WORLD HISTORY · 1956 日本語
Events of 1956Showa 31 (Japan) · Year of the Monkey
What happened in 1956?
In 1956, Japan and the Soviet Union signed a joint declaration, and Japan joined the United Nations. A government economic white paper declared "the postwar era is over," and abroad the Suez Crisis and the Hungarian Revolution took place.
- Khrushchev denounces StalinEurope
- Minamata disease discoveredAsia
- White paper declares "no longer postwar"Asia
- Nasser announces nationalization of Suez CanalMiddle East
- Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration signedAsia
- Hungarian Revolution breaks outEurope
- Suez Crisis war breaks outMiddle East
- Japan joins the United NationsAsia
Tap an event to jump to it in the timeline below.
1956 at a glance
| Japanese era | Showa 31 |
|---|---|
| Chinese zodiac | Year of the Monkey |
| Age of people born in 1956 | Turn 70 in 2026 |
| Previous / next year | 1955 (Showa 30) ／ 1957 (Showa 32) |
| Events | 81 |
| AP World History | Unit 8 (Cold War and Decolonization) |
| AP U.S. History | Period 8 |
Famous people born in 1956
Our birthday pages list 736 people born in 1956. Here are some of them.
- Tom HanksBorn July 9 · turns 70 this year · American actor who won back-to-back Best Actor Oscars for Philadelphia and Forr…
- Mel GibsonBorn January 3 · turns 70 this year · American-born Australian actor and director known for Mad Max, Lethal Weapon, a…
- Geena DavisBorn January 21 · turns 70 this year · American Oscar-winning actress of Thelma & Louise and A League of Their Own, an…
- Bryan CranstonBorn March 7 · turns 70 this year · American actor best known for playing Walter White in Breaking Bad and the dad,…
- Sugar Ray LeonardBorn May 17 · turns 70 this year · American boxer who won Olympic gold in 1976 and later captured world championsh…
- Björn BorgBorn June 6 · turns 70 this year · Swedish tennis star who won five straight Wimbledon titles and six French Open…
- Joe MontanaBorn June 11 · turns 70 this year · American Hall of Fame quarterback who led the San Francisco 49ers to four Super…
- David CopperfieldBorn September 16 · turns 70 this year · American illusionist famous for television specials in which he made the Statue…
- Mae JemisonBorn October 17 · turns 70 this year · American physician and NASA astronaut who became the first African American wom…
- Martina NavratilovaBorn October 18 · turns 70 this year · Czech-born American tennis champion who won a record nine Wimbledon singles tit…
- Carrie FisherBorn October 21 · turns 70 this year · American actress and author best known as Princess Leia in Star Wars and for th…
- Mao DaichiBorn February 5 · turns 70 this year
Show 28 more
- La Toya JacksonBorn May 29 · turns 70 this year
- Anthony BourdainBorn June 25 · turns 70 this year
- Christine LagardeBorn January 1 · turns 70 this year
- Martin PlazaBorn January 1 · turns 70 this year
- Mike MitchellBorn January 1 · turns 70 this year
- Royce AyliffeBorn January 1 · turns 70 this year
- Sergei AvdeyevBorn January 1 · turns 70 this year
- Ann MagnusonBorn January 4 · turns 70 this year
- Bernard SumnerBorn January 4 · turns 70 this year
- Tom BortonBorn January 4 · turns 70 this year
- Zehava Gal-OnBorn January 4 · turns 70 this year
- Frank-Walter SteinmeierBorn January 5 · turns 70 this year
- Clive WoodwardBorn January 6 · turns 70 this year
- Elizabeth StroutBorn January 6 · turns 70 this year
- Justin WelbyBorn January 6 · turns 70 this year
- David CarusoBorn January 7 · turns 70 this year
- Imelda StauntonBorn January 9 · turns 70 this year
- Waltraud MeierBorn January 9 · turns 70 this year
- Antonio Muñoz MolinaBorn January 10 · turns 70 this year
- Shawn ColvinBorn January 10 · turns 70 this year
- Big Bank HankBorn January 11 · turns 70 this year
- David GrantBorn January 11 · turns 70 this year
- Phyllis LoganBorn January 11 · turns 70 this year
- Robert Earl KeenBorn January 11 · turns 70 this year
- Nikolai NoskovBorn January 12 · turns 70 this year
- Étienne DahoBorn January 14 · turns 70 this year
- Marc TrestmanBorn January 15 · turns 70 this year
- MayawatiBorn January 15 · turns 70 this year
Events of 1956 (timeline · 81)
Tip: the PC view is best for studying
On a computer, each region has its own vertical line, so you can follow the flow of events and see what was happening in different parts of the world at the same time.
Operation Auca: Five U.S. missionaries are killed by the Waorani of Ecuador shortly after making first contact.
In the United States, Civil Rights Movement leader Martin Luther King Jr.'s home is bombed in retaliation for the Montgomery bus boycott.
In his speech On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences, Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union, denounces Stalin.
The International Air Transport Association finalizes a draft of the Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Soviet forces suppress mass demonstrations in the Georgian SSR, reacting to Nikita Khrushchev's de-Stalinization policy.
Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic in the world. This date is now celebrated as Republic Day in Pakistan.
Hudsonville–Standale tornado: The western half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan is struck by a deadly F5 tornado.
Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro declares himself at war with Cuban President Fulgencio Batista.
SS Ideal X, the world's first successful container ship, leaves Port Newark, New Jersey, for Houston, Texas.
Former Vice President and Democratic Senator Alben Barkley dies during a speech in Virginia.
In Operation Redwing, the first United States airborne hydrogen bomb is dropped over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
Elvis Presley introduces his new single, "Hound Dog", on The Milton Berle Show, scandalizing the audience with his suggestive hip movements.
Start of Gal Oya riots, the first reported ethnic riots that target minority Sri Lankan Tamils in the Eastern Province. The total number of deaths is reportedly 150.
Spanish football club Real Madrid CF wins the inaugural European Cup, UEFA's premier club competition, by winning 4–3 against French club Stade de Reims in the final.
A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey, killing 74 people.
The French National Assembly takes the first step in creating the French Community by passing the Loi Cadre, transferring a number of powers from Paris to elected territorial governments in French West Africa.
In Poznań, workers from HCP factory go to the streets, sparking one of the first major protests against communist government both in Poland and Europe.
The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 is signed by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, officially creating the United States Interstate Highway System.
A TWA Super Constellation and a United Airlines DC-7 collide above the Grand Canyon in Arizona and crash, killing all 128 on board both airliners.
The 7.7 Mw Amorgos earthquake shakes the Cyclades island group in the Aegean Sea with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The shaking and the destructive tsunami that followed left fifty-three people dead. A damaging M7.2 aftershock occurred minutes after the mainshock.
Forty-five miles south of Nantucket Island, the Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria collides with the MS Stockholm in heavy fog and sinks the next day, killing 51.
Following the World Bank's refusal to fund building the Aswan Dam, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal, sparking international condemnation.
A joint resolution of the U.S. Congress is signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing In God We Trust as the U.S. national motto.
After going bankrupt in 1955, the American broadcaster DuMont Television Network makes its final broadcast, a boxing match from St. Nicholas Arena in New York in the Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena series.
Marcinelle mining disaster in Belgium. 262 coal miners, including a substantial number of Italian migrant workers, are killed in one of the largest mining accidents in Belgian history.
The nuclear power station at Calder Hall in the United Kingdom was connected to the national power grid becoming the world's first commercial nuclear power station to generate electricity on an industrial scale.
The IBM 305 RAMAC is introduced, the first commercial computer to use disk storage.
TCN-9 Sydney is the first Australian television station to commence regular broadcasts.
A tropical storm originating in the eastern Pacific Ocean passes into the Gulf of Mexico and is upgraded and named Hurricane Flossy just hours before striking the Gulf Coast and causing 15 deaths and an estimated US$24.8 million in damages.
TAT-1, the first submarine transatlantic telephone cable system, is inaugurated.
USAF Captain Milburn G. Apt becomes the first person to exceed Mach 3. Shortly thereafter, the Bell X-2 goes out of control and Captain Apt is killed.
The New York Yankees's Don Larsen pitches the only perfect game in a World Series.
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, leader of India's Untouchable caste, converts to Buddhism along with 385,000 of his followers (see Neo-Buddhism).
FORTRAN, the first modern computer language, is first shared with the coding community.
The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield, England.
The Soviet Union and Japan sign a Joint Declaration, officially ending the state of war between the two countries that had existed since August 1945.
Secret police shoot several anti-communist protesters, igniting the Hungarian Revolution.
Hungarian Revolution: In the towns of Mosonmagyaróvár and Esztergom, Hungarian secret police forces massacre civilians. As rebel strongholds in Budapest hold, fighting spreads throughout the country.
Hungarian Revolution: A de facto ceasefire comes into effect between armed revolutionaries and Soviet troops, who begin to withdraw from Budapest. Communist officials and facilities come under attack by revolutionaries.
Suez Crisis begins: Israeli forces invade the Sinai Peninsula and push Egyptian forces back toward the Suez Canal.
Hungarian Revolution: The government of Imre Nagy recognizes newly established revolutionary workers' councils. Army officer Béla Király leads anti-Soviet militias in an attack on the headquarters of the Hungarian Working People's Party.
Hungarian Revolution of 1956: A Revolutionary Headquarters is established in Hungary. Following Imre Nagy's announcement of October 30, banned non-Communist political parties are reformed, and the MDP is replaced by the MSZMP. József Mindszenty is released from prison. The Soviet Politburo makes the decision to crush the Revolution.
Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.
The Springhill mining disaster in Springhill, Nova Scotia kills 39 miners; 88 are rescued.
Hungarian Revolution: Imre Nagy announces Hungary's neutrality and withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact. Soviet troops begin to re-enter Hungary, contrary to assurances by the Soviet government. János Kádár and Ferenc Münnich secretly defect to the Soviets.
The Indian states Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Mysore are formally created under the States Reorganisation Act; Kanyakumari district is joined to Tamil Nadu from Kerala. Delhi was established as a union territory.
Hungarian Revolution: Nikita Khrushchev meets with leaders of other Communist countries to seek their advice on the situation in Hungary, selecting János Kádár as the country's next leader on the advice of Josip Broz Tito.
Suez Crisis: The Khan Yunis killings by the Israel Defense Forces in Egyptian-controlled Gaza result in the deaths of 275 Palestinians.
Hungarian Revolution: A new Hungarian government is formed, in which many members of banned non-Communist parties participate. János Kádár and Ferenc Münnich form a counter-government in Moscow as Soviet troops prepare for the final assault.
Soviet troops enter Hungary to end the Hungarian revolution against the Soviet Union that started on October 23. Thousands are killed, more are wounded, and nearly a quarter million leave the country.
Suez Crisis: British and French paratroopers land in Egypt after a week-long bombing campaign.
Suez Crisis: The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution calling for the United Kingdom, France and Israel to immediately withdraw their troops from Egypt.
Hungarian Revolution: János Kádár returns to Budapest in a Soviet armored convoy, officially taking office as the next Hungarian leader. By this point, most armed resistance has been defeated.
In the midst of the Suez Crisis, Palestinian refugees are shot dead in Rafah by Israel Defense Force soldiers following the invasion of the Gaza Strip.
The Supreme Court of the United States affirmed a lower court ruling that invalidated Alabama laws requiring segregated buses, thus ending the Montgomery bus boycott.
The Granma reaches the shores of Cuba's Oriente Province. Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement disembark to initiate the Cuban Revolution.
The Million Dollar Quartet (Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash) get together at Sun Studio for the first and last time.
A violent water polo match between Hungary and the USSR takes place during the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, against the backdrop of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810-9, a Canadair North Star, crashes near Hope, British Columbia, Canada, killing all 62 people on board.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 121 relating to acceptance of Japan to the United Nations is adopted.
Irish-born physician John Bodkin Adams is arrested in connection with the suspicious deaths of more than 160 patients. Eventually he is convicted only of minor charges.
Chin Peng, David Marshall and Tunku Abdul Rahman meet in Baling, Malaya to try to resolve the Malayan Emergency situation.
Source: Wikipedia date pages ("January 1" … "December 31") / CC BY-SA 4.0. Regions are assigned by the site editors.
FAQ
What year was 1956 in the Japanese calendar?
1956 was Showa 31 in the Japanese era system.
What Chinese zodiac animal is 1956?
1956 is the Year of the Monkey.
How old is someone born in 1956?
They turn 70 on their birthday in 2026.
What happened in 1956?
In 1956, Japan and the Soviet Union signed a joint declaration, and Japan joined the United Nations. A government economic white paper declared "the postwar era is over," and abroad the Suez Crisis and the Hungarian Revolution took place.
Dates and events are based on Wikipedia and other references. Summaries and regions are written by the site editors.