No more holding back. Life is too short to hold my temper and my tongue. Life is too short not to love honestly, and enjoy to the fullest. Life is short, but, it can be full. Good part…here I come!
Some of the things that happened on my Birth year had long term reprecussions...changing the United States and the World forever...
MAJOR EVENTS in1956:
· Dwight Eisenhower re-elected President, defeating Adlai Stevenson handily for a second time
· Soviet leader Khrushchev publicly denounces Stalin, begins official policy of "de-Stalinization" in the USSR
· Egypt seizes Suez Canal; Britain and France respond with force; U.S. and Soviet Union help negotiate a cease-fire
· Israel invades Sinai Peninsula
· Soviet troops suppress a popular uprising against the communist regime in Hungary
· Congress approves Highway Act, which allows for construction of the U.S. interstate highway system
· Fidel Castro begins revolution in Cuba
· Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria sinks after colliding with another vessel
BUSINESS & ECONOMY:
· Atomic Energy Commission approves development of commercial nuclear power plants
· IBM founder Thomas J. Watson dies
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY:
· First transatlantic telephone cable goes into operation
· Dr. Albert Sabin develops oral polio vaccine
SPORTS:
· World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn, 4-3
· Olympic Games held in Melbourne, Australia
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT:
· Movies: The Ten Commandments, Lust for Life, Around the World in 80 Days, The Man with the Golden Arm, The Seventh Seal
· Songs: Don't Be Cruel, Blue Suede Shoes, Hound Dog, I Could Have Danced All Night, On the Street Where You Live
· TV Shows: Danny Thomas Show, Perry Como Show, Ed Sullivan Show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, December Bride, This is Your Life
· Books: Peyton Place, Grace Metalious; Profiles in Courage, The Last Hurrah, Edwin O'Connor; The Organization Man, W.H. Whyte
· My Fair Lady opens in New York
· Grace Kelly marries Monaco's Prince Rainier III
· Artist Jackson Pollock dies
EVERYDAY LIFE:
· Interstate highway system authorized, helping to fuel a long-term trend toward the populating of suburban communities, often at the expense of established urban neighborhoods
What Things Cost in 1956:
Car: $2,100
Gasoline: 30 cents/gal
House: $17,800
Bread: 18 cents/loaf
Milk: 97 cents/gal
Postage Stamp: 3 cents
Stock Market: 499
Average Annual Salary: $5,300
Minimum Wage: $1.00 per hour
Pulitzer Prize Winners
Fiction: Andersonville, MacKinlay Kantor
Music: Symphony No. 3, Ernst Toch
Drama: The Diary of Anne Frank, Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett
With many hit singles (including "Heartbreak Hotel"), Elvis Presley emerges as one of the world's first rock stars. The gyrating rocker enjoys fame on the stages of the Milton Berle, Steve Allen and Ed Sullivan shows, as well as in the first of his many movies, Love Me Tender.
Kay Thompson's Eloise, the Plaza Hotel's most famous guest, is a bestseller.
The Wizard of Oz has its first airing on TV.
Movies
The Seventh Seal, Giant, The Searchers, Around the World in 80 Days, The King and I, Friendly Persuasion
Music
Great Books
The neutrino is first observed at Los Alamos, New Mexico.
These tidbits of information were gathered from:
