Baby Boomers - What Happened in 1956?
If you are a baby boomer born in 1956, you will find this information extremely interesting. Hope you enjoy learning more about the year you were born! If you have a friend or a family member born in 1956, send them a link to this page. They will appreciate it!
Major Events
- Dwight Eisenhower is president and Richard Nixon is vice president of the United States
- Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican) defeats Adlai Stevenson (Democratic) in the presidential election
- The Methodist Church in America decides at its General Conference to grant women the status of full-ordained clergy
- Congress approves the Highway Act that allows for construction of the U.S. interstate highway system
- Atomic Energy Commission approves development of commercial nuclear power plants
- Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of USSR Communist Party, denounces Stalin's excesses - begins official policy of "de-Stalinization" in the USSR
- Egypt seizes Suez Canal - Britain and France respond with force - U.S. and Soviet Union help negotiate a cease fire
- Cuban revolutionaries including Fidel Castro land in Cuba at the start of the Cuban Revolution
- Israel invades Sinai Peninsula
- Soviet troops suppress a popular uprising against the communist regime in Hungary
- Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria sinks after colliding with another vessel
Business and Economy
- U.S. GDP (1998 dollars): $438 billion
- Federal spending: $70.64 billion
- Federal debt: $272.7 billion
- Consumer Price Index: 27.2
- Unemployment: 4.4%
- IBM founder Thomas J. Watson dies
Science and Technology
- Felix Wankel from Germany develops the rotary internal combustion engine
- The DNA molecule is first photographed
- The Los Alamos Laboratory discovers an atomic particle with no electric charge, the neutrino
- First hard disk (5MB) invented by IBM
- The first transatlantic telephone cable goes into operation
- The first commercial videotape recorder goes on sale
- Albert Sabin developed the first oral vaccine against polio
- Sony exports its first product to Canada - a transistor radio
Sports
- New York Yankees defeats Brooklyn Dodgers to win the World Series (4-3)
- Philadelphia Warriors defeat Ft. Wayne Pistons to win the NBA Championship (4-1)
- New York Giants win the NFL championship
- Don Larsen of the New York Yankees throws the first and only perfect game in World Series history against the Brooklyn Dodgers
- Rocky Marciano retires as the only undefeated Heavyweight Champion of the world with a perfect record
- Connie Mack (American professional baseball player, manager, and team owner) dies
- Olympic Games held in Melbourne, Australia
Famous Baby Boomers Born in 1956
- Arsenio Hall
- Bill Maher
- Bjorn Borg
- Bo Derek
- Carrie Fisher
- David Copperfield
- Dorothy Hamill
- Geena Davis
- Joe Montana
- Larry Bird
- Martina Navratilova
- Mel Gibson
- Sugar Ray Leonard
- Tom Hanks
Arts and Entertainment
- Books: Don't Go Near the Water, The Last Hurrah, Peyton Place, Auntie Mame, Eloise, Andersonville, A Certain Smile, The Tribe That Lost Its Head, The Mandarins, Boon Island
- Movies: The Seventh Seal, Giant, The Searchers, Around the World in 80 Days, The King and I, Friendly Persuasion, Guys and Dolls, Trapeze, High Society
- Songs: Hound Dog; Long Tall Sally; Blue Suede Shoes; Don't Be Cruel; Be-Bop-A-Lula; Roll Over Beethoven; In The Still Of The Nite; Blueberry Hill; Please, Please, Please; I Walk The Line
- Popular Musicians: Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent & the Bluecaps, Chuck Berry, Five Satins, James Brown & the Famous Flames, Johnny Cash & the Tennessee Two
- TV Shows: I Love Lucy, The Ed Sullivan Show, General Electric Theater, The $64,000 Question, December Bride
- Rock and roll becomes a national phenomenon, fueled by the popularity of Elvis Presley
- Elvis Presley enters the music charts for the first time, with "Heartbreak Hotel"
- Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
- Elvis Presley makes his television debut on CBS Dorsey Brothers' Stage Show
- Barbra Striesand's first recording, "You'll Never Know," at age 13
- "My Fair Lady" opens in New York
- As the World Turns and Edge of Night premiere
- Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco
- Tommy Dorsey dies
- Artist Jackson Pollock dies
Everyday Life
- U.S. Population: 168,903,031
- Life expectancy: 69.7 years
- Average yearly income: $4,450
- Cost of a new home: $11.700
- Cost of a new car: $2,050
- Federal hourly minimum wage: $1.00
- Cost of a first-class stamp: $.03
Popular Culture
- The Price is Right game show premieres
- The Wizard of Oz has its first airing on TV
- The television remote was invented
- Betty Nesmith, a secretary, invented Mistake Out, which was later renamed to Liquid Paper
- 1 in 3 high school graduates now attend college
- Rock and Roll dance craze sweeps the World
- The first half-hour serial "As the World Turns" begins on CBS
- Black-and-white portable TV sets are available
- Tefal starts producing non stick frying pans
- U.S. Department of Agriculture formulates the four basic food groups
- Yahtzee is created
- La Leche League is founded in Illinois to encourage mothers to breast feed their babies
- Jif Peanut Butter is introduced
- Certs, the first candy breath mint, is introduced
- The first commercial videotape recorder is introduced
- Interstate highway system authorized, helping to fuel a long-term trend toward the populating of suburban communities, often at the expense of established urban neighborhoods
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