February 7 » Dreyfus affair: Émile Zola is brought to trial for libel for publishing J'Accuse…!.
February 23 » Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing J'Accuse…!, a letter accusing the French government of antisemitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus.
June 10 » Spanish–American War: In the Battle of Guantánamo Bay, U.S. Marines begin the American invasion of Spanish-held Cuba.
July 1 » Spanish–American War: The Battle of San Juan Hill is fought in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.
August 13 » Spanish–American War: Spanish and American forces engage in a mock battle for Manila, after which the Spanish commander surrendered in order to keep the city out of Filipino rebel hands.
August 25 » Seven hundred Greek civilians, 17 British guards and the British Consul of Crete are killed by a Turkish mob in Heraklion, Greece.
Day of death September 20, 1956
The temperature on September 20, 1956 was between 7.7 °C and 21.3 °C and averaged 14.7 °C. There was 8.3 hours of sunshine (67%). The partly clouded was. The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the south east. Source: KNMI
March 20 » Tunisia gains independence from France.
July 16 » Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus closes its last "Big Tent" show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; due to changing economics, all subsequent circus shows will be held in arenas.
July 26 » Following the World Bank's refusal to fund building the Aswan Dam, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal, sparking international condemnation.
October 17 » The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield, England.
October 21 » The Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya is defeated.
November 1 » The Indian states Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Mysore are formally created under the States Reorganisation Act; Kanyakumari district is joined to Tamil Nadu from Kerala.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: John van Eck, "Family tree van Eck", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/van-eck-stamboom/I93242592.php : accessed October 2, 2026), "Frans van Eck (1898-1956)".
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