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Year by Year History 1950 1955 1951 1956 1952 1957 1953 1958 1954 1959 Additional History Features Families of the Fifties Famous People Inventions *New*- Sports 1960's Pop History

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	The AARP Class of 2006 (Celebrity Birthdays)	PRICES for 1956

Note: Music History and Song Lists for 1956 are located HERE
Site Bibliography is HERE

	Pepsodent inaugurates "You'll wonder where the yellow went" ad campaign.
	The U.S. Department of Agriculture formulates the four basic food groups. (I'm sure there would have been five - but Chicken McNuggets hadn't been invented yet.)
	Federal minimum wage rises to $1
	At a Fourth of July family barbecue, Milton Levine dreams up the idea for the first Ant Farm, complete with live ants.
	Yahtzee is born!
	Nate Sherman of Chicago establishes Midas and introduces the muffler guarantee - Hugh Landrum signs agreement to open first Midas Muffler shop in Macon, Georgia.
	The Andrea Doria sinks.
	200,000 Soviet troops and tanks crush anti-Communist uprisings in Hungary.
	Budweiser Brewery introduces Busch beer
	As the World Turns and Edge of Night premiere.
	On the Air! You'd find 2,790 AM radio, 540 FM radio and 442 TV Stations.
	Los Alamos Laboratory discovers the neutrino, an atomic particle with no electric charge.
	Actress Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco in a highly publicized Monte Carlo wedding on April 19. A pic of the Princess in her gown.
	At a reception in the Kremlin, Soviet premier Nikita Khruschev tells ambassadors from the West, "History is on our side. We will bury you!" A pic of their Nikita.
	A busy year for Nikita - The Soviet Union sends troops and tanks to occupy Hungary to put down anti-Soviet protests. Why? Hungary is the best place from which to launch mid-range ballistic missiles and Soviets can't afford to let the natives think independence.
	Choosy mothers can now choose - Jif Peanut Butter! Some fun facts!
	Dash laundry detergent - gets clothes cleaner than any other product especially made for automatic washers!
	President Eisenhower (R) is re-elected defeating Adlai E Stevenson (D).
	And the winner is...Oscar stuff.
	Britain abolishes death penality.
	Certs, the first candy breath mint, is introduced.
	Anti-protons detected in the atmosphere.
	In Sports...
	Admiral George Dufek, as part of Operation Deep Freeze, is the first American to land an airplane at South Pole.
	My Fair Lady opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre in New York and enjoyed a run of 2,717 performances over nine years. The original production featured Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins and Julie Andrews as Eliza. Buy on Movie DVD
	Wizard of Oz first aired on TV. Buy on Movie DVD
	Elvis Presley makes his television debut on CBS Dorsey Brothers' Stage Show. The Fifties Web Elvis Pages
	The Dow Jones Industrial Average marks a new high - 500.24 points.

	The after-tax income of the average American is $1700, up $63 from 1955. The average weekly take-home for a worker with three dependents is $74.04.
	Albert Woolson, the last Union soldier of the Civil War dies at age 109. The last Confederate soldier, Walter Williams will die in 1959.
	And while we're on passings...Samuel J. Seymour , the last eyewitness to the death of Abraham Lincoln dies.
	Marilyn Monroe marries Arthur Miller.
	Finally, a law is passed allowing the FBI to enter a kidnapping case 24 hours after the abduction. Before, it was local matter.
	A dollar buys only as much food in 1956 as 41¢ bought in 1939.
	A big year as momentum builds in the quest for Civil Rights.
	The first transatlantic telephone cable goes into operation (Newfoundland-Scotland)
	Americans exported 700 million cases of canned goods. And no doubt called it "cuisine."
	The gross national product is $408 billion.
	650,000 US steel workers go on strike.
	The La Leche League is founded in Illinois to encourage mothers to breast-feed their infants.
	Israel captures Egyptian militay post at El-Thamad, Gaza, Sheham and the Straits of Tiran & reach Suez Canal in Egypt
	Last Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey Circus under a canvas tent. Read the sad story.
	By now, more than 80 percent of U.S. households have refrigerators. By contrast, only 8 percent of British households do.
	Clairol introduces the "Does She or Doesn't She" advertising campaign. "Only her hairdresser knows for sure." Wanna see the ads?
	Bob Cousy (basketball), Bobby Lane (football) and Duke Snider (baseball) get their own Wheaties boxes! for more sports or 1956 in sports
	Allen Ginsberg publishes Howl, which he had read the previous year at Berkeley. It will become a classic of the beat generation in American poetry and literature. "I've seen the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness."
	There is a 48% business failure rate.Chart for 1946-1964
	The first commercial videotape recorder is introduced. The device is intended for industrial applications, and it quickly revolutionizes the way television programming is produced. Engineers race to produce a practical VCR for consumers.
	The book, Peyton Place is published. A personal recollection. Also, BUY THE BOOK or BUY MOVIE ON DVD
	American will import 107,675 passenger cars.
	There are 39,628 motor vehicle related deaths. While in the air, there were 6 accidents resulting in 152 fatalities.
	Unemployment is 4.2%
	U.S. GNP (Gross National Product) is $434.0 billion

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