January 31, 1958. The first successful American satellite, Explorer 1, is launched into orbit from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

February 1, 1958. Egypt and Syria unite to form the United Arab Republic. Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser will be president of the U.A.R. until Syria secedes in 1961.

May, 1958. In Algeria, 40,000 French settlers riot in protest against the French government’s agreement to give Algeria its independence.

June 16, 1958. Two years after the Hungarian uprising against Soviet control of their country, former Hungarian Prime Minister Imre Nagy, who sympathized with the rebels, is hanged for treason. Hungarians are angry but powerless to resist the Soviet-influenced Communists who control the country.

July 14, 1958. King Faisal of Iraq and Jordan, his son the crown prince and the prime minister of Iraq are all murdered n a military coup, and a republic is established.

July 29, 1958. The U.S. Congress formally creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

October, 1958. The USSR agrees to loan money to Egypt to build the Aswan High Dam across the Nile River in Aswan, Egypt.

November 28, 1958. Chad, the Republic of the Congo, and Gabon become autonomous republics within the French Community.

December 21, 1958. General Charles de Gaulle is elected president of France for a term of seven years. The major issue facing his government is whether or not to grant Algerian independence. French settlers in Algeria want the colony to remain under French rule, but Algerian nationalists are fighting for independence.

December 29, 1958. Rebel troops under Che Guevara begin to invade Santa Clara, Cuba. President Fulgencio Batista resigns two days later, on the night of the 31st.