At A Glance

18 April 1956 at a glance

Day of the week
18 April 1956 was a Wednesday.
Top Film of 1956
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1956 was The Ten Commandments.
Bestselling Novel of 1956
“Don't Go Near the Water” by William Brinkley was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1956.
Top-Rated TV Show
“I Love Lucy” (CBS) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1956–57 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 18 April is Aries.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 18 April 1956 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
Birthstone
The birthstone for April is Diamond.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 18 April 1956 was First Quarter.

On this day: 18 April

  • 1946 The International Court of Justice holds its inaugural meeting in The Hague, Netherlands.
  • 1947 The Operation Big Bang, the largest non-nuclear man-made explosion to that time, destroys bunkers and military installations on the North Sea island of Heligoland, Germany.
  • 1949 The Republic of Ireland Act comes into force, declaring Éire to be a republic and severing Ireland's "association" with the Commonwealth of Nations.
  • 1954 Gamal Abdel Nasser seizes power in Egypt.
  • 1955 Twenty-nine nations meet at Bandung, Indonesia, for the first Asian-African Conference.

Famous people born on April 18

  • Vanessa Kirby, English actress (born 1988)
  • Kourtney Kardashian, American television personality (born 1979)
  • James Woods, American actor and producer (born 1947)
  • David Tennant, Scottish actor (born 1971)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

Events of 1956 in the United States

A selection from Wikipedia's '1956 in the United States'. Not a complete list.

  • February 24 – Doris Day records her most famous song, "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)"; it is from Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much, in which Day co-stars with James Stewart.
  • March 15 – The Broadway musical My Fair Lady opens in New York City.
  • April 2 – The first episodes of As the World Turns and The Edge of Night are broadcast on CBS television.

Life in the US in 1956

President

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Gas (per gallon)

$0.30

Loaf of Bread

$0.18

Average House

$10,000

Weekly Wage

$73

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 →