WHAT ALL HAPPENED APRIL TO OCTOBER 1956
Find out what all happened April to October 1956

Following the World Bank's refusal to fund building the Aswan Dam, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal, sparking international condemnation. (26. July 1956)

Former Vice President and Senator Alben Barkley dies during a speech in Virginia. He collapses after proclaiming "I would rather be a servant in the house of the lord than sit in the seats of the mighty." (30. April 1956)

The Soviet Union and Japan sign a Joint Declaration, officially ending the state of war between the two countries that had existed since August 1945. (19. October 1956)

SS Ideal X, the world's first successful container ship, leaves Port Newark, New Jersey for Houston, Texas. (26. April 1956)

Actress Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco. (19. April 1956)

The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public. (1. May 1956)

A TWA Super Constellation and a United Airlines DC-7 collide above the Grand Canyon in Arizona and crash, killing all 128 on board both planes. It is the worst-ever aviation disaster at that point in time. (30. June 1956)

A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey, killing 74 people. (20. June 1956)

In Chicago, Illinois, videotape is first demonstrated. (14. April 1956)

Fortran, the first modern computer language, is shared with the coding community for the first time. (15. October 1956)

The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield,in Cumbria, England. (17. October 1956)

Fritz Moravec and two other Austrian mountaineers make the first ascent of Gasherbrum II (8,035 m). (7. July 1956)

USAF Captain Milburn G. Apt becomes the first man to exceed Mach 3 while flying the Bell X-2. Shortly thereafter, the craft goes out of control and Captain Apt is killed. (27. September 1956)

First ascent of Lhotse 8,516 meters, by a Swiss team. (18. May 1956)

The French National Assembly takes the first step in creating the French Community by passing the Loi Cadre, transferring a number of powers from Paris to elected territorial governments in French West Africa. (23. June 1956)

In Operation Redwing (shot Cherokee), the first United States airborne hydrogen bomb is dropped over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. (20. May 1956)

A doctor in Japan reports an "epidemic of an unknown disease of the central nervous system", marking the official discovery of Minamata disease. (1. May 1956)

Thousands of Hungarians protest against the government and Soviet occupation. (The Hungarian Revolution is crushed on November 4). (23. October 1956)

Hudsonville-Standale Tornado: The western half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan is struck by a deadly F5 tornado. (3. April 1956)

Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal. (31. October 1956)