March 16 » In Melbourne the representatives of five colonies adopted a constitution, which would become the basis of the Commonwealth of Australia.
June 21 » The United States captures Guam from Spain. The few warning shots fired by the U.S. naval vessels are misinterpreted as salutes by the Spanish garrison, which was unaware that the two nations were at war.
July 3 » A Spanish squadron, led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, is defeated by an American squadron under William T. Sampson in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.
July 25 » Spanish-American War: The American invasion of Spanish-held Puerto Rico begins, as United States Army troops under General Nelson A. Miles land and secure the port at Guánica.
August 12 » The Hawaiian flag is lowered from ʻIolani Palace in an elaborate annexation ceremony and replaced with the flag of the United States to signify the transfer of sovereignty from the Republic of Hawaii to the United States.
August 13 » Carl Gustav Witt discovers 433 Eros, the first near-Earth asteroid to be found.
Day of death December 23, 1956
The temperature on December 23, 1956 was between -2.7 °C and 3.8 °C and averaged 1.2 °C. There was 5.9 hours of sunshine (76%). The partly clouded was. The average windspeed was 2 Bft (weak wind) and was prevailing from the northeast. Source: KNMI
January 3 » A fire damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower.
March 9 » Soviet forces suppress mass demonstrations in the Georgian SSR, reacting to Nikita Khrushchev's de-Stalinization policy.
April 26 » SSIdeal X, the world's first successful container ship, leaves Port Newark, New Jersey, for Houston, Texas.
September 25 » TAT-1, the first submarine transatlantic telephone cable system, is inaugurated.
November 1 » Hungarian Revolution: Imre Nagy announces Hungary's neutrality and withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact. Soviet troops begin to re-enter Hungary, contrary to assurances by the Soviet government. János Kádár and Ferenc Münnich secretly defect to the Soviets.
November 12 » In the midst of the Suez Crisis, Palestinian refugees are shot dead in Rafah by Israeli soldiers following the invasion of the Gaza Strip.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Hans Pruckmuller, "Family tree Van Willigen", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/van-willigen-stamboom/I1687.php : accessed March 7, 2026), "Lena Leenheer (1878-1956)".
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