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What happened in 1958?

24 events across 8 world regions, each with its sources.

See 1958 on the map

North America

  • Peak Phase of the African American Civil Rights Movement (1954–1968)

    1954–1968Montgomery, Alabama, USA

    Between 1954 and 1968, the African American civil rights movement peaked, using nonviolent means to challenge racial segregation and discrimination in the United States. Originating in the Reconstruction era and influenced by Gandhi's nonviolent philosophy, it involved mass protests and civil disobedience. This led to new federal protections, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗

  • Rise of integrated circuits and personal computers

    1958達拉斯

    Around 1958, integrated circuit technology achieved a key breakthrough in the United States when Texas Instruments engineer Jack Kilby successfully developed the first integrated circuit, laying the groundwork for the miniaturization and popularization of personal computers. Subsequently, integrated circuits rapidly replaced discrete transistors, driving computers toward smaller sizes and lower costs, eventually giving rise to the personal computer industry in the 1970s. This event marked the transition of electronic technology from the transistor era to the integrated circuit era.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Texas Instruments / CC BY 3.0 ↗

  • Invention of the integrated circuit

    1958Dallas, Texas, United States

    Around the late 1950s, the integrated circuit—a compact assembly of electronic circuits on a semiconductor chip—was invented. By integrating transistors, resistors, capacitors, and their connections onto a single silicon substrate, it enabled device miniaturization, improved performance, and lower costs, fundamentally transforming the field of electronics.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗

  • 1958 Lituya Bay megatsunami

    1958

    On July 9, 1958, a magnitude 8.3 earthquake in Lituya Bay, Alaska, triggered a rockslide of about 30 million cubic meters into the narrow inlet, generating a megatsunami with a run-up of 524 meters—the highest ever recorded. This event revolutionized oceanography and seismology, forcing a re-evaluation of large-wave generation.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: D.J. Miller, United States Geological Survey / Public domain ↗

  • Signing of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty

    1952–1960San Francisco

    On September 8, 1951, the United States and Japan signed the Security Treaty in San Francisco, alongside the Treaty of San Francisco that ended World War II in Asia. Imposed by the U.S. as a condition for ending the Occupation and restoring Japan's sovereignty, it established a long-lasting military alliance and allowed the U.S. to maintain forces in the Far East.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: World Imaging / CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗

  • Completion of the Seagram Building

    1958

    The Seagram Building, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson among others, was completed in Midtown Manhattan, New York. A landmark of the International Style, it is recognized as a classic of functionalist and modernist aesthetics.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Max Hermus at Dutch Wikipedia / Public domain ↗

  • Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex opened

    1958

    In the late 1950s, the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex was opened at Fort Irwin, California. Operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, its main purpose is to track and communicate with interplanetary space missions. It is named after the nearby Goldstone ghost town.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: NASA / Public domain ↗

Europe

  • Cold War

    1945–1991Berlin, Germany

    After World War II, the Western Bloc led by the United States and the Eastern Bloc led by the Soviet Union engaged in a nearly half-century-long political, economic, and military confrontation. Although the two superpowers never fought directly, they competed globally through proxy wars, an arms race, and the Space Race. The Cold War began in the late 1940s and ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: U.S. Army photo Photo Credit: USAMHI / Public domain ↗

  • Signing of the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR

    1922–1991Moscow

    On December 30, 1922, the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR was signed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, officially establishing the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Plenipotentiary delegates from the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, and Byelorussian Soviet republics signed the treaty, along with a declaration serving as its preamble. The treaty legally formalized the political union of the Soviet republics that had existed since 1919, creating a new federal government with centralized functions in Moscow. Legislative power was vested in the Congress of Soviets and the Central Executive Committee, while executive power lay with the Council of People's Commissars.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: (неизвестно) / Public domain ↗

  • Phoney War

    1939–1958Paris

    The Phoney War was a period of limited military activity at the start of World War II, lasting from September 1939 to May 1940. Following the Allied declaration of war on Germany, there were virtually no major land operations on the Western Front.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗

  • Euromast Completed

    1958

    Euromast is an observation tower in Rotterdam, Netherlands, designed by architect Hugh Maaskant. Constructed between 1958 and 1960, it was built for the 1960 Floriade. Originally 101 metres tall, it was the tallest building in Rotterdam at the time.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: W. Bulach / CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗

Central & South America

East Asia

South Asia

West Asia

North Africa

  • Ifni War

    1957–1958Laayoune

    The Ifni War was a series of armed conflicts between Moroccan insurgents and Spanish colonial forces in Spanish West Africa from 1957 to 1958, forming part of the African decolonization movements. It began with Moroccan armed incursions in November 1957 and culminated in the abortive siege of Sidi Ifni.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗

  • Algerian War

    1954–1962Algiers, Algeria

    The Algerian War was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front from 1954 to 1962, leading to Algeria's independence. Considered a major decolonization war, it involved guerrilla warfare and war crimes by both sides.

    SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Madame Grinderche / Public domain ↗

Oceania

Around 1958

These are known only to the century, not to the year. They are listed separately so a rough date is never mistaken for an exact one.

  • Emergence of the Green Revolution

    c. 1940–1969Ludhiana, Punjab, India

  • Beginning of the Digital Revolution

    c. 1947–2000Silicon Valley (Santa Clara Valley), California, USA

  • Completion of the Taipei Grand Mosque

    c. 1901–2000

  • Establishment of Women's Suffrage Worldwide

    c. 1893–1979Wellington, New Zealand

  • Establishment of Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park

    c. 1901–2000

  • Construction of Grimeton Longwave Radio Station

    c. 1901–2000

  • Construction of the Trans-Iranian Railway begins

    c. 1901–2000

  • Construction of the 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright Begins

    c. 1901–2000