29 July 1958: Dwight David Eisenhower, Thirty-fourth President of the United States of America, signed Public Law #85-568 (72 Stat. 426), the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, which established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Congress declared a requirement for aeronautics and space research, and

…that it is the policy of the United States that activities in space should be devoted to peaceful purposes for the benefit of all mankind.

President Eisenhower had proposed civilian National Aeronautics and Space Agency to Congress in a letter sent 2 April 1958. The Bill passed on 16 July.

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes