1856
1856 was a common year.
| Millennium: | 2nd millennium |
|---|---|
| Centuries: | 18th century – 19th century – 20th century |
| Decades: | 1820s 1830s 1840s – 1850s – 1860s 1870s 1880s |
| Years: | 1853 1854 1855 – 1856 – 1857 1858 1859 |
Births
- April 5 – Booker T. Washington, American inventor, educator, and writer (d. 1915)
- July 10 – Nikola Tesla, Croatian physicist (d. 1943)
- July 26 – George Bernard Shaw, Irish writer (d. 1950)
- August 3 – Alfred Deakin, 2nd Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1919)
- December 28 – Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1924)