1958

January 1958 January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. January 4 Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third overland journey to the South Pole, the first to use powered vehicles. Sputnik 1 (launched on October 4, 1957) falls to Earth from its orbit, and burns up. January 13 – Battle of Edchera: The Moroccan Army of Liberation ambushes a Spanish patrol. January 27 – A Soviet-American executive agreement on cultural, educational and scientific exchanges, also known as the "Lacy–Zarubin Agreement", is signed in Washington, D.C. January 31 – The first successful American satellite, Explorer 1, is launched into orbit. February 1958 February 1 – Egypt and Syria unite, to form the United Arab Republic. February 6 – Seven Manchester United footballers are among the 21 people killed in the Munich air disaster in West Germany, on the return flight from a European Cup game in Yugoslavia. 23 people survive, manager Matt Busby and players Johnny Berry and Duncan Edwards are in a serious condition. Berry will never play again and Edwards dies a fortnight later. February 11 Marshal Chen Yi succeeds Zhou Enlai as Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs. Ruth Carol Taylor is the first African American woman hired as a flight attendant. Hired by Mohawk Airlines, her career lasts only 6 months, due to another discriminatory barrier – the airline's ban on married flight attendants. February 14 – The Hashemite Kingdoms of Iraq and Jordan unite in the Arab Federation, with King Faisal II of Iraq as head of state. February 21 – A peace symbol is designed and completed by Gerald Holtom, commissioned by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, in protest against the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment. February 23 Cuban rebels kidnap five-time world driving champion Juan Manuel Fangio, releasing him 28 hours later. Arturo Frondizi is elected president of Argentina. February 24 – In Cuba, Fidel Castro's Radio Rebelde begins broadcasting from Sierra Maestra.