Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar).
Events of 1957
January
- January 1 - The Saarland joins West Germany.
- January 1 - An Irish Republican Army attack on the Brookeborough police barracks leads to the deaths of Seán South and Fergal O'Hanlon.
- January 1 - Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini suffers the stroke that leads to his death a little over 2 weeks later.
- January 2 - The San Francisco and Los Angeles stock exchanges merge to form the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange.
- January 3 - Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.
- January 4 - After 69 years the last issue of Collier's Weekly Magazine is published.
- January 5 - Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be dismissed for having handled the ball in test match cricket.
- January 6 - Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show for the 3rd and final time. He is only shown from the waist up, even during the gospel segment, singing "Peace In The Valley". Ed Sullivan describes Elvis thus: "This is a real decent, fine boy. We've never had a pleasanter experience on our show with a big name than we've had with you. You're thoroughly all right."
- January 9 - British Prime Minister Anthony Eden resigns.
- January 10 - Harold Macmillan becomes the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- January 11 - The African Convention is founded in Dakar.
- January 13 - Wham-O Company produces the first Frisbee.
- January 16 - The Cavern Club opens in Liverpool.
- January 20 - Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated for a second term as President of the United States.
- January 22 - Israel withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula (captured from Egypt on October 29, 1956).
- January 22 - The New York City "Mad Bomber," George P. Metesky, is arrested in Waterbury, Connecticut and is charged with planting more than 30 bombs.
- January 23 - Ku Klux Klan members force truck driver Willie Edwards to jump off a bridge into the Alabama River; he drowns as a result.
- January 26 - The Ibirapuera Planetarium (the first in the Southern Hemisphere) is inaugurated in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.
- January 31 - Three students on a junior high school playground in Pacoima, California are among the 8 persons killed following a mid-air collision between a Douglas DC-7 airliner and a Northrop F-89 Scorpion fighter jet, in the skies above the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles.
February
March
Flag of Ghana, the first country in colonial Africa to gain independence
April
May
June
July
- July - The International Geophysical Year begins.
- July - The University of Waterloo is founded in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
- July 6 - John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the very first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, 3 years before forming the Beatles.
- July 9 - Elvis Presley's Loving You opens in theaters.
- July 11 - His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan becomes the 49th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims at age 20. His grandfather Sir Sultan Mohammed Shah Aga Khan III appoints Prince Karim in his will.
- July 16 - United States Marine Major John Glenn flies an F8U supersonic jet from California to New York in 3 hours, 23 minutes and 8 seconds, setting a new transcontinental speed record.
- July 25 - Tunisia becomes a republic, with Habib Bourguiba its first president. * July 28 - The 6th World Festival of Youth and Students, a high point of The Thaw, kicks off in Moscow.
- July 28 - Heavy rains and mudslides at Isahaya, western Kyushu, Japan kill 992.
- July 28 - A strong earthquake shakes Mexico City and Mexican port city Acapulco.
- July 29 - The International Atomic Energy Agency is established.
August
September
October
- October 2 - David Lean's film The Bridge on the River Kwai opens in the UK.
- October 4 - Space Age - Sputnik program: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth.
- October 4 - Canada's Avro Arrow is unveiled to the public.
- October 9 - Neil H. McElroy is sworn in as United States Secretary of Defense.
- October 10 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologizes to the finance minister of Ghana, Komla Agbeli Gbdemah, after he is refused service in a Dover, Delaware restaurant.
- October 11 - The Jodrell Bank Radio telescope opens in Cheshire, UK.
- October 11 - The orbit of the last stage of the R-7 Semyorka rocket (carrying Sputnik I) is first successfully calculated on an IBM 704 computer by teams at The M.I.T. Computation Center and Operation Moonwatch, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- October 21 - Two trains collide in Turkey; 95 die.
- October 21 - The U.S. military sustains its first combat fatality in Vietnam, Army Capt. Hank Cramer of the 1st Special Forces Group.
- October 23 - Morocco begins its invasion of Ifni.
- October 25 - Mafia boss Albert Anastasia is assassinated in a barber shop, at the Park Sheraton Hotel in New York City.
- October 27 - Celal Bayar is re-elected president of Turkey.
- October 31 - Toyota begins exporting vehicles to the U.S., beginning with the Toyota Crown and the Toyota Land Cruiser
November
December
Undated
Ongoing
Environmental change
Births
January–February
- January 1 - Ewa Kasprzyk, Polish actress
- January 1 - Luis Guzmán, Puerto Rican actor
- January 4 - Charles Allen, British television magnate
- January 6 - Nancy Lopez, American golfer
- January 7 - Nicholson Baker, American novelist
- January 7 - Katie Couric, American television host (CBS Evening News)
- January 7 - Hannu Kamppuri, Finnish ice hockey goaltender
- January 7 - Julian Solis, Puerto Rican boxer
- January 9 - Bibie, Ghanaian singer
- January 11 - Bryan Robson, English footballer
- January 12 - John Lasseter, American director, writer, and animator
- January 13 - Lorrie Moore, American writer
- January 14 - Anchee Min, Chinese writer
- January 15 - Mario Van Peebles, Mexican-born African-American actor and director
- January 15 - Patrick Dixon, British business guru and author
- January 17 - Steve Harvey, African-American actor
- January 21 - Greg Ryan, American soccer coach
- January 22 - Mike Bossy, Canadian hockey player
- January 22 - Rene Requiestas, Filipino comedian (d. 1993)
- January 22 - Godfrey Thoma, Nauruan politician
- January 23 - Princess Caroline of Monaco
- January 24 - Adrian Edmondson, British comedian
- January 27 - Janick Gers, British rock guitarist (Iron Maiden)
- January 29 - Grazyna Miller, Polish poet
- January 30 - Payne Stewart, American golfer (d. 1999)
- February 2 - Phil Barney, French singer
- February 4 - Don Davis, American composer
- February 4 - Elaine Carbines, Member of the Australian Labor Party
- February 5 - Jackie Woodburne, Australian actress
- February 6 - Kathy Najimy, American actress and comedian (Sister Act)
- February 8 - Cindy Wilson, American rock singer (The B-52's)
- February 9 - Gordon Strachan, Scottish footballer and manager
- February 16 - LeVar Burton, African-American actor (Roots)
- February 16 - James Ingram, African-American singer
- February 18 - Vanna White, American game show presenter (Wheel Of Fortune)
- February 18 - Marita Koch, German athlete
- February 19 - Falco, Austrian rock musician (Rock Me Amadeus) (d. 1998)
- February 20 - Glen Hanlon, Canadian ice hockey coach
- February 27 - Viktor Markin, Russian athlete
- February 27 - Adrian Smith, British rock guitarist (Iron Maiden)
- February 28 - Ian Smith, New Zealand cricketer
March–April
- March 3 - Eric Walters, Canadian author
- March 4 - Rick Mast, American NASCAR driver
- March 4 - Jim Dwyer, American journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner
- March 5 - Ray Suarez, American journalist
- March 9 - Mona Sahlin, Swedish politician
- March 10 - Osama bin Laden, Saudi-born Islamic extremist
- March 10 - Matt Knudsen, American actor
- March 11 - Rob Paulsen, American voice actor
- March 17 - Mal Donaghy, Northern Irish footballer
- March 18 - György Pazdera, Hungarian rock bassist (Pokolgép)
- March 20 - Spike Lee, African-American film director and actor (Do The Right Thing)
- March 29 - Christopher Lambert, American-born actor
- March 31 - Marc McClure, American actor (Back To The Future)
- April 1 - J. Karjalainen, Finnish rock musician
- April 1 - Denise Nickerson, American child actress (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)
- April 4 - Aki Kaurismäki, Finnish film director
- April 5 - Ivan Corea, Sri Lankan autism campaigner
- April 8 - Henry Cluney, Irish musician
- April 9 - Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer
- April 11 - Michael Card, American Christian musician
- April 12 - Suzzanne Douglass, American actress
- April 14 - Mikhail Pletnev, Russian pianist, conductor and composer
- April 18 - Genie (feral child), "Genie", American feral child
- April 22 - Vladimir Alexeyevich Smirnov, Russian businessman
- April 25 - Eric Bristow, English darts player
- April 27 - Michel Barrette, Canadian actor and stand-up comedian
- April 29 - Daniel Day-Lewis, English-born actor
May–June
- May 3 - William Clay Ford, Jr., American automobile executive
- May 3 - Jo Brand, English comedian
- May 10 - Sid Vicious, English rock bassist (Sex Pistols) (d. 1979)
- May 14 - Big Van Vader, American professional wrestler
- May 15 - Juan José Ibarretxe, Basque Lehendakari (Prime Minister)
- May 17 - Gösta Sundqvist, Finnish rock singer and songwriter (Leevi and the Leavings) (d. 2003)
- May 21 - Judge Reinhold, American actor
- May 21 - Renée Soutendijk, Dutch actress
- May 22 - Gary Sweet, Australian actor
- May 22 - Shinji Morisue, Japanese gymnast
- May 23 - Jimmy McShane (aka Baltimora), Northern Irish dancer (d. 1995)
- May 24 - Walter Moers, German comic artist and writer
- May 26 - Margaret Colin, American actress
- May 26 - Pontso S.M. Sekatle, Lesotho academic and politician
- May 27 - Siouxsie Sioux, British rock singer (Siouxsie and the Banshees)
- May 28 - Kirk Gibson, American baseball player
- May 29 - Jeb Hensarling, American politician
- June 1 - Dorota Kędzierzawska, Polish film director
- June 2 - King Lizzard, American entertainer
- June 3 - Horst-Ulrich Hänel, German field hockey player
- June 7 - Juan Luis Guerra, Dominican singer and songwriter
- June 8 - Scott Adams, American cartoonist (Dilbert)
- June 10 - Hidetsugu Aneha, Japanese architect
- June 12 - Timothy Busfield, American actor
- June 12 - Javed Miandad, Pakistani cricketer
- June 15 - Seppo Pääkkönen, Finnish actor
- June 19 - Anna Lindh, Swedish politician (d. 2003)
- June 19 - Maxwell Fraiser, African-British rapper for Faithless, DJ
- June 23 - Frances McDormand, American actress (Fargo)
- June 27 - John Bolaris, American meteorologist
- June 27 - Georgi Parvanov, President of Bulgaria
- June 28 - Lance Nethery, Canadian ice hockey player
July–August
- July 1 - Hannu Kamppuri, Finnish ice hockey player
- July 2 - Bret Hart, Canadian professional wrestler
- July 3 - Laura Branigan, American singer (Gloria) (d. 2004)
- July 9 - Marc Almond, English singer
- July 9 - Kelly McGillis, American actress (Top Gun)
- July 11 - Peter Murphy, British rock singer (Bauhaus)
- July 13 - Cameron Crowe, American writer and film director
- July 16 - Faye Grant, American actress (V)
- July 17 - Fern Britton, British television presenter
- July 21 - George Landress, American songwriter, music producer and sound engineer
- July 23 - Theo van Gogh, Dutch film director (d. 2004)
- July 26 - Nana Visitor, American actress
- July 26 - Yuen Biao, Hong Kong actor
- July 27 - Bill Engvall, American comedian
- July 27 - Hansi Muller, German footballer
- July 29 - Nellie Kim, Russian gymnast
- August 6 - Jim McGreevey, 52nd Governor of New Jersey
- August 7 - Alexander Dityatin, Soviet gymnast
- August 9 - Melanie Griffith, American actress
- August 11 - Richie Ramone, American rock drummer (The Ramones)
- August 14 - Peter Costello, Australian politician
- August 17 - Robin Cousins, British figure skater
- August 18 - Carole Bouquet, French actress
- August 18 - Denis Leary, American comedian and actor
- August 19 - Li-Young Lee, Indonesian-born poet
- August 20 - Finlay Calder, Scottish rugby player
- August 22 - Steve Davis, British snooker player
- August 24 - Stephen Fry, British comedian, author, and actor
- August 27 - Bernhard Langer, German golfer
- August 28 - Daniel Stern, American actor (Home Alone)
- August 30 - Manu Tuiasosopo, American football player
- August 31 - Ingrid Washinawatok, Native American activist (d. 1999)
September–October
- September 1 - Gloria Estefan, Cuban-born American singer (Miami Sound Machine)
- September 6 - Tim Whitnall, English actor and narrator
- September 8 - Ricardo Montaner, Argentine-born Venezuelan singer
- September 11 - Brad Bird, American animator and director
- September 11 - Preben Elkjaer Larsen, Danish footballer
- September 12 - Rachel Ward, British actress
- September 13 - Vinny Appice, American drummer
- September 16 - David McCreery, Irish footballer
- September 21 - Ethan Coen, American film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor
- September 21 - Kevin Rudd, Australian Prime Minister
- September 22 - Nick Cave, Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter and actor
- September 26 - Luigi De Canio, Italian footballer and football manager
- September 28 - Luis Cluzeau Mortet, Uruguayan composer and musician
- September 30 - Fran Drescher, American actress (The Nanny)
- October 4 - Alexander Tkachyov, Soviet gymnast
- October 5 - Bernie Mac, African-American stand-up comedian and actor (d. 2008)
- October 7 - Jayne Torvill, British ice skater
- October 7 - Michael W. Smith, American Christian musician
- October 8 - Ewan Stewart, Scottish actor
- October 11 - Dawn French, British comedian
- October 14 - Kenny Neal, American guitarist
- October 15 - Stacy Peralta, American director and former skateboarder
- October 18 -
