Today in History for April 1959

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

Historical Events

Events 1 - 46 of 46

4th - Fed of Mali, consisting of Senegal & French Sudan (dissolved 1960)
5th - 23rd Golf Masters Championship: Art Wall Jr wins, shooting a 284
6th - 31st Academy Awards - "Gigi," Susan Hayward & David Niven win
7th - Oklahoma ends prohibition, after 51 years
7th - Radar 1st bounced off Sun, Stanford Calif
9th - Balt Orioles pull their 2nd triple play (3-6-3 vs Wash Senators)
9th - Bill Sharman hits a NBA record 56 consecutive foul shot
9th - NASA names 1st 7 astronauts for Project Mercury
9th - 13th NBA Championship: Bost Celtics sweep Minn Lakers in 4 games Boston Celtics wins 8th straight title
11th - "Jamaica" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 558 performances
11th - Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale hits his 2nd Opening Day HR
11th - Dutch prince Bernhard visits Lockheed factory
12th - 13th Tony Awards: J B & Redhead win
12th - Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open
12th - France Observator reports torture practice by French army in Algeria
13th - USAF launches Discoverer II into polar orbit
13th - Vanguard SLV-5 launched for Earth orbit (failed)
13th - Vatican edict forbids Roman Catholics for voting for communists
14th - (Robert) Taft Memorial Bell Tower dedicated in Wash DC
14th - KDIN TV channel 11 in Des Moines, IA (PBS) begins broadcasting
Dictator Fidel Castro 15th - Fidel Castro begins US goodwill tour
15th - US Sect of States John Foster Dulles resigns
16th - "Party with Comden & Green" opens at John Golden NYC for 44 perfs
16th - Datu Abdul Rozak inaugurated as premier of Malaysia federation
16th - NY Yankees unveil their 1st message scoreboard
16th - Phils' Dave Philley gets a major league record 9th straight pinch hit
18th - Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 1
19th - Louise Suggs wins LPGA Dallas Civitan Golf Open
19th - Uprising in La Paz Bolivia, fails
20th - 63rd Boston Marathon won by Eino Oksanen of Finland in 2:22:42
21st - 1211-kg great white shark becomes largest fish ever caught on a rod
21st - Alf Dean using a rod & reel hooks a 2,664lb, 16' 10" white shark
22nd - Yankee Whitey Ford strikes-out 15, beating Senators, 1-0 in 14 innings
22nd - Chicago White Sox beat KC Athletics 20-6, in 1 inning Sox score 11 runs on 1 hit, 10 walks, & 3 errors
23rd - "Destry Rides Again" opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 472 perfs
23rd - 1st heliport in Britain opens in London
24th - Neth Dance Theater opens (Rudi of Dantzig & Cut Flier)
24th - WICD TV channel 15 in Champaign, IL (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
25th - St Lawrence Seaway linking Atlantic, Great Lakes opens to shipping
26th - Cuba invades Panama
26th - Wiffi Smith wins LPGA Betsy Rawls Golf Open
27th - "Today" show goes abroard 1st time (Paris France)
27th - Liu Sjau-chi elected president of China PR
27th - The last Canadian missionary leaves the People's Republic of China.
28th - KLOE TV channel 10 in Goodland, KS (CBS) begins broadcasting
28th - KPLR TV channel 11 in Saint Louis, MO (IND) begins broadcasting

Famous Birthdays

Birthdays 1 - 55 of 55

2nd - Adrian Meagher, Australian baseball pitching coach (Olympics-1996)
2nd - Brian Goodell, US, 400m/1500m freestyle swimmer (Olympic-2 gold-1976)
2nd - Carmen Ayala-Troncoso, NYC, 5K runner
2nd - Dean Townson, St Petersburg Fla, singer (Pirates of Miss-Fred Jake)
2nd - Gelindo Bordin, Italian marathon runner (Olympic-gold-1988)
2nd - Ken Macleay, cricketer (at Bedford-on-Avon Aussie ODI medium pacer)
2nd - Victoria Jackson, Miami Florida, comedian (SNL, Casual Sex)
2nd - Badou Zaki, Morrocan footballer and manager
2nd - Juha Kankkunen, Finnish race car driver
2nd - Yves Lavandier, French film director
3rd - David Hyde Pierce, NY, actor (Niles Crane-Fraiser)
6th - Dianne Brill, Tampa, fashion designer/party girl (Queen of the Night)
8th - Franklyn Stephenson, cricketer (great all-rounder)
8th - Martin Weston, cricketer
9th - Dave Innis, Bartlesville Oklahoma, country singer (Restless Heart-Wheels)
10th - Brian Setzer, Massapequa Park NY, rock guitarist/vocalist (Stray Cats)
10th - Yvan Loubier, Quebec politician
12th - Elissa Leeds, NYC, actress (Cissy-Dorothy)
13th - Vicki Witt Lansing MI, playmate (Aug, 1978)
15th - Emma Thompson, England, actress (Henry V, Howards End, Oscar-1992)
15th - Kevin Lowe, Lachute, NHL defenseman (NY Rangers)
15th - Fruit Chan, Hong Kong film director
15th - Thomas F. Wilson, American actor
16th - Anne Kursinski, equestrian show jumper (Olympics-silver-96)
16th - Scott McKinsey, American television director
17th - Sean Bean, English actor (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, A Game of Thrones)
17th - David Hearn, Wash DC, slalom single canoe (Olympics-9th-96)
17th - Elizabeth Lindsey, actress (China Beach)
17th - Stephen Singleton, Sheffield, rocker (ABC)
17th - Teri Austin, Toronto Canada, actress (Terminal Choice, Knots Landing)
18th - Jim Eisenreich, St Cloud MN, outfielder (Philadelphia Phillies, Fla Marlins)
20th - Clint Howard, Burbank California, actor (Gentle Ben)
Musician Robert Smith (21st) 21st - Robert Smith, Sussex, rock guitarist/vocalist (Cure-Hell's Kitchen)
21st - Jerry Only, American musician (The Misfits)
21st - Michael Timmins, Canadian musician (Cowboy Junkies)
21st - Tim Jacobus, American artist (Goosebumps)
22nd - Nicky Le Roux, South Africa, LPGA golfer (1994 Atlanta Champ-15th)
22nd - Ranjan Madugalle, cricketer (pioneer of Sri Lanka's Test teams)
22nd - Ryan Stiles, Seattle Wash, actor (Lewis-Drew Carey Show)
23rd - Terri Luckhurst, LPGA golfer
24th - Yvonne D Cagle, West Point NY, MD/astronaut
24th - Malcolm Oastler, Australian engineer
25th - Billy Rankin, Glasgow, Scotland, rocker
25th - Tony Phillips, Atlanta GA, baseballoutfielder: Chicago White Sox
25th - Dominique Blanc, French actress
26th - Ann O'Neill, Toowoomba QLD, golfer (1989 Downs District Champ)
26th - John Corabi, American Musician
27th - Marco Pirroni, London, rock guitarist (Adam & The Ants)
27th - Sheena Easton, [Shirley Orr], Glasgow Scotland, singer (Sugar Walls)
27th - Louis Lortie, French Canadian concert pianist
30th - Kamaran Abdalla, Iraq/Engl/Neth actor (Goede Tijden Selechte Tijden)
30th - Lauren Howe, LPGA golfer
30th - Paul Gross, Canadian actor, director, and writer
Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper (30th) 30th - Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
30th - W. Thomas Smith, Jr, American author and columnist

Famous Weddings

Weddings 1 - 2 of 2

1st - American science fiction writer "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Philip K Dick marries 3rd wife Anne Williams Rubinstein
10th - Japan's Crown Prince Akihito marries commoner Michiko Shoda

Famous Deaths

Deaths 1 - 13 of 13

2nd - Benjamin Christensen, Danish actor (Barnet, Mockery), dies at 79
4th - Stanley Snooke, cricketer (bro of S J, duck in South African Test), dies
8th - Gustave Charlier, Belgian literature historian, dies
9th - Frank Lloyd Wright, US architect (Guggenheim Museum NY), dies at 89
12th - Ernest Willem Mulder, composer, dies at 60
12th - James Gleason, dies at 76
13th - Eduard A van Beinum, Dutch musician/conductor, dies at 57
13th - Rigardus "Rijn" Rijnhout, Giant of Rotterdam (2.375m), dies at 38
16th - Charles Halton, dies at 83
18th - Irving Cummings Sr, actor/director (In Old Ariz), dies at 70
24th - Jef van Hoof, composer, dies at 72
27th - Gordon Armstrong, inventor (baby incubator), dies
30th - Armand Louis Joseph Marsick, composer, dies at 81