On 2 March 1958, the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition led by Vivian Fuchs arrived at Scott Base on Ross Island, completing the first overland crossing of Antarctica via the South Pole, after 99 days and 3,473 km from Shackleton Base on the Weddell Sea. It used Sno-Cat tracked vehicles, dogs and aircraft, and had a New Zealand support team led by Edmund Hillary, who reached the Pole by tractor in January, the first overland arrival there since Scott. Shackleton's dream of crossing the continent, which he attempted in 1914, had finally been achieved.
Before and after
- 1 February 1958Launch of Explorer 1
- 6 February 1958Munich air disaster
- March 1958Start of the Keeling curve at Mauna Loa
- 2 March 1958Construction of Beijing Capital International Airport
- 2 March 1958The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the crossing
- 14 March 1958Birth of Albert II, Prince of Monaco
- 17 March 1958Launch of Vanguard 1
- 21 March 1958Birth of Gary Oldman
- 17 April 1958Construction of Atomium
More in Exploration & discovery
- from 4 October 1957 to 1 July 1975Space race
- 23 January 1960Piccard and Walsh reach the bottom of the Challenger Deep
- 24 December 1968Apollo 8 orbits the Moon and photographs Earthrise
- 11 January 2008Death of Edmund Hillary
- 25 August 2012Death of Neil Armstrong
- 14 July 2015New Horizons flies by Pluto
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.