On this day

August 17, 1958

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

Historical Context for August 17, 1958

In 1958, the world population was approximately 2,911,249,671 people[†]

Notable Births

Belinda Carlisle

1958Belinda Carlisle, American singer-songwriter[†]

Belinda Jo Carlisle is an American singer and songwriter. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female rock bands of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist.

1958Fred Goodwin, Scottish banker and accountant[†]

Frederick Anderson Goodwin FRSE FCIBS is a Scottish chartered accountant and former banker who was chief executive officer (CEO) of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) between 2001 and 2009.

1958Maurizio Sandro Sala, Brazilian race car driver[†]

Maurizio Sandro Sala is a Brazilian former racing driver. He drove in multiple classes of racing in a career lasting from 1978 to 2004.

Notable Deaths

Arthur Fox (fencer)

1958Arthur Fox, English-American fencer (born 1878)[†]

Arthur George Fox was an English-American fencer who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics.

Historical Events

Pioneer 0

1958Pioneer 0, America's first attempt at lunar orbit, is launched using the first Thor-Able rocket and fails. Notable as one of the first attempted launches beyond Earth orbit by any country.[†]

Pioneer 0 was a failed United States space probe that was designed to go into orbit around the Moon, carrying a television camera, a micrometeorite detector and a magnetometer. It was part of the first International Geophysical Year (IGY) science payload. It was designed and operated by the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division as the first spacecraft in the Pioneer program and was the first attempted launch beyond Earth orbit by any country, but the rocket failed shortly after launch. The probe was intended to be called Pioneer, but the launch failure precluded that name.

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Headlines from August 17, 1958