Historical eventAugust 81956

Marcinelle mining disaster

A mining disaster killed 262 workers, mainly Italian nationals, at the Bois du Cazier coal mine in Belgium.

70th anniversary in 2026

Everything on August 8Original source

In context

When
Wednesday, August 8 195670 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1950s
Anniversary
70th in 2026
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1956.

What happened

A mining disaster killed 262 workers, mainly Italian nationals, at the Bois du Cazier coal mine in Belgium.

August 8 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1956Marcinelle mining disaster
  2. 20102010 Gansu mudslide
  3. 20102010 China floods
  4. 2013August 2013 Quetta bombing
  5. 2014World Health Organization
  6. 20152015 Harris County shooting
  7. 2016August 2016 Quetta attacks
  8. 2019Nyonoksa radiation accident
  9. 2022Federal Bureau of Investigation
  10. 20232023 Hawaii wildfires
  11. 2024Muhammad Yunus

Also in 1956

  • July 13Dartmouth workshopThe Dartmouth workshop is the first conference on artificial intelligence.
  • October 14Queen Elizabeth WayThe Queen Elizabeth Way, North America's first intercity divided highway, opens.
  • October 14B. R. AmbedkarB. R. Ambedkar, a leader of India's "Untouchable" caste, publicly converted to Buddhism and became the leader of the Dalit Buddhist movem…
  • July 91956 Amorgos earthquakeThe 7.7 Mw Amorgos earthquake shakes the Cyclades island group in the Aegean Sea with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The s…
  • January 18Shia IslamIranian Shia cleric Navvab Safavi, founder of the fundamentalist group Fada'iyan-e Islam, was executed for attempting to assassinate Prim…
  • October 29Israel Border PoliceIsraeli Border Police massacred 48 Arab citizens of Kafr Qasim, among them women and children who were returning from work.
  • October 29Suez CanalFollowing the nationalisation of the Egypt's Suez Canal, Israel, France, and the United Kingdom invaded the Sinai Peninsula.
  • November 1KeralaThe Indian states Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka were formally created under the States Reorganisation Act.

Everything we record for 1956 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Marcinelle mining disaster”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/marcinelle-mining-disaster-1956-august-8, accessed October 24, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Marcinelle mining disaster happen?

August 8 1956 — 70 years ago, on a Wednesday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.