At A Glance

31 December 1956 at a glance

Day of the week
31 December 1956 was a Monday.
Top Film of 1956
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1956 was The Ten Commandments.
Star sign
The star sign for 31 December is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 31 December 1956 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 31 December 1956 was New Moon.

On this day: 31 December

  • 1951 Cold War: The Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than US$13.3 billion in foreign aid to rebuild Western Europe.
  • 1955 General Motors becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over US$1 billion in a year.
  • 1956 The Romanian Television network begins its first broadcast in Bucharest.
  • 1961 RTÉ, Ireland's state broadcaster, launches its first national television service.
  • 1963 The Central African Federation officially collapses, subsequently becoming Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia.

Famous people born on 31 December

  • Val Kilmer, American actor (1959–2025)
  • Sophia Laforteza, Filipino-American singer (born 2002)
  • Alex Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager (born 1941)
  • Charles Edward Stuart, Scottish claimant to the throne of England (1720–1788)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1956 in Ireland

A selection from Wikipedia's '1956 in Ireland'. Not a complete list.

  • 15 February – Senator Owen Sheehy-Skeffington introduced a motion calling for the prohibition of all corporal punishment for girls in Irish national schools.
  • 2 April – President Seán T. O'Kelly unveiled a bust of politician, revolutionary, and suffragist Constance Markievicz in St Stephen's Green, Dublin.
  • 1 May – the Minister for Education Richard Mulcahy introduced the debate on a separate government department for the Gaeltacht.
More events of 1956 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in Ireland in 1956

Taoiseach

John A. Costello

Petrol (per litre)

2s 1d/gal

Loaf of Bread

6½d

Average House

£1,800

Weekly Wage

£4 10s

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.

Pierce Brosnan16 May 1953ActorView their day →Brendan Gleeson29 March 1955ActorView their day →Fiona Shaw10 July 1958ActressView their day →Gabriel Byrne12 May 1950ActorView their day →Colm Meaney30 May 1953ActorView their day →Bob Geldof5 October 1951Singer-songwriter & political activistView their day →Catherine Connolly5 November 1955President of IrelandView their day →Shane MacGowan25 December 1957Singer-songwriterView their day →

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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