At A Glance

17 April 1956 at a glance

Day of the week
17 April 1956 was a Tuesday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “The Poor People of Paris” by Winifred Atwell.
Top Film of 1956
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1956 was The Ten Commandments.
Star sign
The star sign for 17 April is Aries.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 17 April 1956 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
Birthstone
The birthstone for April is Diamond.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 17 April 1956 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 17 April

  • 1945 World War II: Montese, Italy, is liberated from Nazi forces.
  • 1946 The last French troops are withdrawn from Syria.
  • 1951 The Peak District becomes the United Kingdom's first National Park.
  • 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion: A group of Cuban exiles financed and trained by the CIA lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro.
  • 1964 Jerrie Mock completes the first around-the-world airplane flight by a woman. Her solo flight in the Spirit of Columbus, which took 29+1⁄2 days, took off and landed at the Port Columbus International Airport in Ohio.

Famous people born on 17 April

  • Jennifer Garner, American actress (born 1972)
  • Rooney Mara, American actress (born 1985)
  • Sean Bean, English actor (born 1959)
  • J. P. Morgan, American banker and financier, founded J.P. Morgan & Co. (1837–1913)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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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.

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.

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

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