At A Glance

31 January 1956 at a glance

Day of the week
31 January 1956 was a Tuesday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Sixteen Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford.
Top Film of 1956
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1956 was The Ten Commandments.
Star sign
The star sign for 31 January is Aquarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 31 January 1956 fell in the Year of the Goat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for January is Garnet.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 31 January 1956 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 31 January

  • 1949 These Are My Children, the first television daytime soap opera, is broadcast by the NBC station in Chicago, United States.
  • 1951 United Nations Security Council Resolution 90 relating to the Korean War is adopted.
  • 1958 Cold War: Space Race: The Explorer 1, the first successful American satellite, detects the Van Allen radiation belt.
  • 1961 Project Mercury: Mercury-Redstone 2: The chimpanzee Ham travels into outer space.
  • 1966 The Soviet Union launches the unmanned Luna 9 spacecraft as part of the Luna program.

Famous people born on 31 January

  • Julián Alvarez, Argentine footballer (born 2000)
  • Justin Timberlake, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor (born 1981)
  • Minnie Driver, English singer-songwriter and actress (born 1970)
  • Jackie Robinson, American baseball player and sportscaster (1919–1972)

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

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.

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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