1956 French Championships – Men's Singles
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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, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, 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 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
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". * February 23Norma Jean Mortenson 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 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. * February 25
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 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 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 suppress mass demonstrations in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, reacting to
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 ...
's de-Stalinization policy. * March 10 – 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'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 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. Congressmen sign the Southern Manifesto, a protest against the 1954 Supreme Court ruling ('' Brown v. Board of Education'') that desegregated public education. * March 13
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 ...
releases his first gold album titled ''
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 ...
'' in the United States. * March 15 – The Broadway musical '' My Fair Lady'' opens in New York City. * March 19 – 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
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 – 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, and a national holiday is observed in the country, including the state of East Pakistan.


April

* April 7 – Spain relinquishes its protectorate in Morocco. * April 9
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 ** American actress Grace Kelly legally marries Rainier III, Prince of Monaco; a religious ceremony follows next day. ** Maria Desylla-Kapodistria 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 ...
of Corfu, becoming the first female mayor in Greece. * April 19 ** British diver Lionel (Buster) Crabb (working for MI6) 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
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 ...
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 marries Clifton Daniel. * April 27
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 retires, without losing a professional boxing match.


May

* May 1Minamata disease is discovered in Japan. * May 2 ** 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 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 8The 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 9Manaslu, eighth highest mountain in the world (in the Nepalese Himalayas) is first ascended, by a Japanese team. * May 18Lhotse main summit, the fourth highest mountain (on the Nepalese–Tibetan border) is first ascended, by Fritz Luchsinger and Ernst Reiss. * May 23 – 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 – The first Eurovision Song Contest 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 (music by Géo Voumard, lyrics by Émile Gardaz). * May 25 – India announces the institution of diplomatic relations with Francoist Spain.


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 resigns as foreign minister of 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 ...
; 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 ...
to
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 4Montgomery bus boycott: 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
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 ...
's February attack on Stalin's reputation, " On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences", is first published in the West, 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 ever. * June 10
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 beats Stade Reims 4–3 at Parc des Princes, Paris and wins the 1955–56 European Cup (football). * June 14 – The Flag of the United States Army is formally dedicated. * June 15Eindhoven University of Technology 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 – The last British troops leave
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 ...
. * June 21 – Playwright Arthur Miller appears before the House Un-American Activities Committee in Washington, D.C. * June 23Gamal Abdel Nasser becomes the 2nd president of
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 ...
, a post he holds until his death in 1970. * June 28 ** 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.
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 fire at a crowd protesting high prices, killing 53 people. ** The film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's '' The King and I'', starring Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner, 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 ** Actress
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 ...
marries playwright Arthur Miller, in White Plains, New York. ** President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, 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 301956 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 ...
in
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 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 – An American Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft makes its first flight over 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 ...
. * July 8 – The mountain Gasherbrum II, on the border of
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# ...
and China, is first ascended, by an Austrian expedition. * July 9 – 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 13John McCarthy (Dartmouth), Marvin Minsky (MIT), Claude Shannon (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, 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
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 president Gamal Abdel Nasser 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 of Congress is signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 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. * 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 in the fourth Test between England and Australia, taking 19 wickets in a first class match (the previous best was 17). ** Luzhniki Stadium, 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
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 ...
, 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, 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 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 first interfaith dialogue between Christians, Jews and Muslims with over 850 participants takes place at the monastery of Toumliline in Azrou,
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 ...
.


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 is closed. * September 16Television broadcasting in Australia commences. * September 21 – Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza García is assassinated. * September 25 – 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 – The Bell X-2 becomes the first crewed aircraft to reach Mach 3.


October

* October 5Cecil 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 ...
as Moses, is released in the United States. It will be in the top ten of the worldwide list of highest-grossing films of all time, adjusted for inflation. * October 8
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 Don Larsen of the New York Yankees throws the only Perfect game (baseball), perfect game in World Series history, in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. Yogi Berra catches the game. Dale Mitchell (baseball), Dale Mitchell is the final out. The New York Yankees win the series in seven games. Larsen is named series Most valuable player, MVP. * October 10 ** Finland joins UNESCO. ** The prototype Lockheed L-1649 Starliner, the final
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 ...
model, makes its first flight. * October 14 – Dalit Buddhist movement (India): B. R. Ambedkar, Dalit leader, converts to Buddhism, along with 385,000 followers. * October 15 – The British Royal Air Force retires its last Avro Lancaster bomber. * October 17 ** The world's first industrial-scale commercial nuclear power plant is opened at Sellafield, Calder Hall in the UK. ** The Game of the Century (chess): 13-year-old Bobby Fischer beats Grandmaster (chess), 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 of 1956, Hungarian Revolution breaks out against the pro-Soviet government, originating as a student demonstration in Budapest. Hungary attempts to leave the Warsaw Pact. * October 24 – The Protocol of Sèvres, a secret agreement between
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 ...
, France and the United Kingdom, is signed, allowing the former to invade the Sinai Peninsula of
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 ...
and occupy 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 ...
with the support of the other two governments, giving rise to the Suez Crisis. * October 26 – Soviet Red Army troops invade Hungary. * October 29 ** Suez Crisis:
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 ...
invades the Sinai Peninsula and pushes
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 forces back toward 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 ...
. ** Tangier Protocol: The international city Tangier is reintegrated into
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 ...
. ** The ''Huntley-Brinkley Report'' debuts on NBC-TV in the United States. * October 31 ** Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing
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 ...
to force the reopening of 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 ...
. ** A United States Navy team becomes the third group to reach the South Pole (arriving by air), and commences construction of the first permanent Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station.


November

* November 1 ** The States Reorganisation Act of India reforms the boundaries and names of Indian states. Three new states, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, are formed. ** The film ''Oklahoma! (film), Oklahoma!'' (1955), previously released to select cities in Todd-AO, now receives a U.S. national release in CinemaScope, 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 (Suez Crisis): Israeli soldiers shoot dead hundreds of Palestinian refugees and local inhabitants in Khan Yunis Camp. ** MGM's film ''The Wizard of Oz (1939 film), The Wizard of Oz'' is the first major Hollywood film running more than 90 minutes The Wizard of Oz on television, to be televised uncut in one evening, in the United States. * November 4 – Hungarian Revolution of 1956: More
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 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 Dwight D. Eisenhower 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 – Suez Crisis: The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution calling for the United Kingdom, France 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 ...
to withdraw their troops from Arab lands immediately. * November 11 – Hungarian Revolution of 1956: Last insurgents succumb to the invading Soviet army. * November 12 –
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 ...
, 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 Montgomery bus boycott. * November 14 – An eight-mile long stretch of highway is opened west of Topeka, Kansas, creating the first portion of 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 and the first highway to be completed with funds from the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956. * 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,
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 ...
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
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 ...
begin 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. * November 23 – The Suez Crisis 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 Rocky Marciano.


December

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


Births


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 ...
** 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) *
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 ...
– 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 *
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 ...
– 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) *
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 ...
– Bronwyn Pike, Australian politician *
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 ...
– 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 *
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: ...
– 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 *
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 ...
– 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 *
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 ...
– 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) * February 23 – Reinhold Beckmann, German television presenter *
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. ...
– Judith Butler, American philosopher * February 25 ** 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

*
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 ...
** Tim Daly, American actor and producer ** Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of Lithuania *
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 ...
– 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 *
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 ...
** Kadyrzhan Batyrov, Kyrgyz businessman and politician (d. 2018) ** Shashi Tharoor, Indian politician * March 10 – Prasanna Jayawardena, Sri Lankan puisne justice of the Supreme Court (d. 2019) *
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 ...
– Rob Paulsen, American voice actor and singer * March 13 – Dana Delany, American actress * March 16 ** Boaz Arad, Israeli visual artist (d. 2018) ** Vladimír Godár, Slovak composer * March 18 – Ingemar Stenmark, Swedish alpine skier * March 19 – Yegor Gaidar, Russian economist and politician (d. 2009) * March 20 ** 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 * April 7 – Christopher Darden, African-American attorney, author, actor and lecturer * April 9 – 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 *
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 ...
– Barbara Bonney, American soprano * April 16 ** David M. Brown, American astronaut (d. 2003) ** Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier * April 18 ** Melody Thomas Scott, American actress ** Karim Abdul Razak, Ghanaian footballer ** Eric Roberts, American actor * April 19 – 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

* May 1 – 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) * May 9 ** 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 * May 23 ** 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

*
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 ...
** 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 *
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 ...
** 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 * June 10 – 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) *
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 ...
– Yurik Vardanyan, Soviet weightlifter (d. 2018) * June 14 – King Diamond, Danish heavy metal musician * June 15 – 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 * June 23 – 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 * June 28 – Noel Mugavin, Australian rules football player * June 29 – Honorato Hernández, Spanish long-distance runner * June 30 ** 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 * July 9 – 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) * September 25 – 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 * October 8 ** Danny Jacob, American composer, songwriter and guitarist ** Stephanie Zimbalist, American actress * October 10 – 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 * October 26 – 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

*
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: ...
** 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

*
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 ...
– 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) * March 20 ** 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) * April 19 – Ernst Robert Curtius, Alsatian philologist (b. 1886) *
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 ...
** 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) * May 23 – Gustav Suits, Estonian poet (b. 1883) * May 24 – 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) *
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 ...
** 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) * June 23 – 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) * July 8 – 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) * September 27 ** Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American golfer (b. 1911) * September 28 – William E. Boeing, American engineer and airplane manufacturer (b. 1881) * September 29 – Anastasio Somoza García, 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) * October 26 – Walter Gieseking, French-born German pianist (b. 1895) * October 30 – Pío Baroja, Spanish novelist (b. 1872)


November

* November 1 ** 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

*


Further reading

* London Institute of World Affairs, ''The Year Book of World Affairs 1957'' (London 1957
full text online
comprehensive reference book covering 1956 in diplomacy, international affairs and politics for major nations and regions


External links



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