The following events occurred in May 1958:
May 1, 1958 (Thursday) Television broadcasting began in the People's Republic of China as Peking Television at 7:00 in the evening local time with experimental two-hour broadcasts in Beijing. The station moved to three hours and 30 minutes of regular nightly programming on September 2, 1958, and would continue on that schedule for 20 years. The Nordic Passport Union came into force after an agreement signed on July 12, 1957, allowing residents of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway to cross through specially approved districts within the member nations without needing to show a passport. Arturo Frondizi became President of Argentina. U.S. space scientist James van Allen announced the discovery of Earth's magnetosphere. The initial reaction was that what is now called the Van Allen Radiation Belt, located above the Earth and with radiation 1,000 times more powerful than expected, "raises a new obstacle to manned space flight" and that spacecraft would need to be redesigned to protect against it. "The radiation is so intense," a reporter wrote, "that a space traveler could use up his weekly tolerance dose of radiation in one and a half hours." Died: Oscar Torp, Prime Minister of Norway from 1951 to 1955 and the incumbent president of Norway's parliament, the Storting.
May 2, 1958 (Friday) The kidnapping of four of the five members of the ruling military junta of Colombia, as well as the expected incoming civilian President, Alberto Lleras Camargo, took place in Bogotá in an attempted coup d'etat by rebels within the armed forces."Bogota Smashes Attempted Coup; Four Members of Colombian Junta Are Kidnapped but 5th Suppresses Rising", The New York Times, May 3, 1958, p. 1 With two days left before the scheduled May 4 elections, at 4:00 in the morning, Colonel Hernando Forero and rebels within the military police went to the homes of the junta members (Major General Gabriel Paris, who was chairman of junta and the nominal head of state; Major General Deogracias Fonsceca, and Brigadier Generals Luis Ordonez and Rafael Navas Pardo, as well as that of Lleras. The other junta member, Admiral Rubén Piedrahíta, was able to avoid capture and alerted the rest of the Colombian armed forces, who refused to go along with the coup. The rebels surrendered after eight hours and released their hostages. Lleras would take office as expected on August 7. Voting was held for the 233 seats of the House of Representatives of South Korea. The Liberal Party or Jayudang, a right-wing party despite its name and led by President Syngman Rhee, retained its majority, winning 126 seats."Rhee Party Gains in Korea Returns— Liberals Pick Up Assembly Seats on Rural Tally to Top the Opposition", The New York Times, May 3, 1958, p. 7 Haiti's National Assembly voted to declare a state of siege in the Caribbean nation and granted emergency powers to the government, as well as authorizing the suspension of constitutional rights and ending parliamentary immunity for its members."Haitians Impose a State of Siege; Assembly Confers Special Powers on Government— Oppositionist Outlawed", The New York Times, May 3, 1958, p. 8 The United Nations Security Council voted 11 to 1, to approve a proposal to prohibit nuclear weapons from being placed in the area above the Arctic Circle and to allow for international verification of compliance. The lone negative vote came from one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, the Soviet Union, which used its veto power to deny the resolution."Soviet Veto Bars U.N. Arctic Check; Debate Is Bitter— Rest of Council Supports U. S., Which Is Credited With Propaganda Gain", The New York Times, May 3, 1958, p. 1 Died: Henry Cornelius, 44, South African-born British film director
May 3, 1958 (Saturday) Tim Tam won the 1958 Kentucky Derby, the first "jewel" of the Triple Crown of American thoroughbred horse racing, and was favored to become the first horse since 1948 to win the Triple Crown."Tim Tam Victor in Derby; Silky Sullivan Runs 12th", The New York Times, May 4, 1958, p. 1 England's FA Cup was won by Bolton Wanderers, 2 to 0, over Manchester United, before a crowd of 99,756 at Wembley Stadium in London."No fairy story ending after Munich disaster— 'Babes' Flop to Wembley Defeat", The Sunday Sun (Newcastle upon Tyne), May 4, 1958, p. 16 Manchester United had only four of the players it had started with the season, in that eight teammates had been killed in a plane crash on February 6, but had reached the finals from a field of 16 teams still remaining after four rounds of play."United all set for wonder feat", by David Meek, Manchester Evening News, May 3, 1958, p. 1 Rioting broke out at a rock concert at the Boston Garden, where New York disc jockey Alan Freed was hosting a live broadcast of his Rock 'n' Roll Party show, and at least 15 people in attendance were robbed or assaulted. A grand jury in Boston indicted Freed a few days later for inciting the unlawful destruction of property."Freed Is Indicted Over Rock 'N' Roll", The New York Times, May 9, 1958, p. 49 Died: Frank Foster, 69, English test cricket star who appeared in 159 first-class matches and 11 test matches, and whose career was cut short by a motorcycle accident
May 4, 1958 (Sunday) Voting was held for the 60-seat Sapha Haeng Xat, the lower house of the parliament of the southeast Asian kingdom of Laos. The chamber had been increased by 21 seats since the last election "Poll May Shape Destiny of Laos", The New York Times, May 3, 1958, p. 6 and most of the new seats were won by the Neo Lao Sang Xat (Lao Patriotic Front), a Communist political party of the Pathet Lao and led by Prince Souphanouvong."Leftists in Laos Prevail at Polls", by Tillman Durdin, The New York Times, May 13, 1958, p. 7 The moderate Phak Xat Kao Na (National Progressive Party) led by Souphanouvong's half-brother, Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma, lost its 22-of-39 seats majority but retained a plurality of 26 of 60 seats. Voters in Colombia overwhelmingly approved the election of Alberto Lleras Camargo, the first president in the South American nation to be nominated by both major political parties, the Conservatives and the Liberals. Another member of the Conservatives, Jorge Leyva, had been put forward by members of the parliament who had not approved of Lleras as a bipartisan candidate. Out of slightly more than three million votes cast, Lleras won 80 percent."Lleras Is Elected in Colombia As First Bipartisan President; 3,000,000 Vote in Final Step of Nation's Restoration of Democratic Rule", The New York Times, May 5, 1958, p. 1 Real Madrid finished in first place on the final day of the 1957-58 season in Spain's premier soccer football league, La Liga with a record of 20 wins, 5 draws and 5 losses (45 points), three points ahead of Atlético Madrid (with 16 wins and 10 draws for 42 points). Going into the 30th and final game, Real Madrid had already clinched the title after a match the week before where it and Atletico Madrid had played to a 1 to 1 draw.BDFutbol.com Born: Keith Haring, American pop artist and LGBTQ activist; in Reading, Pennsylvania (d. 1990) Died: Elaine Sterne Carrington, 66, American writer and producer who in 1932 created the first soap opera, a radio drama series for the NBC Blue network. The program which would become the 15-minute afternoon show Pepper Young's Family, originated as a Sunday night show called Red Adams, before the Beech-Nut Gum manufacturer agreed to become a sponsor conditioned on the change in name to avoid association with a rival product, Adams Gum. Mrs. Carrington wrote the scripts for 12,000 episodes of three different soap operas."Elaine Carrington Is Dead at 66; Originator of Radio Soap Opera", The New York Times, May 5, 1958, p. 29
May 5, 1958 (Monday) Elections were held in the Kingdom of Iraq for all 145 seats in the Majlis an-Nuwwab, the lower house of the parliament. The races for 118 of the seats were featured unopposed candidates who supported the government. In the other 27 races, independent candidates defeated the pro-government contenders in only five contests. The National Union Front, a coalition of parties that included the Ba'ath Party that would later rule the Middle Eastern nation, boycotted the election."New Parliament Elected in Iraq; All but 27 of 145 Seats Were Unopposed — House to Back Jordanian Tie", The New York Times, May 6, 1958, p. 5 Born: Robert "Dipper" DiPierdomenico, Australian rules football midfielder for the Hawthorn Hawks; in Hawthorn, Victoria Died: Viscount Ruffside (Douglas Clifton Brown), 78, British politician and Speaker of the House of Commons from 1943 to 1951 "Viscount Ruffside Is Dead at 78; Speaker of Commons, 1943-51", The New York Times, May 6, 1958, p. 35 James Branch Cabell, 79, American novelist,"Branch Cabell Dies; Author of 'Jurgen'", The New York Times, May 6, 1958, p. 1 Otto Abetz, 55, German ambassador to France during the Nazi occupation from 1940 to 1944, was killed in a car accident along with his wife. Abetz, who had served five years of a 20-year prison sentence in France after World War II, was a passenger in the car as his wife drove on the autobahn, when she lost control and struck another vehicle head-on near Langenfeld in West Germany, and burned to death."Otto Abetz Dies in Car Collision; Nazi Envoy to Vichy Served 5-Year Prison Sentence for War Crimes", The New York Times, May 6, 1958, p. 9
May 6, 1958 (Tuesday) Millions of people in the United States, including U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, went to the fallout shelter nearest to them in a nationwide civil defense drill, Operation Alert 1958. The exercise was held in 46 of the 48 U.S. states, with Michigan and Indiana excused from participation because of pre-scheduled statewide events. At 10:30 Eastern time, sirens signaled that persons outside should look for the nearest shelter as an exercise for the time that a nuclear bomb might be dropped on their area. The drill ended after 10 minutes."Millions Here Take Cover in Raid Drill; 46 States Respond to Alert In Mock Attack Over Pole", by Philip Benjamin, The New York Times, May 7, 1958, p. 1"Southland Practices Nuclear Bomb Alert", Los Angeles Times, May 7, 1958, p. 7"Mock Bombing of Chicago Staged; 'Toll Very Low'", Chicago Tribune, May 7, 1958, p. 2-3"Imaginary H-Bomb Hits Louisville; '112,500 Killed and 22,500 Hurt'; Downtown Area 'Is Wiped Out'", Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal, May 7, 1958, p. 1 The last execution in Wales took place at the Swansea Prison when Vivian Frederick Teed, a 24-year-old man, was hanged for the 1957 hammer murder of the manager of the branch post office of Fforestfach during a robbery."Vivian Teed - the last man hanged in Wales", CapitalPunishmentUK.org"Swansea killer hanged", Western Mail, May 7, 1958, p.2 Died: Alfred M. Best, 81, American insurance industry executive who founded the A. M. Best service to evaluate and publish a rating of the financial stability of insurance companies."Alfred M. Best, Insurance Man, Dies; Headed Statistical Publishing Concern", The New York Times, May 7, 1958, p. 35
May 7, 1958 (Wednesday) Flying the recently introduced Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, U.S. Air Force Major Howard C. Johnson set a new record for highest altitude reached, making a "zoom climb" after taking off from Edwards Air Force Base in California and ascending to — more than 17 miles — breaking the previous record set five days earlier by a French Trident-06 of by more than .
May 8, 1958 (Thursday)