List of Famous people who died in 1956

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, also known as Babasaheb Ambedkar, was an Indian jurist, economist, politician and social reformer, who inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement and campaigned against social discrimination towards the untouchables (Dalits), while also supporting the rights of women and labour. He was independent India's first Minister of Law and Justice, and considered as the chief architect of the Constitution of India, and a founding father of the Republic of India.

Alan Alexander Milne was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work. Milne served in both World Wars, joining the British Army in World War I, and as a captain of the British Home Guard in World War II.

Mary Ellen Wilson or sometimes Mary Ellen McCormack was an American whose case of child abuse led to the creation of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. At the age of eight, she was severely abused by her foster parents, Francis and Mary Connolly. Because she was assisted by Henry Bergh, then the head of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, some sources incorrectly state that statutes against cruelty to animals had to be used to remove her from the home. Hers was the first documented case of child abuse in the United States.

Frederick Charles Albert "Old Wag" Waghorne Sr. was an ice hockey referee and organizer in Canada. He also made significant contributions to lacrosse in that country. He is a member of both the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in the "Builder" category.

Irène Joliot-Curie was a French chemist, physicist, and a politician of partly Polish ancestry, the eldest daughter of Marie Curie and Pierre Curie, and the wife of Frédéric Joliot-Curie. Jointly with her husband, Joliot-Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935 for their discovery of artificial radioactivity. This made the Curies the family with the most Nobel laureates to date. She was also one of the first three women to be a member of a French government, becoming undersecretary for Scientific Research under the Popular Front in 1936. Both children of the Joliot-Curies, Hélène and Pierre, are also prominent scientists.

Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó, known professionally as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian-American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 film and for his roles in other horror films.

Lauritz Sand was a Norwegian topographer, military officer in the Dutch army, estate owner in the Dutch East Indies, business man and resistance pioneer of World War II. He was called the hardest tortured person in Norway during the war, and came to be an important symbol of the resistance against the Nazi regime.

Charles John Joughin was an English-American chef, known as being the chief baker aboard the RMS Titanic. He survived the ship's sinking, and became notable for having survived in the frigid water for an exceptionally long time before being pulled onto the overturned Collapsible B lifeboat with virtually no ill effects.

Konstantin Päts was the most influential politician of interwar Estonia, and served five times as the country's head of government. He was one of the first Estonians to become active in politics and started an almost 40-year political rivalry with Jaan Tõnisson, first through journalism with his newspaper Teataja, later through politics. He was condemned to death during the 1905 Revolution, but managed to flee first to Switzerland, then to Finland, where he continued his literary work. He returned to Estonia, but had to spend time in prison in 1910–1911.

Henry Louis Mencken was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, and contemporary movements. His satirical reporting on the Scopes Trial, which he dubbed the "Monkey Trial," also gained him attention.