1956-1960

1956

1956 Soviet troops march into Hungary Rioting against the Russians erupted throughout Hungary. Imry Nagy became Premier and demanded the withdrawal of Soviet troops. The Soviets initially complied, but changed course and returned to Budapest to put down the revolt. Thirty thousand revolutionaries were killed. Two years later, Imry Nagy was executed for his part in the uprising.
1956 Tunisia and Morocco Become Independent Large-scale opposition to French rule forced the French to grant independence to Morocco, where M'barek Bekkai became Premier, and Tunisia, where Habib Bourguiba became Prime Minister.
1956 Sudan Becomes Independent Sudan had been under joint Egyptian-British rule. A referendum was held to determine whether Sudan would become part of Egypt or be totally independent. The Sudanese voted for independence and, on January 1, independence was declared.
1956Suez War Following the Israeli War of Independence, the British, Americans and French, by mutual agreement, did not supply either the Israelis or the Arabs with significant quantities of armaments. In October 1955, Egypt signed an arms deal with Czechoslovakia, which provided Egypt with very significant quantities of weaponry. The arms deal, combined with continued fedayeen (armed terrorist) raids in southern Israel, convinced Israeli leaders that steps would have to be taken to alleviate the situation and that this would have to be done before Egyptian forces were able to achieve strategic predominance in the area.

On July 26, 1956, Egyptian President Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal. This gave the British and French -- who had already been selling Israel advanced weapons -- a significant motive for cooperating with an Israeli attack on Nasser.

On October 29, 1956, the Israeli Defense Forces attacked Egyptian forces in the Sinai. Israel rapidly defeated the Egyptians, with a loss of just 180 men. The Egyptians suffered over 1,000 fatalities, and more than 6,000 Egyptians were captured as prisoners of war. The Israeli forces halted 10 miles short of the canal, allowing the British and French troops to intervene to protect the canal. The British and French forces then attacked and occupied the canal zone.

Sustained American pressure, backed up by Russian threats, forced the British and French to withdraw. The Israelis were similarly pressured. Ultimately, Israel was forced to withdraw from the Sinai and Gaza Strip. In return, the Straits of Tiran were opened for Israeli shipping, and a U.N. force was placed in the Sinai and Gaza Strip as a buffer.
1956 Caravelle Aerospatiale introduced the twin jet Caravelle. This plane was the first jet created for the short-haul market. The first Caravelle entered service for Air France on May 9, 1959. The Caravelle was designed to carry 60 - 99 passengers, depending on the configuration.
1956 Tupelov TU- 104 Introduced When the "Tupelov-104" began flying, it was the first Soviet passenger jet. It was, in fact, a modified Soviet Badger Bomber.
1956 First Trans- Atlantic Telephone Cable The first transatlantic telephone cable between Newfoundland and Scotland was completed in 1956. The cable ran 2,250 miles.
1956 US Condemns Britain, Fance, and Israel The United States condemned Great Britain, France and Israel for their collective attack on Egypt. Israel, responding to terrorist attacks, seized the Sinai, while Britain and France colluded to seize the Suez Canal, which had earlier been seized by the Egyptians. All sides were forced to withdraw due to US pressure.

1957

1957 Rome Treaty, Common Market Established On March 25, the Rome Treaty was signed by France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The treaty established the European Economic Community, otherwise known as the Common Market.
1957 Sputnick Launched by Russians On October 4, the Soviet Union launched the first satellite into space. The satellite, with a diameter of 22 inches, marked the beginning of the Space Age.
1957 Moa Says: " Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom...." The Chairman of China's Communist Party, Mao Tse-Tung, delivered a speech in which he stated: "Let a thousand flowers bloom, a hundred schools of thought contend." To many observers, these statements seemed to indicate a relaxing of totalitarian rule. Criticism directed against the government soon developed. The government reacted, warning that the critics were "rightists."
1957 USSR and US Launch ICBMs In late 1957, both the United States and the USSR successfully launched Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles.
1957 Military Dictatorship in Venezuela A nine year military dictatorship in Venezuela was ousted in 1957. Large scale rioting led to its fall.
1957 Francois Duvalier Becomes Dictator in Haiti Francois Duvalier was elected President of Haiti. This began a 14-year dictatorship and reign of terror.
1957 Federal Troops Integrated Schools in Little Rock After local authorities refused to implement court-ordered desegregation, President Eisenhower ordered federal troops to do the job. He stated: "The Federal Constitution will be upheld by me, by every means at my command."

1958

1958 Imry Nagy Executed in Hungary The Hungarian Communist regime executed Imry Nagy, the leader of the Hungarian revolution of 1956.
1958 Quemoy and Matsu Quemoy and Matsu are two islands located off the Chinese coast. They were held by the Nationalist Chinese of Taiwan, and claimed by the Communist Chinese on the Mainland. The Communists began bombarding Quemoy and Matsu with long range guns, attempting to cut off supply lines to the islands. President Eisenhower announced that the United States considered defense of the islands essential to the defense of Taiwan. The US escorted a convoy of Nationalist ships aimed at resupplying Quemoy. The Communists briefly held their fire but later continued to fire intermittently at the islands.
1958 Egypt and Syria Join United Arab Republic Nasser was the leading Arab proponent of Pan-Arab Nationalism. He proposed the merging of individual Arab states into one Arab entity. He successfully negotiated the merger of Egypt and Syria into the United Arab Republic. The merger lasted until 1961, when Syrian troops revolted, creating a Syrian Revolutionary Command that declared independence from Egypt.
1958 US Troops Land in Lebanon President Eisenhower ordered 5,000 Marines to Lebanon to help maintain order after a revolt in Iraq resulted in the ouster of the pro-Western Lebanese government. This followed the imposition of a pro-Soviet regime in Iraq.
1958 Explorer I Launched On January 31, the US put its first satellite, "Explorer I," into orbit around the earth. The launch came after the Soviets had successfully launched a satellite called "Sputnik" one year earlier. For a brief period, it seemed that the Soviets had a major lead in space. This was soon translated into what became known as "the missile gap."
1958 Douglas Introduced DC- 8 On May 30, the first prototype DC-8 made its maiden flight. The plane, powered by 4 Pratt & Whitney Turbojets, flew for 2 hours and 7 minutes. The DC-8 entered commercial service on September 18, 1959, one year later than the 707 went into commercial service. Sales of the DC-8 lagged considerably behind the sales of the 707, due mainly to the fact that it was sold in one size (until the mid 1960's), while Boeing offered a number of variations of the 707. Douglas produced 556 DC-8 planes.
1958 Pan Am introduced 707 Service Across Atlantic Pan Am introduced 707 trans-Atlantic jet service on October 27, when its first 707, named "Clipper America", set off for Paris from Idlewild, New York.
1958 F-4 Phantom Unveiled By Mcdonell- Douglas The F-4 was first unveiled by McDonnell-Douglas in 1958. It soon became the backbone of the US Airforce, serving in twin roles, as both an interceptor as well as a ground support bomber. It served as the frontline American aircraft in the Vietnam War. The Phantom was also used by the Navy as the premier carrier-based fighter. The F-4 is also famous for the role it played as the major Israeli aircraft during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The US Airforce still uses the Phantom II today, mostly in its "Wild Weasel Configuration" (a missile suppressor). Israel has an extensive modernization program called "Phantom 2000," designed to extend the Phantom's life cycle into the 21st century.

1959

1959 EFTA Founded Great Britain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria and Portugal established the "European Free Trade Association" as a counterpart to the Common Market.
1959 Singapore Independent Singapore became an independent state on June 3, 1959.
1959 Uprising in Tibet Fighting broke out between Communist Chinese troops and the local population, who were rebelling against Communist rule. The Communists put down the rebellion, dissolved the Tibetan local government and forced the Dalai Lama into exile.
1959 Degaulle Agrees to Vote on Algerian Independence French casualties continued to mount in Algeria. France's position that Algeria was part of their country was under attack throuhout the world. Thus, French President DeGaulle bowed to what seemed the inevitable and agreed to a referendum in Algeria on independence.
1959 St. Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway was opened on June 26. The Seaway, which was a joint Canadian-American project, allowed ships to travel to the Great Lakes, thereby opening American and Canadian lake ports to sea transportation.
1959 Alaska Admitted to the Union On January 3, 1959, Alaska became the 49th state admitted to the Union.
1959 Hawaii Admitted to the Union On August 21, Hawaii, the "Aloha State," joined the Union.
1959 Kitchen Debate During a visit to the Soviet Union by US Vice President Nixon, he and Soviet Premier Khrushchev engaged in a so called "kitchen debate" on the merits of Communism and Capitalism. The debate took place at the opening of the American National Exposition in Moscow.
1959 X- 15 Makes First Flight The "X-15 Rocket" Aircraft made its first flight from a B-52 Bomber in 1959. The plane set many speed records, obtaining a top speed of Mach 6. The X-15 was used to test many concepts later used in the space program.
1959 Castro Seizes Power in Cuba On January 1st, Fidel Castro marched into Havana after Cuban dictator Batista had fled. Castro, who had led the successful revolution against Batista, was widely welcomed-- even by the U.S. Castro soon signed a friendship treaty with the Soviet Union. He also confiscated large agrarian holdings. As far as the United States was concerned, these two actions transformed Castro from a freedom fighter into a Communist.

1960

1960 Failed Summit in Paris The summit at Paris took place in the shadow of the Russian downing of an American U-2 fighter over the Soviet Union. The Soviets, led by Khrushchev, used the summit as a means of scoring a propoganda victory over the US. The summit, thus, accomplished nothing but to raise the level of rhetoric on both sides.
1960 Sino Soviets Split An ideological split developed between the communist Chinese and the communist government of the Soviet Union. The ideological roots of the dispute lay in the more pragramatic approach to world affairs that Premier Khrushchev was taking. In addition, the long-simmering border disputes between the parties began to effect their relations.
1960 Syngman Rhee Resigns Syngman Rhee was re-elected for a fourth term as President of South Korea in March 1960. Demonstrations broke out protesting that the elections had been rigged. On April 19, police fired on demonstrators, killing 127 people. On April 27, Rhee resigned.
1960 Niger, Mauritania, Mali, French Congo, Chad, and Madagascar all became Independent.
1960 Nigeria becomes Independent On October 1, Nigeria became independent. Its first governor general was Nnamdi Azikiwe. A, year later Northern Cameroon voted for union with Nigeria.
1960 Belgian Congo Independent On June 30, an independent Republic of the Congo was created, with Joseph Kasavubu as President and Patrice Lumumba as Premier. A civil war broke out when Moise Tshombe declared the Kantaga Province independent. The Congo government appealed to the U.N. for aid, and troops were dispatched. Kasavubu tried dismissing Lumumba, who had asked for assistance from the Soviet bloc. When Lumumba refused to be relieved, Col. Joseph Mobutu, commander of the Congo military, took over the government. Lumumba was captured and killed. The secession in Kantaga finally came to an end in 1964, when government forces took Albertville.
1960 U-2 Downed A U-2 spy plane, piloted by Francis Gary Powers, was shot down by the Soviet Union. The downing resulted in the complete failure of the four-part summit meeting held in Paris on May 17, when President Eisenhower refused Khruschev's demand for an apology for past aggression against the USSR.
1960 Polaris Missile Fired The United States Navy test-fired a Polaris Missile from a submarine. The successful firing of the Polaris allowed the United States to base a substantial portion of its nuclear deterrent forces on submarines, where they were safe from a successful first strike by Soviet forces.
1960 USS Enterprise Launched The USS Enterprise was the first aircraft carrier to be powered by nuclear reactors. The nuclear reactors freed the Enterprise from the need for refueling.
1960 Planes Collide On December 16, two airliners collided over the skies of Brooklyn, NY. The two planes involved were a United DC-8 and a TWA Super Constellation. There was only one survivor. The DC-8 was scheduled to land at Idlewild, while the Super Constellation was going to land at La Guardia. This crash, and a previous crash over the Grand Canyon, spurred the government to overhaul the national air traffic control system.