Today in History for May 1959

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

Historical Events

Events 1 - 55 of 55

1st - Floyd Patterson KOs Brian London in 11 for heavyweight boxing title
1st - West Germany introduces 5 day work week
1st - White Sox Early Wynn beats Red Sox 1-0 on his own HR
2nd - 85th Kentucky Derby: Bill Shoemaker aboard Tomy Lee wins in 2:02.2
3rd - Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Land of the Sky Golf Tournament
3rd - Tiger's Charlie Maxwell hits 4 consecutive HRs in a doubleheader
4th - 1st Grammy Awards: Perry Como & Ella Fitzgerald win
4th - Pulitzer prize awarded to Archibald Macleish (JB)
6th - Iceland gunboats shoot at British fishing ships
7th - "Roy Campanella Night" Largest baseball crowd (93,103 in LA Coliseum) sees Dodgers' Sandy Koufax beat Yankees 6-2 in exhibition
8th - 3-deck Nile excursion steamer springs a leak panicking passengers who capsized ship. 200 drown just yards from shore
9th - Dorothy Rigney, husband John, & Hank Greenberg resign from White Sox
10th - Joyce Ziske wins LPGA Howard Johnson Golf Invitational
10th - Soviet forces arrive in Afghanistan
10th - Giants Jim Hearn allows 2 runs against Pirates, game is suspended, Hearn is released & charged with loss 2 months after his retirement
11th - "Kookie, Kookie Lend Me Your Comb" by Byrnes & Connie Stevens hits #4
11th - Elvis Presley's 1st entry on UK charts with "Heartbreak Hotel"
11th - Rodgers & Barer's musical "Once upon a mattress," premieres in NYC
11th - Yankee catcher Yogi Berra's errorless streak of 148 games ends
Author Henry Miller 12th - "Nervous Set" opens at Henry Miller's Theater NYC for 23 performances
13th - Kraft Music Hall with Milton Berle, last airs on NBC-TV
15th - 100th anniversary of 1st college baseball game, between Amherst & Williams Teams reenact the original contest
16th - 85th Preakness: William Harmatz aboard Royal Orbit wins in 1:57
16th - WTOM TV channel 4 in Cheboygan, MI (NBC) begins broadcasting
17th - Sam Snead sets PGA record for 36 holes at 122
18th - "Castin' My Spell" by Johnny Otis Show hits #52
18th - "Judy" by David Seville hits #86
18th - "Russian Band Stand" by Spencer & Spencer hits #91
19th - Jan de Quay becomes premier of Netherlands
20th - Ford wins battle with Chrysler to call its new car "Falcon"
20th - Japanese-Americans regain their citizenship
20th - Shah of Persia visits Netherlands
20th - Yanks sink to last place, 1st time since May 25, 1940
21st - "Gypsy" opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 702 performances
Singer & Cultural Icon Elvis Presley 21st - Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Children's Petting Farm opens
22nd - Benjamin O Davis Jr becomes 1st black gen-major in USAF
23rd - "Party with Comden & Green" closes at John Golden NYC after 44 perfs
23rd - Presbyterian church accepts women preachers
24th - 1st house with built-in bomb shelter exhibited (Pleasant Hills Pa)
24th - Empire Day renamed Commonwealth Day in England
25th - Khrushchev visits Angola
25th - Supreme ct rules La prohibiting black-white boxing unconstitutional
26th - Harvey Haddix pitches 12 perfect innings, loses in 13th
28th - Congressional Committee of Astronautics meets Project 7 astronauts
28th - Johnson & Bart's musical "Lock up your daughters," premieres in London
28th - Monkeys Able & Baker zoom 300 mi (500 km) into space on Jupiter missile, became 1st animals retrieved from a space mission
29th - Charles de Gaulle forms French government
30th - "First Impressions" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 84 performances
30th - "Nervous Set" closes at Henry Miller's Theater NYC after 23 perfs
French President Charles de Gaulle 30th - Iraq terminates milt assistance pact with US due to neutrality
30th - Pres Somoza ends emergency crisis in Nicaragua
30th - Pres Stroessner disbands Paraguay's parliament
30th - World's 1st hovercraft (SR-N1) tested at Cowes England
30th - The Auckland Harbour Bridge is officially opened today in Auckland, New Zealand.
31st - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Cavalier Golf Open

Famous Birthdays

Birthdays 1 - 67 of 67

1st - Eddie Johnson, NBA guard/forward (Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers)
1st - Paul Smith, rock saxophonist (Haircut 100)
2nd - Alan Best, Canadian animation director and producer
3rd - Ben Elton, London UK, actor (Stark, Friday Night Live)
3rd - David Ball, Blackpool, rock keyboardist (Soft Cell)
3rd - Uma Bharati, Indian politician
3rd - Ben Elton, British comedian and author
4th - Randy Travis, Marshville NC, country singer (Diggin' Up Bones)
4th - Robert Raymond Tway, Oklahoma City OK, PGA golfer (1986 Shearson)
4th - Rohn Stark, NFL punter (Pittsburgh Steelers)
4th - Scott Armstrong, American professional wrestling referee
5th - Ian McCullough, rock vocalist (Echo & Bunnymen-Heaven Up Here)
5th - Brian Phelps, American disk jockey and actor
6th - Charles Hendry, Cuckfield Sussex, British Conservative Party politician
6th - Eric D Fingerhut, (Rep-D-Ohio)
6th - Kate Collins, Boston Mass, actress (Natalie Hunter-All My Children)
6th - Scott Hood, Seattle Wash, Canadian Tour golfer (1989 Montana Open-2nd)
7th - Michael E Knight, Princeton NJ, actor (Date with Angel, All My Child)
7th - Robin L Freeman, St Charles MO, PGA golfer (1993 Northern Telecom-3rd)
7th - Tamara E Jernigan, Chattoonaga, PhD/astro (STS 40, 52, 67, 80)
7th - Barbara Yung Mei-ling, Hong Kong actress (d. 1985)
8th - Ronnie Lott, Albuquerque, NM, NFL defensive back (SF 49er)
9th - Andrew Jones, cricketer (highly consistent for NZ at 1st drop)
9th - Asantha De Mel, cricketer (pioneering Sri Lankan Test opening bowler)
10th - Dan Schayes, NBA center/forward (Miami Heat, Orlando Magic)
11th - Martha Quinn, Albany NY, MTV VJ (Tracey-Bradys)
12th - Dave Christian, Minn, NHL right wing (Wash Caps, Olympic-gold-1980)
12th - Ving Rhames, American actor
13th - Robert Earnshaw, racehorse trainer
14th - Connie Brighton, Wichita Falls TX, playmate (Sept, 1982)
14th - Mike Quick, NFL wide receiver (Philadelphia Eagles)
14th - Patrick Bruel, Algerian/French actor/rock vocalist (Coup of Sirocco)
15th - Andrew Eldritch, rocker (Sisters of Mercy-Walk Away, Black Planet)
15th - Kaokor Galaxy, Thai boxer
16th - Bob Patterson, Jacksonville FL, pitcher (Chicago Cubs)
16th - Mare Winningham, Phoenix Az, actress (St Elmo's Fire, Turner & Hooch)
16th - Ty Armstrong, Waxahachie TX, Nike golfer (1993 Anheuser-Busch-19th)
17th - Paul Di'anno, rocker (Iron Maiden Chingford, London V Early Vocalist
17th - Jim Nantz, American broadcaster
18th - Graham Dilley, cricketer (England wicket-taker of 80's)
19th - Nicole Brown Simpson, Frankford Germany, Mrs OJ Simpson (murdered)
20th - Bronson Pinchot, NYC, actor (Perfect Strangers, Beverly Hills Cop)
20th - Peter Greene, Bkln NY, producer (After Midnight)
20th - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, American singer (d. 1997)
21st - Nick Cassavetes, American actor and director
22nd - Ed Fry, actor (Larry-As the World Turns, Adam Cory-Another World)
22nd - Morrissey, British rock vocalist (Everyday is Like Sunday)
22nd - [Patrick] Morrissey, rocker (Depeche Mode-Somebody)
22nd - Steven Morrissey, English singer
23rd - Linden Ashby, actor (Mortal Kombat)
23rd - Marcella Mesker, Netherlands, tennis star
24th - George Glanos, horse trainer
25th - Cathryn Harrison, London England, actress (Old Woman in Black Moon)
25th - Manolis Kefalogiannis, Greek politician
25th - Julian Clary, British television personality
26th - Beverly Lee, rocker
26th - Brian Peaker, London Ontario, rower (Olympics-96)
26th - Nancy White-Brophy, Montague PEI, LPGA golfer (1994 McCall's-25th)
26th - Wayne Hussey, rocker (Mission-Lover for Life)
26th - Steve Hanley, English musician (The Fall, Tom Hingley and the Lovers)
26th - Ole Bornedal, Danish film director, actor and producer
28th - Leon "The Bop" Klaasse, rock drummer/singer (The Pilgrims-Red)
28th - John Morgan, British etiquette expert (d. 2000)
29th - Mel Gaynor, Glasgow Scotland, rock drummer (Simple Minds-Water Front)
29th - Rupert Everett, actor (Princess Daisy, Another Country)
29th - Tamayo Otsuki, actress (Mrs Yamagami-Davis Rules)
30th - Frank Vanhecke, Belgian politician

Famous Weddings

Weddings 1 - 1 of 1

12th - Liz Taylor's 4th marriage (Eddie Fisher)

Famous Deaths

Deaths 1 - 13 of 13

1st - Oscar Torp, Norwegian premier, dies
5th - Carlos Saavedra Lamas, Argentine politician, dies at 80
8th - Renato Caccioppoli, Italian mathematician/pianist, suicide at 55
14th - Sidney Bechet, US jazz clarinetist/saxophonist/bandleader, dies at 62
15th - Berend van den Amstel, [Bernard CED Hattink], Dutch actor, dies at 56
16th - Joe Cook, Stage comedian, dies at 69
16th - Elisha Scott, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1894)
20th - Alfred Schutz, Austrian/US architect/philosopher, dies at 60
24th - John Foster Dulles, US Secretary of State (1953-59), dies at 71
26th - Ed Walsh, baseball pitcher (1.82 ERA), dies at 78
26th - Joe Kelly, TV host (Quiz Kids), dies at 57
28th - Bert Collins, cricketer (19 Tests for Aust 1920-26), dies
30th - Thomas Carl Whitmer, composer, dies at 85