At A Glance

20 April 1956 at a glance

Day of the week
20 April 1956 was a Friday.
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 20 April is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 20 April 1956 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
Birthstone
The birthstone for April is Diamond.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 20 April 1956 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 20 April

  • 1945 World War II: U.S. troops capture Leipzig, Germany, only to later cede the city to the Soviet Union.
  • 1945 World War II: Führerbunker: On his 56th birthday Adolf Hitler makes his last trip to the surface to award Iron Crosses to boy soldiers of the Hitler Youth.
  • 1946 The League of Nations officially dissolves, giving most of its power to the United Nations.
  • 1949 Amethyst incident: The People's Liberation Army attacks HMS Amethyst (F116) travelling to the British embassy in Nanjing during the Chinese Civil War.
  • 1961 Cold War: Failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of US-backed Cuban exiles against Cuba.

Famous people born on April 20

  • Alexander Zverev, German tennis player (born 1997)
  • Jessica Lange, American actress (born 1949)
  • Andy Serkis, English actor and director (born 1964)
  • Napoleon III, French politician, 1st President of France, Emperor of French Second Empire (1808–1873)

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.
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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