Year by year · 20th century

1958

1958 in world history: 19 events, 5 births, 11 deaths, 2 works, 5 states founded and 17 that came to an end. 332 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 1 January

    The European Economic Community comes into being

    The Treaty of Rome took effect, creating a common market among France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The EEC was the forerunner of today's European Union.

    European UnionBelgium

  2. 4 January

    Sputnik 1 falls from orbit

    The first artificial satellite burned up in the atmosphere after three months and some 1,400 orbits. Its launch the previous October had shocked the United States and started the space race.

    United States

  3. 18 January

    Willie O'Ree breaks the NHL colour barrier

    Playing for the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens, Willie O'Ree became the first Black player in the National Hockey League, despite being almost blind in one eye.

    Boston

  4. 31 January

    Explorer 1, America's first satellite, is launched

    A Jupiter-C rocket put Explorer 1 into orbit from Cape Canaveral, four months after Sputnik. Its Geiger counter detected the Van Allen radiation belts around the Earth.

  5. 17 March

    US launches Vanguard 1 satellite

    The grapefruit-sized satellite, mocked by Khrushchev, showed that the Earth is slightly pear-shaped. Long silent, it is the oldest human-made object still in orbit.

  6. 14 July

    Iraqi army officers overthrow the Hashemite monarchy

    Officers led by Brigadier Abd al-Karim Qasim seized Baghdad and killed King Faisal II and members of the royal family. The coup ended the British-backed monarchy and made Iraq a republic.

  7. 29 July

    Eisenhower signs the act creating NASA

    Spurred by Sputnik, President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, creating a civilian space agency. NASA opened that October and within 11 years landed astronauts on the Moon.

  8. 28 October

    Angelo Roncalli is elected Pope John XXIII

    The 76-year-old patriarch of Venice was elected pope, widely seen as a caretaker. Within three months he announced the Second Vatican Council, which transformed the Catholic Church.

  9. 18 December

    The US launches SCORE, the first communications satellite

    An Atlas rocket placed Project SCORE in orbit. The next day it broadcast a recorded Christmas message from President Eisenhower, the first voice transmitted from space.

  10. Event

    Punto Fijo Pact

    The Punto Fijo Pact was an agreement signed on 31 October 1958 by Venezuela's main democratic parties, Democratic Action, COPEI and the Democratic Republican Union, after the fall of the dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez.

  11. Event

    Expo 58

    Expo 58 was the world's fair held in Brussels from April to October 1958, the first major international exposition after the Second World War.

ProfileState320 states with a known seat in 1958Open the atlas at 1958 →

In the profiles

Wars and longer events

Born in 1958 5

Died in 1958 11

Works 2

States founded 5

States that came to an end 17

All years → The 20th century →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1958. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1958
MLA
“1958.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1958. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1958.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1958.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1958’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1958 (Accessed: ).