January:
- The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being
- The first Carrefour opens in Annecy, France
- Bobby Fischer wins the United States Chess Championship aged 14
- Battle of Hayes Pond: armed Lumbee Native Americans confront a gathering of Ku Klux Klan members in Maxton, North Carolina
- Godtfred Kirk Christensen files a patent for the plastic Lego brick
- Explorer 1, the first US satellite, is launched into orbit
February:
- Seven Manchester United players and fourteen others are killed in the Munich air disaster. Manager Matt Busby and players Johnny Berry and Duncan Edwards are taken to hospital in a serious condition; Busby and Berry recover, though Berry never plays again, while Edwards dies a fortnight later
- Bertrand Russell launches the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
- Gerald Holtom, commissioned by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, designs the peace symbol
March:
- Elvis Presley is inducted into the US Army
- The Bridge on the River Kwai wins seven awards including Best Picture at the 30th Academy Awards
- Nikita Khrushchev becomes Premier of the Soviet Union
April:
- The Church of England gives its moral backing to family planning
- The BBC Radiophonic Workshop is established
May:
- US President Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the first American elected official to be broadcast on colour television
- Real Madrid beat AC Milan 3-2 at Heysal Stadium to win the European Cup
June:
- Pizza Hut is founded by Dan and Frank Carney in Witchita, Kansas
- Brazil beat Sweden 5-2 in the final of the World Cup
- The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award presented for the first time at Buckingham Palace
July:
- The first parking meters are installed in the UK
- The Quarrymen have their first recording session
- US Congress formally created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
August:
- Notting Hill race riots occur
- The first Carry On film, Carry On Sergeant, premieres
- Cliff Richard’s debut single, Move It, is released. It is credited as being the first authentic rock and roll song produced outside the US
September:
- A majority 79% vote for the constitution of France’s Fifth Republic
October:
- Pope Pius XII dies and is succeeded by Pope John XXIII
- Blue Peter is first broadcast
- Grandstand is first broadcast
- British Overseas Airways Corporation become the first airline to fly passenger services across the Atlantic
November:
- The UNESCO headquarters, World Heritage Centre, is inaugurated in Paris
- The Hope Diamond is donated to the Smithsonian Institution
December:
- Subscriber trunk dialling is inaugurated in the UK by the Queen when she dials a call from Bristol to Edinburgh
- Prime Minister Harold Macmillan personally inspects and opens the UK’s first motorway, the Preston Bypass
- SCORE, the world’s first communications satellite, is launched
- Charles de Gaulle is a elected president of France with 78.5% of votes
Other:
- Instant noodles go on sale for the first time
- Michael Bond’s children’s story A Bear Called Paddington is published
- The highest grossing film of the year is South Pacific, raking in $16.3 million worldwide
- Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley is the best-selling single of the year
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