Timeline

1958

Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

Mar

25

Sports

Sugar Ray Robinson defeats Carmen Basilio for middleweight title

On March 25, 1958, Sugar Ray Robinson defeats Carmen Basilio to regain the middleweight championship. It was the fifth and final title of his career.

Sugar Ray Robinson and Carmen Basilio in Boxing Action

(Original Caption) Chicago, IL: Photo shows Sugar ray Robinson vs. Carmen Basilio in boxing action in the middle weight title bout. Robinson had a body temperature of 103 degrees caused by a viral infection but still the championship fight.

Bettmann Archive

Jul

29

Space Exploration

NASA created

The U.S. Congress passes legislation establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a civilian agency responsible for coordinating America’s activities in space, on July 29, 1958. NASA has since sponsored space expeditions, both human and mechanical, that have yielded vital information about the solar system and universe. It has also launched numerous earth-orbiting satellites that have been instrumental in everything from weather forecasting to navigation to global communications.

PORTRAIT - ASTRONAUT GROUP 16 (NEW AND OLD) - MSC

(1963) The first two groups of astronauts selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The original seven Mercury astronauts, selected in April 1959, are seated left to right, L. Gordon Cooper Jr., Virgil I. Grissom, M. Scott Carpenter, Walter M. Schirra Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Donald K. Slayton. The second group of NASA astronauts, named in September 1962 are, standing left to right, Edward H. White II, James A. McDivitt, John W. Young, Elliot M. See Jr., Charles Conrad Jr., Frank Borman, Neil A. Armstrong, Thomas P. Stafford and James A. Lovell Jr. (Photo by: HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

HUM Images/Universal Images Grou

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