WThe Agricultural Act of 1956 created the Soil Bank Program, addressed the disposal of Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) inventories of surplus stocks, contained commodity support program provisions, and contained forestry provisions. The Soil Bank Act authorized short- and long-term removal of land from production with annual rental payments to participants. The Acreage Reserve Program, for wheat, corn, rice, cotton, peanuts, and several types of tobacco, allowed producers to retire land on an annual basis in crop years 1956 through 1959 in return for payments. The Conservation Reserve Program allowed producers to retire cropland under contracts of 3, 5, or 10 years in return for annual payments. The Soil Bank Act was repealed by Section 601 of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1965. The Conservation Reserve portion of the Soil Bank was a model for the subsequent Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), enacted in 1985.
WThe 1956 B-47 disappearance occurred on 10 March 1956 over the Mediterranean Sea.
WIn 1956, the United States FBI, under Director J. Edgar Hoover, continued for a seventh year to maintain a public list of the people it regarded as the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
WThe Grand Canyon mid-air collision occurred on June 30, 1956, when a United Airlines Douglas DC-7 struck a Trans World Airlines Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation over the Grand Canyon National Park. All 128 on board both flights perished, making it the first commercial airline crash to result in more than 100 deaths.
WThe Library Services Act (LSA) was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1956. Its purpose was to promote the development of public libraries in rural areas through federal funding. It was passed by the 84th U.S. Congressional session as the H.R. 2840 bill, which the 34th President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law on June 19, 1956.
WMiss USA 1956, the fifth edition of Miss USA was held on July 18, 1956, at Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California. From the 43 contestants Miss Iowa USA, Carol Morris, won the competition and later became Miss Universe. She became the first contestant from Iowa to win the Miss USA competition. She was crowned by Miss USA 1955, Carlene King Johnson of Vermont.
WThe following are the Pulitzer Prizes for 1956.
WThe 14th World Science Fiction Convention, also known as NyCon II or NEWYORCON, was held August 31–September 3, 1956, at the Biltmore Hotel in New York, New York, United States.