1957
Sputnik orbits Earth
A twenty-three-inch steel ball with four radio whiskers began beeping its way around the earth every ninety-six minutes. The Soviets had gotten there first. Americans looked up from their backyards and realized the Cold War now went over their heads. Within a year Washington had founded NASA and rewritten its science curricula.
Ghana gains independence
At midnight Kwame Nkrumah stood on a Accra platform and told a vast crowd that Ghana, our beloved country, is free forever. It was the first sub-Saharan colony to shed European rule. A wave was starting. Within three years seventeen more African nations would raise their own flags over former colonial capitals.
Treaty of Rome creates Common Market
Six European nations signed a treaty in Rome establishing the European Economic Community. The goal was a customs union and something more: a Europe bound so tight by trade that it could never again go to war with itself. Four decades later the same project would become the European Union.
Little Rock Nine
Nine Black students tried to integrate Central High School in Little Rock and were blocked at the door by an Arkansas National Guard on the orders of Governor Orval Faubus. President Eisenhower federalized the Guard and sent the 101st Airborne. Soldiers escorted the children inside. The federal government had returned to the South in paratrooper boots.
On the Road published
Jack Kerouac's novel, typed in three weeks on a single hundred-twenty-foot scroll of taped-together paper, told the story of Beat Generation wanderings across America in borrowed cars. It made Kerouac famous, defined the hip counterculture, and inspired generations of young people to hit the highway. Neal Cassady was its true hero.
Ford Edsel fails
After two years of hype, Ford unveiled the Edsel, a new mid-priced car named after Henry Ford's son. Consumers mocked its horse-collar grille and stayed away. Ford killed it after two and a half years and two hundred and fifty million dollars in losses. Edsel became a permanent American synonym for a product failure.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1957?
Saeculum lists 6 curated events from 1957. The most significant is Sputnik orbits Earth: A twenty-three-inch steel ball with four radio whiskers began beeping its way around the earth every ninety-six minutes. The Soviets had gotten there first.
What era was 1957 part of?
1957 falls within the Modern Era (1901-2000). World wars, cold war, and the splitting of the atom.
Which regions saw notable events in 1957?
The curated events from 1957 span Central Asia, Africa, Europe and North America.