At A Glance

24 May 1956 at a glance

Day of the week
24 May 1956 was a Thursday.
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 24 May is Gemini.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 24 May 1956 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 24 May 1956 was Full Moon.

On this day: 24 May

  • 1956 The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland.
  • 1958 United Press International is formed through a merger of the United Press and the International News Service.
  • 1960 Following the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the largest ever recorded earthquake, Cordón Caulle begins to erupt.
  • 1961 American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for "disturbing the peace" after disembarking from their bus.
  • 1962 Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.

Famous people born on 24 May

  • Queen Victoria (1819–1901)
  • Bob Dylan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, artist, writer, and producer; Nobel Prize laureate (born 1941)
  • Priscilla Presley, American actress and businesswoman (born 1945)
  • Alfred Molina, English actor (born 1953)

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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