At A Glance

2 January 1956 at a glance

Day of the week
2 January 1956 was a Monday.
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 2 January is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 2 January 1956 fell in the Year of the Goat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for January is Garnet.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 2 January 1956 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 2 January

  • 1949 Luis Muñoz Marín is inaugurated as the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.
  • 1954 India establishes its highest civilian awards, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan.
  • 1959 Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union.
  • 1963 Vietnam War: The Viet Cong wins its first major victory, at the Battle of Ap Bac.
  • 1967 Ronald Reagan, past movie actor and future President of the United States, is sworn in as Governor of California.

Famous people born on January 2

  • Jim Bakker, American televangelist (1940–2026)
  • Kemi Badenoch, English politician (born 1980)
  • Dax Shepard, American actor (born 1975)
  • Kate Bosworth, American actress (born 1983)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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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.
More events of 1956 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

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Famous Faces Born in the 1950s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Michael Jackson29 August 1958Singer & songwriterView their day →Anthony Bourdain25 June 1956Chef & television personalityView their day →Bruce Willis19 March 1955ActorView their day →Madonna16 August 1958SingerView their day →Annette Bening29 May 1958ActressView their day →Robin Williams21 July 1951Actor & comedianView their day →Steve Jobs24 February 1955Entrepreneur & co-founder of Apple Inc.View their day →Prince7 June 1958MusicianView their day →

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

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