- January 7
- USSR shrinks army to 300,000. [1]
- US Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, speaking to the Senate Democratic Caucus, states "Control of space means control of the world", "From space, the masters of infinity would have the power to control the Earth's weather...". [861.173]
- January 8
- Cuban revolutionary forces capture Havana. [1]
- January 13
- 9,000 scientists of 43 nations petition United Nations for nuclear test ban. [1]
- January 23
- Dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez flees Venezuela; Larrazábal takes power. [1]
- January 24
- After warming to 100,000,000 degrees, two light atoms are bashed together to create a heavier atom, resulting in first man-made nuclear fusion. [1]
- January 26
- H Laskow replaces Moshe Dayan as Israeli Minister of Defense. [1]
- January 27
- Ferenc Münnich follows Kádár as premier of Hungary. [1]
- January 28
- Construction begins on first private thorium-uranium nuclear reactor. [1]
- January 30
- First two-way moving sidewalk in service, Dallas, Texas. [1]
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- British House of Lords passes bill allowing women in. [1]
- January 31
- James van Allen discovers radiation belt. [1]
- US launches their first artificial satellite, Explorer 1. [1]
- February 1
- Egypt and Syria announce plans to merge into United Arab Republic. [1]
- February 2
- Syria joins Egypt in United Arab Republic. [1]
- February 5
- Gamel Abdel Nasser nominated first President of United Arab Republic. [1]
- A hydrogen bomb known as the Tybee Bomb is lost by the US Air Force off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, never to be recovered. [5]
- February 7
- Dutch auto-transmission car DAF 600 introduced. [1]
- February 8
- Edgar Whitehead succeeds Garfield Todd as premier of South Rhodesia. [1]
- French planes bomb Sakiet, Tunisia; 75 die. [1]
- February 12
- General Miguel Ydegoras Fuentes elected President of Guatemala. [1]
- February 14
- Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan forms. [1]
- February 15
- Sjafroeddin Prawiranegara forms anti-government of Middle Sumatra. [1]
- February 17
- Comic strip BC first appears. [1]
- February 21
- Egypt-Syria as United Arab Republic elect Gamal Abdel Nasser President (99.9 percent vote). [1]
- February 22
- Egypt and Syria form United Arab Republic (UAR). [1]
- Indonesian air force bombs Padang, Sumatra/Menado, Celebes. [1]
- Michael Todd, film magnate, killed in a New Mexico air crash. [1]
- February 23
- Five-time world driving champion Juan Fangio kidnapped by Cuban rebels. [1]
- Arturo Frondizi elected President of Argentina. [1]
- USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya. [1]
- February 27
- USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya. [1]
- March 2
- First surface crossing of Antarctic continent is completed in 99 days. [1]
- Yemen announces it will join the United Arab Republic. [1]
- March 3
- Nuri ash Said becomes premier of Iraq. [1]
- March 8
- William Faulkner says US schools degenerated to become babysitters. [1]
- March 12
- British Empire Day is renamed "Commonwealth Day". [1]
- March 13
- Government troops land in Sumatra, Indonesia. [1]
- March 14
- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certifies the first gold (1 million sales) record: Perry Como's "Catch a Falling Star" on RCA Victor Records. [1] [457]
- South Africa government disallows African National Congress. [1]
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test. [1]
- March 15
- USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test. [1]
- March 17
- Navy launches Vanguard 1 into orbit (second US satellite), measures Earth shape. [1]
- March 19
- Britain's first planetarium opens at Madame Tussaud's in London. [1]
- March 20
- Greek Clandestine Burasi Bizim Radio (communist), Voice of Truth first transmission. [1]
- March 21
- USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test. [1]
- March 22
- Faisal succeeds Saudi as king of Saudi-Arabia. [1]
- USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya. [1]
- March 25
- Maiden flight of the Avro CF-105 Arrow prototype interceptor jet in Canada. [5] [476.58] [1178.400]
- West German parliament desires German atomic weapons. [1]
- March 26
- US Army launches America's third successful satellite, Explorer III. [1]
- March 27
- Nikita Khrushchev becomes Soviet premier and first Secretary of Communist Party. [1]
- March 31
- The Grand Canyon Diorama attraction opens in Disneyland, part of the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad. At 306 feet long, it is the world's longest seamless hand-woven canvas. [6]
- USSR suspends nuclear weapons tests, and urges US and Britain to do same. [1]
- April 1
- Marshal Boelganin becomes director of Russian Staatsbank. [1]
- April 2
- Antillean Brewery (Amstel beer) opens. [1]
- Wind speed reaches 450 kph in tornado in Wichita Falls, Texas, USA (record). [1]
- April 3
- Fidel Castro's rebels attack Havana, Cuba. [1]
- April 4
- First march against nuclear weapons (Aldermaston, England). [1]
- April 10
- Northern strip of Spanish Sahara ceded to Morocco. [1]
- April 14
- Sputnik 2 (with dog Laika) burns up in atmosphere. [1]
- April 16
- French government of Gaillard falls due to Tunisia crisis. [1]
- April 17
- Brussel's (Belgium) World Fair opens. [1]
- April 18
- Government troops reconquer Padang, Middle-Sumatra, Indonesia. [1]
- April 20
- Morocco demands departure of Spanish troops. [1]
- April 22
- Dominica joins the West Indies federation. [1843.822]
- April 28
- Great Britain performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. Operation Grapple Y, bomb detonated at 8000 feet, force of 3 megatons, biggest for Britain so far. [1458.14]
- US Vice President Richard Nixon begins goodwill tour of Latin America. [1]
- May 1
- Arturo Frondizi sworn in as President of Argentina. [1]
- May 4
- Alberto Lleras Camargo chosen President of Colombia. [1]
- May 5
- Pulitzer prize awarded to James Agee for Death in the Family. [1]
- May 7
- Major Howard Johnson, US Air Force, sets aircraft altitude record in F-104 (Lockheed Starfighter), 27,810 metres. [1]
- May 8
- US Vice President Richard Nixon is shoved, stoned, booed and spat upon by protesters in Peru. [1]
- May 9
- Botvinnik recaptures world chess championship. [1]
- May 13
- French settlers riot against French army in Algeria. [1]
- Jordan and Iraq form the Arab Federation. [1]
- Pierre Pflimlin forms French Government. [1]
- Rioters attack US Vice President Richard Nixon in Venezuala. [1]
- May 15
- USSR launches Sputnik III. [1]
- May 17
- Emergency crisis proclaimed in Algeria. [1]
- May 19
- US and Canada form North American Air Defense Command (NORAD). [1]
- May 21
- Indonesian paratroopers reconquer Morotai Island. [1]
- May 23
- Mao Tse Tung starts "Great leap forward" movement in China. [1]
- May 24
- Cuban President Batista opens offensive against Fidel Castro's rebellion. [1]
- UP and International News Service merge into United Press International. [1]
- May 26
- Ceylon emergency crisis proclaimed. [1]
- May 27
- The F-4 Phantom II first flies. [5]
- May 28
- French Government of Pflimlin resigns; 200,000 demonstrate against Charles de Gaulle. [1]
- June 1
- Charles de Gaulle becomes premier of France. [1]
- July 1
- The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation links television broadcasting across Canada via microwave. [5]
- July 10
- The highest tsunami wave ever recorded is at Lituya Bay, Alaska, at 524m high. [5]
- First parking meter installed in England (625 installed). [1]
- July 14
- Iraqi army overthrows monarchy; republic replaces Hashemite dynasty. King Faisal II, Prime Minister of Iraq, assassinated at Baghdad. [1] [1215.811]
- July 15
- US President Dwight Eisenhower sends US troops to Lebanon; they stay three months. [1]
- July 23
- First four women named to peerage in House of Lords. [1]
- July 26
- Army launches fourth US successful satellite, Explorer IV. [1]
- July 29
- President Dwight Eisenhower signs the National Aeronautics and Space Act creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). [1] [229.91] [452.94] [861.174]
- August 3
- American nuclear submarine USS Nautilus begins first crossing of Arctic Ocean under icecap. [1] [5]
- August 14
- KLM Superconstellation crashes west of Ireland, killing 99. [1]
- August 17
- World's first Moon probe, USA's Thor-Able, explodes 77 seconds after launch. [1] [245.4]
- August 18
- Fidel Castro makes a speech on Cuban pirate radio Rebelde. [1]
- September 1
- French colony of Algeria becomes part of France. [700.338]
- September 5
- First color video recording on magnetic tape presented, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. [1]
- September 8
- Oman turns over Gwadur (on Baluchistán coast) to Pakistan. [1]
- September 12
- At Texas Instruments in the USA, Jack Kilby demonstrates the world's first integrated circuit, containing five components on a piece of germanium half an inch long and thinner than a toothpick. [4]
- September 14
- German engineer Ernst Mohr's two rockets - the first German post-war rockets - reach the upper atmosphere. [5]
- September 15
- Commuter train crashes through drawbridge, killing 48 (Newark, New Jersey). [1]
- September 21
- First airplane flight exceeding 1200 hours, lands in Dallas, Texas, USA. [1]
- September 24
- First welded aluminum girder highway bridge completed, Urbandale, Iowa, USA. [1]
- September 28
- Guinea votes for independence from France. [1]
- October 1
- Britain transfers Christmas Island (south of Java) to Australia. [1]
- US National Aeronautics and Space Administration begins operations, taking over duties of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. [1] [249.41] [452.94]
- October 2
- French Guinea gains independence from France as the Republic of Guinea. [1841.571] [1843.1299]
- October 4
- 5th French republic established. [1]
- Transatlantic commercial jet passenger service begins (BOAC). Travel time is reduced from six days by passenger liner to six hours. [1] [260.78]
- October 9
- Pope Pius XII dies, 19 years after elevation to the papacy. [1]
- October 11
- Second US Moon probe, Pioneer 1, reaches 113,810 km, falls back. [1]
- October 14
- Malagasy Republic becomes autonomous republic in French Community. [1]
- October 15
- Australian acquires Christmas Island from the United Kingdom for 2.9 million pounds. [992.29] [1152.1200]
- October 23
- Soviet novelist Boris Pasternak wins Nobel Prize for Literature. [1]
- USSR lends money to United Arab Republic to build Aswan High Dam. [1]
- October 26
- Pan American Airways makes the first commercial flight of the Boeing 707, from New York to Paris. [1] [5]
- October 28
- Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli is elected Pope, taking the name John XXIII. [1]
- November 18
- First true reservoir in Jerusalem opens. [1]
- November 24
- Mali becomes an autonomous state within French Community. [1]
- November 25
- The Republic of Senegal becomes an autonomous state in the French Community. [278.1045]
- November 27
- USSR abrogates Allied war-time agreements on control of Germany. [1]
- November 28
- Chad becomes an autonomous republic within the French community. [1] [707.185]
- Middle Congo becomes an autonomous member of the French Community. [707.497]
- The Islamic Republic of Mauritania is proclaimed and becomes an autonomous member of the French Community. [1367.849]
- The Gabon Republic is proclaimed. [1841.1]
- November 30
- First guided missile destroyer launched, the USS Dewey, in Bath, Maine, USA. [1]
- December 1
- In Chicago, Illinois, Our Lady of Angels School burns, killing 92 students and three nuns. [1]
- Former French colony of Ubangi-Shari proclaims itself independent as the Central African Republic. [707.142]
- December 2
- Benelux treaty signed by Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. [1]
- December 3
- Indonesian parliament accepts nationalisation of Dutch businesses. [1]
- December 4
- Dahomey and Ivory Coast become autonomous republics within the French Community. [1143.141] [1841.1256] [1843.763]
- Finnish government of Fagerholm resigns. [1]
- December 5
- Canadian aircraft company Avro completes the first VZ-9Z Avrocar prototype. [1178.401]
- December 6
- US lunar probe Pioneer 3 reaches 107,269 km, falls back. [1]
- December 7
- Rómulo Bétancourt elected President of Venezuela. [1]
- December 8
- Robert Henry Winborne Welch Junior begins the John Birch Society, named after US military intelligence officer John Morrison Birch, killed in North China in 1945 on spying mission. The Society is created in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, with a group of 11 conservative industrialists. [1096.63]
- December 9
- Robert H W Welch Junior and 11 other men meet in Indianapolis, Indiana to form the anti-Communist John Birch Society. [1]
- December 11
- 4th (last) Dutch government of Drees falls. [1]
- Upper Volta gains autonomy from France. [1]
- December 12
- Dutch social democratic party-ministers/premier Drees dismissed. [1]
- December 13
- Ahmed Mukhtar Baban, premier of Iraq, is executed. [1]
- Barhanuddin Bashajan, Iraqi minister of Foreign affairs, is executed. [1]
- Rafiq Aref, Iraqi chief-staff Arabs Statenbond, is executed. [1]
- December 14
- The 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition becomes the first to reach The Pole of Relative Inaccessibility in the Antarctic. [5]
- December 16
- Bogotá, Colombia, warehouse fire kills 82. [1]
- December 18
- First test project of Signal Communications by Orbiting Relay Equipment. [1]
- Niger gains autonomy within French Community. [1]
- December 19
- First radio broadcast from space (recorded Christmas message by President Eisenhower: "To all mankind, America's wish for Peace on Earth and Good Will to Men Everywhere"). [1] [457]
- December 21
- Charles De Gaulle wins seven-year term as first President of 5th Republic of France. [1]
- December 22
- Second Dutch Beel government forms. [1]
- December 23
- Abdallah Ibrahim forms government of Morocco. [1]
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