Fun Facts about 1958

The first day of 1958 was a Wednesday. In 1958 the world’s population was 2.945 billion. In the Chinese Zodiac it was the year of the dog. The first Pizza Hut fast food restaurant opened in Wichita, Kansas. The Jim Henson Company was founded. Nabokov’s novel, Lolita was published for the first time in the United States. Many celebrities of our time were born in 1958. Among them are singers Kate Bush, Madonna and Michael Jackson, director Tim Burton and actors Alex Baldwin and Michelle Pfeiffer. In terms of the arts, the musical “My Fair Lady” opened in London, starring Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison. The first ever Grammy Awards were held. In sports, the New York Yankees won the World Series of Baseball. Brazil edged out Sweden in the World Cup. Montreal defeated Boston to win the Stanley Cup in hockey. Bobby Fischer, at age fourteen, wins the United States Chess Championship. Pete Schoening and Andrew Kauffman are the first people to summit the eleventh highest mountain on earth, Gasherbrum I. Elvis’ song Jailhouse Rock was a hit single.

The year 1958 saw many new inventions and products hit the market. The rolodex was invented. The Hula Hoop and the skateboard were first introduced in 1958. The Sweet n’ Low artificial sweetener and Rice-a-Roni were also both introduced. Cocoa Krispies and Cocoa Puffs breakfast cereals are introduced by the Kellogg Company and General Mills respectively. Both cereals contained over forty percent sugar! The Microchip was first developed by Intel in 1958.

There were several major air disasters in 1958. Ninety fifty-eight was the year of the Munich air disaster. A passenger jet crashed after takeoff from Munich Airport, killing twenty-three people, including eight Manchester United soccer team players. Also in 1958, a KLM aircraft crashed into the ocean and killed all ninety-nine people who were aboard, including six members of the Egyptian fencing team. It was the worst commercial airliner crash to date.

In 1958 many new frontiers were explored. In that year, Sir Edmund Hillary reached the South Pole. The first trans-Atlantic commercial airline service began on British Comet Jet, offering flights between New York and London. This was also the year that the United States began using passenger jets domestically, beginning with service between New York and Miami. Also, in 1958 NASA was created and the United States launched its first successful satellite, Explorer 1, into orbit, while the Russian satellite Sputnik 1 fell from its orbit.

Nineteen fifty-eight was also an important year politically. Iraq, after a military coup, became a republic. The Great Chinese Famine, which would eventually lead to the deaths of 30 million people, began in 1958. Charles de Gaulle became Prime Minister of France after leaving retirement. The Hope Diamond was donated to the Smithsonian Institute. The first women were admitted to the British House of Lords. Alaska achieved statehood, becoming the 49th state in the United States. Nikita Khrushchev became Premier of the Soviet Union. Pope John XXII succeeded Pope Pius XII as the 261st pope. Egypt and Syria joined and formed the United Arab Republic and Guinea declared its independence from France in 1958.