- January 25
- Columbia University scientists develop an atomic clock accurate to within one second in 300 years. [1]
- Russia ends state of war with Germany. [1]
- US and Panamá sign canal treaty. [1]
- January 29
- Hans Hedtoft, premier of Denmark (1947-55), dies at age 51. [1]
- January 31
- RCA Corporation demonstrates the first music synthesizer. [1] [457]
- February 1
- H C Hansen appointed premier of Denmark. [1]
- February 8
- Malenkov resigns as USSR premier, Bulganin replaces him. [1]
- February 9
- Dutch second Chamber accepts crematory law. [1]
- February 12
- US President Dwight Eisenhower sends first US advisors to South Vietnam. [1]
- Soviets dedicate space center built in Baikonur, Kazachstan. [1]
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- February 13
- Israel acquires four of seven Dead Sea scrolls. [1]
- February 15
- First pilot plant to produce man-made diamonds announced. [1]
- February 18
- Baghdad Pact signed, making Turkey and Iraq a defense alliance. [1]
- February 19
- South East Asia Collective Defense Treaty goes into effect. [1]
- February 23
- Edgar Faure forms French government. [1]
- February 26
- First aviator to bail out at supersonic speed - G F Smith. [1]
- March 1
- Israeli assault on Gaza kills 48. [1]
- March 2
- King Norodom Sihanukh of Cambodia succeeded by his father. [1]
- March 13
- Bir BSD Mahendra succeeds Tribhubana as king of Nepal. [1]
- Yung Deva, king of Nepal (191?-55), dies at about age 48. [1]
- March 14
- Prince Mahemdra becomes king of Nepal. [1]
- March 15
- US Air Force unveils self-guided missile. [1]
- March 16
- Josephine Kroesen appointed as first Dutch female judge. [1]
- US President Dwight Eisenhower upholds the use of atomic weapons in case of war. [1]
- March 18
- I Hatojama recognized as premier of Japan. [1]
- March 24
- First seagoing oil drill rig placed in service. [1]
- British Army patrols withdraw from Belfast, Ireland, after 20 years. [1]
- March 25
- German Democratic Republic granted full sovereignty by occupying power, USSR. [1]
- April 1
- Revised Criminal Code of Canada goes into effect. [242.4]
- Armed military action taken against bureaucratic strike in Amsterdam, Netherlands. [1]
- EOKA-bomb attacks against British government buildings in Cyprus. [1]
- April 3
- Fire in cinema in Sclessin, Belgium, kills 39. [1]
- Night express train in Guadalajara, Mexico derails, killing 300. [1]
- April 4
- British government signs military treaty with Iraq. [1]
- April 5
- Winston Churchill resigns as British Prime Minister; Anthony Eden succeeds him. [1] [1205.10]
- April 6
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- Failed coup by Abdullah Seif el-Islam in Yemen. [1]
- April 9
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- April 10
- Dr Jonas Salk successfully tests Polio vaccine. [1]
- April 12
- Researchers announce results of year-long polio vaccine trials, that the vaccine is safe and effective. [1] [129]
- April 15
- Ray Kroc starts the McDonald's chain of fast food restaurants, in Des Plaines, Illinois. [1] [5]
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- April 16
- Abdullah Seif el-Islam, brother of Yemenite king Ahmed, beheaded. [1]
- April 18
- First "Walk"/"Don't Walk" lighted street signals installed. [1]
- First Bandoeng Conference - Afro-Asian conference opens. [1]
- April 21
- Minas Gerais Argentina tunnel caves in; 30 die. [1]
- April 24
- Conference of Bandung against colonialism, for self-determination, ends. [1]
- Gaullists lose elections in France. [1]
- April 29
- Giovanni Gronchi is elected President of Italy. [1]
- April 30
- Element 101, Mendelevium, is announced. [1]
- Imperial Bank of India is nationalized. [1]
- West German unions protest for 40-hour work week and more wages. [1]
- May 2
- India poses discrimination "onaanraakbaren" punishable. [1]
- Pulitzer prize awarded Tennessee Williams for Cat on Hot Tin Roof. [1]
- May 5
- India's parliament accepts hindu-divorce. [1]
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada test Site. [1]
- The Western Allied occupation of Germany ends. The Federal Republic of Germany becomes an independent sovereign state with the ratification of Paris agreements in Bonn, Germany. [1] [10]
- May 7
- USSR signs peace treaty with France and Great Britain. [1]
- West Europe Union established. [1]
- May 9
- German Federal Republic joins NATO. [1]
- May 11
- May 14
- US performs nuclear test in Pacific Ocean. [1]
- Warsaw Pact is signed by the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. [1] [5]
- May 15
- Building of space travel center at Baikonur, Kazachstan begins. [1]
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- Britain, France, US and USSR sign the Austrian State Treaty restore Austria's independence. [1] [10]
- May 17
- Dutch Government of Drees resigns. [1]
- May 20
- Argentine parliament accepts separation of church and state. [1]
- May 25
- Series of 19 twisters destroy Udall, Kansas, and most of Blackwell, Oklahoma. [1]
- May 26
- Conservatives win British parliamentary election. [1]
- May 29
- Jordan government of Tewfik Abdul Huda resigns. [1]
- May 30
- Said el-Mufti forms Jordan Government. [1]
- Tunisia begins domestic self governing. [1]
- May 31
- Construction begins on Soviet cosmodrome launch facilities. [1]
- Great Britain proclaims emergency crisis due to railroad strike. [1]
- June 10
- First separation of virus into component parts reported. [1]
- June 11
- First jet magnesium airplane flown. [1]
- June 13
- The first diamond mine of the USSR (Mir Mine) is discovered. [5]
- Mercedes racing car kills 77 at Le Mans, France. [1]
- June 26
- In South Africa, the African National Congress holds a Congress of the People in Kliptown, officially adopting a Freedom Charter, a statement of the core principles of the party. [46.234]
- July 14
- Two killed, many dazed when lightning strikes Ascott racetrack, England. [1]
- July 17
- At 2:00 PM, Disneyland park opens, in Anaheim, California. Eighteen attractions are ready for use. Five themed areas are Main Street, U.S.A., Frontierland, Fantasyland, Adventureland, and Tomorrowland. Based on an initial US$10,000 for planning, the final construction cost was US$17 million. 15,000 guests were invited, but attendance for the day is 28,000-33,000. [5] [6] [457]
- July 18
- Disneyland opens to the public, in Anaheim, California, USA, with general admission costing US$1. Cost of the twenty attractions range from 10c to 35c. [6]
- First electric power generated from atomic energy sold commercially. [1]
- July 21
- First submarine powered by liquid metal cooled reactor launched - USS Seawolf. [1]
- July 27
- Austria regains full independence after four-power occupation. [1] [10]
- August 1
- First microgravity research begins. [1]
- August 3
- Hurricane Connie begins pounding US for 11 days. [1]
- August 7
- Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, the precursor to Sony, begins selling its first transistor radios in Japan. [5]
- August 8
- Geneva, Switzerland, conference held to discuss peaceful uses of atomic energy. [1]
- August 16
- Fiat Motors orders first private atomic reactor. [1]
- August 17
- Hurricane Diane, following hurricane Connie floods Connecticut River killing 190 and doing $1.8 billion damage. [1]
- August 20
- First airplane to exceed 1800 mph (2897 kph) - HA Hanes, Palmdale, California, USA. [1]
- Hundreds killed in anti-French rioting in Morocco and Algeria. [1]
- August 31
- First microwave TV station operated (Lufkin, Texas, USA). [1]
- First sun-powered automobile demonstrated, Chicago, Illinois, USA. [1]
- September 8
- Disneyland welcomes its one millionth visitor. [6]
- September 22
- Commercial TV begins in England. [1]
- October 3
- Soviet battleship Novorossiisk strikes WW II mine in Baltic Sea. [1]
- October 4
- Reverend Sun Young Moon leaves prison in Seoul, South Korea. [1]
- October 8
- World's most powerful aircraft carrier, Saratoga (US), launched. [1]
- October 14
- Bahawalpur becomes a province of Pakistan. [1566.66]
- October 26
- Ngo Dinh Diem proclaims Vietnam a republic with himself as president. [1]
- November 1
- Time bomb aboard United DC-6 flight kills 44 above Longmont, Colorado. [1]
- November 3
- Australia takes control of the Cocos Islands. [1]
- November 13
- First live US telecast from non-contiguous foreign country-Havana, Cuba. [1]
- November 23
- British transfer Cocos (Keeling) Island in Indian Ocean to Australia. [1]
- December 4
- Manager Alfrink installed as archbishop of Utrecht. [1]
- December 7
- Clement Attlee resigns as chairman of England's Labour Party. [1]
- December 8
- Turkish government of Menderes forms. [1]
- December 12
- First prototype of hovercraft patented by British engineer Christoper Cockerell. [1]
- December 14
- Dutch Reformed Church condemns woman/wife as vicar. [1]
- December 19
- The Republic of the Niger is proclaimed. [1367.1450]
- December 25
- Pope Pius XII encyclical on sacred music and popular music. [1]
- Year
- The General Motors Corporation becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over US$1 billion in a year. [5]
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