Historical Events
- Feb 27 Mao's famous speech to the Supreme State Conference "On Correct Handling of Contradictions Among People" expounding Maoist ideals
- Jul 12 US Surgeon General Leroy Burney connects smoking with lung cancer
- Aug 31 Federation of Malaya gains independence from Great Britain
- Sep 23 President Dwight D. Eisenhower orders US troops to support integration of nine black students at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas
- Oct 4 Soviet Union launches Sputnik I, the 1st artificial Earth satellite into elliptical low Earth orbit
- Oct 10 A fire at the Windscale nuclear plant in Cumbria, England becomes the world's first major nuclear accident
- Nov 3 Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2 with space dog Laika aboard, a mostly-Siberian husky, the 1st animal in space
- Dec 18 World's 1st full scale nuclear power plant, for peacetime use only, begins to generate electricity at the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania
- More Historical Events
1957 in Film & TV
- Aug 5 "American Bandstand" premieres on network TV (ABC)
- Sep 25 18th Venice Film Festival: Influential Indian film "Aparajito" directed by Satyajit Ray is first film to win the Golden Lion and the Critics Award
- Oct 2 "The Bridge on the River Kwai", directed by David Lean and starring William Holden and Alec Guinness, is released (Academy Awards Best Picture 1958)
1957 in Music
- Feb 25 Buddy Holly and the Crickets record their smash hit "That'll Be the Day" in Clovis, New Mexico
- Jul 6 John Lennon (16) & Paul McCartney (15) meet for 1st time as Lennon's rock group Quarrymen perform at St. Peter's, Woolton's Parish Church in Liverpool, introduced by mutual friend Ivan Vaughn
- Sep 23 "That'll Be the Day" by Buddy Holly and The Crickets reaches #1 in the US
- Sep 24 "Jailhouse Rock" single released by Elvis Presley (Billboard Song of the Year 1957)
1957 in Sport
Did You Know?
Elvis Presley receives his draft notice to join the US Army for National Service
On December 20, 1957
Mike Bossy
Osama bin Laden
Daniel Day-Lewis
Sid Vicious
Frances McDormand
Gloria EstefanFamous People in 1957
Alec Guinness
Joanne Woodward
Stan MusialWorld Leaders in 1957
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Mao Zedong
Nikita Khrushchev
Would You Believe?
Willem J Kolff and his team at Ohio's Cleveland Clinic removed the heart from a dog and replaced it with a pneumatic pump which kept the dog alive for 90 minutes, proving the viability of the artificial heart
On December 12, 1957
Famous Weddings
- Jan 10 Poet T. S. Eliot (68) marries his 2nd wife editor Esmé Valerie Fletcher (30)
- Jan 12 Aviator Howard Hughes marries 2nd wife actress Jean Peters
- Jan 19 Golfer Gary Player (21) weds Bobby Verwey's sister Vivienne Verwey
Famous Divorces
- Jan 31 Actress Elizabeth Taylor's 2nd divorce from actor Michael Wilding
- Jul 5 Singer and actor Frank Sinatra and movie star Ava Gardner divorce after 6 years of marriage
- Nov 7 Actress Ingrid Bergman (42) divorces Roberto Rossellini after 7 years of marriage
More Weddings & Divorces
Bugs Moran
Richard E. Byrd
Ramon Magsaysay
Oliver Hardy
Christian Dior
Albert Anastasia1957 in Pictures
The Computer That Came By Truck
It didn't have the sleek lines that Steve Jobs would admire and it needed to be carried on a truck, but the computer age had finally arrived in rural England.April 3
UK Tests a Hydrogen Bomb
The first British hydrogen bomb test, Operation GrappleMay 15
Little Rock Crisis
The 101st Airborne Division escort the nine black students into Little Rock School in ArkansasSeptember 23
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai movie posterOctober 2
Jailhouse Rock Premieres
A publicity shot from the film showing Elvis Presley during the dance sequence in Jailhouse RockOctober 17
Space Dog Laika Launched to her Death
Laika, a stray dog picked up on the streets of Moscow, was launched into space on this day – and to her death. Furious worldwide protests ensued, bewildering some.November 3
All Eyes on Birthplace of British Rock 'n' Roll
Tommy Steele, Britain's first rock 'n' roll star, was discovered on this day at a coffee bar in central London, appearing live on the BBC's first pop music show.November 16
Great Balls of Fire! The 'Bride' is 13
Jerry Lee Lewis leapt to fame declaring there was ‘A Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On’. His fans were certainly shaken when told of his 13-year-old ‘bride’.December 13