Today in History for Year 1959

Months in Year 1959: January February March April May June July August September October November December

Historical Events

Results 1 - 100 of 522

Jan 1st - Castro leads Cuba to victory as Fulgencio Batista flees to Dom Rep
Jan 1st - Chad becomes autonomous republic in French Community
Jan 1st - Rohan Kanhai completes 256 v India at Calcutta
Jan 2nd - Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista flees
Jan 2nd - USSR launches Mechta (Luna 1) for 1st lunar fly-by, 1st solar orbit
Jan 3rd - Alaska admitted as 49th US state
Jan 4th - Luna 1 (Mechta) becomes 1st craft to leave Earth's gravity
Jan 5th - "Bozo the Clown" live children's show premieres on TV
Jan 5th - Buddy Holly releases his last record "It Doesn't Matter"
Jan 7th - US recognizes Fidel Castro's Cuban govt
Jan 8th - Charles de Gaulle inaugurated as pres of France's 5th Republic
Jan 9th - "Rawhide" with Clint Eastwood premieres on CBS TV
Jan 9th - Dam across Tera River collapses after heavy winter rains, 135 die
Jan 9th - Pat O'Connor beats Dick Hutton in St Louis, to become NWA champ
Jan 11th - Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Theodore Roethke
Jan 11th - Hanif Mohammad completes 499 for Karachi, then 1st class world record
Jan 11th - Marlene Hagge wins LPGA Mayfair Golf Open
Jan 11th - NFL Pro Bowl: East beats West 28-21
Jan 12th - KOED TV channel 11 in Tulsa, OK (PBS) begins broadcasting
Jan 13th - De Gaulle grants amnesty to 130 to Algerian death row convicts
Jan 13th - King Boudouin promises Belgian Congo independence
Jan 17th - "Say, Darling" closes at ANTA Theater NYC after 332 performances
Jan 18th - Ruth Jessen wins LPGA Tampa Golf Open
Jan 20th - Dmitri Sjostakovitsj' Moscow-Tsjerjomoesjki, premieres in Moscow
Jan 22nd - USAF concludes less than 1% of UFO's are unknown objects
Jan 24th - "Party with Comden & Green" closes at John Golden NYC after 38 perfs
Jan 24th - Dmitri Shostakovitch's comedy "Cheryomushk," premieres in Moscow
Jan 24th - WHCT TV channel 18 in Hartford, CT (IND) begins broadcasting
Jan 25th - 1st transcontinental coml jet flight (American) (LA to NY for $301)
Jan 25th - Pope John XXIII proclaims 2nd Vatican council
Jan 26th - Italy govt of Fanfani resigns
Jan 26th - KOKH TV channel 25 in Oklahoma City, OK (IND/PBS) begins broadcasting
Jan 28th - Soviet Union wins 62-37 for 1st international basketball loss by US
Jan 29th - Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" released
Jan 30th - Australia 1-200 1st day 4th Test v England, Adelaide Oval
Jan 30th - Paul Hindemith's symphony "Pittsburgh," premieres
Jan 31st - Joe Cronin signs 7 year pact to become head of AL
Feb 1st - Swiss males vote against voting rights for women
Feb 1st - Texas Instruments requests patent of IC (Integrated Circuit)
Feb 1st - US female Figure Skating championship won by Carol Heiss
Feb 1st - US male Figure Skating championship won by David Jenkins
Feb 1st - WVUE TV channel 8 in New Orleans, LA (ABC) begins broadcasting
Feb 1st - Wiffi Smith wins LPGA Havana Golf Tournament
Feb 1st - Zack Wheat unanimously elected to baseball Hall of Fame
Feb 2nd - Buddy Holly's last performance
Feb 2nd - Vince Lombardi signs a 5 year contract to coach Green Bay Packers
Feb 3rd - American Airlines Electra crashes in NY's East River, killing 65
Feb 4th - Israel begins exporting copper ore
Feb 5th - "Redhead" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 455 performances
Feb 5th - Australia regain the Ashes with a 10 wicket victory at Adelaide
Feb 6th - 1st successful test-fire of Titan ICBM
Feb 6th - Fidel Castro is interviewed by Edward R Murrow
Feb 7th - "Whoop-Up" closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 56 performances
Feb 7th - Castro proclaims new Cuban constitution
Feb 7th - Cessna lands in Las Vegas after 65 d without landing (refuels in air)
Feb 7th - Dorothy Rigney sells White Sox to Bill Veeck for a reported $27M
Feb 9th - Coasters's "Charlie Brown" peaks at #2
Feb 10th - Dutch Princess Wilhelmina publishes "Lonely, but not alone"
Feb 10th - Tornado in St Louis kills 19 & injures 265
Feb 11th - Vinoo Mankad ends his final Test Cricket (v WI at Delhi)
Feb 13th - Barbie doll goes on sale
Feb 13th - Miro Cardon, premier of Cuba, resigns
Feb 14th - $3.6 million heroin seizure in NYC
Feb 15th - Antonio Segni forms Italian govt
Feb 15th - Louise Suggs wins LPGA St Petersburg Golf Tournament
Feb 16th - Fidel Castro named himself Cuba's premier after overthrowing Batista
Feb 16th - Leonard Spigelgass' "Majority of One," premieres in NYC
Feb 17th - 1st weather satellite launched, Vanguard 2, 9.8 kg
Feb 19th - Britain, Turkey & Greece sign agreement granting Cyprus independence
Feb 19th - Gabon adopts its constitution
Feb 19th - USAF rocket-powered rail sled attains Mach 4.1 (4970 kph), NM
Feb 20th - The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate.
Feb 22nd - 1st Daytona 500 auto race-Lee Petty wins (135.521 MPH)
Feb 23rd - Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Lake Worth Golf Open
Feb 23rd - KVIE TV channel 6 in Sacramento-Stockton, CA (PBS) begins broadcasting
Feb 27th - Chicago Cards trade running back Ollie Matson to LA Rams for 9 players
Feb 27th - Boston Celtic Bob Cousy sets NBA record with 28 assists Boston Celtics score 173 points against Minneapolis Lakers
Feb 28th - "Goldilocks" closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC after 161 perfs
Feb 28th - Ice Dance Championship at Colo Springs USA won by Denny & Jones of GRB
Feb 28th - Ice Pairs Championship at Colorado Springs won by Wagner & Paul of CAN
Feb 28th - Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Colo Spr won by Carol Heiss USA
Feb 28th - Launch of Discoverer 1 (WTR)-1st polar orbit
Feb 28th - Men's Figure Skating Championship in Colo Spr won by David Jenkins USA
Feb 28th - NFL trade, Chicago Cards trade Ollie Matson to LA Rams for 9 players
Mar 1st - Archbishop Makarios returns to Cyprus after 3 years
Mar 1st - Beverly Hanson wins LPGA Golden Triangle Festival Golf Tournament
Mar 3rd - 1st US probe to enter solar orbit, Pioneer 4, launched
Mar 3rd - Brit govt arrests Hastings Banda of Nyasaland, ends emergency crisis
Mar 3rd - SF Giant's rename their stadium Candlestick Park
Mar 4th - US Pioneer IV misses Moon & becomes 2nd (US 1st) artificial planet
Mar 5th - Iran & US sign economic & military treaty
Mar 6th - 11st Emmy Awards: Playhouse 90, Jack Benny Show, Raymond Burr
Mar 6th - Farthest radio signal heard (Pioneer IV, 400,000 miles)
Mar 7th - "Bells Are Ringing" closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 925 perfs
Mar 7th - 1st aviator to fly a million miles (1.61 M km) in a jet (MC Garlow)
Mar 7th - West Indies all out 76 v Pakistan at Dacca, Fazal Mahmood 6-34
Mar 8th - Groucho, Chico & Harpo's final TV appearance together
Mar 8th - KUAT TV channel 6 in Tucson, AZ (PBS) begins broadcasting
Mar 8th - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Jacksonville Golf Open
Mar 8th - Pro-Egyptian coup fails in Mosul Iraq

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Famous Birthdays

Results 1 - 100 of 713

Jan 1st - Abdul Ahad Mohmand, Afghanistan, cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-6)
Jan 1st - Azali Assoumani, Comorian president
Jan 2nd - Kirti Azad, cricketer (Indian off-spin all-rounder in 7 Tests 1981-83)
Jan 3rd - Rusty Golden, rocker (Boys Band)
Jan 4th - Vanity, [Denise Marquardt], Ontario Canada, actress (52 Pick Up)
Jan 4th - Yoshitomo Nara, Japanese pop artist
Jan 6th - John Singleton, LA Calif, director (Boyz n The Hood)
Jan 6th - Kapil Dev, cricketer (India's finest all-rounder 1978-94, Cup-1982)
Jan 6th - Kathy Sledge, Phila, vocalist (Sister Sledge-We are Family)
Jan 6th - Nancy Rubin Sharff, New Kensington, LPGA golfer (1991 Jamie Farr-9th)
Jan 7th - Kathy Valentine, rocker (Go-Go's-We Got the Beat)
Jan 8th - Michael Harwood, Sydney NSW, Australasia golfer
Jan 8th - Paul Hester, Australian drummer (d. 2005)
Jan 9th - Otis Nixon, US baseball outfielder (Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers)
Jan 9th - Mark Martin, American race car driver
Jan 9th - Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Jan 9th - Cristi Minculescu, Romanian musician
Jan 10th - Chandra Cheesborough, Jacksonville Fla, 4X100 runner (Olympic-gold-84)
Jan 10th - Don Letts, rocker (Big Audio Dynamite)
Jan 10th - Kirk & Curtwood, musician (Meat Puppets)
Jan 10th - Fran Walsh, New Zealand screenwriter
Jan 11th - Brett Bodine, auto racer
Jan 12th - Per Helmstad Gessle, Sweden, singer (Roxette-Must Have Been Love)
Jan 12th - Blixa Bargeld, German singer and musician (Einstürzende Neubauten, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)
Jan 13th - Kevin Anderson, IL, actor (Hoffa, Sleeping with the Enemy)
Jan 13th - James Lomenzo, American musician (Megadeth)
Jan 14th - Carl Chas Smash Smyth, rock bassist (Madness-Our House)
Jan 14th - Geoff Tate, vocalist (Queensryche-Breaking the Silence)
Jan 14th - Paul Terry, cricketer (in Germany Two Tests England v WI 1984)
Jan 14th - Susan Smith, Beloit WISC, playmate (Sept, 1981)
Jan 15th - Pete Trewavas, Middlesbrough, bassist, (Marillion-Clutching at Straws)
Jan 15th - Pavle Kozjek, Slovenian climber (d. 2008)
Jan 16th - Juanita Bynum, American televangelist
Jan 16th - Sade, Nigerian-born singer
Jan 17th - Susanna Hoffs, actress/rocker (Bangles-Walk Like an Egyptian)
Jan 17th - Momoe Yamaguchi, Japanese singer and actress
Jan 18th - Bob Rosenberg, rocker (Will To Power)
Jan 20th - Lea Antonoplis, West Covina Cat, tennis star
Jan 21st - Alex McLeish, Scottish footballer and manager
Jan 22nd - Linda Blair, St Louis Mo, actress (Exorcist, Chained Heat, Savage St)
Jan 23rd - Earl Falconer, British reggae bassist (UB40-Red Red Wine)
Jan 23rd - Tyrone Power Jr, Los Angeles Calif, actor (Shag)
Jan 24th - David Mills, American author
Jan 24th - Vic Reeves, English comedian
Jan 27th - Chris Collinsworth, NFL wide receiver/TV sportscaster
Jan 27th - Patti Cohoon, Whittier Calif, actress (Molly-Here Come the Brides)
Jan 27th - Göran Hägglund, Swedish politician
Jan 27th - Keith Olbermann, American news presenter
Jan 28th - Dave Sharp, rock guitarist (Alarm-In the Summertime)
Jan 28th - Frank Darabont, American filmmaker
Jan 28th - Burkhard Dallwitz, German-born composer
Jan 28th - Randi Rhodes, Nova M Radio personality
Jan 29th - Paul McGann, actor (Dr Who)
Jan 30th - Jody Watley, Chic, dancer (Solid Gold)/singer (Looking For a New Love)
Jan 31st - Anthony LaPaglia, actor (Murder One)
Jan 31st - Kelly Lynch, actress (Drugstore Cowboy)
Jan 31st - Kelly Moore, American stock car driver
Feb 1st - Anthony LaPlagia, actor (Criminal Justice, Betsy's Wedding)
Feb 1st - Carolyn Hill, Santa Monica CA, LPGA golfer (1994 McCall's Classic)
Feb 1st - Mike Horan, NFL punter (NY Giants)
Feb 1st - Wade Wilson, NFL quarterback (Dallas Cowboys)
Feb 3rd - Loi Tolhurst, rocker (Cure-Hell's Kitchen)
Feb 3rd - Molly Killingbeck, Jamaica, 4X400m relayer (Olympic-silver-1984)
Feb 3rd - Thomas Calabro, Bkln NY, actor (Michael Mancini-Melrose Place)
Feb 3rd - Yasuharu Konishi, Japanese musician (Pizzicato Five)
Feb 4th - Lawrence Taylor, [LT], NFL's greatest linebacker (NY Giants)
Feb 4th - Zenani Mandela, daughter of Nelson & Winnie Mandela
Feb 5th - Glenn Dubis, Lincoln Neb, US 3x40 rifle (Olympics-1984, 88, 96)
Feb 5th - Jennifer Granholm American Politician
Feb 6th - Ken Nelson, English record producer
Feb 7th - Brian Travers, rock saxophonist (UB40-Red Wine)
Feb 7th - Sammy Lee, British soccer player
Feb 8th - Heinz Gunthardt, Switzerland, tennis star
Feb 8th - Irina Kalinina, USSR, springboard diver (Olympic-gold-1980)
Feb 8th - Pamela Jean Bryant, Indianapolis In, playmate (April, 1978)
Feb 10th - Tonga, [Uliuli Fifita], wrestler (WCW/WAR/WWF, Ming, Haku, Islanders)
Feb 10th - Lisa McPherson, Former Scientologist (d. 1995)
Feb 11th - Corinne Shigemoto, US judo coach (Olympics-96)
Feb 12th - Nancy Remy, reporter (NYC's Shadow Traffic)
Feb 12th - Omar Hakim, drummer (Dire Straits, Weather Report)
Feb 12th - Per Gessle, rocker (Roxette-Joy Ride)
Feb 12th - Sigrid Thornton, Australia, actress (Amelia Lawson-Guns of Paradise)
Feb 13th - Gaston Gingras, National Hockey League defenceman
Feb 13th - Gord Hampson, Canadian ice hockey player
Feb 14th - Renée Fleming, American soprano
Feb 15th - Ali Campbell, British reggae vocalist/guitarist (UB40-Red Red Wine)
Feb 15th - Guy De Alwis, cricket wicket-keeper (Sri Lankan mid 80s)
Feb 15th - Joe Hesketh, US baseball player (Boston Red Sox)
Feb 15th - Hugo Savinovich, Ecuadorian wrestler
Feb 16th - John P McEnroe, tennis player (US Open 1979-81, 84 Wimb 1981, 83, 84)
Feb 16th - Kelly Tripuka, Glenn Ridge NJ, NBA forward (Det Pistons, Utah Jazz)
Feb 17th - Ambrose "Rowdy" Gaines, US, 100m swimmer (Olympic-gold-1984)
Feb 17th - Daniel Ray "Danny" Ainge, basketball & football star
Feb 17th - Richard Karn, Seattle WA, actor (Al-Home Improvement)
Feb 17th - Rowdy Gaines, US swimmer (Olympics-3 gold-1984)
Feb 17th - Aryeh Deri, Israeli rabbi and politician
Feb 20th - Bill Gullickson, US baseball pitcher (Detroit Tigers)
Feb 20th - Joel Rifkind, NY serial killer
Feb 20th - Scott Evans Brayton, racing car driver
Feb 21st - José María Cano, Spanish musician

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Famous Deaths

Results 1 - 100 of 216

Jan 6th - Jose Enrique Pedreira, composer, dies at 54
Jan 9th - Paul Malengreau, composer, dies at 71
Jan 11th - Mohammed Zakaria Ghonein, discoverer of 6,000 yr old pyramid, dies
Jan 17th - Abdul Aziz, cricket, dies at 17 struck by ball in fc match for Karachi
Jan 20th - Carl Switzer, actor (Alfalfa-Our Gang), shot to death at 31
Jan 21st - Cecil B[lount] de Mille, producer (10 Commandments), dies at 77
Jan 21st - Lamar Stringfield, composer, dies at 61
Jan 21st - Cecil B. DeMille, American director (b. 1881)
Jan 22nd - A J Else Mauhs, German/Dutch actress (Hamlet, Nora), dies at 73
Jan 22nd - Mike Hawthorn, English race car driver and one-time F1 world champion (b. 1929)
Jan 28th - Joseph Sprinzak, Speaker of Israel Knesset (1949-59), dies at 73
Jan 28th - Viktor Joseph Keldorfer, composer, dies at 85
Feb 1st - Madame Sul-To-Wan, [Conley], actress (Birth of a Nation), dies at 85
Feb 2nd - Frank DeCaires, cricketer (WI bat v Eng 1930, 3 Tests 232 runs), dies
Feb 3rd - Big Bopper, rocker, dies in plane crash at 28
Feb 3rd - Buddy Holly, rocker (That'll be the Day), dies in a plane crash at 22
Feb 3rd - Richie Valens, rock vocalist (Donna), killed in plane crash at 17
Feb 4th - Una O'Connor, actress (Banjo, Invisible Man), dies at 78
Feb 5th - Gwili Andre, actress (No Other Woman, Roar of the Dragon), dies
Feb 7th - Daniel F Malan, premier of South Africa (1948-54), dies at 84
Feb 7th - Napoleon Lajorie, baseball player, dies at 83
Feb 7th - Slim [Eddie Jones] Guitar, rocker, dies at 32
Feb 8th - William J "Wild Bill" Donovan, Office Strategic Services, dies at 76
Feb 11th - Marshall Teague, American race car driver (b. 1922)
Feb 13th - William L Axt, composer, dies at 70
Feb 14th - Baby Dodds, American jazz drummer (b. 1898)
Feb 15th - Owen W Richardson, English physicist (Nobel 1928), dies at 69
Feb 17th - Kathryn Adams, actress (Meet the Chump, 5th Avenue Girl), dies
Feb 17th - Tim Mara, co-founder of NFL's NY Giants, dies
Feb 18th - Alfred Alessandrescu, composer, dies at 65
Feb 18th - Eric Zeisl, composer, dies at 53
Feb 18th - Jaroslav Kvapil, composer, dies at 66
Feb 20th - Ray McDonald, dancer, dies of barbituate overdose at 38
Feb 22nd - Helen Parrish, actress (Hour Glass), dies of cancer at 36
Feb 26th - Lou Costello, actor (Abbott & Costello), dies at 52
Feb 28th - Maxwell Anderson, US dramatist (Key Largo, Bath Seed), dies at 70
Mar 2nd - Eric Blore, actor (Abie's Irish Rose, Love Happy), dies at 70
Mar 3rd - Lou Costello, comedian (Abbott & Costello), dies at 52
Mar 4th - Maxey Long, American athlete (b. 1878)
Mar 6th - Fred Stone, actor (Hideaway, Westerner), dies at 85
Mar 7th - Arthur C Pigou, English economist (Economics of Welfare), dies
Mar 7th - Hinsdale Smith, developer of roll-down auto windows, dies at 88
Mar 8th - Abdel Wahab Shawwaf, Iraqi colonel/putschist, murdered
Mar 11th - Haydn Wood, composer, dies at 76
Mar 15th - Lester Young, American musician (b. 1909)
Mar 16th - John Sailling, last documented Civil War vet, dies at 111
Mar 17th - Raffaele d' Alessandro, composer, dies on 48th birthday
Mar 25th - Billy Mayerl, composer, dies at 56
Mar 26th - Raymond T Chandler, US detective writer (Long Goodbye), dies at 71
Mar 27th - Grant Withers, actor (Okla Annie), suicide with sleeping pills at 54
Mar 28th - James Neblett, cricketer (one Test WI v England 1935), dies
Mar 29th - Barthelemy Boganda, Central African Republic's 1st president, dies
Mar 29th - Sara Wennerberg-Reuter, composer, dies at 84
Mar 30th - Daniil Andreev, Russian writer and mystic (b. 1906)
Mar 30th - Riccardo Zanella, president of Free State of Fiume (b. 1875)
Mar 31st - Peter Suhrkamp, German publisher (Suhrkamp Verlag), dies at 68
Apr 2nd - Benjamin Christensen, Danish actor (Barnet, Mockery), dies at 79
Apr 4th - Stanley Snooke, cricketer (bro of S J, duck in S African Test), dies
Apr 8th - Gustave Charlier, Belgian literature historian, dies
Apr 9th - Frank Lloyd Wright, US architect (Guggenheim Museum NY), dies at 89
Apr 12th - Ernest Willem Mulder, composer, dies at 60
Apr 12th - James Gleason, dies at 76
Apr 13th - Eduard A van Beinum, Dutch musician/conductor, dies at 57
Apr 13th - Rigardus "Rijn" Rijnhout, Giant of Rotterdam (2.375m), dies at 38
Apr 16th - Charles Halton, dies at 83
Apr 18th - Irving Cummings Sr, actor/director (In Old Ariz), dies at 70
Apr 24th - Jef van Hoof, composer, dies at 72
Apr 27th - Gordon Armstrong, inventor (baby incubator), dies
Apr 30th - Armand Louis Joseph Marsick, composer, dies at 81
May 1st - Oscar Torp, Norwegian premier, dies
May 5th - Carlos Saavedra Lamas, Argentine politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1878)
May 8th - Renato Caccioppoli, Italian mathematician/pianist, suicide at 55
May 14th - Sidney Bechet, US jazz clarinetist/saxophonist/bandleader, dies at 62
May 15th - Berend van den Amstel, [Bernard CED Hattink], Dutch actor, dies at 56
May 16th - Joe Cook, Stage comedian, dies at 69
May 16th - Elisha Scott, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1894)
May 20th - Alfred Schutz, Austrian/US architect/philosopher, dies at 60
May 24th - John Foster Dulles, US Secretary of State (1953-59), dies at 71
May 26th - Ed Walsh, baseball pitcher (1.82 ERA), dies at 78
May 26th - Joe Kelly, TV host (Quiz Kids), dies at 57
May 28th - Bert Collins, cricketer (19 Tests for Aust 1920-26), dies
May 30th - Thomas Carl Whitmer, composer, dies at 85
Jun 1st - Sax Rohmer, English author (b. 1883)
Jun 3rd - Ole Windingstad, composer, dies at 73
Jun 4th - Charles Vidor, director (Gilda, Farewell to Arms), dies at 58
Jun 10th - Zoltán Meskó, Hungarian Nazi (b. 1883)
Jun 16th - George Reeves, actor (Superman, Gone with the Wind), shoots self at 45
Jun 17th - Abdul Mouse, Indonesian nationalist foreman/author, dies at about 68
Jun 18th - Ethel Barrymore, [Blythe], actress (None but the lonely), dies at 79
Jun 20th - Hitoshi Ashida, Japanese politician, dies at 71
Jun 22nd - Hermann Brill, German politician (b. 1895)
Jun 23rd - Jean Gallon, composer, dies at 80
Jun 23rd - Boris Vian, French writer and musician (b. 1920)
Jun 24th - Lou Bandy, Dutch revue-artist (Life Ain't Bad), commits suicide at 69
Jun 25th - Charles Starkwether, murderer, executed
Jun 25th - Charles Starkweather, spree killer (b. 1938)
Jun 26th - Audley Miller, cricketer (Test for England 1896), dies
Jun 29th - A Cecil Snyder, Chief Justice of Puerto Rico, dies at 51
Jun 30th - Lazare Saminsky, composer, dies at 76
Jun 30th - José Vasconcelos, Mexican writer and politician (b. 1882)