Contemporary
Austrian State Treaty (1955): Austria Regains Independence
The four occupying powers restored Austria as a sovereign state; their troops left by October 1955 and Austria declared permanent neutrality.
Region
Europe
Contemporary
Khrushchev's Secret Speech (1956): Stalin Denounced in Moscow
Stalin's crimes were officially acknowledged for the first time, opening the Khrushchev Thaw and triggering unrest in Poland and Hungary.
Contemporary
Hungarian Revolution of 1956: Uprising Against Soviet Rule
The revolution was crushed by Soviet forces; about 200,000 Hungarians fled abroad and Imre Nagy was executed in 1958.
Contemporary
Suez Crisis 1956: Nasser, the Canal and the End of Empire
Military success for the invaders turned into political defeat; under US, Soviet and UN pressure Britain and France withdrew and Egypt kept the canal.
Contemporary
Battle of Algiers 1957: Urban War in the Algerian Revolution
French paratroopers dismantled the FLN network in Algiers, but the systematic use of torture damaged France politically at home and abroad.
Contemporary
Jodrell Bank and the Lovell Telescope (1957): Radio Astronomy
The 76-metre Mark I telescope became the largest steerable radio telescope in the world, gained fame by tracking Sputnik's rocket, and made Jodrell Bank a leading centre of radio astronomy.
Contemporary
Treaty of Rome (1957): Founding the European Economic Community
Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands created the European Economic Community and Euratom, which came into being on 1 January 1958.
Contemporary
Laika and Sputnik 2 (1957): The First Animal in Orbit
Laika became the first animal to orbit Earth, showing that a living creature could survive launch and weightlessness, but she died within hours from overheating.
Contemporary
Sputnik 1 (1957): The First Satellite and the Space Race
The Soviet Union placed the first artificial satellite in orbit, shocking the West and launching the Space Race between the USSR and the United States.
Contemporary
Aldermaston Marches (1958): CND and the Birth of the Peace Symbol
The first Aldermaston march launched an annual Easter tradition, made CND a mass movement and introduced the peace symbol to the world.
Contemporary
Notting Hill Race Riots (1958): Racist Violence in West London
Several days of attacks on Caribbean residents ended with over 100 arrests and exemplary sentences; the riots spurred Black community organising and the first Caribbean carnival in London.
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.