What Happened in December 1956

Historical Events

World Record

Dec 1 Australian women's 4 x 100m relay team of Norma Croker, Betty Cuthbert, Fleur Mellor & Shirley Strickland de la Hunty run world record 44.65 to win the gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics; Cuthbert's 3rd gold of the Games

Robinson, Aparicio Rookies

Dec 1 Frank Robinson (NL) & Luis Aparicio (AL) voted Rookie of the Year

Baseball Outfielder and Manager Frank Robinson

Gert Fredriksson's 3rd

Dec 1 Gert Fredriksson of Sweden wins his 3rd consecutive K-1 1,000m canoeing gold medal by 2.5s from Igor Pissarov of the Soviet Union at the Melbourne Olympics; also wins K-1 10,000m gold

Dec 1 Hungarian boxer László Papp wins his 3rd straight Olympic gold medal when he beats future Hall of Famer José Torres representing the US on points in the light-middleweight final at the Melbourne Olympics
Dec 1 In front of 100,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a US Army baseball team beats an Australian all-star team, 11–5 in an Olympic exhibition game; Sergeant Vance Sutton belts a grand slam for Army
Dec 1 Indonesian VP Mohammed Hatta resigns

US Defeats Soviet Union

Dec 1 Led by future Basketball Hall of Famers Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, the US wins it's 4th consecutive Olympic gold medal with an 89-55 victory over the Soviet Union at the Melbourne Games

Dawn Fraser

Dec 1 Legendary Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser sets world record 1:02.0 to win the women's 100m freestyle at the Melbourne Olympics; first of Fraser's 3 consecutive gold medals in the event

Candide

Dec 1 Leonard Bernstein's musical "Candide" opens at Martin Beck Theater, NYC; runs for 73 performances

Conductor and Composer Leonard Bernstein

The Girl Can't Help It

Dec 1 Musical comedy film "The Girl Can't Help It" starring Jayne Mansfield with cameos by rock 'n' roll stars Little Richard, Eddie Cochran, and Gene Vincent premieres

Singer-Songwriter and Rock 'n' Roll Pioneer Little Richard

Dec 1 Romanian canoeist Leon Rotman wins the men's C-1,000m gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics; claims the singles double after also winning the C-1 10,000m gold
Dec 1 US men's 4 x 100m relay team of Thane Baker, Leamon King, Bobby Morrow & Ira Murchison sets world record 39.60s to win the gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics; Morrow's 3rd gold medal of the Games

Castro lands in Cuba

Dec 2 Fidel Castro lands with "Granma" on coast of Cuba

Cuban Revolutionary and President Fidel Castro

Dec 3 Australian 4 x 200m freestyle relay team of Kevin O'Halloran, John Devitt, Murray Rose & Jon Henricks swim world record 8:23.6 to take the gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics; Rose's 2nd of 3 gold at the Games

Chamberlain's Varsity Debut

Dec 3 Basketball icon Wilt Chamberlain makes his much anticipated varsity debut; scores 52 points and grabs 31 rebounds, breaking both all-time Kansas records in an 87–69 win against Northwestern

Dec 3 Britain and France pull troops out of Egypt
Dec 3 KFSA (now KFSM) TV channel 5 in Ft Smith, AR (CBS) 1st broadcast
Dec 4 22nd Heisman Trophy Award: Paul Hornung, Notre Dame (QB)
Dec 4 American diver Pat McCormick wins the 3m springboard gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics with 142.46 points; later wraps up the women's double when she takes the 10m platform gold

Million-Dollar Quartet

Dec 4 An impromptu recording session by the "Million-Dollar Quartet" - Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash - takes place at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee

Singer-Songwriter and Pianist Jerry Lee Lewis

Dec 4 Australian swimmer Murray Rose sets world record 4:27.3 to claim the 400m gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics; Rose later also wins 1,500m gold
Dec 5 17-year-old British swimmer Judy Grinham and American Carin Cone both swim world record 1:12.9 in the women's 100m backstroke at the Melbourne Olympics; Grinham is awarded gold medal
Dec 5 Danish yachtsman Paul Elvstrøm wins the Finn class gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics; his 2nd straight Finn gold and 3rd consecutive Olympic gold in sailing

Larisa Latynina's Golds

Dec 5 Soviet artistic gymnast Larisa Latynina wins the women's vault and ties for gold in the floor exercise section at the Melbourne Olympics; later takes gold total to 4 with teams and individual all-round titles

Dec 6 Against the background of the Soviet invasion of Hungary the nations square off at the Melbourne Olympics in a famous water polo match; game called off with Hungary leading 4-0 and near riot halted by police; Hungary goes on to win gold medal
Dec 6 Australian swimmer David Theile sets world record 1:02.2 to win the 100m backstroke gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics
Dec 6 Australian women's 4 × 100m freestyle relay team of Dawn Fraser, Faith Leech, Sandra Morgan & Lorraine Crapp swim world record 4:17.1 and beat powerful US team to win the gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics
Dec 6 German WWII prisoner of war Helmut Bantz and Soviet gymnast Valentin Muratov tie for the vault gold medal with 18.85 points at the Melbourne Olympics

Happy Hunting

Dec 6 Harold Karr and Matt Dubey's musical "Happy Hunting", starring Ethel Merman and Fernando Lamas, opens at Majestic Theater, NYC; runs for 412 performances

Mandela Arrested

Dec 6 Nelson Mandela & 156 others arrested for political activities in South Africa

Anti-apartheid Activist and South African President Nelson Mandela

Dec 6 Randhir Singh Gentle scores the winner as India beats Pakistan, 1-0 in the Melbourne Olympics field hockey final to win it's 6th consecutive gold medal in the sport
Dec 6 Soviet gymnast Viktor Chukarin follows his parallel bars gold medal with the individual all-round title and teams gold at the Melbourne Olympics
Dec 7 American diver Pat McCormick wraps up the women's double when she wins the 10m platform gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics with 84.85 points; also won the 3m springboard gold
Dec 7 Australian swimmer Murray Rose claims his 3rd gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics when he wins the 1,500m in 17:58.9; also wins 400m & 4 x 200m relay
Dec 7 Helen O'Connell joins Today Show panel (NBC)
Dec 7 Soviet artistic gymnast Larisa Latynina takes her gold medal tally to 4 at the Melbourne Olympics; wins teams and individual all-round titles having earlier won vault and floor exercise sections
Dec 8 1st test firing of Vanguard satellite program, TV-0
Dec 8 Guy Mitchell's "Singing the Blues" single goes #1 for 10 weeks
Dec 8 XVI Summer Olympic Games close in Melbourne, Australia; start of an Olympic tradition - amidst international tensions, athletes mingle together, parade into and around MCG arena for final appearance to close the Games
Dec 10 Establishment of The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola, MPLA (from Portuguese: Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola), left-wing party that has ruled since independence from Portugal
Dec 11 Anti-Russian demonstrations in Stettin & Wroclaw, Poland
Dec 12 Commencement of the Irish Republican Army's Border Campaign.

Anastasia

Dec 13 "Anastasia" comeback film for Ingrid Bergman is released in the US, role wins Bergman Academy Award for Best Actress.

Dodgers Attempt Robinson Trade

Dec 13 Dodgers trade Jackie Robinson to Giants for pitcher Dick Littlefield & $35,000. Robinson will retire rather than be traded.

Dec 14 Paul-Henri Spaak appointed secretary-general of NATO
Dec 15 Emergency crisis in North Ireland proclaimed after IRA strikes
Dec 15 KGW TV channel 8 in Portland, OR (NBC) begins broadcasting
Dec 15 WRAL TV channel 5 in Raleigh-Durham, NC (CBS) begins broadcasting
Dec 16 Harold Rome, S. N. Behrman, and Joshua Logan's musical romance "Fanny", starring Ezio Pinza, Walter Slezak, and Florence Henderson, closes at Majestic Theater, NYC, after 888 performances
Dec 18 "To Tell the Truth" debuts on CBS-TV

Inaugural Ballon d'Or

Dec 18 Ballon d'Or: Blackpool & England winger Stanley Matthews wins inaugural award for best football player in Europe; beats Real Madrid pair Alfredo Di Stéfano & Raymond Kopa

Football Player and Coach Alfredo Di Stéfano

Dec 18 Israeli flag hoisted on Mount Sinai
Dec 18 Japan admitted to UN

Rizzuto for the Yankees

Dec 18 Phil Rizzuto signs as NY Yankees radio-TV announcer

Sportscaster and MLB Shortstop Phil Rizzuto

Dec 20 Military coup under colonel Simbolon in Sumatra
Dec 20 Montgomery, Alabama removes race-based seat assignments on its buses

Montgomery Bus Boycott Ends

Dec 21 Montgomery bus boycott ends: Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, E. D. Nixon, and Glenn Smiley ride in new integrated bus after Supreme Court rules segregated buses unconditional [1]

Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King Jr.

Dec 22 "New Faces of 1956" closes at Barrymore Theater NYC after 221 performances
Dec 22 Colo is born, the first gorilla to be bred in captivity at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Columbus, Ohio
Dec 22 Last British & French troops leave Egypt
Dec 24 "I Love Lucy" Christmas show airs, never put in syndication
Dec 24 Ferdinand de Lesseps statue blown up in Port Said Egypt

Howe's Christmas Hat Trick

Dec 25 Detroit's future Hockey Hall of Fame right wing Gordie Howe picks up a Xmas hat-trick & 3 assists in Red Wings' 8-1 win over NY Rangers; most points he scores in a single game in entire 26-year NHL career

Dec 27 45th Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in Adelaide (5-0)

Sharman's Streak Ends

Dec 27 Bill Sharman (Boston) ends NBA free throw streak of 55 games

Dec 28 Miss Frances [Horwich], last Ding Dong School on NBC-TV
Dec 30 National Football League Championship, Yankee Stadium, NYC: New York Giants beat Chicago Bears, 47-7; Giants' 4th NFL title

Events in 1956

Famous Birthdays

Dec 1 Julee Cruise, American singer (Falling) and stage actress, born in Creston, Iowa (d. 2022)
Dec 2 Steven Bauer, Cuban-American actor (Scarface, Thief of Hearts), born in Havana, Cuba
Dec 3 Hart Bochner, actor and director (Rich & Famous), born in Los Angeles, California
Dec 4 Bernard King, American Basketball Hall of Fame small forward (NBA All-Star 1982, 84-85, 91; NY Knicks, Washington Bullets), born in Brooklyn, New York
Dec 4 Blagoi Blagoyev, Bulgarian weightlifter (World C'ship gold - 90kg 1991, 92, 93; Olympic silver - 82.5kg 1976), born in Veliki Preslav, Bulgaria
Dec 4 Costantino Rocca, Italian golfer (British Open 1995 runner-up; hole in one 1995 Ryder Cup), born in Bergamo, Italy
Dec 5 Brian Backer, American Tony Award-winning stage and screen actor (Fast Times at Ridgemont High), born in Brooklyn, New York
Dec 5 Klaus Allofs, German soccer striker (56 caps West Germany; Fortuna Düsseldorf, 1. FC Köln, Marseille, Bordeaux, Werder Bremen) and manager (Fortuna Düsseldorf; GM Werder Bremen 1999-2012),), born in Düsseldorf, Germany
Dec 5 Krystian Zimerman, Polish pianist and conductor, born in Zabrze, Poland
Dec 6 Peter Buck, American rock guitarist (R.E.M. - Murmur), born in Berkeley, California
Dec 6 Randy Rhoads, American heavy metal guitarist (Quiet Riot), born in Santa Monica, California (d. 1982)

Larry Bird (67 years old)

Dec 7 American Basketball HOF forward, coach, executive (3 x NBA C'ship; NBA Finals MVP 1984, 86; 3 × NBA MVP; 12 x NBA All Star; Boston Celtics), born in West Baden, Indiana

Dec 8 Pierre Pincemaille, French organist, composer, and pedagogue, born in Paris (d. 2018)
Dec 8 Warren Cuccurullo, American rock guitarist (Frank Zappa, 1977-80; Missing Persons, 1980-86; Duran Duran, 1986-2001), born in Brooklyn, NYC
Dec 9 Sylvia Hutton (née Kirby), American country-pop singer-songwriter (Nobody), born in Kokoma, Indiana
Dec 10 Michael VerMeulen, American journalist and magazine editor (British GQ), born in Lake Forest, Illinois (d. 1995)
Dec 10 Rod Blagojevich, American politician (Governor of Illinois, 2003-09 - impeached and removed), and convicted felon (corruption and solicitation of bribes), born in Chicago, Illinois
Dec 11 Lani Brockman, American actress and theatre director, born in Seattle, Washington
Dec 12 Ana Alicia Ortiz, Mexican-American actress (Melissa-Falcon Crest), born in Mexico City
Dec 12 Johan van der Velde, Dutch cyclist (won Young Rider Classification of Tour de France 1980), born in Rijbergen, Netherlands
Dec 13 Dale Berra, American baseball infielder (Pittsburgh Pirates, NY Yankees), born in Ridgewood, New Jersey
Dec 13 Majida El Roumi, Lebanese singer, born in Kfarshima, Lebanon
Dec 13 Phil Hubbard, American basketball player (Olympic gold 1976), born in Canton, Ohio
Dec 14 Hanni Wenzel, German alpine ski racer (Olympic-2 gold-1980), born in Straubing, Bavaria, West Germany
Dec 16 Mike Gregory, English darts player (BDO World C'ship 1992 runner-up), born in Bath, England (d. 2022)
Dec 16 Tommy Burns, Scottish soccer midfielder (8 caps; Celtic, Kilmarnock) and manager (Scotland, Celtic, Kilmarnock, Reading), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 2008)
Dec 17 Amado Carrillo Fuentes, Mexican drug lord (Juárez Cartel), born in Guamuchilito, Mexico (d. 1997)
Dec 17 Peter Farrelly, American film director
Dec 18 Reinhold Ewald, German physicist and cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-25), born in Mönchengladbach, West Germany
Dec 18 Ron White, American comedian, born in Fritch, Texas
Dec 18 T. K. Carter, American actor (Punky Brewster - "Mike"; Just Our Luck - "Shabu"), born in Los Angeles, California
Dec 19 Alice Barrett, American actress (Frankie Frame-Another World), born in New York City
Dec 20 Anita Ward, American R&B and disco singer ("Ring My Bell"), born in Memphis, Tennessee [some sources cite year as 1957]
Dec 20 Blanche Baker, American actress, Carroll Baker's Daughter (French Postcard), born in New York City
Dec 20 Guy Babylon, American keyboard player (Elton John) and arranger, born in New Windsor, Maryland (d. 2009|)
Dec 20 Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, Mauritanian 8th President of Mauritania (2009-present), born in Akjoujt, French West Africa
Dec 21 Kevin Burnham, American sailor (Olympic gold 470 class 2004; silver 1992), born in New York City (d. 2020)
Dec 21 Lee Roy Parnell, American country singer ("Oughta Be A Law"), born in Abilene, Texas
Dec 21 Stuart Kimball, American session and touring rock guitarist (Bob Dylan, 2004-18; Face To Face 1979-88), born in New Hampshire
Dec 23 Dave Murray, English heavy metal guitarist and songwriter (Iron Maiden), born in London, England
Dec 23 Michele Alboretto, Italian auto racer (F1 World C'ship 1985 runner-up Ferrari; 24 Hours of Le Mans 1997; 12 Hours of Sebring 2001), born in Milan, Italy (d. 2001)
Dec 24 Stephanie Hodge, American actress and comedian (I Madman, Happily Ever After), born in Wilmington, Ohio
Dec 25 Mansoor Akhtar, Pakistani cricket batsman (19 Tests, 1 x 100, 3 x 50s; 41 ODIs; UBL, Sind, Karachi), born in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Dec 26 David Sedaris, American essayist, born in Binghamton, New York
Dec 26 Gail Tatterson, WBL center (NY Stars)
Dec 26 Karen Smith, WBL forward (NY Stars)
Dec 26 Kashif Saleem [Michael Jones], American R&B, disco, and soul keyboardist (B.T. Express, 1976-79 - "Can't Stop Groovin' Now, Wanna Do It Some More"), songwriter, and record producer, born in Harlem, New York (d. 2016)
Dec 27 Doina Melinte, Romanian running star (world record 1500 m/mile indoor)
Dec 27 Karl Denson, American funk and jazz saxophonist, flutist and vocalist (Lenny Kravitz; Tiny Universe), born in Santa Ana, California
Dec 28 Kenneth Gant, American funk bassist and vocalist (Midnight Star - "No Parking On The Dance Floor"; "Operator"), record producer, and real estate agent, born in the USA
Dec 28 Nigel Kennedy, British classical, jazz and klezmer violinist, born in Brighton, England
Dec 29 Fred MacAulay, Scottish comedian, born in Perth, Scotland
Dec 30 Chéri Samba (Mbimba N'zinga), Congolese contemporary artist, born in Kinto M’Vuila, Democratic Republic of Congo
Dec 30 Patricia Kalember, American actress (Sisters - "Georgie Whitsig"; Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), born in Schnectady, New York
Dec 30 Sheryl Lee Ralph, American actress on stage (Dreamgirls) in film (To Sleep with Anger); and television (Abbott Elementary), born in Waterbury, Connecticut
Dec 30 Suzy Bogguss, American country singer ("Drive South"; "I Want To Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart"), born in Aledo, Illinois
Dec 31 Martin Joseph Fettman, American researcher & astronaut (STS 58), born in Brooklyn, New York
Dec 31 Steve Rude, American comics artist, born in Madison, Wisconsin

Born in 1956

Famous Deaths

Dec 4 Alexander Rodchenko, Russian painter and photographer, dies at 64
Dec 6 Albert Aftalion, Bulgarian-French economist, dies at 82

B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956)

Dec 6 Indian politician, jurist (architect of the Constitution of India) and social reformer who inspired the Dalit Buddhist Movement, dies after suffering from diabetes at 65

Dec 7 Huntley Gordon, Canadian actor, dies at 77
Dec 8 Edgar Bainton, British-Australian composer, dies at 76
Dec 9 Hans Barth, German-born American composer, dies at 59
Dec 12 Lorenzo Perosi, composer, dies at 83
Dec 14 Juho Kusti Paasikivi, Finnish politician (7th President of Finland 1946-56), dies at 86
Dec 16 Nina Hamnett, Welsh artist and writer, dies at 66
Dec 17 Eddie Acuff, actor (Guns of Pecos), dies at 48
Dec 20 Ramon Carrillo, Argentine neuroscientist and Public Health minister (b. 1906)
Dec 21 Lewis M Terman, psychologist (Genetic studies of genius), dies at 79
Dec 25 Robert Walser, Swiss writer, dies at 78
Dec 26 Holmes Herbert, British actor (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Kiss), dies at 74
Dec 27 Lambert McKenna, Irish editor and lexicographer, dies at 86
Dec 28 Roelof Kranenburg, Dutch social democratic chairman (1st Chamber), dies at 76
Dec 29 Martin Albertz, German theologist (Jesus Christ's Church) and resistance fighter against the Nazi regime, dies at 73
Dec 30 Ruth Draper, American actress and dramatist (The Italian Lesson), dies at 72

On This Day