The 1950s

1956 70 years ago

In Operation Redwing, the first United States airborne hydrogen bomb is dropped over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean

Operation Redwing was a United States series of 17 nuclear test detonations from May to July 1956. They were conducted at Bikini and Enewetak atolls by Joint Task Force 7 (JTF7). T…

In Operation Redwing, the first United States airborne hydrogen bomb is dropped over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean

1956 70 years ago

The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland

The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1956. Ea…

The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland

1956 70 years ago

Elvis Presley introduces his new single, "Hound Dog", on The Milton Berle Show, scandalizing the audience with his sugge

Elvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is widely regarded as one of the most culturally significant figures of the 20t…

Elvis Presley introduces his new single, "Hound Dog", on The Milton Berle Show, scandalizing the audience with his sugge

1956 70 years ago

Beatrice Ask, Swedish politician, Swedish Minister for Justice

Eva Carin Beatrice Ask is a Swedish politician and a member of the Moderate Party. She served as Governor of Södermanland County from 1 January 2020 to 31 March 2025.

Beatrice Ask, Swedish politician, Swedish Minister for Justice

1956 70 years ago

Peter Chelsom, English film director, writer, and actor

Peter Chelsom is a British film director, writer, and actor. He has directed such films as Hector and the Search for Happiness, Serendipity, and Shall We Dance? Peter Chelsom is a …

Peter Chelsom, English film director, writer, and actor

1956 70 years ago

Kakha Bendukidze, Georgian economist and politician (died 2014)

Kakha Bendukidze was a Georgian statesman, businessman and philanthropist, founder of the Knowledge Foundation and head of the supervisory board of Agricultural and Free Universiti…

Kakha Bendukidze, Georgian economist and politician (died 2014)

1956 70 years ago

Peter Kosminsky, English director, producer, and screenwriter

Peter Kosminsky is a British writer, director and producer. He has directed Hollywood movies such as White Oleander and television films like Warriors, The Government Inspector, Th…

Peter Kosminsky, English director, producer, and screenwriter

1956 70 years ago

Phillip Longman, German-American demographer and journalist

Phillip Longman is an American demographer. Presently he is a Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, and he formerly worked as a senior writer and deputy assistant m…

Phillip Longman, German-American demographer and journalist

1956 70 years ago

Start of Gal Oya riots, the first reported ethnic riots that target minority Sri Lankan Tamils in the Eastern Province

The 1956 anti-Tamil pogrom, also known as the Gal Oya riots, was the first organised pogrom against Sri Lankan Tamils in the Dominion of Ceylon. It began with anti-Tamil rioting in…

Start of Gal Oya riots, the first reported ethnic riots that target minority Sri Lankan Tamils in the Eastern Province

1956 70 years ago

A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey, killing 74 people

Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and various islands and islets…

A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey, killing 74 people

1956 70 years ago

The French National Assembly takes the first step in creating the French Community by passing the Loi Cadre, transferrin

The National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate. The National Assembly's legislators are know…

The French National Assembly takes the first step in creating the French Community by passing the Loi Cadre, transferrin

1956 70 years ago

In Poznań, workers from HCP factory go to the streets, sparking one of the first major protests against communist govern

Poznań is a city on the River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous region…

In Poznań, workers from HCP factory go to the streets, sparking one of the first major protests against communist govern

1956 70 years ago

The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 is signed by U

The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, also known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, Pub. L. 84–627 was enacted on June 29, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhowe…

The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 is signed by U

1956 70 years ago

James A

James Alexander "Sandy" Winnefeld Jr. is a retired United States Navy admiral who served as the chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board. While on active duty, Winnefel…

James A

1956 70 years ago

Dominique Blanc, French actress, director, and screenwriter

Dominique Blanc is a French actress. She is known for her roles in the films May Fools (1990), Indochine (1992), La Reine Margot (1994), Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train (1998)…

Dominique Blanc, French actress, director, and screenwriter

1956 70 years ago

Abdalla Uba Adamu, Nigerian professor, media scholar

Abdalla Uba Adamu is a Nigerian academic, educator, publisher, filmmaker, ethnomusicologist, media scholar and former vice-chancellor of National Open University of Nigeria. He hol…

Abdalla Uba Adamu, Nigerian professor, media scholar

1956 70 years ago

Koo Stark, American actress and photographer

Kathleen Norris "Koo" Stark is an American photographer and actress, known for her relationship with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and her roles in erotic films. She is a patron of th…

Koo Stark, American actress and photographer

1956 70 years ago

A TWA Super Constellation and a United Airlines DC-7 collide above the Grand Canyon in Arizona and crash, killing all 12

Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a trunk carrier, a scheduled airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed a…

A TWA Super Constellation and a United Airlines DC-7 collide above the Grand Canyon in Arizona and crash, killing all 12

1956 70 years ago

The 7.7 Mw Amorgos earthquake shakes the Cyclades island group in the Aegean Sea with a maximum Mercalli intensity of…

The 1956 Amorgos earthquake occurred at 03:11 UTC on July 9. It had a magnitude of 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale and a maximum perceived intensity of IX on the Mercalli intensi…

The 7.7 Mw Amorgos earthquake shakes the Cyclades island group in the Aegean Sea with a maximum Mercalli intensity of…

1956 70 years ago

The Dartmouth workshop is the first conference on artificial intelligence.

The Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence was a 1956 summer workshop widely considered to be the founding event of artificial intelligence as a field. The wo…

The Dartmouth workshop is the first conference on artificial intelligence.

1956 70 years ago

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus closes its last "Big Tent" show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; due to changing…

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, or simply Ringling, is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Earth. It and its predecessors have run sh…

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus closes its last "Big Tent" show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; due to changing…

1956 70 years ago

Forty-five miles south of Nantucket Island, the Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria collides with the MS Stockholm in…

Nantucket is an island in Massachusetts, United States, about 30 miles (48 km) south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it const…

Forty-five miles south of Nantucket Island, the Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria collides with the MS Stockholm in…

1956 70 years ago

Bryan Harvey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2006)

Bryan Taber Harvey was an American musician noted for his fronting role in House of Freaks.

Bryan Harvey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2006)

1956 70 years ago

Lars von Trier, Danish director and screenwriter

Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter.

Lars von Trier, Danish director and screenwriter