Contemporary
Invention of the Integrated Circuit (1958): Kilby and Noyce
Two independent inventions created the integrated circuit, the basis of modern microchips and computers.
Era · 1945 – present
Contemporary
From the Cold War and the Space Race to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the world we live in today.
Contemporary
Founding of NASA (1958): How America's Space Agency Began
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration replaced NACA as a civilian agency directing the US space programme.
Contemporary
Explorer 1 (1958): First US Satellite and the Van Allen Belts
The United States placed its first satellite in orbit, and its cosmic-ray instrument revealed the Earth's radiation belts.
Contemporary
Fifth French Republic (1958): De Gaulle's New Constitution
A new constitution with a strong presidency replaced the unstable Fourth Republic; approved by referendum, it still governs France.
Contemporary
Kitchen Debate (1959): Nixon and Khrushchev Argue in Moscow
The unscripted exchange became a symbol of Cold War competition over living standards and helped raise Nixon's profile before the 1960 election.
Contemporary
Ho Chi Minh Trail: North Vietnam's Supply Route Through Laos
Despite years of heavy US bombing, the network kept supplying communist forces and made possible the final North Vietnamese offensive of 1975.
Contemporary
1959 Tibetan Uprising: Revolt in Lhasa and the Dalai Lama's Exile
The uprising was suppressed by the People's Liberation Army; the Dalai Lama fled to India and the traditional Tibetan government was dissolved.
Contemporary
Anti-Apartheid Movement (1959-1994): Britain's Boycott Campaign
The movement helped isolate apartheid South Africa through boycotts and sanctions campaigns and dissolved after South Africa's first democratic election in 1994.
Contemporary
Sino-Soviet Split: How China and the USSR Became Rivals
The alliance between the two largest communist states collapsed into rivalry, splitting the communist world and later opening the way to US-China rapprochement.
Contemporary
U-2 Incident (1960): Francis Gary Powers Shot Down Over USSR
The pilot was captured, the US cover story collapsed and the Paris summit of May 1960 broke down, deepening Cold War tensions.
Contemporary
Sharpeville Massacre 1960: Police Fire on Pass Law Protesters
Police killed 69 protesters and wounded around 180; the government declared a state of emergency and banned the ANC and PAC.
Contemporary
Congo Crisis 1960-1965: Independence, Secession and Lumumba
The Katanga secession was ended by UN forces in 1963, but the crisis left the country divided and ended with Mobutu seizing power in November 1965.