1956

1956 in

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the DWU • vital statistics

1956 was a year.

Events

Dated

On 1 June, Elvis Presley performed on The Ed Sullivan Show in New York City, causing numerous complaints after he sang "Hound Dog". The Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler attempted to visit the studio for the performance, but instead landed in London on the same date in 1953. (TV: The Idiot's Lantern ^[+]Loading...["The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)"])

On 23 June, Eleanor Grainger gave her husband Edward Grainger a party for his 50th birthday. The party took place the day before his 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 ^[+]Loading...["Dear John (short story)"])

On 21 December, the racial segregation of buses ended in Montgomery, Alabama, as a direct result of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which began on 5 December of the previous year. (TV: Rosa ^[+]Loading...["Rosa (TV story)"])

Undated

France granted the North African colony of Kebiria its independence, but civil war quickly erupted in that country. (PROSE: Dancing the Code ^[+]Loading...["Dancing the Code (novel)"])

The Soviet Union invaded Hungary. (AUDIO: 1963: The Assassination Games ^[+]Loading...["1963: The Assassination Games (audio story)"])

Elvis Presley performed on The Ed Sullivan Show, which was recorded in New York City. The Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler attempted to travel to this date to view this event, but ended up being detoured to London on 1 June 1953. (TV: The Idiot's Lantern ^[+]Loading...["The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)"])

Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright met Janet McKay on the Isle of Hoy, Orkney, Scotland. Along with the First Doctor, they fought the Bog wraiths. (AUDIO: The Revenants ^[+]Loading...["The Revenants (audio story)"])

Allison Williams began attending the University of Cambridge. (AUDIO: The Forgotten Village ^[+]Loading...["The Forgotten Village (audio story)"])

Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart and Leslie Johnston graduated from the Sandhurst Military School. (PROSE: The Enfolded Time ^[+]Loading...["The Enfolded Time (short story)"])

Ben Jackson, at the age of fourteen, snuck aboard a cargo ship headed for Singapore. When he was found out, the captain offered him a proper job on his fifteenth birthday, which was four months away. (PROSE: Invasion of the Cat-People ^[+]Loading...["Invasion of the Cat-People (novel)"])

Alternate timeline

In an alternate 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 ^[+]Loading...["The Sirens of Time (audio story)"])

Births and deaths

Dated

On 1 February, Sarah Jane Smith was born to Nigel Collins Smith and Alice Trent Smith. (PROSE: The Roving Reporter ^[+]Loading...["The Roving Reporter (short story)"]) Other accounts dated her birth to 1951, to parents named Eddie and Barbara. (TV: The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith ^[+]Loading...["The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith (TV story)"])

In the autumn, Maxwell Edison was born. (COMIC: The Stockbridge Showdown ^[+]Loading...["The Stockbridge Showdown (comic story)"])

On 23 December, Gerry Billing was born. (PROSE: Imaginary Friends ^[+]Loading...["Imaginary Friends (novel)"])

Undated

Carolyn McConnell was born. (PROSE: Vampire Science ^[+]Loading...["Vampire Science (novel)"])

Jim Waters was born. (GAME: The Iytean Menace ^[+]Loading...["The Iytean Menace (game)"])

Edmund Trevithick's wife Margaret died. (PROSE: Nightshade ^[+]Loading...["Nightshade (novel)"])