1956

Events

 * 30 January - Elvis Presley recorded "Blue Suede Shoes", a version of which was later heard on the planet Necros. (TV: Revelation of the Daleks)
 * 25 June - Edward Grainger celebrated his 50th birthday. The Eighth Doctor and his companions Samson and Gemma Griffin arrived at his house to get rid of a ghost which had been haunting the family. (PROSE: Dear John)

Unknown dates

 * France granted the North African colony of Kebiria its independence, but civil war quickly erupted in that country. (PROSE: Dancing the Code)
 * Elvis Presley perfomed on The Ed Sullivan Show. The Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler attempted to travel to this date to view this event, but ended up being detoured to 1953 London. (TV: The Idiot's Lantern)

Alternative timeline

 * In an alternative timeline accidentally created by the Fifth Doctor, the RMS Lusitania did not sink on 7 May 1915 and a petty criminal named Eric Charles Vincent (who died in the sinking of the Lusitania in the proper timeline) killed Alexander Fleming in a botched robbery attempt in December 1927 before the biologist discovered penicillin. Without the protection offered by penicillin, Earth fell prey to new strains of meningitis and pneumonia in 1956 and the survivors never developed a space programme. Consequently, the Knights of Velyshaa were not defeated by the Earth Alliance in 3562 as they otherwise would have been. (AUDIO: The Sirens of Time)
 * 9 January - Actor Imelda Staunton was born.
 * 30 January - Actor Jeremy Gittins was born.
 * 7 February - Actor Bhasker Patel was born.
 * 9 March - Actor Mark Straker was born.
 * 10 March - Actor Lesley Dunlop was born.
 * 13 March - Actor Dione Inman was born.
 * 18 April - Actor Eric Roberts was born.
 * 26 April - Actor Ron Donachie was born.
 * 27 April - Actor Kevin McNally was born.
 * 12 May - Actor Christopher Good was born.
 * 18 June - Actor Dominic Guard was born.
 * 1 July - Writer Matthew Jacobs was born.
 * 18 August - Composer John Debney was born.
 * 18 September - Actor Tim McInnerny was born.
 * 24 September - The Adventures of Sir Lancelot debuted in the United States. One of the first UK-produced series to air in the US, the series brought stardom to its lead actor, William Russell.
 * 8 October - Actor James Coombes was born.
 * 8 November - Writer Richard Curtis was born.
 * 16 November - Director Karl Zwicky was born.
 * 16 November - Controller of BBC One Lorraine Heggessey was born.
 * 29 December - Actor Bernard Padden was born.