At A Glance

2 August 1956 at a glance

Day of the week
2 August 1956 was a Thursday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” by The Teenagers featuring Frankie Lymon.
Top Film of 1956
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1956 was The Ten Commandments.
Star sign
The star sign for 2 August is Leo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 2 August 1956 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 2 August 1956 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 2 August

  • 1939 Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard write a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to begin the Manhattan Project to develop a nuclear weapon.
  • 1943 World War II: After the Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 is rammed and sunk by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri, Lt. John F. Kennedy, future U.S. president, saves all but two of his crew.
  • 1944 ASNOM: Birth of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, celebrated as Day of the Republic in North Macedonia.
  • 1944 World War II: The largest trade convoy of the world wars arrives safely in the Western Approaches.
  • 1945 World War II: The Potsdam Conference ends.

Famous people born on 2 August

  • JD Vance, American politician, 50th vice president of the United States (born 1984)
  • Charli XCX, English singer-songwriter (born 1992)
  • Mary-Louise Parker, American actress (born 1964)
  • Sam Worthington, English-Australian actor and producer (born 1976)

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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