| 1956-01-01
The Republic of the Sudan achieves independence from the Egyptian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
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| 1956-03-01
The International Air Transport Association finalizes a draft of the Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization.
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| 1956-10-29
Suez Crisis begins: Israeli forces invade the Sinai Peninsula and push Egyptian forces back toward the Suez Canal.
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| 1956-05-18
First ascent of Lhotse 8,516 metres, by a Swiss team.
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| 1956-07-23
The Loi Cadre is passed by the French Republic in order to order French overseas territory affairs.
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| 1956-10-08
New York Yankees's Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in a World Series; one of only 20 perfect games in MLB history.
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| 1956-09-09
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time.
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| 1956-11-04
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.
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| 1956-10-14
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Indian Untouchable caste leader, converts to Buddhism along with 385,000 of his followers (see Neo-Buddhism).
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| 1956-02-14
The XX Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union begins in Moscow. On the last night of the meeting, Premier Nikita Khrushchev condemns Joseph Stalin's crimes in a secret speech.
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| 1956-12-06
Aged 14, swimmer Sandra Morgan becomes the youngest Australian to win an Olympic gold medal.
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| 1956-12-06
A violent water polo match between Hungary and the USSR takes place during the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, against the backdrop of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
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| 1956-08-30
Lake Pontchartrain Causeway opens.
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| 1956-01-30
American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.'s home is bombed in retaliation for the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
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| 1956-12-22
Colo is born, the first gorilla to be bred in captivity.
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| 1956-10-31
Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.
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| 1956-06-03
British Railways renames 'Third Class' passenger facilities as 'Second Class' (Second Class facilities had been abolished in 1875, leaving just First Class and Third Class).
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| 1956-04-14
In Chicago, Illinois, videotape is first demonstrated.
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| 1956-04-30
Former Vice President and Senator Alben Barkley dies during a speech in Virginia. He collapses after proclaiming "I would rather be a servant in the house of the lord than sit in the seats of the mighty."
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| 1956-06-05
Elvis Presley introduces his new single, "Hound Dog", on The Milton Berle Show, scandalizing the audience with his suggestive hip movements.
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| 1956-03-09
Soviet military suppresses a mass demonstrations in the Georgian SSR, reacting to Khrushchev's de-Stalinization policy.
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| 1956-05-24
The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland
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| 1956-11-13
The United States Supreme Court declares Alabama and Montgomery, Alabama laws requiring segregated buses illegal, thus ending the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
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| 1956-12-09
Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, a Canadair North Star, crashes near Hope, British Columbia, Canada, killing all 62 people on board.
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| 1956-09-17
Television is first broadcast in Australia.
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| 1956-10-29
Kafr Qasim massacre: Israeli Border Police (Magav) shoot and kill 48 Arab civilians for unknowingly disobeying curfue orders imposed by Israeli army in Kafr Qasim, an Arab village.
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| 1956-06-23
Gamal Abdel Nasser is elected president of Egypt.
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| 1956-03-01
Formation of the National People's Army
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| 1956-04-26
First container ship left Port Newark, New Jersey for Houston, Texas.
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| 1956-04-19
Actress Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco.
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| 1956-06-29
The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 is signed, officially creating the United States Interstate Highway System.
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| 1956-06-01
First international flight (to Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport - YUL) from the Atlanta Municipal Airport (ATL); now Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and currently the world's busiest airport)
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| 1956-02-29
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces to the nation that he is running for a second term.
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| 1956-01-03
A fire damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower.
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| 1956-05-24
Conclusion of the Sixth Buddhist Council on Vesak Day, marking the 2,500 year anniversary after the Lord Buddha's Parinibbāna.
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| 1956-10-29
Tangier Protocol is signed: The international city Tangier is reintegrated into Morocco.
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| 1956-04-03
Hudsonville-Standale Tornado: The western half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan is struck by a deadly F5 tornado.
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| 1956-03-23
Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic in the world. (Republic Day in Pakistan)
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| 1956-01-08
Operation Auca: Five U.S. missionaries are killed by the Huaorani of Ecuador shortly after making contact with them.
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| 1956-05-01
A doctor in Japan reports an "epidemic of an unknown disease of the central nervous system", marking the official discovery of Minamata disease.
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| 1956-10-17
The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield,in Cumbria, England.
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| 1956-04-02
As the World Turns and The Edge of Night premiere on CBS-TV. The two soaps become the first daytime dramas to debut in the 30-minute format.
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| 1956-12-18
Japan joins the United Nations.
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| 1956-09-27
USAF Captain Milburn G. Apt becomes the first man to exceed Mach 3 while flying the Bell X-2. Shortly thereafter, the craft goes out of control and Captain Apt is killed.
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| 1956-10-15
Fortran, the first modern computer language, is shared with the coding community for the first time.
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| 1956-12-12
Beginning of the Irish Republican Army's "Border Campaign".
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| 1956-04-07
Spain relinquishes its protectorate in Morocco.
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| 1956-04-05
Fidel Castro declares himself at war with the President of Cuba.
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| 1956-11-07
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.
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| 1956-09-25
TAT-1, the first submarine transatlantic telephone cable system, is inaugurated.
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| 1956-05-20
In Operation Redwing (shot Cherokee), the first United States airborne hydrogen bomb is dropped over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean;
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| 1956-04-05
In Sri Lanka, the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna win the general elections in a landslide and S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike is sworn in as the Prime Minister.
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| 1956-06-20
A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey, killing 74 people.
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| 1956-01-16
President Gamal Abdal Nasser of Egypt vows to reconquer Palestine.
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| 1956-09-04
The IBM RAMAC 305 is introduced, the first commercial computer to use magnetic disk storage.
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| 1956-03-20
Tunisia gains independence from France.
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| 1956-01-01
A new year event causes panic and stampedes at Yahiko Shrine, Yahiko, central Niigata, Japan, killing at least 124 people.
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| 1956-03-02
Morocco declares its independence from France.
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| 1956-02-25
In his speech On the Personality Cult and its Consequences Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev denounces the cult of personality of Joseph Stalin.
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| 1956-06-30
A TWA Super Constellation and a United Airlines DC-7 (Flight 718) collide above the Grand Canyon in Arizona, United States, killing all 128 on board the two planes.
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| 1956-07-07
Fritz Moravec reaches the peak of Gasherbrum II (8,035 m).
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| 1956-11-12
Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia join the United Nations.
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| 1956-08-06
After going bankrupt in 1955, the American broadcaster DuMont Television Network makes its final broadcast, a boxing match from St. Nicholas Arena.
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| 1956-06-11
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.
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| 1956-07-25
45 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.
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| 1956-09-13
The dike around the Dutch polder East Flevoland is closed.
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| 1956-07-26
Following the World Bank's refusal to fund building the Aswan High Dam, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal sparking international condemnation.
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| 1956-05-01
The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public.
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| 1956-07-30
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.
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| 1956-10-23
Thousands of Hungarians protest against the government and Soviet occupation. (The Hungarian Revolution is crushed on November 4).
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| 1956-11-01
The Indian states Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Mysore state are formally created under the States Reorganisation Act.
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| 1956-12-02
The Granma yacht reaches the shores of Cuba's Oriente province and Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement disembark to initiate the Cuban Revolution.
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| 1956-09-13
IBM introduces the first computer disk storage unit, the RAMAC 305.
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