What Happened in April 1958

Historical Events

  • Apr 1 KVIQ TV channel 6 in Eureka, CA (NBC/ABC/CBS) begins broadcasting
  • Apr 1 Marshal Nikolai Bulganin appointed Chairman of the Board of the State Bank of the USSR
  • Apr 2 Antillean Brewery (Amstel beer) opens
  • Apr 2 Wind speed reaches a record 450 kph in tornado, Wichita Falls, Texas
  • Apr 3 Abe Burrows, Richard and Marian Bissell's comedy "Say, Darling" opens at ANTA Theater, NYC; runs for 332 performances

Event of Interest

Apr 3 Fidel Castro's rebels attack Havana

  • Apr 4 1st march against nuclear weapons from London to Aldermaston, England, home of the Defence Ministry's Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE)

Lana Turner Daughter Stabs Boyfriend

Apr 4 Cheryl Crane (14), daughter of actress Lana Turner, stabs to death organized crime figure Johnny Stompanato, her mother's boyfriend, in self-defense; crime later ruled a "justifiable homicide"

Tueur sans Gages

Apr 4 Eugene Ionesco's play "Tueur sans Gages" (The Killer Without Reason) premieres in Darmstadt

  • Apr 4 The CND Peace Symbol displayed in public for the first time in London
  • Apr 5 Ripple Rock, an underwater threat to navigation in the Seymour Narrows in Canada is destroyed in one of the largest ever non-nuclear controlled explosions

US Masters Golf

Apr 6 22nd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Arnold Palmer wins the first of his 4 Masters titles, 1 stroke ahead of Doug Ford and Fred Hawkins; first of his 7 major titles

  • Apr 7 Dodgers erect 42-foot screen in left field at LA Coliseum to cut down on home runs, since it is only 250 feet down the line
  • Apr 10 Northern strip of Spanish Sahara ceded to Morocco
  • Apr 11 Brooks Hall in Civic Center dedicated in San Francisco, California
  • Apr 12 12th NBA Championship: St Louis Hawks beat Bost Celtics, 4 games to 2
  • Apr 12 Flemish Open air museum opens in Bokrijk
  • Apr 13 12th Tony Awards: "Sunrise at Campobello" (play) and "The Music Man" (musical) win
  • Apr 13 Classical pianist Van Cliburn (23) is the first American to win the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, USSR

Space Dog Laika Launched to her Death

Apr 14 Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 with space dog Laika aboard burns up during reentry into Earth's atmosphere

Emmy Awards

Apr 15 10th Emmy Awards: Gunsmoke, Robert Young & Jane Wyatt win

  • Apr 15 1st baseball game in California, SF Giants beat LA Dodgers, 8-0
  • Apr 16 5th National Film Awards (India): "Do Aankhen Barah Haath" wins the Golden Lotus
  • Apr 16 French government of Gaillard falls due to Tunisia crisis

Event of Interest

Apr 17 Brussels World Fair opens in Belgium, with a model by chemist Rosalind Franklin who had died of cancer the day before

Ezra Pound Released

Apr 18 A United States federal court rules that poet Ezra Pound is to be released from an insane asylum.

  • Apr 18 Government troops reconquer Padang, Middle-Sumatra, Indonesia
  • Apr 18 NL single-game record crowd of 78,682 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Dodgers win over San Francisco Giants, 6-5
  • Apr 20 Morocco demands departure of Spanish troops
  • Apr 20 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: Montreal Canadiens' 3-peat; beat Boston Bruins, 5-3 for a 4-2 for series win
  • Apr 21 62nd Boston Marathon won by Franjo Mihalić of Yugoslavia in 2:25:54

Sports History

Apr 23 Gil Hodges hits his 300th HR & Pee Wee Reese plays in 2,000th game

  • Apr 23 Robert Kurka's "The Good Soldier Schweik", with libretto written by Abe Meeropol, premieres at the New York City Opera
  • Apr 24 Lee Walls hits 3 HRs, as Cubs beat Dodgers 15-2
  • Apr 28 Great Britain performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island

Event of Interest

Apr 28 US Vice President Richard Nixon begins goodwill tour of Latin America

  • Apr 28 Vanguard TV-5 launched for Earth orbit (failed)

Baseball Record

Apr 30 Ted Williams is 10th major league player to get 1,000 extra-base hits


1958 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Apr 1 (Dennes) D. Boon, American punk rock singer and guitarist (The Minutemen), born in San Pedro, California (d. 1985)
  • Apr 1 Toni Innauer, Austrian ski jumper (Olympic gold individual normal hill 1980; silver long hill 1976), born in Bezau, Austria
  • Apr 2 Duncan Norvelle, British stand-up comedian and comic actor, born in Hoton, England
  • Apr 2 Larry Drew, American basketball point guard (Kansas City/Sacramento Kings, LA Clippers, LA Lakers) and coach (Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers), born in Kansas City, Kansas
  • Apr 2 Stefano Bettarello, Italian rugby union fly-half (55 caps, 483 points; Rovigo, Benetton Treviso), born in Rovigo, Italy
  • Apr 3 Adam Gussow, American blues harmonic player (Satan & Adam), and college professor, born in New York City

Alec Baldwin (65 years old)

Apr 3 American Emmy Award-winning actor (Knots Landing; Beetlejuice; Glengarry Glen Ross; SNL; 30 Rock), born in Amityville, New York

  • Apr 3 Jaya Prada, Indian actress (Sargam) and politician, born in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India
  • Apr 4 Cazuza, Brazilian poet, singer and composer, born in Rio de Janeiro (d. 1990)
  • Apr 4 David Roback, American alternative rock guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Opal; Mazzy Star), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2020)
  • Apr 4 Hrvoje Horvatic, video artist
  • Apr 4 Lam Jones, American athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 100m relay 1976) and NFL wide receiver (NY Jets 1980-86), born in Lawton, Oklahoma (d. 2019)
  • Apr 5 Cammie Lusko, Guinness' World Strongest Woman, born in Los Angeles, California
  • Apr 5 Johan Kriek, South African-American, tennis player (US Indoor 1982), born in Pongola, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
  • Apr 7 Alexandra Neil, actress (Rose-Guiding Light), born in Boston, Massachusetts
  • Apr 7 Tony Ayre, Northern Irish rock bass player (The Adventures - "Broken Land", "Drowning in the Sea of Love"), born in the UK (d. 2009)
  • Apr 9 Nigel Slater, English cook and writer (The Observer), born in Wolverhampton, England
  • Apr 9 Tony Sibson, English boxer, born in Leicester
  • Apr 10 Bob Bell, British engineer and Chief Technical Officer of the Renault Formula One team, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
  • Apr 10 Errollyn Wallen, British contemporary classical composer (Mighty River; Carbon 12), born in Belize, British Honduras
  • Apr 10 Yefim Bronfman, Israeli-American concert pianist, born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR (now Uzbekistan)
  • Apr 11 Brynn Hartman, American actress and murderer, born in Thief River Falls, Minnesota (d. 1998)
  • Apr 11 Hanna Havrylets, Ukrainian composer (David's Psalms; Ėlegiya), and educator, born in Vydyniv, Ukrainian SSR (d. 2022)
  • Apr 11 Sally Clark, New Zealand equestrian (World C'ship gold team eventing 1998; Olympic silver individual 1996), born in Palmerston North, New Zealand
  • Apr 11 Stuart Adamson, Scottish rock vocalist and guitarist (Big Country - "Wonderland"; "In A Big Country"), born in Manchester, England (d. 2001)
  • Apr 12 Howard Stableford, English actor and host, born in Preston, Lancashire
  • Apr 12 Will Sergeant, British rock guitarist (Echo & Bunnymen - Killing Moon), born in Liverpool, England
  • Apr 13 Randy Piper, American heavy metal rocker (Wasp - "Wildchild"), born in San Antonio, Texas
  • Apr 14 John D'Aquino, American actor (seaQuest DSV), born in Brooklyn, New York
  • Apr 14 Mike Hulbert, American golfer, broadcaster (3 PGA Tour titles), born in Elmira, New York
  • Apr 14 Peter Capaldi, Scottish actor (12th Doctor in Doctor Who, The Thick of It), born in Glasgow, Scotland
  • Apr 15 Benjamin Zephaniah, British writer and dub poet, born in Handsworth, Birmingham, England (d. 2023) [1]
  • Apr 15 Dolores Gordon-Smith, British novelist (The Jack Haldean Murder Series), born in Glossop, Derbyshire
  • Apr 15 John Bracewell, New Zealand cricketer (premiere spinner of 80's), born in Auckland, New Zealand
  • Apr 15 Matt Reid, American rock keyboardist (Berlin - "Take My Breath Away"), born in the USA
  • Apr 16 Philip Bainbridge, British cricketer, born in Sneyd Green, Stoke-on-Trent
  • Apr 18 Les Pattinson, Britsh rock bassist (Echo & Bunnymen - "Heaven Up Here"), born in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England
  • Apr 18 Malcolm Marshall, West Indian cricket fast bowler (81 Tests, 376 wickets @ 20.94, BB 7/22; Barbados, Hampshire CCC, Natal), born in Bridgetown, Barbados (d. 1999)
  • Apr 20 Viacheslav Fetisov, Russian Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman (Olympic gold 1984, 88; Stanley Cup 1997-98, Detroit Red Wings), born in Moscow, Russia
  • Apr 21 Andie MacDowell [Rosalie Anderson], American actress (Sex, Lies and Videotape, Green Card), born in Gaffney, South Carolina
  • Apr 21 Michael Zarnock, American author and columnist
  • Apr 21 Mike Barson, Scottish rock keyboardist and songwriter (Madness - "Night Boat to Cairo"), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
  • Apr 21 Yoshito Usui, Japanese manga artist
  • Apr 22 Ashraf Ali, Pakistani cricket wicket-keeper (8 Tests, 22 dismissals; 16 ODIs), born in Lahore, Pakistan
  • Apr 22 Ken Olandt, American actor (April Fool's Day, Imposter, Leprechaun), born in Richmond, California
  • Apr 23 Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Icelandic music composer, born in Reykjavík, Iceland
  • Apr 24 Brian Paddick, British former deputy assistant commissioner and most senior openly gay police officer, born in London
  • Apr 24 Fernando Luna, Spanish tennis star, born in Ciudad Real, Spain
  • Apr 24 Valery Lantratov, Russian ballet dancer, born in Moscow

Christa Johnson (65 years old)

Apr 25 American golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 1997), born in Arcata, California

  • Apr 25 Fish [Derek William Dick], Scottish vocalist (Marillion - "Sugar Mice"), born in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland
  • Apr 26 Giancarlo Esposito, American actor (Bob Roberts, School Daze, King of NY), born in Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Apr 26 John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute, British racing driver, born in Rothesay, Argyll and Bute, Scotland
  • Apr 27 David Barnes, New Zealand sailor (470 world champion 1981, 83, 84), born in Wellington, New Zealand (d. 2020)
  • Apr 28 Doris de Agostini-Rossetti, Swiss alpine skier (Downhill World Cup 1982/1983), born in Airolo, Ticino, Switzerland (d. 2020)
  • Apr 28 Hal Sutton, American golfer (PGA Championship 1983), born in Shreveport, Louisiana
  • Apr 28 Nancy Lee Grahn, American actress (Santa Barbara), born in Evanston, Illinois
  • Apr 29 Eve Plumb, American actress (Jan-Brady Bunch, I'm Gonna Get You Sucka), born in Burbank, California
  • Apr 29 Gary Cohen, American sports broadcaster (NY Mets: SNY, WPIX; Seton Hall basketball: WNYM), born in Queens, New York
  • Apr 29 Marc Randolph, American entrepreneur and co-founder and ex-CEO of Netflix, born in Chappaqua, New York

Michelle Pfeiffer (65 years old)

Apr 29 American actress (Scarface, Batman Returns, Hairspray), born in Santa Ana, California

  • Apr 29 Simon Edwards, British folk and soft rock guitarrón and bass player (Fairground Attraction - "Find My Love"; The First of a Million Kisses), born in Bristol, England
  • Apr 30 Charles Berling, French actor, director and screenwriter
Born in 1958

Famous Weddings

Stanley Kubrick

Apr 14 Film director Stanley Kubrick (29) weds actress Christiane Harlan (25)

Famous Deaths

  • Apr 2 Josei Toda, Japanese second president of the Buddhist association Soka Gakkai (b. 1900)
  • Apr 3 Theodor Kramer, Austrian poet and writer, dies at 61
  • Apr 4 Hendrik Heyman, Belgian minister of Nijverheid/mayor, dies at 78
  • Apr 4 Johnny Stompanato, American organized crime figure and abusive partner of actress Lana Turner, stabbed to death by her teenage daughter in self-defense at 32
  • Apr 5 Josef Brems, Flemish apostole (vicar of Denmark), dies at 87
  • Apr 7 Judge Jackson, American sacred harp composer, songwriter, and educator (The Colored Sacred Harp), dies at 75
  • Apr 7 Klimenty Arkad'yevich Korchmaryov, Ukrainian composer, dies at 58
  • Apr 8 Ethel Turner, Australian author (Seven Little Australians), dies at 88
  • Apr 8 George Jean Nathan, American editor, author and critic (American Mercury), dies at 76
  • Apr 10 Chuck Willis, rocker, dies at 30
  • Apr 11 Konstantin Yuon, Russian painter, dies at 82
  • Apr 13 Henry Phillips, American businessman (Phillip's screw), dies at 68 [1]
  • Apr 15 Estelle Taylor, American actress, dies at 64

Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958)

Apr 16 English chemist and co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, dies of ovarian cancer at 37

  • Apr 18 Maurice Gamelin, French Army officer (World War I - First Battle of the Marne; World War II - failure to stop German assault on France), dies at 85
  • Apr 18 Richard B. Goldschmidt, German-American zoologist (butterflies), dies at 80
  • Apr 21 Manuel Infante, Spanish composer and conductor, dies at 74
  • Apr 25 Herman Hickman, American College Football Hall of Fame guard, coach and broadcaster (Army, Yale), dies at 46
  • Apr 26 Joan Collette, Dutch graphic artist and painter (New Church, Delft), dies at 68
  • Apr 26 Joe Small, West Indian cricketer (WI all-rounder in 1928 series), dies at 65