
A car from 1956
Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar.
Events of 1956
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
- November 1 - the States Reorganisation Act of India reformed the boundaries and names of Indian states.
- November 3 - MGM\'s screen classic, The Wizard of Oz, is shown on television for the first time by CBS, as the final installment of their Ford Star Jubilee.
- November 4 - 1956 Hungarian Revolution: more Soviet troops invade Hungary to crush a revolt that started on October 23. Thousands are killed, more are wounded and nearly a quarter million leave the country.
- November 6 - U.S. presidential election, 1956: Republican incumbent Dwight D. Eisenhower is reelected by defeating Democrat challenger Adlai E. Stevenson in a rematch of their contest four years earlier.
- November 6 - Enoch A. Holtwick defeated as presidential candidate of Prohibition Party.
- November 7 - Suez Crisis: The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution calling for the United Kingdom, France and Israel to withdraw their troops from Arab lands immediately.
- November 14 - Fighting ends in Hungary. Confirmation needed
- November 15 - Middle East Technical University founded in Ankara, Turkey.
- November 16 - Israel is denounced by UN Confirmation needed
- November 20 - In Yugoslavia, former prime minister Milovan Djilas is arrested after he criticized Josip Broz Tito.
- November 22 - Beginning of the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.
- November 23 - Suez Crisis causes petrol rationing in Britain.
[Motorists panic as petrol rations loom, BBC news]
December
Undated
Ongoing
Births
January-February
- January 1 - Mark R. Hughes, American entrepreneur (d. 2000)
- January 1 - Kōji Yakusho, Japanese actor
- January 3 - Mel Gibson, Australian actor and director
- January 4 - Bernard Sumner, British guitarist (Joy Division and New Order)
- January 5 - Chen Kenichi, Japan-born Chinese chef
- January 7 - David Caruso, American actor
- January 9 - Imelda Staunton, British actress
- January 10 - Shawn Colvin, American singer
- January 13 - Ruth Kabat Thomas, Gold Coast Interior Designer
- January 14
- January 16 - Martin Jol, Dutch football manager
- January 17 - Paul Young, English musician
- January 20 - Bill Maher, American actor, comedian, and political analyst
- January 21 - Geena Davis, American actress
- January 25 - Bronwyn Pike, Australian politician
- January 27 - Mimi Rogers, American actress
- January 31 - Johnny Rotten, British singer (Sex Pistols)
- February 1 - Mike Kitchen, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- February 3 - Nathan Lane, American actor
- February 11 - Didier Lockwood, French jazz violinist
- February 11 - Catherine Hickland, American actress
- February 12
- February 13
- February 14 - Tom Burlinson, Australian actor
- February 15 - Desmond Haynes, West Indian cricketer
- February 18 - Thomas Gradin, Swedish hockey player
- February 19 - Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- February 24
- February 25 - Davie Cooper, Scottish footballer (d. 1995)
- February 26 - Keisuke Kuwata, Japanese musician
- February 28 - Jimmy Nicholl, Canadian-born footballer
- February 29
March-April
- March 1 - Tim Daly, American actor
- March 11 - Rob Paulsen, American voice actor
- March 12 - Steve Harris, British bass player, founding member of Iron Maiden
- March 19 - Yegor Gaidar, Russian economist and politician
- March 21 - Ingrid Kristiansen, Norwegian runner
- March 23 - José Manuel Barroso, Prime-minister of Portugal
- March 24 - Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft
- April 3
- April 4
- April 6 - Dilip Vengsarkar, Indian cricketer
- April 12 - Andy Garcia, American actor
- April 12 - Yasuo Tanaka, Japanese politician, novelist
- April 13 - Peter \'Possum\' Bourne, New Zealand rally car driver (d. 2003)
- April 14 - Barbara Bonney, American soprano
- April 16
- April 19 - Sue Barker, British tennis player and television presenter
- April 21 - Phillip Longman, American demographer
- April 23 - Judy Davis, Australian actress
- April 26 - Koo Stark, British actress
- April 28 - Jimmy Barnes, Australian musician
- April 30 - Lars von Trier, Danish film director
May-June
- May 1 - Alexander Ivanov, chess Grandmaster
- May 4
- May 6 - Vladimir Lisin, Russian oligarch
- May 7
- May 11 - Andrew Hidalgo, American entrepreneur
- May 13
- May 15
- May 16 - Olga Korbut, Russian gymnast
- May 17
- May 20
- May 23
- May 24 - Michael Jackson, Irish Anglican bishop
- May 28 - Jerry Douglas, American dobro player
- June 6 - Björn Borg, Swedish tennis player
- June 9 - Patricia Cornwell, American novelist
- June 11 - Joe Montana, American football player
- June 20 - Cho Chikun, Korean professional Go player
- June 23
- June 25 - Boris Trajkovski, President of the Republic of Macedonia (d. 2004)
- June 27 - Heiner Dopp, German field hockey player
- June 28 - Noel Mugavin, Australian Rules Football player
- June 30 - Ronald Winans, American musician (d. 2005)
July-August
- July 2 - Jerry Hall, American model and actress
- July 3 - Rick Ducommun, Canadian actor and comedian
- July 5 - Sheila Walsh, Scottish musician
- July 6 - Casey Sander, American actor
- July 9 - Tom Hanks, American actor
- July 11 - Sela Ward, American actress
- July 12 - Sandi Patty, American Christian musician
- July 14
- July 15
- July 16 - Tony Kushner, American playwright
- July 18 - Sheila Aldridge, American singer, The Aldridge Sisters
- July 24 - Pat Finn, American game show host and producer
- July 26 - Andy Goldsworthy, British sculptor and photographer
- July 27
- July 31 - Michael Biehn, American actor
- August 1
- August 5 - Maureen McCormick, American actress
- August 14 - Rusty Wallace, American race car driver
- August 20 - Joan Allen, American actress
- August 21
- August 22 - Paul Molitor, baseball player
- August 23 - Andreas Floer, German mathematician (d. 1991)
- August 24 - John Culberson, American politician
- August 26 - Mark Mangino, American football coach
- August 29 - Mark Morris, American choreographer
- August 31 - Masashi Tashiro, Japanese television performer
September-October
- September 1 - Bernie Wagenblast, American editor and broadcaster
- September 2 - Angelo Fusco, Provisional Irish Republican Army member
- September 3 - Pat McGeown, Provisional Irish Republican Army member
- September 11 - Phil Bissett, American politician
- September 12 - Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong actor (d. 2003)
- September 12 - Ricky Rudd, American race car driver
- September 14
- September 16
- September 17 - Brian Andreas, American writer, sculptor, painter and publisher.
- September 20 - Gary Cole, American actor
- September 21 - Jack Givens, American basketball player
- September 24 - Peter Fox, Australian, CEO/GM Venues (Aquatics, Major Events) Non-Profits, Community Recreation, Mgt Consultant
- September 25 - Jamie Hyneman, Mythbusters co-host
- September 26 - Linda Hamilton, American actress
- September 29
- October 10 - Amanda Burton, Irish actress
- October 11 - Nicanor Duarte Frutos, President of Paraguay
- October 17 - Mae Jemison, astronaut
- October 18 - Martina Navratilova, Czech-born tennis player
- October 19 - Carlo Urbani, Italian physician (d. 2003)
- October 23 - Dwight Yoakam, country singer/musician and actor
- October 27 - Jaq D. Hawkins, British author, occultist and lecturer
- October 28 - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian president
November-December
- November 4 - Jordan Rudess, American musician (Dream Theater)
- November 10 - Mohsen Badawi, Entrepreneur, political activist and writer
- November 18
- November 20 - Bo Derek, American actress
- November 21 - Ed Kaz, American journalist
- November 23
- Shane Gould, Australian swimmer
- Nikolay Sidorov, former Soviet athlete, winner of the gold medal in the 4x100 m relay at the 1980 Summer Olympics.
- November 26 - Dale Jarrett, American race car driver
- November 27 - William Fichtner, American actor
- November 28 - Lucy Gutteridge, British actress
- November 29
- December 5
- December 6
- December 7 - Larry Bird, American basketball player
- December 8 - Warren Cuccurullo, American musician (Missing Persons and Duran Duran)
- December 11 - Lani Brockman, Playwright
- December 12
- December 17 - Mike Mills, American guitarist (R.E.M.)
- December 18 - Ron White, American comedian
- December 23
- December 26 - David Sedaris, American essayist
- December 28 - Nigel Kennedy, English violinist
- December 29 - Fred MacAulay, Scottish comedian
- December 30 -