At A Glance

21 September 1956 at a glance

Day of the week
21 September 1956 was a Friday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Lay Down Your Arms” by Anne Shelton.
Top Film of 1956
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1956 was The Ten Commandments.
Star sign
The star sign for 21 September is Virgo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 21 September 1956 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
Birthstone
The birthstone for September is Sapphire.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 21 September 1956 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 21 September

  • 1942 The Holocaust in Ukraine: On the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, Nazis send over 1,000 Jews from Pidhaitsi to Bełżec extermination camp.
  • 1942 The Holocaust in Poland: At the end of Yom Kippur, Germans order Jews to permanently move from Konstantynów to Biała Podlaska.
  • 1953 Lieutenant No Kum-sok, a North Korean pilot, defects to South Korea with his jet fighter.
  • 1964 Malta gains independence from the United Kingdom, but remains in the Commonwealth.
  • 1965 The Gambia, Maldives and Singapore are admitted as members of the United Nations.

Famous people born on 21 September

  • Stephen King, American author and screenwriter (born 1947)
  • Liam Gallagher, English singer-songwriter (born 1972)
  • Bill Murray, American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter (born 1950)
  • Alexander Isak, Eritrean-Swedish professional footballer (born 1999)

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.

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

Browse by Year

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)

About The Day You Were Born

Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.

About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →