I was rummaging through the used book store in Hillsboro Village one day and came across a book I knew I had to have. It was the 1959 edition of the Britannica Book of the Year, which, in about 750 pages, tries to cover all the important events of the previous year, 1958.
Somehow this book of all the notable events of 1958 left out what most historians call the Most Important Day in the History of the World, my birthday, July 12. In the section of the book called “Calendar of Events 1958” I learned that the date of my birth coincided with this pair of news blockbusters:
Blockbuster number one: “Milton Eisenhower left Washington, D.C., on a goodwill mission to Central America.”
Blockbuster number two: “Princess Margaret of Britian arrived in Vancouver, B.C., to attend British Columbia’s centennial celebration and for a tour of Canada.”
Huh? That’s it? The president’s brother leaves on a junket and Princess Margaret is wandering around in Canada? I mean, I understand most days don’t produce a major news story that will resonate through time, but even by the low bar set by most passing news items, these seem pretty lame. But since I had the book anyway I started looking at its coverage of what the world was like in 1958.
• For starters, the economic news wasn’t good. On Jan. 20, President Eisenhower sent a message to Congress expressing hope that the economy would improve and the “decline in business activity would soon end.”
• Where’s an undisclosed location when you need one? On May 13, Vice President Nixon barely got out of Venezuela alive when a goodwill visit turned up precious little goodwill. An angry mob spit at, rocked and stoned Nixon’s limosine during a motorcade through Caracas. President Eisenhower ordered teams of Marines and paratroopers to Caribbean bases to make sure the vice president got home in one piece.
• On June 11 a plague of grasshoppers decimated Kansas and Colorado, but an unmoved President Eisenhower turned down requests for federal aid.
This was at the very beginning of the space age, and there was a lot of space news. On August 29, the Soviet Union announced it had sent two dogs into space to an altitude of 280 miles and returned them safely to earth, where they probably barked like crazy and slobbered all over the Mission Control staff.
In 1958 the U.S. was having problems getting its rockets to the moon, as this handy news roundup demonstrates:
• August 17—The U.S. tried to launch a rocket to the moon, but the attempt failed at Cape Canaveral.
• Oct. 11—The Air Force launched a moon rocket that missed the moon and fell to earth.
• Nov. 8—The Air Force lauched a moon rocket that missed the moon and fell to earth.
• Dec. 6—The Army launched a moon rocket that missed the moon and fell to earth.
Not to spoil the ending for anybody, but we eventually got the hang of this rocket to the moon stuff.
But the most striking news items from 1958 are the ones having to do with news from other countries. Here are a few highlights, some of which look sort of familiar:
• Jan. 5—French troops went into the African country of Cameroon to help quell an uprising. (Substitute Ivory Coast for Cameroon and you have news from this week).
• Jan. 10—Trouble in Venezuela: President Marcos Perez Jimenez names a new cabinet to “placate the armed forces” and thwart a coup. (He failed—the coup came a couple of weeks later).
• Jan. 21—Continued unrest between Israel and its Arab neighbors caused the U. N. Security Council to call for tighter controls on the demilitarized zone between Israel and Jordan.
• April 3—India rejected all efforts by a U.N. envoy to settle the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan.
• May 4—In the wake of a terrorist attack in Cyprus that killed two British soldiers, the Cypriot government stepped up anti-terrorism activities by instituting a mandatory death penalty for convicted terrorists.
• June 14—“Heavy street fighting was reported in Beirut, Lebanon, as rebel forces carried out numerous attacks.”
• June 27—President Eisenhower and Prince Mohammed Daud, the ruler of Afghanistan, issued a joint statement promising continued U.S. aid to Afghanistan.
• July 14—Turmoil broke out in the streets of Baghdad as a military revolt overthrew the Iraqi monarchy. The crown price and premier were killed in the coup. Less than a month later the U.S. recognized the new Iraqi military government.
• July 15—U.S. troops landed in the Middle East as Marines hit the beach south of Beirut at the request of Lebanon’s President Chamoun. Two days later British paratroopers landed in Jordan at the request of King Hussein.
• July 24—The French annoyed U.S. authorities by giving notice that they will terminate the 1946 civil air transport agreement.
• Sept. 14—The French and Germans got cozier as Premier de Gaulle and West German Chancellor Adenauer issued a joint communique calling for “close ties between their peoples.”
• Oct. 7—Pakistan was in a state of upheaval as “President Iskander Mirza declared martial law, anulled the constitution, and dismissed the cabinet of the Prime Minister.”
• Nov. 7—Tensions rose between India and Pakistan, as Indian Prime Minister Nehru said the new government of Pakistan was increasing the chances of war between the two countries.
• Dec. 30—“Premier de Gaulle reorganized French defense with a view to the threat of nuclear or subversive war.”