italy, prime minister of Italy (b. 1871) ** Tommy Johnson (guitarist), Tommy Johnson, American musician (b. 1896) * November 2 – Leo Baeck, German rabbi, scholar and theologian (b. 1873) * November 3 – Jean Metzinger, French painter, theorist and critic (b. 1883) * November 5 – Art Tatum, American jazz pianist (b. 1909) * November 6 ** Paul Kelly (actor), Paul Kelly, American stage and film actor (b. 1899) ** Albert F. Nufer, American diplomat and ambassador (b. 1894) * November 10 – Victor Young, American composer (b. 1900) * November 12 – Juan Negrín, 67th prime minister of Spain (b. 1892) * November 19 – Francis L. Sullivan, English actor (b. 1903) * November 22 – Theodore Kosloff, Russian-born ballet dancer, choreographer and actor (b. 1882) * November 23 – André Marty, French Communist Party leader (b. 1886) * November 24 – Guido Cantelli, Italian conductor (b. 1920) * November 26 – Tommy Dorsey, American trombonist and bandleader (b. 1905)

December

* December 2 – Dell Henderson, Canadian actor (b. 1877) * December 3 – Alexander Rodchenko, Russian artist (b. 1891) * December 6 – B. R. Ambedkar, Indian jurist and politician (b. 1891) * December 9 – Charles Joughin, English-born baker on RMS ''Titanic'' (b. 1878) * December 12 – Ewald André Dupont, German film director (b. 1891) * December 14 – Juho Kusti Paasikivi, twice Prime Minister of Finland and 7th president of Finland (b. 1870) * December 16 – Nina Hamnett, Welsh artist (b. 1890) * December 17 – Eddie Acuff, American actor (b. 1903) * December 21 – Lewis Terman, American psychologist (b. 1877) * December 23 – Josep Puig i Cadafalch, Spanish architect (b. 1867) * December 26 ** Holmes Herbert, English actor (b. 1882) ** Preston Tucker, American automobile designer (b. 1903)

Date unknown

* Dumitru Coroamă, Romanian soldier and fascist activist (b. 1885) *Victoria Hayward (journalist), Victoria Hayward, Bermudan-born travel writer and journalist (b. 1876) * Lotte Herrlich, female photographer of German naturism (b. 1883)

Nobel Prizes

* Nobel Prize in Physics, Physics – William Shockley, John Bardeen, Walter Houser Brattain * Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemistry – Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood, Nikolay Semyonov * Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Physiology or Medicine – André Frédéric Cournand, Werner Forssmann, Dickinson W. Richards * Nobel Prize in Literature, Literature – Juan Ramón Jiménez * Nobel Peace Prize, Peace – Not Awarded

References

Bibliography

External links

{{Authority control 1956, Leap years in the Gregorian calendar

Events

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Births

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Deaths

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Date unknown

Nobel Prizes

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links