Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s - 1950s - 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
Years: 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 - 1958 - 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963
Events
- January 4 - Sputnik 1 falls to Earth from its orbit (launched on October 4, 1957)
- January 8 - 14 year old Bobby Fisher wins the United States Chess Championship
- January 28 - Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate begin their murder spree with the killings of her parents and infant sister
- January 29 - Police capture Charles Starkweather in Wyoming.
- January 31 -
- The first successful American satellite, Explorer I, is launched into orbit.
- James Van Allen discovers the Van Allen radiation belt
- February 1 - Egypt and Syria unite to form the United Arab Republic.
- February 5 - Gamel Abdel Nasser is nominated to be the first president of the United Arab Republic.
- February 6 - Munich Air Disaster
- February 11 - Marshal Chen Yi succeeds Chou En-Lai as Chinese Minister of Foreign affairs.
- February 11 - Ruth Carol Taylor is 1st African-American woman hired as a flight attendant
- January 31 - Explorer I launched
- May 23 - Explorer I ceased transmission
- July 26 - Explorer IV launched
- BBC Radiophonic Workshop created
- During the International Geophysical Year, Earth's magnetosphere is discovered
- The United States conducts Operation Argus during August and September
Art, Culture & Fashion
- 1958 in film
- 1958 in literature
- 1958 in music
- January 20 - Elvis Presley receives his draft notice
- 1958 in sports
- January 18 - Willie O'Ree, the first African American National Hockey League player, make his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins.
- Brazil wins Football World Cup in Sweden
- British Empire & Commonwealth Games held in Cardiff, United Kingdom
- The internattional petanque federation is founded in Marseille
- 1958 in television
- Ampex demonstrates their design for a color Video Tape Recorder
Births
- January 20 - Lorenzo Lamas, actor
- January 24 - Jools Holland, musician
- January 26 - Ellen DeGeneres, actress, comedienne
- February 11 -
- Michael Jackson, controller of BBC2.
- Regina Marsikova, Czechoslovakian tennis player.
- February 13 - Pernilla August, actress
- April 21 - Andie MacDowell, actress
- July 28 - Terry Fox, cancer activist
- August 8 - Bruce Dickinson, English heavy metal musician
- October 14 - Thomas Dolby, English rock musician
- October 16 - Tim Robbins, American actor
- December 6 - Nick Park, film-maker and animator
Deaths
- January 11 - Edna Purviance, actress
- January 30 - Jean Crotti, Swiss artist
- February 4 - Henry Kuttner, science fiction author
- March 28 - W.C. Handy - Blues composer
- August 14 - Frédéric Joliot, scientist
- December 15 - Wolfgang Ernst Pauli, physicist