January 4 » Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island. The Edison film company records the film Electrocuting an Elephant of Topsy's death.
February 23 » Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity".
March 2 » In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
August 18 » German engineer Karl Jatho allegedly flies his self-made, motored gliding airplane four months before the first flight of the Wright brothers.
September 27 » The Wreck of the Old 97, an American rail disaster that became the subject of a popular ballad.
December 14 » The Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
Day of death December 26, 1957
The temperature on December 26, 1957 was between 3.4 °C and 4.5 °C and averaged 4.0 °C. There was 0.1 mm of rain. The almost completely overcast was. The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the south-southwest. Source: KNMI
March 25 » The European Economic Community is established with West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg as the first members.
April 5 » In India, Communists win the first elections in united Kerala and E. M. S. Namboodiripad is sworn in as the first Chief Minister.
April 11 » United Kingdom agrees to Singaporean self-rule.
August 31 » The Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
November 17 » Vickers Viscount G-AOHP of British European Airways crashes at Ballerup after the failure of three engines on approach to Copenhagen Airport. The cause is a malfunction of the anti-icing system on the aircraft. There are no fatalities.
December 6 » Project Vanguard: A launchpad explosion of Vanguard TV3 thwarts the first United States attempt to launch a satellite into Earth orbit.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Hendrik Dreyer, "Dreyer Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/dreyer-tree/I12228.php : accessed February 1, 2026), "Martha Maria Magdalena Dreyer (1903-1957)".
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