A Look Back At
Born in 1958
What Was Life Like in 1958?
Who Was in Charge?
President
Dwight D. Eisenhower
What Things Cost
Gas (per gallon)
$0.30
Loaf of Bread
$0.19
Average House
$10,900
Weekly Wage
$79
Events of 1958 in the United States
A selection from Wikipedia's '1958 in the United States'. Not a complete list.
- June 8 – The SS Edmund Fitzgerald is launched; it will be the largest freighter on the Great Lakes for more than a dozen years.
- June 15 – The first Pizza Hut restaurant opens in Wichita, Kansas.
- July 9 – 1958 Lituya Bay megatsunami: A 7.8 Mw strike-slip earthquake in Southeast Alaska causes a landslide that produces a megatsunami. The runup from the waves reached 525 m (1,722 ft) on the rim of Lituya Bay.
- August 23 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, transferring all authority over aviation in the U.S. to the newly created Federal Aviation Agency (FAA, later renamed Federal Aviation Administration).
- September 18 – "Fresno Drop": BankAmericard, the first credit card to be widely offered, is launched in Fresno, California.
- October 1 – NASA starts operations and replaces the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.
- November 20 – The Jim Henson Company is founded as Muppets, Inc.
- December 9 – The right-wing John Birch Society is founded in the U.S. by Robert W. Welch Jr., a retired candy manufacturer.
Popular Toys & Games
- Hula Hoop
- Lego Bricks
- Barbie (prototype)