January: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg & the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Rome. Heralding, the birth of the EEC.

February: A Munich plane crash claims 23 lives. Onboard are the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the 'Busby Babes'.

March: Vanguard 1, the first solar powered satellite is launched. It functioned until 1964 & is the oldest manmade satellite still orbiting.

April: Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament march 52 miles to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston.

May: Bodies of unidentified soldiers killed during World War II & the Korean War are buried at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

June: Due to a crisis in the Fourth Republic, Charles de Gaulle is called out of retirement to lead France for 6 months.

July: The National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) replaces the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).

August: Madonna Louise Ciccone is born. Madonna, will become the best-selling female recording artist of all time.

September: Jack Kilby demonstrates the first working microchip, it will revolutionize the world of electronics.

October: At the age of 77 Pope John XXIII, born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli is elected the 261st pope, succeeding Pope Pius XII.

November: A missile, part of the Atlas program, becomes the first InterContinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) to fly to a full range.

December: Rebel troops under Che Guevara begin invasion of Santa Clara, Cuba. Two days later Batista resigns & flees the country.