March 10 – The
Fairey Delta 2 breaks the World Air Speed Record, raising it to 1,132 mph (1,822 km/h) or Mach 1.73, an increase of some 300 mph (480 km/h) over the previous record, and thus becoming the first aircraft to exceed 1,000 mph (1,600 km/h) in level flight.
March 11 – After having opened in London the previous year,
Laurence Olivier's film, Richard III, adapted from
Shakespeare'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.
April 14 –
Videotape is first demonstrated at the 1956 NARTB (modern-day
NAB) convention in Chicago by
Ampex. It is the demonstration of the first practical and commercially successful
videotape format known as
2" Quadruplex.
May 24 – The first
Eurovision Song Contest is broadcast from
Lugano, Switzerland. The winning song is the host country's Refrain by
Lys Assia (music by Géo Voumard, lyrics by Émile Gardaz).
June 4 –
Montgomery bus boycott: The related civil suit[5] is heard in federal district court; the U.S. Supreme Court will uphold the ruling in November.
Poznań 1956 protests: Labour riots in
Poznań, Poland, are crushed with heavy loss of life.
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).
July 24 – At New York City's
Copacabana nightclub,
Dean Martin and
Jerry Lewis perform their last comedy show together (their act started on July 25, 1946).
July 25 – The Italian ocean liner
SS Andrea Doria sinks after colliding with the Swedish ship
SS Stockholm in heavy fog 72 kilometers (45 mi) south of
Nantucket island, killing 51.
Cricket:
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).
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.[9]
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.[13]
The 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.
MGM's film The Wizard of Oz is the first major Hollywood film running more than 90 minutes
to be televised uncut in one evening, in the United States.
November 4 –
Hungarian Revolution of 1956: More
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 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.
^Ryan Gilbey (December 27, 2016).
"Carrie Fisher obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
^Probst, Ernst (2010). Angelika Machinek – Eine Segelfliegerin der Weltklasse [Angelika Machinek – A World Class Glider Pilot] (in German). Munich: Grin-Verl. p. 11.
ISBN978-3-640-73630-0.
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
March 10 – The
Fairey Delta 2 breaks the World Air Speed Record, raising it to 1,132 mph (1,822 km/h) or Mach 1.73, an increase of some 300 mph (480 km/h) over the previous record, and thus becoming the first aircraft to exceed 1,000 mph (1,600 km/h) in level flight.
March 11 – After having opened in London the previous year,
Laurence Olivier's film, Richard III, adapted from
Shakespeare'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.
April 14 –
Videotape is first demonstrated at the 1956 NARTB (modern-day
NAB) convention in Chicago by
Ampex. It is the demonstration of the first practical and commercially successful
videotape format known as
2" Quadruplex.
May 24 – The first
Eurovision Song Contest is broadcast from
Lugano, Switzerland. The winning song is the host country's Refrain by
Lys Assia (music by Géo Voumard, lyrics by Émile Gardaz).
June 4 –
Montgomery bus boycott: The related civil suit[5] is heard in federal district court; the U.S. Supreme Court will uphold the ruling in November.
Poznań 1956 protests: Labour riots in
Poznań, Poland, are crushed with heavy loss of life.
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).
July 24 – At New York City's
Copacabana nightclub,
Dean Martin and
Jerry Lewis perform their last comedy show together (their act started on July 25, 1946).
July 25 – The Italian ocean liner
SS Andrea Doria sinks after colliding with the Swedish ship
SS Stockholm in heavy fog 72 kilometers (45 mi) south of
Nantucket island, killing 51.
Cricket:
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).
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.[9]
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.[13]
The 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.
MGM's film The Wizard of Oz is the first major Hollywood film running more than 90 minutes
to be televised uncut in one evening, in the United States.
November 4 –
Hungarian Revolution of 1956: More
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 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.
^Ryan Gilbey (December 27, 2016).
"Carrie Fisher obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
^Probst, Ernst (2010). Angelika Machinek – Eine Segelfliegerin der Weltklasse [Angelika Machinek – A World Class Glider Pilot] (in German). Munich: Grin-Verl. p. 11.
ISBN978-3-640-73630-0.
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