At A Glance

16 May 1956 at a glance

Day of the week
16 May 1956 was a Wednesday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “No Other Love” by Ronnie Hilton.
Top Film of 1956
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1956 was The Ten Commandments.
Star sign
The star sign for 16 May is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 16 May 1956 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 16 May 1956 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 16 May

  • 1951 The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between Idlewild Airport (now John F Kennedy International Airport) in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines.
  • 1954 Beginning of the Kengir uprising in the Gulag.
  • 1959 The Tritons' Fountain in Valletta, Malta is turned on for the first time.
  • 1960 Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser (a ruby laser), at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
  • 1961 Park Chung Hee leads a coup d'état to overthrow the Second Republic of South Korea.

Famous people born on 16 May

  • Pierce Brosnan, Irish-American actor and producer (born 1953)
  • Melanie Lynskey, New Zealand actress (born 1977)
  • Megan Fox, American actress (born 1986)
  • Janet Jackson, American singer-songwriter and actress (born 1966)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1956 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1956 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 17 February – The Midlands becomes the first region outside of London to receive ITV when ATV Midlands begins broadcasting; ABC, the weekend station, launches the following day.
  • 3 May – Granada Television begins broadcasting with a base in Manchester, extending ITV's coverage to Northern England and later Yorkshire.
  • 8 May – First performance of John Osborne's play Look Back in Anger by the newly formed English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre. Alan Bates has his first major role as Cliff.
More events of 1956 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in 1956

Prime Minister

Anthony Eden

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

9p

Loaf of Bread

6p

Average House

£2,140

Weekly Wage

£11.05

Or

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Famous Faces Born in the 1950s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Richard E. Grant5 May 1957ActorView their day →Gary Oldman21 March 1958Actor & filmmakerView their day →Anthony Head20 February 1954ActorView their day →Phil Collins30 January 1951Drummer & singerView their day →Bonnie Tyler8 June 1951SingerView their day →Liam Neeson7 June 1952ActorView their day →Emma Thompson15 April 1959Actress & screenwriterView their day →Rowan Atkinson6 January 1955Actor & comedianView their day →

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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