1958 - What happened in 1958 ?

January 1958

Wednesday 01:

The European Community is established.

Friday 03:

The West Indies Federation is formed.

Monday 13:

Moroccan Liberation Army ambushes Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera

Saturday 18:

Willie O'Ree, the first African American National Hockey League player, make his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins.

Friday 31:

James Van Allen discovers the Van Allen radiation belt.

February 1958

Saturday 01:

Merger of Egypt and Syria to form the United Arab Republic, which lasted until 1961.

Thursday 06:

Bobby Charlton survived the Munich air disaster in Germany, which killed eight of his teammates with Manchester United F.C.

Monday 17:

Pope Pius XII declares Saint Clare of Assisi (1193~1253) the patron saint of television

Saturday 22:

Egypt and Syria join to form the United Arab Republic.

Sunday 23:

Cuban rebels kidnap 5-time world driving champion Juan Manuel Fangio.

March 1958

Monday 03:

Nuri as-Said becomes the prime minister of Iraq for the 14th time.

Wednesday 05:

1958 - Explorer 2 spacecraft launches.

Wednesday 12:

In Hilversum, Netherlands, André Claveau wins the third Eurovision Song Contest for France singing "Dors, mon amour" (Sleep, my love).

Saturday 22:

Faisal becomes King of Saudi Arabia.

Wednesday 26:

The African Regroupment Party (PRA) is launched at a meeting in Paris.

April 1958

Friday 18:

A U.S. federal court rules that poet Ezra Pound be released from an insane asylum.

May 1958

Tuesday 13:

1958 - Velcro's trade mark is registered.

Thursday 15:

The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 3.

Sunday 18:

An F-104 Starfighter sets a world speed record of 1,404.19 mph (2,259.82 km/h).

Wednesday 21:

United Kingdom Postmaster General Ernest Marples announces that from December, Subscriber Trunk Dialling will be introduced in the Bristol area.

Saturday 24:

United Press International is formed through a merger of the United Press and the International News Service.

June 1958

Sunday 01:

Charles De Gaulle is brought out of retirement to lead France by decree for six months.

Monday 23:

The Dutch Reformed Church accepts women ministers.

July 1958

Tuesday 01:

1958 - Flooding of the St. Lawrence Seaway begins.

Saturday 05:

First ascent of Gasherbrum I, 11th highest peak on the earth

Monday 14:

Iraqi Revolution: In Iraq the monarchy is overthrown by Arab nationalists and Abdul Karim Kassem becomes the nation's new leader.

Tuesday 15:

In Lebanon, 5,000 United States Marines land in the capital Beirut in order to provide military support to the pro-Western government there.

Friday 25:

The African Regroupment Party (PRA) holds its first congress in Cotonou.

August 1958

Sunday 03:

The nuclear submarine USS Nautilus travels beneath the Arctic ice cap.

Monday 18:

Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in the United States.

Saturday 23:

Chinese Civil War: The Second Taiwan Strait crisis begins with the People's Liberation Army's bombardment of Quemoy.

Friday 29:

United States Air Force Academy opens in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

September 1958

Wednesday 03:

In Greece, police start shaving the hair of youths called "teddy boys" to the skin.

Sunday 14:

Two rockets designed by the German engineer Ernst Mohr, the first German post-war rockets, reach the upper atmosphere.

Monday 15:

A New Jersey commuter train crashes through a drawbridge, killing 48.

Sunday 28:

France ratifies a new Constitution of France; the French Fifth Republic is then formed upon the formal adoption of the new constitution on October 4. Guinea rejects the new constitution, voting for independence instead.

October 1958

Tuesday 07:

Potter Stewart appointed to U.S. Supreme Court.

Tuesday 14:

The District of Columbia Bar Association votes to accept black Americans as members.

Thursday 23:

Belgian cartoonist Peyo introduced a new set of comic strip characters The Smurfs.

Sunday 26:

First commercial flight of the Boeing 707 from New York to Paris

Tuesday 28:

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli becomes Pope and takes the name Pope John XXIII.

November 1958

Sunday 23:

Have Gun, Will Travel debuts on radio.

Tuesday 25:

French Sudan gains autonomy as a self-governing member of the French Community.

Friday 28:

Chad, the Republic of the Congo, and Gabon become autonomous republics within the French Community.

December 1958

Thursday 04:

Dahomey (present-day Benin) becomes a self-governing country within the French Community.

Friday 05:

Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) is inaugurated in the UK by the Queen when she dials a call from Bristol to Edinburgh and speaks to the Lord Provost. http://www.bt.com/archives/history/19461959.htm#1958

Tuesday 09:

John Birch Society founded.

Thursday 11:

Upper Volta declares its independence from France

Tuesday 16:

A fire at a store in Bogotá, Colombia kills 83 people.