January 4, 1958

1958Matt Frewer, American-Canadian actor^[†]

Matthew George Frewer is an American-Canadian actor and comedian. He portrayed the 1980s icon Max Headroom in the 1985 TV film and 1987 television series of the same name.

1958Julian Sands, English actor (died 2023)^[†]

Julian Richard Morley Sands was an English actor. He had his breakout role as George Emerson in A Room with a View (1985) and went on to appear in The Killing Fields (1984), Gothic (1986), Siesta (1987), Warlock (1989), Arachnophobia (1990), Naked Lunch (1991), Boxing Helena (1993), Leaving Las Vegas (1995), The Medallion (2003), Ocean's Thirteen (2007), and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). His television roles included Nick Hardaway in Rose Red (2002), Vladimir Bierko in 24 (2006), Jor-El in Smallville (2009–2010), and the voice of Valmont in Jackie Chan Adventures (2000–2002).

1958Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, falls to Earth from orbit.^[†]

Sputnik 1, sometimes referred to as simply Sputnik, was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for three weeks before its three silver-zinc batteries became depleted. Aerodynamic drag caused it to fall back into the atmosphere on 4 January 1958.