October 4, 1958: France Establishes Its Fifth Republic

October 4, 1958: France adopts a new Constitution, beginning its Fifth Republic. Charles de Gaulle demanded it, and Michel Debré did most of the writing. In the new government established in the new Republic, de Gaulle served as President, head of state; and Debré as Prime Minister, head of the government.

The First Republic was founded on September 21, 1792, when the French Revolution overthrew the monarchy of King Louis XVI. Napoleon Bonaparte brought it to an end when he declared the First Empire on May 18, 1804. That Empire lasted until April 11, 1814, and was restored briefly from March 20 to July 7, 1815.

The Bourbon Restoration lasted until February 23, 1848, when France's branch of the European Revolutions of 1848 established the Second Republic. That ended on December 2, 1852, when Napoleon's grandnephew, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, proclaimed the Second Empire, and himself as Emperor Napoleon III. (He considered Napoleon's son, who never actually reigned, to be Napoleon II.)

The Second Empire fell on September 4, 1870, after Napoleon III was captured in the Battle of Sedan 2 days earlier, costing France the Franco-Prussian War. The Third Republic lasted through the Dreyfus Affair, World War I and the Great Depression, until falling to the Nazis on July 10, 1940.

After de Gaulle's provisional government following the Liberation of Paris on August 25, 1944, the Fourth Republic began with the adoption of its Constitution on October 13, 1946. It was basically a resumption of the Third Republic. But it suffered from a lack of political consensus, a weak executive, and governments forming and falling in quick succession.

Finally, the Algieria Crisis of 1958 forced the government's hand. On June 1, it voted to return de Gaulle to power. He had offered himself as the savior of the nation. It was not the first time, and it would not be the last.

Many opposed him. Writer-philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, publicly known to be a militant atheist in the mold of a new Voltaire, said, "I would rather vote for God." de Gaulle himself said, "Who honestly believes that, at age 67, I would start a career as a dictator?" Many did. But, as has so often been the case, a people's desire for stability topped all other concerns. de Gaulle once again turned out to be the right man for the job... for the moment.

On June 3, de Gaulle called for a new constitution. On September 28, the nation's voters approved it. It took effect on October 4, and de Gaulle was elected President on December 21, taking office on January 9, 1959. On its issue dated 5 days earlier, January 5, Time magazine named de Gaulle its Man of the Year for 1958.

The 1958 constitution also replaced the French Union with the French Community, similar to the British Empire transitioning to the British Commonwealth. Over the course of calendar year 1960, 14 French colonies in Africa declared their independence. Finally, Algeria was allowed to become independent on July 5, 1962. This kept France stable until the "May Days" of 1968, when de Gaulle sent troops in to settle things. France has not even approached the need for a Sixth Republic since then.

The Constitution of the Fifth Republic has been amended 24 times, most recently in 2008.

So, to recap. Chronologically:

1792-1804: First Republic

1804-1815: First Empire

1815-1848: Bourbon Restoration

1848-1852: Second Republic

1852-1870: Second Empire

1870-1940: Third Republic

1940-1944: Third Reich

1944-1946: Provisional Government

1946-1958: Fourth Republic

1958-present: Fifth Republic

By time: Third Republic, 70 years; Fifth Republic, 64 years and counting as of October 4, 2022; Bourbon Restoration, 33 years; Second Empire, 18 years; Fourth Republic, 12 years; First Republic, 11 years; First Empire, 11 years; Second Republic, 4 years; Third Reich, 4 years; post-WWII provisional government, 2 years.

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October 4, 1958 was a Saturday. Game 3 of the World Series was played at Yankee Stadium, and the New York Yankees beat the Milwaukee Braves, 4-0. Don Larsen was not perfect, as he was 2 years earlier, but effective enough to combine with reliever Ryne Duren for a 6-hit shutout. Hank Bauer hit a home run. Mickey Mantle went 0-for-2 with 2 walks. Hank Aaron went 0-for-3 with a walk. The Yankees went on to win the Series in 7 games.

There was college football played that day, including the following games:

* Number 1 Oklahoma beat Oregon, 6-0 at Owen Field in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma went on to win the Big Seven Conference (it became the Big Eight when Oklahoma State joined in 1960). The next week, they lost to Texas in the Cotton Bowl, which would be their only loss of the season.

* Number 2 Auburn beat Chattanooga, 30-8 at Cliff Hare Stadium (now Jordan-Hare Stadium) in Auburn, Alabama.

* Number 3 Ohio State beat the University of Washington, 12-7 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

* Number 4 Michigan State and Number 16 Michigan played to a 12-12 tie at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.

* Number 5 Army beat Penn State, 26-0 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York. Army had the season's Heisman Trophy winner, running back Pete Dawkins.

* Number 6 Mississippi beat Trinity College, 21-0 at Alamo Stadium in San Antonio. Trinity now play in NCAA Division III.

* Number 7 Notre Dame beat Number 17 Southern Methodist (SMU), 14-6 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. In those days, Notre Dame didn't accept invitations to bowl games, so they did not go on to play in the Cotton Bowl game, or any other.

* Number 8 Iowa were held to a 13-13 tie by the Air Force Academy, at Iowa Stadium (now Kinnick Stadium) in Iowa City. Iowa still won the Big 10 Conference title.

* Number 9 Wisconsin beat cross-State Marquette, 50-0 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. Marquette, a participant in the 1st-ever Cotton Bowl (losing to Texas Christian on New Year's Day 1937), dropped its football program after the 1960 season.

* Number 10 Clemson beat Maryland, 8-0 at Byrd Stadium (now SECU Stadium) in the Washington suburb of College Park, Maryland. Clemson went on to win the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

* Number 11 Mississippi State were upset by Tennessee, 13-8 at Crump Stadium in Memphis. Although the venue was in Tennessee's State, it was much closer to MSU's campus.

* Number 13 Louisiana State beat Hardin-Simmons, 20-6 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU went on to win the Southeastern Conference title, and beat Clemson in the Sugar Bowl, to win the National Championship.

* Number 15 Navy beat Boston University, 28-14 at Nickerson Field in Boston.

* The University of California beat Washington State, 34-14 at California Memorial Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Berkeley. Neither team was then ranked. Cal went on to win the title of the American Association of Western Universities (AAWU, a precursor to the league now known as the Pacific-12 Conference), but lost the Rose Bowl to Iowa.

* Holy Cross beat Syracuse, 14-13 at Fitton Field in Worcester, Massachusetts. Neither team was then ranked. This would be the only game that Syracuse lost in the regular season, and they advance to the Orange Bowl, but were beaten by Oklahoma.

* Texas Christian beat Arkansas, 12-7 at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. Neither team was then ranked. TCU went on to win the Southwest Conference title, and beat Air Force in the Cotton Bowl.

* Among New Jersey's teams, Rutgers beat Colgate, 21-7 at Colgate Athletic Field (now Andy Kerr Stadium) in Hamilton, New York; while Princeton beat Columbia, 43-8 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton.

The NHL season began 4 days later; the NBA season, 11 days after that. In English soccer, Arsenal beat Birmingham-area team West Bromwich Albion, 4-3 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury. France? Like most countries on the European continent, they traditionally play soccer on Sundays.