UK, 
US, 
Australia & 
IrelandAt A Glance
5 August 1956 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 5 August 1956 was a Sunday.
- Australian No. 1 (Kent retrospective)
- “The Great Pretender” by The Platters was No. 1 on David Kent's retrospective Australian chart. This chart was compiled later by David Kent from radio station charts.
- Top Film of 1956
- The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1956 was The Ten Commandments.
- Star sign
- The star sign for 5 August is Leo.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 5 August 1956 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for August is Peridot.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 5 August 1956 was Waning Crescent.
On this day: 5 August
- 1957 American Bandstand, a show dedicated to the teenage "baby-boomers" by playing the songs and showing popular dances of the time, debuts on the ABC television network.
- 1960 Burkina Faso, then known as Upper Volta, becomes independent from France.
- 1962 Apartheid: Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.
- 1963 Cold War: The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union sign the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
- 1965 The Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 begins as Pakistani soldiers cross the Line of Control dressed as locals.
Famous people born on 5 August
- James Gunn, American filmmaker (born 1966)
- Wendell Berry, American novelist, short story writer, poet, and essayist (1934–2026)
- Angry Anderson, Australian singer and actor (1947–2026)
- Neil Armstrong, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut, first man to walk on the Moon (1930–2012)
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.
Events of 1956 in Australia
A selection from Wikipedia's '1956 in Australia'. Not a complete list.
- 16 September – Australia's first TV station TCN-9 begins regular transmission in Sydney
- 4 November – HSV-7 begins as Melbourne's first TV Station.
- 5 November – The first TV station of the Australian Broadcasting Commission is launched; ABN-2 Sydney.
Life in Australia in 1956
Prime Minister
Robert Menzies
Monarch
Queen Elizabeth II
Petrol (per litre)
$0.04
Loaf of Bread
$0.11
Average House
$4,500
Weekly Wage
$11.50
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Famous Faces Born in the 1950s
Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.
Angus Young31 March 1955GuitaristView their day →Nick Cave22 September 1957Musician & singerView their day →Pauline Hanson27 May 1954PoliticianView their day →Geoffrey Rush6 July 1951ActorView their day →Deborra-Lee Furness30 November 1955ActressView their day →Chrissy Amphlett25 October 1959SingerView their day →Judy Davis23 April 1955ActressView their day →Malcolm Young6 January 1953GuitaristView their day →Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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