Born in 1956
Turns 70 in 2026 · 70th birthday gifts
70th birthday gifts for someone born in 1956
1956 Front PageTheir name. The news from their year.Unframed from £21.50Add their name
Their birth chartThe sky as astrology reads it, cast for one birth.Unframed from £21.50
The Years We Were BornThe whole family, together in years.Unframed from £21.50
Our Story timelineTheir life, told in your words.Unframed from £21.50
Front Page: United Kingdom edition. The year is filled in; add their name in the editor. “Your name” is a placeholder. Light news is selected. A new keepsake, not an original newspaper.
BACK TO 1956 · United Kingdom
A little history to go with their gift.
Researchers gathered at Dartmouth to give artificial intelligence its name and set an academic research agenda. TAT-1 began carrying telephone calls beneath the Atlantic, and Melbourne hosted the first Summer Olympics held in the Southern Hemisphere despite political boycotts.
What happened in 1956?
Dartmouth gives artificial intelligence its name
The Dartmouth summer workshop of 1956 coined artificial intelligence as a field label and asked whether machines could simulate human learning.
TAT-1 carries the first transatlantic telephone calls
TAT-1 entered service in September 1956, carrying telephone calls beneath the Atlantic between Scotland and Newfoundland for the first time.
Melbourne stages the first Southern Hemisphere Olympics
The Melbourne Olympics opened on 22 November 1956 as the first Summer Games held in the Southern Hemisphere, despite political boycotts.
Britain passes its first Clean Air Act
Britain's Clean Air Act 1956 gave local authorities powers to control smoke and support cleaner domestic and industrial fuel use.
Firsts and new ideas
TAT-1 opens a transatlantic telephone link
TAT-1 entered public service on September 25, 1956, carrying phone calls beneath the Atlantic.
BT Archives · History of the Atlantic Cable & Submarine Telegraphy, Bill Burns
IBM puts a hard disk inside business computing
IBM introduced the 305 RAMAC in 1956 with the first commercial hard-disk system, giving businesses random access to stored records.
Number ones and music in 1956
Chart positions belong to the country and chart named in each record.
Que Sera, Sera becomes a song of hope
Doris Day sang Whatever Will Be Will Be in Alfred Hitchcock's 1956 film, and the song became a six-week UK number one.
Heartbreak Hotel makes Elvis a national star
Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel entered the UK Official Singles Chart in May 1956 and became a twenty-two-week hit built around loneliness and menace.
Prices and everyday money in 1956
United Kingdom figures in the money of the time. Units and sources matter: these are not today's prices.
| Item or measure | Then | Unit and source |
|---|---|---|
| Average weekly earnings per person in the United Kingdom (Bank of England series) | £8 per week | GBP per week Bank of England (series republished by Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED) |
| sugar (October average) | 8d | equivalent 1 lb (calculated from ONS per kg) Office for National Statistics |
| flour (October average) | 1s 1d | equivalent 2 lb (calculated from ONS per 1.5 kg) Office for National Statistics |
| bread (October observation) | 6d | equivalent 1 lb (calculated from ONS 800 g source measure; not historical loaf size) Office for National Statistics |
Planning the birthday
Someone born in 1956 turns 70 in 2026. Before their birthday they are one year younger. Choose the birth year for the print; add the full date in the editor if you know it.
See milestone birthdays this year