Born in 1956
People born in 1956 turn 70 in 2026. A dollar in 1956 buys what $12.40 buys in September 2026, and about 2.80 billion people were alive. Every figure below links to the source it came from.
Your birthday in 1956
1956
What things cost in 1956
| U.S. average | 1956 | in today’s dollars | latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| One dollar | $1.00 | $12.40 | CPI-U |
1956 figures are annual averages of the published monthly (or quarterly) values. “Today’s dollars” uses the Consumer Price Index for September 2026; “latest” is the most recent published price. Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, via FRED. Average retail prices are only published from 1976 on; 1956 has the CPI alone.
Who was in charge in 1956
- United States
- Dwight D. Eisenhower (President)
- United Kingdom
- Elizabeth II (Queen); Anthony Eden (Prime minister)
- Soviet Union
- Nikita Khrushchev (General Secretary); Kliment Voroshilov (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet); Nikolai Bulganin (Chairman of the Council of Ministers)
- People's Republic of China
- Mao Zedong (Chairman; Paramount Leader); Mao Zedong (Chairman); Zhou Enlai (Premier)
- French Fourth Republic
- René Coty (President); Edgar Faure, then Guy Mollet (Prime minister)
- East Germany
- Wilhelm Pieck (President); Otto Grotewohl (Chairman)
- West Germany
- Theodor Heuss (President); Konrad Adenauer (Chancellor)
- Japan
- Hirohito (Emperor); Tanzan Ishibashi (Prime minister)
- Republic of India
- Rajendra Prasad (President); Jawaharlal Nehru (Prime minister)
From Wikipedia’s List of state leaders in the 20th century (1951–2000) (revision 1371751893), each name checked against Wikidata. Every country in 1956 →
Famous people born in 1956
- July 13 – Koffi Olomide, Congolese soukous singer, dancer, producer and composer source
- October 1 – Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom source
- August 14 – Rusty Wallace, American NASCAR race car driver source
- September 12 – Sam Brownback, U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011 source
- July 9 – Tom Hanks, actor and director source
- November 13 – Charlie Baker, American politician, 72nd Governor of Massachusetts source
- April 6 – Michele Bachmann, politician source
- January 3 – Mel Gibson, actor and filmmaker source
- August 31 – Tsai Ing-wen, President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) source
- January 3 – Mel Gibson, American actor and director source
- 29 December – Fred MacAulay, comedian source
- December 7 – Larry Bird, American basketball player source
- September 29 – Sebastian Coe, Baron Coe, British athlete; co-ordinator of the London 2012 Olympic Games source
- December 10 – Rod Blagojevich, politician Governor of Illinois source
- March 24 – Steve Ballmer, American businessman, CEO of Microsoft (2000–2014), owner of the Los Angeles Clippers source
What happened in 1956
- January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. source
- January 25–26 – Finnish troops reoccupy Porkkala, after Soviet troops vacate its military base. Civilians can return February 4. source
- 25 February – Jacob Levitzki (born 1904), Russian (Ukraine)-born Israeli mathematician. source
- January 22 – The Argentine Grand Prix is held in Buenos Aires and is won by Luigi Musso and Juan Manuel Fangio. source
- April 19 – British diver Lionel (Buster) Crabb (working for MI6) dives into Portsmouth Harbour, to investigate a visiting Soviet cruiser, and vanishes. source
- 14 February – 1956 Santiago rail crash source
- January 26 – The 1956 Winter Olympics open in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. source
- February 28: the three employers’ organization, Confindustria, Confcommercio and Confagricoltura constitute a coordination committee, Confintesa. source