January 2 – Soviet lunar probe
Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain
escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the vicinity of Earth's
Moon, where it was intended to crash-land, but instead becomes the first
spacecraft to go into
heliocentric orbit.
January 30 – Danish passenger/cargo ship
MS Hans Hedtoft, returning to
Copenhagen after its maiden voyage to
Greenland, strikes an iceberg and sinks off the Greenland coast with the loss of all 95 on board.[5]
March 28 – The
Kashag, the government of
Tibet, is abolished by an order signed by Chinese premier
Zhou Enlai. The
Dalai Lama is replaced in China by the Panchen Lama.
May 28 –
Jupiter AM-18 rocket launches two primates,
Miss Baker and Miss Able, into space from
Cape Canaveral in the United States along with living microorganisms and plant seeds. Successful recovery makes them the first living beings to return safely to Earth after space flight.
June 18 – The film The Nun's Story, based on the best-selling novel, is released.
Audrey Hepburn stars as the title character; she later says that this is her favorite film role. The film is a
box-office hit, and is nominated for several
Oscars.
June 30 – Twenty-one students are killed and more than a hundred injured when a North American
F-100 Super Sabre jet crashes into Miamori Elementary School on the Japanese island of
Okinawa. The pilot ejected before the plane struck the school.[6]
July 7 – At 14:28 UT
Venusoccults the star
Regulus. The rare event (which will next occur on October 1, 2044) is used to determine the diameter of Venus and the structure of Venus' atmosphere.
Typhoon Vera hits central
Honshū, Japan, as a 160 miles per hour (260 km/h) Category 5 storm, killing an estimated 5,098, injuring another 38,921, and leaving 1,533,000 homeless. Most of the victims and damage are centered in the
Nagoya area.
First large unit action of the
Vietnam War takes place, when two companies of the
ARVN's
23rd Division are ambushed by a well-organized
Viet Cong force of several hundred, identified as the "2nd Liberation Battalion".
Nylon tights, popularly called
pantyhose or sheer tights, are first sold on the open market as 'Panti-Legs' by
Glen Raven Knitting Mills in the United States.[19]
The first known human with
HIV dies in the
Congo.[20]
The current (as of 2024) design of the Japanese
10 yen coin is put into circulation.
The
Henney Kilowatt goes on sale in the United States, becoming the first production
electric car in almost three decades, but only 47 models will be sold in its 2-year production run.
^Graham Betts, ed. (2005). Complete UK Hit Albums 1956-2005. Collins. p. 352.
ISBN9780007205325.
^Joel Whitburn (2007). Joel Whitburn presents Billboard top adult songs, 1961-2006: chart data compiled from Billboard's adult contemporary charts, 1961-2006, and adult top 40 charts, 1996-2006. Record Research Incorporated. p. 20.
ISBN9780898201697.
^Rajamani, R. C (2000). Portraits of India's Parliamentarians for the New Millennium: Lok Sabha. Gyan Publishing House. p. 307.
ISBN9788121206921.
^"Ben Elton". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
^B. Turner, ed. (2017). The Statesman's Yearbook 2014: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 587.
ISBN9781349596430.
^Kekoa Enomoto, Catherine; Kakesako, Gregg K. (June 26, 1997).
"'IZ' Will Always Be". Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
^Simpson, Mark (2004). Saint Morrissey. London: SAF Publishing. p. 32.
ISBN0-946719-65-9.
^Chase's Calendar of Events 2020: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months. Bernan Press. 2019. p. 318.
ISBN9781641433167.
^B. Turner, ed. (2017). The Statesman's Yearbook 2014: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 997.
ISBN9781349596430.
^B. Turner, ed. (2017). The Statesman's Yearbook 2014: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 516.
ISBN9781349596430.
^"Ana Denicola". ianas.org. Inter-American Network of Academics of Sciences. Archived from
the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
January 2 – Soviet lunar probe
Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain
escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the vicinity of Earth's
Moon, where it was intended to crash-land, but instead becomes the first
spacecraft to go into
heliocentric orbit.
January 30 – Danish passenger/cargo ship
MS Hans Hedtoft, returning to
Copenhagen after its maiden voyage to
Greenland, strikes an iceberg and sinks off the Greenland coast with the loss of all 95 on board.[5]
March 28 – The
Kashag, the government of
Tibet, is abolished by an order signed by Chinese premier
Zhou Enlai. The
Dalai Lama is replaced in China by the Panchen Lama.
May 28 –
Jupiter AM-18 rocket launches two primates,
Miss Baker and Miss Able, into space from
Cape Canaveral in the United States along with living microorganisms and plant seeds. Successful recovery makes them the first living beings to return safely to Earth after space flight.
June 18 – The film The Nun's Story, based on the best-selling novel, is released.
Audrey Hepburn stars as the title character; she later says that this is her favorite film role. The film is a
box-office hit, and is nominated for several
Oscars.
June 30 – Twenty-one students are killed and more than a hundred injured when a North American
F-100 Super Sabre jet crashes into Miamori Elementary School on the Japanese island of
Okinawa. The pilot ejected before the plane struck the school.[6]
July 7 – At 14:28 UT
Venusoccults the star
Regulus. The rare event (which will next occur on October 1, 2044) is used to determine the diameter of Venus and the structure of Venus' atmosphere.
Typhoon Vera hits central
Honshū, Japan, as a 160 miles per hour (260 km/h) Category 5 storm, killing an estimated 5,098, injuring another 38,921, and leaving 1,533,000 homeless. Most of the victims and damage are centered in the
Nagoya area.
First large unit action of the
Vietnam War takes place, when two companies of the
ARVN's
23rd Division are ambushed by a well-organized
Viet Cong force of several hundred, identified as the "2nd Liberation Battalion".
Nylon tights, popularly called
pantyhose or sheer tights, are first sold on the open market as 'Panti-Legs' by
Glen Raven Knitting Mills in the United States.[19]
The first known human with
HIV dies in the
Congo.[20]
The current (as of 2024) design of the Japanese
10 yen coin is put into circulation.
The
Henney Kilowatt goes on sale in the United States, becoming the first production
electric car in almost three decades, but only 47 models will be sold in its 2-year production run.
^Graham Betts, ed. (2005). Complete UK Hit Albums 1956-2005. Collins. p. 352.
ISBN9780007205325.
^Joel Whitburn (2007). Joel Whitburn presents Billboard top adult songs, 1961-2006: chart data compiled from Billboard's adult contemporary charts, 1961-2006, and adult top 40 charts, 1996-2006. Record Research Incorporated. p. 20.
ISBN9780898201697.
^Rajamani, R. C (2000). Portraits of India's Parliamentarians for the New Millennium: Lok Sabha. Gyan Publishing House. p. 307.
ISBN9788121206921.
^"Ben Elton". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
^B. Turner, ed. (2017). The Statesman's Yearbook 2014: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 587.
ISBN9781349596430.
^Kekoa Enomoto, Catherine; Kakesako, Gregg K. (June 26, 1997).
"'IZ' Will Always Be". Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
^Simpson, Mark (2004). Saint Morrissey. London: SAF Publishing. p. 32.
ISBN0-946719-65-9.
^Chase's Calendar of Events 2020: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months. Bernan Press. 2019. p. 318.
ISBN9781641433167.
^B. Turner, ed. (2017). The Statesman's Yearbook 2014: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 997.
ISBN9781349596430.
^B. Turner, ed. (2017). The Statesman's Yearbook 2014: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 516.
ISBN9781349596430.
^"Ana Denicola". ianas.org. Inter-American Network of Academics of Sciences. Archived from
the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.