1956 in Singapore

Communist front inspired riots, Singapore, October 1956

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.

← 1955 1954 1953 1956 in Singapore → 1957 1958 1959
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
See also:	Other events of 1956 Timeline of Singaporean history

The following lists events that happened during 1956 in Colony of Singapore .

Incumbents

• Governor: Sir Robert Brown Black
• Chief Minister:
  • David Marshall (until June 7)
  • Lim Yew Hock (from June 8)
• Chief Secretary: Sir William Goode

Events

March

• 15 March — Nanyang University is officiated with a flag-raising ceremony, with classes beginning on 30 March. ^[1]

April

• 23 April — The first Merdeka talks were held, which failed on 23 May after failing to compromise on internal security arrangements. As a result, David Marshall resigned. ^[2]

June

• 8 June — Lim Yew Hock became the second Chief Minister of Singapore. ^[3]

August

• 17 August — The Nicoll Highway and Merdeka Bridge are officially opened. ^{[4] [5]}

October

• 10 October — Protests by students occurred after several organisations were dissolved over communist links. The protests continued over two weeks, culminating into riots that occurred on 25 October. ^[6]

Births

• 12 January — Matthias Yao, former MP for Marine Parade GRC (MacPherson)
• 15 April — Ho Geok Choo, former MP for West Coast GRC (Boon Lay)
• 23 July — Iskandar Ismail, musician and winner of 2008 Cultural Medallion in Music (d. 2014). ^[7]
• 5 September — Low Thia Khiang, 8th Secretary-General of the Workers' Party and 8th Leader of the Opposition
• 12 September — Walter Woon, 5th Attorney-General of Singapore ^[8]
• 1 October — Chan Soo Sen, Former MP for Joo Chiat SMC

Deaths

• 21 July — Lim Chong Pang, prominent businessman and long-time member of the Singapore Rural Board (b. 1904). ^[9]
• 25 July — Ronald John Farrer, Former President of the Singapore Municipal Commission (b. 1872). ^[10]
• 13 September — Chia Hock Chwee, fisherman and father-in-law of Lim Chong Pang (b. 1895). ^[11]
• 24 October — Henry Nicholas Ridley, 1st Director of Singapore Botanic Gardens (b. 1855). ^[12]
• 29 November — Father Stephen Lee, Parish Priest of Church of St. Teresa (b. 1896). ^{[13] [14]}

See also

• List of years in Singapore

References

1. "Nanyang University". NLB. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
2. "Merdeka talks - First all-party mission to London is held". NLB. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
3. "Lim Yew Hock is appointed the second Chief Minister". NLB. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
4. "Nicoll Highway". NLB. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
5. "Merdeka Bridge". NLB. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
6. "Protests by Chinese middle school students". NLB. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
7. "Iskandar Mirza Ismail". NLB. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
8. Appointment of Singapore's Ambassador to The Kingdom of Belgium and Singapore's Ambassador to The Federal Republic of Germany, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 5 August 2003, archived from the original on 2 March 2012, retrieved 16 April 2010.
9. "Lim Chong Pang | Infopedia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
10. "Mr Farrer dies after 60 years in Malaya". The Straits Times . 26 July 1956. p. 1. Retrieved 6 July 2024– via NewspaperSG.
11. "謝福水 Chia Hock Chwee". 24 May 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
12. "Henry Nicholas Ridley". www.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
13. "History of the Catholic Church in Singapore" . Retrieved 6 July 2024.
14. "A PRIEST BEGGED FOR 'HIS' ORPHANS". The Straits Times . 30 November 1956. p. 9. Retrieved 14 January 2025– via NewspaperSG.