Friday, 12th October 1956 in London

On Friday, 12th October 1956, London experienced cloudy skies as the city went about its business under a waning gibbous moon. The British capital, situated on the River Thames in south-east England, has long served as a major political, economic and cultural centre. The date fell under the zodiac sign of Libra, a period traditionally associated with balance and diplomacy.

Historical records reveal that 12th October has witnessed several significant events across European history. In 1960, Japanese Socialist Party leader Inejirō Asanuma was assassinated during a live television broadcast by a far-right ultra-nationalist armed with a short sword, an event that shocked the nation and demonstrated the intensity of political divisions during that period. That same year, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev reportedly pounded his shoe on a desk at the United Nations General Assembly in protest at a speech by Philippine delegate Lorenzo Sumulong, an incident that underscored Cold War tensions on the international stage.

The day also holds significance for other notable occurrences beyond Europe. In 1492, Christopher Columbus made landfall on an island in the Caribbean, an event that would fundamentally alter the course of global history and trigger the European colonisation of the Americas. Earlier, in 1799, Jeanne Geneviève Garnerin became the first woman to successfully complete a parachute descent, dropping 900 metres from a hot air balloon gondola and establishing an important milestone in aviation history.

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