1958 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1958 in science
and technology
involved some significant events, listed below.
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
involved some significant events, listed below.
Events
- During International Geophysical YearInternational Geophysical YearThe International Geophysical Year was an international scientific project that lasted from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific interchange between East and West was seriously interrupted...
, EarthEarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
's magnetosphereMagnetosphereA magnetosphere is formed when a stream of charged particles, such as the solar wind, interacts with and is deflected by the intrinsic magnetic field of a planet or similar body. Earth is surrounded by a magnetosphere, as are the other planets with intrinsic magnetic fields: Mercury, Jupiter,...
is discovered; and the 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition3rd Soviet Antarctic ExpeditionThe Third Soviet Antarctic Expedition was led by Yevgeny Tolstikov on the continent; the marine expedition on the Ob was led by I V Maksimov....
discovers the subglacialGlacierA glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
Gamburtsev Mountain RangeGamburtsev Mountain RangeThe Gamburtsev Mountain Range is a subglacial mountain range located in Eastern Antarctica, near Dome A. The range was discovered by the 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition in 1958 and is named for Soviet geophysicist Grigoriy A. Gamburtsev...
in Antarctica.
Astronomy and space exploration
- January 4 - Sputnik 1Sputnik 1Sputnik 1 ) was the first artificial satellite to be put into Earth's orbit. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. The unanticipated announcement of Sputnik 1s success precipitated the Sputnik crisis in the United States and ignited the Space...
falls to Earth from its orbit (launched on October 4, 1957). - January 31 - The first successful American satelliteSatelliteIn the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
, Explorer IExplorer IExplorer 1 was the first Earth satellite of the United States, launched as part of its participation in the International Geophysical Year...
, is launched into orbit. - February 5 - A backup for Vanguard TV3Vanguard TV3Vanguard TV3 was the first attempt of the United States to launch a satellite into orbit around the Earth. It was a small satellite designed to test the launch capabilities of the three-stage Vanguard rocket and study the effects of the environment on a satellite and its systems in Earth orbit...
fails to reach orbit. - March 5 - Explorer 2Explorer 2Explorer 2 was to be a repeat of the Explorer 1 mission. However, due to a failure in the rocket during launch, the spacecraft did not reach orbit....
fails to reach orbit. - March 17 - Vanguard 1Vanguard 1Vanguard 1 was the fourth artificial Earth satellite launched and the first satellite to be solar powered. Although communication with it was lost in 1964, it remains the oldest manmade satellite still in orbit...
becomes the first of its program to enter space - after 3 failed attempts. - March 26 - Explorer 3Explorer 3Explorer 3 was an artificial satellite of the Earth, nearly identical to the first United States artificial satellite Explorer 1 in its design and mission...
is launched into orbit. - April 14 - Sputnik 2Sputnik 2Sputnik 2 , or Prosteyshiy Sputnik 2 ), was the second spacecraft launched into Earth orbit, on November 3, 1957, and the first to carry a living animal, a dog named Laika. Sputnik 2 was a 4-meter high cone-shaped capsule with a base diameter of 2 meters...
re-enters Earth's atmosphere. - July 29 - The United States CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
formally creates the National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
(NASA).
Biology
- Anne McLarenAnne McLarenThe Hon. Dame Anne Laura Dorinthea McLaren, DBE, FRS, FRCOG was the daughter of Henry McLaren, 2nd Baron Aberconway and Christabel McNaughten. She became a leading figure in developmental biology. Her work helped lead to human in vitro fertilisation...
, with John D. Biggers, reports the first mammals, a litter of mice, grown from embryoEmbryoAn embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
s developed in vitroIn vitroIn vitro refers to studies in experimental biology that are conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological context in order to permit a more detailed or more convenient analysis than can be done with whole organisms. Colloquially, these experiments...
and transferred to a surrogate mother.
Computer science
- May 27–June 2 - A joint meeting of the ACMAssociation for Computing MachineryThe Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
and GAMMGesellschaft für Angewandte Mathematik und MechanikGesellschaft für Angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik , often referred to by the acronym GAMM, is a German society for the promotion of science, founded in 1922 by the physicist Ludwig Prandtl and the mathematician Richard von Mises.In 1958 the GAMM and the ACM together worked out the "ALGOL 58...
at ETH ZurichETH ZurichThe Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
agrees to produce the International Algebraic Language, which will become the programming languageProgramming languageA programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
ALGOLALGOLALGOL is a family of imperative computer programming languages originally developed in the mid 1950s which greatly influenced many other languages and became the de facto way algorithms were described in textbooks and academic works for almost the next 30 years...
. - Friedrich L. BauerFriedrich L. BauerFriedrich Ludwig Bauer is a German computer scientist and professor emeritus at Technical University of Munich.-Life:...
and other members of the ZMMD-Group build a working ALGOL 58ALGOL 58ALGOL 58, originally known as IAL, is one of the family of ALGOL computer programming languages. It was an early compromise design soon superseded by ALGOL 60...
compilerCompilerA compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language into another computer language...
. - John McCarthyJohn McCarthy (computer scientist)John McCarthy was an American computer scientist and cognitive scientist. He coined the term "artificial intelligence" , invented the Lisp programming language and was highly influential in the early development of AI.McCarthy also influenced other areas of computing such as time sharing systems...
specifies the Lisp programming languageProgramming languageA programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
.
Mathematics
- School Mathematics Study GroupSchool Mathematics Study GroupThe School Mathematics Study Group was an American academic think tank focused on the subject of reform in mathematics education. Directed by Edward G...
, directed by Edward G. BegleEdward G. BegleEdward Griffith Begle was a mathematician best known for his role as the director of the School Mathematics Study Group , the primary group credited for developing what came to be known as The New Math...
, established to develop a new school mathematics curriculumCurriculumSee also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
for the United States; it is influential in the promotion of New MathNew mathNew Mathematics or New Math was a brief, dramatic change in the way mathematics was taught in American grade schools, and to a lesser extent in European countries, during the 1960s. The name is commonly given to a set of teaching practices introduced in the U.S...
.
Medicine
- June 7 - Ian DonaldIan DonaldIan Donald was a Scottish physician who pioneered the use of diagnostic ultrasound in medicine. His article Investigation of Abdominal Masses by Pulsed Ultrasound, published June 7, 1958 in the medical journal The Lancet, was one of the defining publications in the field...
publishes an article in The LancetThe LancetThe Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is one of the world's best known, oldest, and most respected general medical journals...
which describes the diagnostic use of ultrasoundUltrasoundUltrasound is cyclic sound pressure with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is thus not separated from "normal" sound based on differences in physical properties, only the fact that humans cannot hear it. Although this limit varies from person to person, it is...
. - Denis Parsons BurkittDenis Parsons BurkittDenis Parsons Burkitt , surgeon, was born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland. He was the son of James Parsons Burkitt. Aged eleven he lost his right eye in an accident. He attended Portora Royal School in Enniskillen and Dean Close School, England...
first describes Burkitt's lymphomaBurkitt's lymphomaBurkitt's lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system...
.
Awards
- Fields Prize in MathematicsFields MedalThe Fields Medal, officially known as International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians not over 40 years of age at each International Congress of the International Mathematical Union , a meeting that takes place every four...
: Klaus RothKlaus RothKlaus Friedrich Roth is a British mathematician known for work on diophantine approximation, the large sieve, and irregularities of distribution. He was born in Breslau, Prussia, but raised and educated in the UK. He graduated from Peterhouse, Cambridge in 1945...
and René ThomRené ThomRené Frédéric Thom was a French mathematician. He made his reputation as a topologist, moving on to aspects of what would be called singularity theory; he became world-famous among the wider academic community and the educated general public for one aspect of this latter interest, his work as... - Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
s- PhysicsNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
- Pavel Alekseyevich CherenkovPavel Alekseyevich CherenkovPavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov was a Soviet physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 1958 with Ilya Frank and Igor Tamm for the discovery of Cherenkov radiation, made in 1934.-Biography:...
, Ilya Mikhailovich Frank, Igor Yevgenyevich Tamm - ChemistryNobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
- Frederick SangerFrederick SangerFrederick Sanger, OM, CH, CBE, FRS is an English biochemist and a two-time Nobel laureate in chemistry, the only person to have been so. In 1958 he was awarded a Nobel prize in chemistry "for his work on the structure of proteins, especially that of insulin"... - MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
- George Wells Beadle, Edward Lawrie TatumEdward Lawrie TatumEdward Lawrie Tatum was an American geneticist. He shared half of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1958 with George Wells Beadle for showing that genes control individual steps in metabolism...
, Joshua LederbergJoshua LederbergJoshua Lederberg ForMemRS was an American molecular biologist known for his work in microbial genetics, artificial intelligence, and the United States space program. He was just 33 years old when he won the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering that bacteria can mate and...
- Physics
Deaths
- February 11 - Ernest JonesErnest JonesAlfred Ernest Jones was a British neurologist and psychoanalyst, and Sigmund Freud’s official biographer. Jones was the first English-speaking practitioner of psychoanalysis and became its leading exponent in the English-speaking world where, as President of both the British Psycho-Analytical...
(b. 18791879 in scienceThe year 1879 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Biology:* Jean Henri Fabre publishes the first of his Souvenirs entomologiques....
), psychoanalyst - April 16 - Rosalind FranklinRosalind FranklinRosalind Elsie Franklin was a British biophysicist and X-ray crystallographer who made critical contributions to the understanding of the fine molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal and graphite...
(b.19201920 in scienceThe year 1920 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-History of science and technology:* Newcomen Society founded in the United Kingdom for the study of the history of engineering and technology.-Medicine:...
), crystallographerCrystallographerCrystallographer could refer to someone who practices:*X-ray crystallography*Crystallography... - August 14 - Frédéric Joliot (b. 19001900 in scienceThe year 1900 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Aeronautics:* July 2 - The first airship flight is made by the LZ1 designed by Ferdinand von Zeppelin.-Chemistry:...
), scientist. - August 27 - Ernest LawrenceErnest LawrenceErnest Orlando Lawrence was an American physicist and Nobel Laureate, known for his invention, utilization, and improvement of the cyclotron atom-smasher beginning in 1929, based on his studies of the works of Rolf Widerøe, and his later work in uranium-isotope separation for the Manhattan Project...
(b. 19011901 in scienceThe year 1901 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Biology:* Okapi, a relative of the Giraffe found in the rainforests around the Congo River in north east Zaire, is discovered ....
), physicistPhysicistA physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, Nobel Prize in PhysicsNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
1932 - December 12 - Milutin MilankovićMilutin MilankovicMilutin Milanković was a Serbian geophysicist and civil engineer, best known for his theory of ice ages, suggesting a relationship between Earth's long-term climate changes and periodic changes in its orbit, now known as Milankovitch cycles. Milanković gave two fundamental contributions to global...
(b. 18791879 in scienceThe year 1879 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Biology:* Jean Henri Fabre publishes the first of his Souvenirs entomologiques....
), geophysicist - December 15 - Wolfgang Ernst Pauli (b. 19001900 in scienceThe year 1900 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Aeronautics:* July 2 - The first airship flight is made by the LZ1 designed by Ferdinand von Zeppelin.-Chemistry:...
), physicistPhysicistA physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...