At A Glance

17 February 1956 at a glance

Day of the week
17 February 1956 was a Friday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Memories Are Made of This” by Dean Martin.
Top Film of 1956
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1956 was The Ten Commandments.
Star sign
The star sign for 17 February is Aquarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 17 February 1956 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
Birthstone
The birthstone for February is Amethyst.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 17 February 1956 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 17 February

  • 1949 Chaim Weizmann begins his term as the first President of Israel.
  • 1959 Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2: The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
  • 1964 In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
  • 1964 Gabonese president Léon M'ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
  • 1965 Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the crewed Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the "Sea of Tranquility" would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.

Famous people born on 17 February

  • Case Keenum, American football player (born 1988)
  • Ed Sheeran, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1991)
  • Michael Jordan, American basketball player, executive, and businessman (born 1963)
  • Jensen Huang, Taiwanese-American businessman, co-founded Nvidia (born 1963)

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

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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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