January 24
January 24
Emmett Till murderers make magazine confession
On January 24, 1956, Look magazine publishes the confessions of J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant, two white men from Mississippi who were acquitted in the 1955 kidnapping and murder of…
A Year In History: 1956
This Year in History:
1956
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
January 30
January 30
Martin Luther King Jr.’s home is bombed
On January 30, 1956, an unidentified suspected white supremacist terrorist bombed the Montgomery home of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. No one was harmed, but the explosion outraged the community and…
February 25
February 25
Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes meet
On February 25, 1956, Sylvia Plath meets her future husband, Ted Hughes, at a party in Cambridge, UK. The two poets fell in love at first sight and married four months…
April 18
April 18
Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco marry
American actress Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco in a spectacular ceremony on April 18, 1956. Kelly, the daughter of a former model and a wealthy industrialist, began acting…
April 27
April 27
Rocky Marciano retires as world heavyweight champion
On April 27, 1956, world heavyweight champ Rocky Marciano retires from boxing at age 31, saying he wants to spend more time with his family. Marciano ended his career as…
May 4
May 4
Gene Vincent records “Be‑Bop‑A‑Lula”
When a music critic wants to indicate that a song lacks lyrical sophistication, he or she will often refer to its lyrics as being of the “moon in June” sort.…
May 21
May 21
United States drops hydrogen bomb over Bikini Atoll
The United States conducts the first airborne test of an improved hydrogen bomb, dropping it from a plane over the tiny island of Namu in the Bikini Atoll in the…
June 3
June 3
Rock ‘n’ roll is banned in Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz, California, a favorite early haunt of author Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, was an established capital of the West Coast counterculture scene by the mid‑1960s. Yet just…
June 5
June 5
Elvis rocks the “The Milton Berle Show”
By the end of 1955, Elvis Presley had nearly 18 months of nonstop touring behind him and two dozen singles already under his belt, though his only hits were on…
June 9
June 9
Best‑selling crime novelist Patricia Cornwell is born
On June 9, 1956, one of the world’s top‑selling crime novelists, Patricia Cornwell, best known for her forensic pathologist character Dr. Kay Scarpetta, is born in Miami, Florida. Cornwell, whose…
June 21
June 21
Arthur Miller refuses to name communists
Playwright Arthur Miller defies the House Committee on Un‑American Activities and refuses to name suspected communists. Miller’s defiance of McCarthyism won him a conviction for contempt of court, which was…
June 23
June 23
Gamal Abdel Nasser elected president of Egypt
On June 23, 1956, 99.95 percent of Egyptian voters mark their ballots to elect Gamal Abdel Nasser as the first president of the Republic of Egypt. Nasser, who toppled the…
June 25
June 25
Last Packard—the classic American luxury car—produced
The last Packard—the classic American luxury car with the famously enigmatic slogan “Ask the Man Who Owns One”—rolls off the production line at Packard’s plant in Detroit, Michigan on June…
June 26
June 26
Congress approves Federal Highway Act
On June 26, 1956, the U.S. Congress approves the Federal Highway Act, which allocates more than $30 billion for the construction of some 41,000 miles of interstate highways; it will…
July 19
July 19
United States withdraws offer of aid for Aswan Dam
Secretary of State John Foster Dulles announces that the United States is withdrawing its offer of financial aid to Egypt to help with the construction of the Aswan Dam on…
July 25
July 25
Ships collide off Nantucket
At 11:10 p.m., 45 miles south of Nantucket Island, the Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria and the Swedish ocean liner Stockholm collide in a heavy Atlantic fog. Fifty‑one passengers and…
July 26
July 26
Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal
The Suez Crisis begins when Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the British and French‑owned Suez Canal. The Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas across Egypt, was…
July 30
July 30
President Eisenhower signs “In God We Trust” into law
On July 30, 1956, two years after pushing to have the phrase “under God” inserted into the pledge of allegiance, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a law officially declaring “In…
August 7
August 7
Mysterious explosions in Colombia
Seven army ammunition trucks explode in Cali, Colombia, killing more than 1,000 people and injuring thousands more on August 7, 1956. The cause of the explosions remains a mystery. The…
September 9
September 9
Elvis Presley makes first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show”
The King of Rock and Roll teams up with TV’s reigning variety program, as Elvis Presley appears on “The Ed Sullivan Show” for the first time on September 9, 1956.…
