On this day

November 2, 1956

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from November 2, 1956

AIRFIELDS RAKED; Pace of the Fighting Increases as British and French Move on Egypt

By Thomas P. Ronan Special To the New York Times

Brit-French naval forces close in on Canal from N and S; planes from Cyprus, Malta and aircraft carriers pound Egyptian airfields all day; over 50 Egyptian planes on ground believed destroyed; Keightley comments; GB assures Jordan and Libya it will not use bases there against Egypt; continues to marshal mil forces; maps; GB repts Egypt blocked Suez Canal sinking specially prepared blockship in Lake Timsah

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Drive Penetrates Gaza; EGYPTIANS' ROUT IN SINAI REPORTED 150 Tanks Captured Raids From Gaza Reported

By Homer Bigart Special To the New York Times

Israel repts forces enter El Arish, main Egyptian depot in Peninsula, and penetrate Gaza outskirts; Lt Col Pearlman comments; Egyptian resistance reptd slackening as Israeli aircraft dominate sky, strafe fleeing Egyptians; fall of Rafah traps 8,000 Egyptians; Egyptian armored brigade crushed between Bir Gifgafa and Bir Rod Salim; Israeli troops destroy or capture 150 tanks including many Russian T-34s; 250,000 Arabs, mostly Palestinian refugees, reptd trapped in Gaza strip; air raid alert, Tel Aviv; Israeli troops illus

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Notable Births

Dale Brown

1956Dale Brown, American author and pilot[†]

Dale Brown is an American writer and aviator known for aviation techno-thriller novels. At least thirteen of his novels have been New York Times Best Sellers.

Historical Events

Hungarian Revolution of 1956

1956Hungarian Revolution: Nikita Khrushchev meets with leaders of other Communist countries to seek their advice on the situation in Hungary, selecting János Kádár as the country's next leader on the advice of Josip Broz Tito.[†]

The Hungarian Revolution of 1956, also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by the government's subordination to the Soviet Union (USSR). The uprising lasted 15 days before being crushed by Soviet tanks and troops on 7 November 1956. Thousands were killed or wounded, and nearly a quarter of a million Hungarians fled the country.

Suez Crisis

1956Suez Crisis: Israel occupies the Gaza Strip.[†]

The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so with the primary objective of re-opening the Straits of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba as the recent tightening of the eight-year-long Egyptian blockade further prevented Israeli passage. After issuing a joint ultimatum for a ceasefire, the United Kingdom and France joined the Israelis on 5 November, seeking to depose Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and regain control of the Suez Canal, which Nasser had earlier nationalised by transferring administrative control from the foreign-owned Suez Canal Company to Egypt's new government-owned Suez Canal Authority. Shortly after the invasion began, the three countries came under heavy political pressure from both the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as from the United Nations, eventually prompting their withdrawal from Egypt. The Crisis demonstrated that the United Kingdom and France could no longer pursue their independent foreign policy without consent from the United States. Israel's four-month-long occupation of the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula enabled it to attain freedom of navigation through the Straits of Tiran, but the Suez Canal was closed from October 1956 to March 1957.

Historical Context for November 2, 1956

In 1956, the world population was approximately 2,795,409,994 people[†]