1958 in the United States

Events from the year 1958 in the United States.

Incumbents

Federal government

* President: Dwight D. Eisenhower ( R-Kansas/Pennsylvania)
* Vice President: Richard Nixon ( R-California)
* Chief Justice: Earl Warren (California)
* Speaker of the House of Representatives: Sam Rayburn ( D-Texas)
* Senate Majority Leader: Lyndon B. Johnson ( D-Texas)
* Congress: 85th

Events

January–March

* January 8 – Bobby Fischer, 14 years old at the time, wins the United States Chess Championship.
* January 13 – In ''One, Inc. v. Olesen'', the Supreme Court affirms that homosexual writing is not ''per se'' obscene.
* January 18
** Battle of Hayes Pond: Armed Lumbee Indians confront the Ku Klux Klan in Maxton, North Carolina.
** The first of Leonard Bernstein's ''Young People's Concerts'' with the New York Philharmonic is telecast by CBS. The Emmy-winning series (one concert approximately every 3 months except for the summer) will run for more than 14 years. It will make Bernstein's name a household word, and the most famous conductor in the U.S.
* January 28 – Hall of Fame baseball player Roy Campanella is involved in an automobile accident that ends his career and leaves him paralyzed.
* January 31 – The first successful American satellite, Explorer 1, is launched into orbit.
* February 5 – The Tybee Bomb, a 7,600 pound (3,500 kg) Mark 15 hydrogen bomb, is lost in the waters off Savannah, Georgia.
* February 11 – Ruth Carol Taylor is the first African American woman hired as a flight attendant. Working for Mohawk Airlines, her career lasts only six months, due to another discriminatory barrier – the airline's ban on married flight attendants.
* February 20 – A test rocket explodes at Cape Canaveral.
* February 28 – Prestonsburg, Kentucky bus disaster: The worst school bus accident in U.S. history up to this date occurs at Prestonsburg, Kentucky; 27 are killed.
* March 1 – Archbishop of Chicago Samuel Stritch is appointed Pro-Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of Faith, thus becoming the first American to head a dicastery of the Roman Curia.
* March 8 – The USS ''Wisconsin'' is decommissioned, leaving the United States Navy without an active battleship for the first time since 1896 (it is recommissioned October 22, 1988).
* March 11 – 1958 Mars Bluff B-47 nuclear weapon loss incident: A U.S. B-47 bomber accidentally drops an atom bomb on Mars Bluff, South Carolina. Its conventional explosives destroy a house and injure several people, but no nuclear fission occurs.
* March 17
** The Convention on the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization ( IMCO) enters into force, founding the IMCO as a specialized agency of the United Nations.
** The United States launches the Vanguard 1 satellite.
* March 19
** Monarch Underwear Company fire in New York.
** Warner Bros. Records, the company which would later become Warner Records, is founded by its namesake, Warner Bros. Pictures.
* March 24 – The U.S. Army inducts Elvis Presley, transforming "The King Of Rock & Roll" into U.S. private #53310761.
* March 26
**The United States Army launches Explorer 3.
**The 30th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Bob Hope, Rosalind Russell, David Niven, James Stewart, Jack Lemmon and a premade animation of Donald Duck, is held at RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. David Lean's ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' wins seven awards, including Best Motion Picture and Best Director for Lean. Joshua Logan's ''Sayonara'' receives the most nominations with ten.

April–June

* April – Unemployment in Detroit reaches 20%, marking the height of the Recession of 1958 in the United States.
* April 15 – The San Francisco Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8–0 at San Francisco's Seals Stadium, in the first Major League Baseball regular-season game ever played in California.
* April 21 – A United Airlines DC-7 and U.S. Air Force F-100 Super Sabre fighter jet collide near Las Vegas, Nevada, killing all 49 aboard the two aircraft.
* May 9 – Actor-singer Paul Robeson, whose passport has been reinstated, sings in a sold-out one-man recital at Carnegie Hall. The recital is such a success that Robeson gives another one at Carnegie Hall a few days later. But after these two concerts, Robeson is seldom seen in public in the United States again. His Carnegie Hall concerts are later released on records and on CD.
* May 12 – A formal North American Aerospace Defense Command agreement is signed between the United States and Canada.
* May 13 – During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, Vice President Richard M. Nixon's car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators.
* May 20 – A Capital Airlines airliner and Air National Guard jet collide near Brunswick, Maryland, killing 1

* May 23 – Explorer 1 ceases transmission.
* May 30 – The bodies of unidentified soldiers killed in action during World War II and the Korean War are buried at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.
* June 2 – In San Simeon, California, Hearst Castle opens to the public for guided tours.
* June 8 – The is launched; it will be the largest freighter on the Great Lakes for more than a dozen years.
* June 15 – The first Pizza Hut restaurant opens in Wichita, Kansas.
* June 17 – The U.S. condemns the execution of Imre Nagy as a "shocking act of cruelty".

July–September

* July – The plastic hula hoop is first marketed.
* July 3 – 1958 US–UK Mutual Defence Agreement signed in Washington, D.C.
* July 7 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Alaska Statehood Act into United States law.
* July 9 – 1958 Lituya Bay megatsunami: A 7.8 strike-slip earthquake in Southeast Alaska causes a landslide that produces a megatsunami. The runup from the waves reached on the rim of Lituya Bay.
* July 15 – During the 1958 Lebanon crisis, 5,000 United States Marines land in the capital Beirut in order to protect the pro-Western government there.
* July 29 – The U.S. Congress formally creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
* August 3 – The nuclear powered submarine USS ''Nautilus'' becomes the first vessel to cross the North Pole under water.
* August 12 – The Federal Switchblade Act is enacted in the United States.
* August 17 – The first Thor-Able rocket is launched, carrying Pioneer 0, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17. The launch fails due to a first stage malfunction.
* August 18 – Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel ''Lolita'' is published in the United States.
* August 21–October 15 – Illinois observes the centennial of the Lincoln–Douglas debates.
* August 23 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, transferring all authority over aviation in the U.S. to the newly created Federal Aviation Agency (FAA, later renamed Federal Aviation Administration).
* August 27 – Operation Argus: The United States begins nuclear tests over the South Atlantic.
* September – The University of New Orleans begins classes as the first racially integrated public university in the Southern United States.
* September 15 – Newark Bay rail accident kills 48 people and injures the same number.
* September 18 – "Fresno Drop": BankAmericard, the first credit card to be widely offered, is launched in Fresno, California.
* September 23 – ''The Spirit of Detroit'' statue is dedicated in Detroit, Michigan.

October–December

* October 1 – NASA starts operations and replaces the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.
* October 9 – The New York Yankees defeat the Milwaukee Braves, 4 games to 3, to win their 18th World Series Title.
* October 11 – Pioneer 1, the second and most successful of the three-project Able space probes, becomes the first spacecraft launched by the newly formed NASA.
* November 12 – ''The Nose'' (El Capitan) in Yosemite National Park is first climbed, by Warren Harding, Wayne Merry and George Whitmore in 47 days.
* November 20 – The Jim Henson Company is founded as Muppets, Inc.
* November 23 – '' Have Gun, Will Travel'' debuts on American radio.
* December 1 – Our Lady of the Angels School fire: At least 90 students and 3 nuns are killed in a fire at Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago.
* December 6 – A third Thor-Able rocket launch, carrying the Pioneer 2 probe, is unsuccessful due to a third-stage ignition failure.
* December 9 – The right-wing John Birch Society is founded in the U.S. by Robert W. Welch Jr., a retired candy manufacturer.
* December 19 – A message from President Dwight D. Eisenhower is broadcast from SCORE, the world's first communications satellite, launched by the U.S. the previous day.
* December 25 – Tchaikovsky's ballet ''The Nutcracker'' (the George Balanchine version) is shown on prime-time television in color for the first time, as an episode of the CBS anthology series ''Playhouse 90''.
* December 28 – 1958 NFL Championship Game: The Baltimore Colts beat the New York Giants 23–17 in overtime to win the NFL Championship in American football.

Undated

* Based on birth rates (per 1,000 population), the post-war baby boom ends in the United States as an 11-year decline in the birth rate begins (the longest on record in the country).
* The United Kingdom, Soviet Union and the U.S. agree to stop testing atomic bombs for 3 years.
* Robert Frank publishes his photographic essay ''The Americans'' (in Paris).
* The PBA Tour is established by the Professional Bowlers Association at its headquarters in Seattle for ten-pin bowling.

Ongoing

* Cold War (1947–1991)
* Space Race (1957–1975)

Births

January

* January 1
** Dave Silk, American ice hockey player and coach
** Grandmaster Flash, born Joseph Saddler, African American hip-hop/rap DJ
* January 4
** Andy Borowitz, American comedian and author
** Lorna Doom, musician (d. 2019)
** James J. Greco, American businessman
** Jim Powers, American wrestler
* January 6 – Scott Bryce, actor, director, and producer
* January 8 – Betsy DeVos, 11th United States Secretary of Education
* January 9 – Rob McClanahan, ice hockey player
* January 10 – Eddie Cheever, race car driver
* January 11
** Alyson Reed, dancer and actress
** Vicki Peterson, rock musician (The Bangles)
* January 12 – Curt Fraser, American ice hockey coach
* January 14 – Patricia Morrison, American singer-songwriter and bass player
* January 20 – Lorenzo Lamas, American actor, martial artist and reality show participant
* January 21 – Gareth Branwyn, American journalist and critic
* January 23 – Steve Christoff, ice hockey player
* January 24 – Neil Allen, baseball player and coach
* January 26
** Anita Baker, African-American soul and R&B singer
** Xavier Becerra, politician and attorney, Attorney General of California
** Ellen DeGeneres, American actress and comedian
* January 27 – Susanna Thompson, American actress
* January 29 – Stephen Lerner, American labor and community activist

February

* February 7 – Kevin Schon, American voice actor
* February 8 – Sherri Martel, American professional wrestler (d. 2007)
* February 16
** Ice-T, born Tracy Marrow, American rapper
** Nancy Donahue, American fashion model and entrepreneur
* February 17 – Alan Wiggins, American baseball player (d. 1991)
* February 18 – Gar Samuelson, American drummer (d. 1999)
* February 19 – Leslie David Baker, African-American actor
* February 21
** Jack Coleman (actor), Jack Coleman, American actor and screenwriter
** Denise Dowse, American actress and director
** Jake Steinfeld, American actor
** Mary Chapin Carpenter, American singer
* February 24 – Todd Fisher, American actor
* February 25 – Kurt Rambis, American basketball player
* February 26
** Susan J. Helms, American astronaut
** Tim Kaine, American politician
** Chris Phillips (voice actor), Chris Phillips, American voice actor
* February 27
** Maggie Hassan, American politician
** Michael LeMoyne Kennedy, American lawyer and activist (died 1997 in the United States, 1997)
** Nancy Spungen, American groupie and girlfriend of Sid Vicious (died 1978 in the United States, 1978)
* February 28 – Mark Pavelich, American professional ice hockey player

March

* March 4 – Patricia Heaton, American actress
* March 9
** Linda Fiorentino, American actress or 1960 (sources differ)
** Mary Murphy (choreographer), Mary Murphy, dance choreographer
* March 10
** Steve Howe (baseball), Steve Howe, American baseball player (died 2006 in the United States, 2006)
** Sharon Stone, American actress and producer
* March 11 – Anissa Jones, American child actress (“Family Affair”) (died 1976 in the United States, 1976)
* March 15 – John Friedrich (actor), John Friedrich, American actor
* March 18
** John Elefante, American singer and producer (''Kansas (band), Kansas'')
** Kayo Hatta, American film director (d. 2005)
* March 20 – Holly Hunter, American actress
* March 23
** Eldon Hoke, American singer and drummer (d. 1997)
** Michael Sorich, American voice actor, actor, writer, director and voice director
* March 25
** John Ensign, politician
** James McDaniel, actor
* March 26 – Todd Joseph Miles Holden, American-born social scientist, author, basketball coach
* March 28
** Bart Conner, American gymnast
** Curt Hennig, American professional wrestler (died 2003 in the United States, 2003)
* March 31 – Lisa Michelson, American voice actress (died 1991)

April

* April 1 – D. Boon, American singer and guitarist (d. 1985 in the United States, 1985)
* April 3 – Alec Baldwin, American actor, producer and comedian
* April 4 – Constance Shulman, American actress
* April 14 – John D'Aquino, American film and television actor
* April 21 – Andie MacDowell, American actress
* April 26 – Giancarlo Esposito, Italian-American actor
* April 25 - Cynthia Matthews-Propes, American Songwriter/Pianist
* April 28 – Hal Sutton, American golfer
* April 29
** Michelle Pfeiffer, American actress
** Eve Plumb, American actress

May

* May 4 – Keith Haring, American artist (d. 1990 in the United States, 1990)
* May 8 – Lovie Smith, American football player and coach
* May 10
** Rick Santorum, American politician
** Ellen Ochoa, American astronaut, first Hispanic woman to go into space
* May 11
** Christian Brando, American actor and eldest child of Marlon Brando (d. 2008)
** Walt Terrell, American baseball player
* May 12
** Jennifer Hetrick, American actress
** Tony Oliver, American voice actor
** Eric Singer, American rock drummer
* May 15 – Ron Simmons, American professional wrestler
* May 19 – Jenny Durkan, American politician
* May 20
** Ron Reagan, political pundit and son of U.S. president Ronald Reagan
** Jane Wiedlin, American musician and actress
* May 21 – Tom Feeney, American politician
* May 23
** Mitch Albom, American author
** Drew Carey, American comedian and actor
** Lea DeLaria, American comedian and actress
* May 25 – Carrie Newcomer, American singer-songwriter & musician
* May 26 – Margaret Colin, American actress
* May 27 – Linnea Quigley, American actress
* May 29 – Annette Bening, American actress
* May 30 – Ted McGinley, American actor

June

* June 2
** Lex Luger, former American professional wrestler
** Brian Regan (comedian), Brian Regan, American stand-up comedian
* June 4 – Gordon P. Robertson, American televangelist and son of Pat Robertson
* June 5
** Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, Comoroan businessman and politician, President of Comoros
** Eric Strobel, American professional ice hockey player
** Warren Thomas, American comedian (d. 2005)
* June 7 – Prince (musician), Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson, African-American rock musician (d. 2016 in the United States, 2016)
* June 8
** Cyril O'Reilly, American actor
** Keenen Ivory Wayans, African-American comedian, actor, and director
* June 9 – Tony Horwitz, American journalist and author (d. 2019 in the United States, 2019)
* June 10 – James F. Conant, American philosopher
* June 11 – Tim Draper, American venture capitalist
* June 12
** Rebecca Holden, American actress, singer, and entertainer
** Meredith Brooks, American singer, songwriter and guitarist
* June 14
** Eric Heiden, American speed skater
** Pamela Geller, American activist and blogger
* June 15 – Wade Boggs, American baseball player
* June 17 – Jello Biafra, American punk musician and activist
* June 20
** Ron Hornaday Jr., American race car driver
** Chuck Wagner, American actor
* June 21 – Eric Douglas, American actor (d. 2004)
* June 22
** Bruce Campbell, American actor, producer, writer and director
* June 24
** John Tortorella, American ice hockey coach
** Tom Lister Jr., American actor and professional wrestler (d. 2020 in the United States, 2020)
* June 26 – Glen Stewart Godwin, American fugitive and convicted murderer
* June 27 – Jeffrey Lee Pierce, American musician (d. 1996)
* June 29 – Jeff Coopwood, American actor, broadcaster and singer
* June 30 – Tommy Keene, American singer-songwriter (d. 2017)

July

* July 2 – Thomas Bickerton, Methodist bishop
* July 5 – Bill Watterson, cartoonist and the author of the comic strip ''Calvin and Hobbes''
* July 8 – Kevin Bacon, actor
* July 11 – Stephanie Dabney, ballerina (d. 2022 in the United States, 2022)
* July 13
** Roger L. Jackson, voice actor
** Dan Schachte, hockey linesman (d. 2022 in the United States, 2022)
* July 15 – Mac Thornberry, politician
* July 16
** Mick Cornett, politician
** Michael Flatley, American-Irish dancer and choreographer
** Mike Rogers (Alabama politician), Mike Rogers, politician
* July 20 – Billy Mays, salesman (d. 2009 in the United States, 2009)

August

* August 1 – Michael Penn, American singer
* August 7 − Buddy Dyer, American politician
* August 10 – Don Swayze, American actor
* August 13 – Lizzie Grey, American musician (d. 2019)
* August 15 – Rondell Sheridan, American actor
* August 16
** Angela Bassett, African-American screen actress and film director
** Madonna, born Madonna Louise Ciccone, pop singer and performer
* August 17 – Belinda Carlisle, pop rock singer
* August 18
** Reg E. Cathey, African-American actor (d. 2018)
** Madeleine Stowe, American actress
* August 19
** Anthony Muñoz, American football player
** Rick Snyder, politician
* August 20 – Michael Silka, American spree killer (d. 1984 in the United States, 1984)
* August 22
** Brady Boone, American professional wrestler (d. 1998)
** Colm Feore, American-born Canadian actor
* August 24 – Steve Guttenberg, American actor
* August 25
** Tim Burton, American film director
** Christian LeBlanc, American actor
* August 26 – Billy Ray Irick, American convicted murderer (d. 2018)
* August 28 – Colm Feore, American-Canadian actor
* August 29 – Michael Jackson, African-American singer and musician (d. 2009 in the United States, 2009)
* August 31 – Julie Brown, American actress

September

* September 4 – Drew Pinsky, American celebrity doctor
* September 6 – Jeff Foxworthy, American comedian
* September 10 – Chris Columbus (filmmaker), Chris Columbus, American film director, writer, and producer
* September 11
** Brad Lesley, American baseball player (died 2013 in the United States, 2013)
** Scott Patterson, American actor
** Phoef Sutton, American screenwriter and producer
* September 15 – Wendie Jo Sperber, American actress (died 2005 in the United States, 2005)
* September 16
** Orel Hershiser, American baseball player
** Jennifer Tilly, Canadian-American actress
* September 18 – Jeff Bostic, American football player
* September 22 – Joan Jett, American rock musician
* September 23 – Marvin Lewis, American football coach
* September 24 – Kevin Sorbo, American actor
* September 26 – Darby Crash, American rock songwriter, singer (Germs (band), Germs) (died 1980 in the United States, 1980)
* September 27 – Shaun Cassidy, American actor, producer and screenwriter
* September 30 – Marty Stuart, American singer

October

* October 4
** Ned Luke, American actor
** Wendy Makkena, American actress
* October 5 – Neil deGrasse Tyson, African-American astrophysicist
* October 9 – Michael Paré, American actor
* October 10 – Tanya Tucker, American singer
* October 13 – Maria Cantwell, American politician
* October 16 – Tim Robbins, American actor and director
* October 17 – Alan Jackson, American country singer and songwriter
* October 18 – Letitia James, American lawyer, activist and politician
* October 20
** Scott Hall, American professional wrestler (died 2022)
** Viggo Mortensen, Danish-American actor
* October 22 – Keena Turner, American football player
* October 24
** Vincent K. Brooks, American general
** Chip Hooper, American tennis player and coach

November

* November 2 – Willie McGee, African-American baseball player
* November 5 – Robert Patrick, American actor
* November 8 – Jeff Speakman, American actor and martial artist
* November 12
** Megan Mullally, American actress, singer and media personality
** Nick Stellino, Italian-American chef and author
* November 16 – Marg Helgenberger, American actress
* November 17 – Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, American actress and singer
* November 18
** Oscar Nunez, Cuban-American actor and comedian
** Kath Weston, American anthropologist, author and academic
* November 19 – Michael Wilbon, American sportswriter
* November 22 – Jamie Lee Curtis, American actress and author
* November 25 – Darlanne Fluegel, American actress
* November 28 – Dave Righetti, American baseball player
* November 30 – Stacey Q, American singer & actress

December

* December 1 – Charlene Tilton, American actress
* December 6 – Debbie Rowe, American ex-wife of Michael Jackson
* December 11
** Tom Shadyac, American director and producer
** Nikki Sixx, rock musician
** Isabella Hofmann, actress
* December 13 – Lynn-Holly Johnson, ice skater and actress
* December 22 – Lenny von Dohlen, American actor (d. 2022 in the United States, 2022)
* December 25
** Hanford Dixon, American football player
** Rickey Henderson, African-American baseball player
** Cheryl Chase (actress), Cheryl Chase, American voice actress and singer
* December 28
** Twila Paris, Christian musician
** Joe Diffie, country singer (died 2020 in the United States, 2020)
* December 31 – Bebe Neuwirth, American actress

Full date unknown

* Karl Fields, university professor

Deaths

* January 1
** Archie Alexander, designer (born 1888 in the United States, 1888)
** William T. Bovie, biophysicist and inventor (born 1882 in the United States, 1882)
** Edward Weston, photographer (born 1886 in the United States, 1886)
* January 6 – Lois Irene Marshall, wife of Thomas R. Marshall, Second Lady of the United States (born 1873 in the United States, 1873)
* January 8 – Mary Colter, architect and designer (born 1869 in the United States, 1869)
* January 11 – Edna Purviance, silent film actress (born 1895 in the United States, 1895)
* January 13 – Jesse L. Lasky, film producer (born 1880 in the United States, 1880)
* February 1 – Clinton Davisson, physicist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1937 (born 1888)
* February 4
** Monta Bell, actor and director (born 1891)
** Henry Kuttner, author (born 1915)
* February 27 – Harry Cohn, film producer (born 1891 in the United States, 1891)
* March 22 (in plane crash)
** Mike Todd, film producer (born 1909 in the United States, 1909)
** Art Cohn, screenwriter (born 1909)
* March 28
** W. C. Handy, African American blues composer (born 1873 in the United States, 1873)
** Chuck Klein, baseball player (born 1904 in the United States, 1904)
* April 2 – Michael MacDonald, unseen subject of "Tragedy by the Sea" (b. 1952)
* May 5 – James Branch Cabell, fantasy writer (born 1879 in the United States, 1879)
* June 10 – Angelina Weld Grimke, African American lesbian journalist and poet (born 1880)
* July 9 – James H. Flatley, naval aviator and admiral (born 1906 in the United States, 1906)
* July 26 – Eugene Millikin, U.S. Senator from Colorado from 1941 to 1957 (born 1891)
* August 14 or 15 – Big Bill Broonzy, African American blues singer-songwriter (born 1893 in the United States, 1893)
* August 27 – Ernest Lawrence, nuclear physicist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1939 (born 1901 in the United States, 1901)
* August 29 – Marjorie Flack, artist, illustrator and writer (born 1897 in the United States, 1897)
* September 15 – Snuffy Stirnweiss, baseball player (born 1918 in the United States, 1918)
* September 25 – John B. Watson, psychologist (born 1878 in the United States, 1878)
* October 7 – Louise Hammond Willis Snead, artist, writer, and composer (born 1868 in the United States, 1868)
* October 19 – Mary F. Hoyt, first woman appointed to the United States federal civil service, U.S. federal civil service, in 1883 (born 1858 in the United States, 1858)
* October 27 – Marshall Neilan, actor and director (born 1891 in the United States, 1891)
* October 29 – Zoë Akins, playwright, poet and author (born 1886)
* November 15
** Samuel Hopkins Adams, writer (born 1871 in the United States, 1871)
** Tyrone Power, actor (born 1914 in the United States, 1914)
* November 21:
** Mel Ott, baseball player (born 1909 in the United States, 1909)
** Lion Feuchtwanger, German-American novelist and playwright (born 1884 in Germany, 1884)
* November 24 – Harry Parke, comedian (born 1904 in the United States, 1904)
* December 29 – Doris Humphrey, dancer and choreographer (born 1895)

See also

* List of American films of 1958
* Timeline of United States history (1950–1969)

References

External links

*

{{Year in North America, 1958

1958 in the United States,
1950s in the United States
1958 by country, United States
1958 in North America, United States
Years of the 20th century in the United States