View of great Temple of Abu Simbel, threatened by the building of the Aswan Dam first proposed by the Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1952 to facilitate navigation on the River Nile, to generate electricity and to supply water for the irrigation of new farmland.

Gamal Abdel Nasser, Chairman of the Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council from 14 November 1954 to 23 June 1956, than President of the Arab Republic of Egypt from 23 June 1956 to 28 September 1970.

On 26 July 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser delivers a speech in Alexandria in which he announces the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company.

On 26 July 1956, the Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, officially announces the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company.

On 26 July 1956, Gamal Abdel Nasser, President and Prime Minister of Egypt, is cheered by the crowd following his address in which he announced the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company.

On 27 July 1956, the French Foreign Ministry officially denounces the unilateral decision taken by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser to nationalise the Suez Canal Company.

On 27 July 1956, Jean Chauvel, French Ambassador to London, informs Christian Pineau, French Foreign Minister, of the British reaction to the unilateral nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company.

On 27 July 1956, Christian Pineau, French Foreign Minister, informs Jean Chauvel, French Ambassador to London, of the decisions taken by France following the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company.

On 27 July 1956, the Belgian Communist daily newspaper Le Drapeau rouge reports, without condemning, the decision taken by the Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, to nationalise the Suez Canal Company.

On 28 July 1956, the British Embassy in Cairo sends a telegram to the British Foreign Office in which it outlines the positive reactions in the Arab countries following the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company. They welcome the action taken by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and express their support to Egypt.

On 28 July 1956, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera analyses the reasons why the Egyptian President Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal.

On 28 July 1956, the French daily newspaper Le Monde examines the reaction of the great Western powers to the show of strength by the Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser.

In a telegram dated 29 July 1956, the British Embassy in Cairo informs the British Foreign Office of the press reactions to the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company. The press particularly reports on the address given on 26 July by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, the initial British reactions and the attitude of the United States and the Commonwealth countries.

On 29 July 1956, the Egyptian Embassy in London issues a communiqué stating the reasons for Gamal Abdel Nasser’s unilateral decision to nationalise the Suez Canal Company.

From 29 July to 2 August 1956, tripartite talks are held in London to establish a common position on the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company. At the first session on 29 July, the Americans, British and French agree on the need for a conference at which the countries with an interest in the canal can give their views on the matter. But on most of the major points for discussion there is disagreement between the United States and the European countries, particularly on questions regarding responsibility, the economic sanctions that should be imposed on Egypt and the preparation of potential military action.

From 29 July to 2 August 1956, tripartite talks are held in London to establish a common position on the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company. At the second session on 29 July, the US, British and French delegations focus more specifically on the question of Israel’s role in the Suez Crisis and the attitude of the Soviet Union and the Commonwealth countries. They also discuss the adoption of practical measures, such as the freezing of Egyptian assets.

From 29 July to 2 August 1956, the French, British and US delegations meet in London for tripartite talks to establish a common position on the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company. At the third session on 30 July, the talks focus on drawing up a list of participants for the forthcoming maritime conference on the Suez Canal.

To establish a common position following the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company by Gamal Abdel Nasser, delegations from the United States, the United Kingdom and France meet in London from 29 July to 2 August 1956 for tripartite talks. At the fourth session on 30 July 1956, the talks focus on what should be included in the final communiqué of the conference.

On 31 July 1956, the US President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and his advisers refer to the Suez Crisis, which, they fear, will lead to unrest in the Arab world, should the United Kingdom take military action.

On 31 July 1956, the British cartoonist, David Low, illustrates the decision taken by the Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, to nationalise the Suez Canal Company (on the left is Dimitri Chepilov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union).

In a telegram dated 31 July 1956, the British Embassy in Brussels informs the British Foreign Office of the Belgian reactions to the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company. While the Belgian press supports the United Kingdom and France, the Belgian Government seems reluctant to take a stance and refuses to comment on possible measures to be adopted.

On 31 July 1956, the British Embassy in Rome sends a telegram to the British Foreign Office in which it outlines the reactions in Italy to the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company. The Italian Government expresses its deep concern for its economy and its maritime transport companies.

On 1 August 1956, the US Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles (left), the British Prime Minister, Anthony Eden (right), and the French Foreign Minister, Christian Pineau (centre), meet in London to discuss the Suez Crisis.

On 2 August 1956, the USA, the United Kingdom and France issue a joint statement condemning the nationalisation of the Suez Canal by the Egyptian Government.

On 2 August 1956, the French weekly publication France Observateur deplores the comparison, which has become commonplace in the West, between the Egyptian Colonel, Gamal Abdel Nasser, and Adolf Hitler.

In a television broadcast on 3 August 1956, the US President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and the US Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, deplore the decision taken by the Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, to nationalise the Suez Canal.

On 4 August 1956, the London weekly political magazine The New Statesman and Nation analyses the geopolitical implications of the nationalisation of the Suez Canal, given the strategic interests of the United Kingdom in the Middle East.

In a telegram dated 6 August 1956, the British Embassy in The Hague informs the British Foreign Office of the measures that the Netherlands Government is intending to take following the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company. The Government will suspend transfers of arms and ammunitions to Egypt and will no longer grant credit facilities. However, it emphasises that it is unable to freeze all Egyptian assets in the Netherlands.

In his diary entry for 8 August 1956, the American President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, refers to causes of the Suez crisis.

On 8 August 1956, French cartoonist Pol Ferjac uses the hieroglyphs on the Obelisk in Paris to illustrate the plan to nationalise the Suez Canal by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and paints an ironic picture of the different stages of the resulting Suez Crisis. In the fountains on Place de la Concorde, which commemorate inland and maritime navigation and stand opposite the National Assembly, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, a faint smile on his face, is depicted as an allegorical statue holding a crocodile in his arms and seems to be taunting the French authorities.

‘The mummy awakes. Down!’ On 26 July 1956, Colonel Nasser, President of Egypt, nationalises the Suez Canal Company. On 8 August 1956, French cartoonist Pol Ferjac illustrates how Guy Mollet (centre), President of the French Council of Ministers, and Anthony Eden (on the right), British Prime Minister, are endeavouring to contain the awakening of Egyptian nationalism, symbolised here by a mummy coming back to life.

‘Father Nile … and Father Suez.’ In August 1956, the German cartoonist, Oesterle, uses the image of the statue of the Roman god Nilus with the characteristic features of prosperity — an old man lying down, surrounded by symbols of abundance and prosperity such as the horn of plenty, wheat, food offerings and the 16 cherubim, an allegory of the flooding of the Nile — to illustrate the political intentions of the Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, and places particular emphasis on the role of the Soviet Union during the Suez Crisis.

On 22 August 1956, the governments participating in the London Maritime Conference adopt a resolution on the future management of the Suez Canal.

On 25 August 1956, the Italian daily newspaper Il nuovo Corriere della Sera speculates on the reasons for the Suez Canal crisis and emphasises the strategic importance of the canal for the supply of oil to Western countries.

On 27 August 1956, the British Prime Minister Anthony Eden sends the US President Dwight D. Eisenhower a letter in which he welcomes the results of the London Maritime Conference on the Suez Crisis. However, he is concerned at the foreign policy of the USSR, particularly the establishment of closer relations between Moscow and Cairo. He also outlines the measures he would like to take if Nasser refuses to negotiate, and explains that the United Kingdom and France are continuing their military preparations.

On 30 August 1956, the Soviet satirical magazine Krokodil illustrates the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company by Gamal Abdel Nasser, President and Prime Minister of Egypt.

On 1 October 1956, the French Government asks the member States of the Council of Europe to show solidarity by condemning the unilateral decision taken by Egypt to nationalise the Suez Canal Company.

On 2 October 1956, in a statement to the Italian Parliament, Gaetano Martino, Italian Foreign Minister, expresses his hopes for a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the international crisis brought about by the nationalisation of the Suez Canal.

Twenty years after the event, Christian Pineau, former French Foreign Minister, recalls the nationalisation of the Suez Canal and the surprise in French political circles at the unilateral decision taken by the Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser.

On 26 July 1956, the Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, gives an address in Alexandria during which he announces the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company. France and the United Kingdom are opposed to this, fearing for their oil supplies, and decide to take military action to put an end to the occupation of the Canal.