1959 Events January-February January 1 - Cultivars of plants named after this date must be named in a modern language, not in Latin. January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when forces of Fidel Castro advance January 2 - CBS Radio cuts four soap operas: Backstage Wife Our Gal Sunday, Road of Life, and This is Nora Drake. January 3 - Castro's troops enter Havana January 3 - Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state. January 7 - The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro January 22 - Knox Mine Disaster - water breaches River Slope mine in Port Griffith, Pennsylvania - 12 miners dead February 1 - A referendum in Switzerland turns down female suffrage February 6 - At Cape Canaveral, Florida, the first successful test firing of a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile is accomplished February 16 - Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba February 18 - Jesus Sosa Blanco, murderer of 108 people, executed in Cuba February 18 - Women in Nepal vote for the first time February 19 - The United Kingdom grants Cyprus its independence February 22 - Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500 March-May March 1 - USS Tuscaloosa, USS New Orleans, USS Tennessee and USS West Virginia struck from the Naval Vessel Register March 1 - Archbishop Makarios returns to Cyprus from exile March - People's Republic of China invades Tibet March 1 - Japanese cities Uji, Kyoto and Muroto, Kochi are founded March 9 - The Barbie doll debuts March 17 - Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, flees Tibet and travels to India March 18 - American President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs bill allowing for Hawaiian statehood April 25 - The St. Lawrence Seaway linking the North American Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean officially opens to shipping May - First Ten Tors event held in Dartmoor June-September June 3 - Singapore becomes a self governing crown colony of Great Britain with Lee Kuan Yew as Prime Minister June 5 - A new government of the State of Singapore is sworn in by Sir William Goode. Two former Ministers were re-elected to the Legislative Assembly. June 8 - The first (and only) delivery of Missile Mail June 9 - The USS George Washington is launched as the first submarine to carry ballistic missiles June 23 - Sean Lemass becomes the third Taoiseach of Ireland. June 23 - Convicted Manhattan Project spy Klaus Fuchs is released after only nine years in prison and allowed to emigrate to Dresden, East Germany (where he resumed a scientific career). July 4 - With the admission of Alaska as the 49th U.S. state earlier in the year, the 49-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania July 24 - At the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, US vice-president Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev have a "kitchen debate". August 7 - Explorer program: The United States launches Explorer 6 from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida August 15 - Cyprus gains independence August 16 - Explorer VI sends back the first picture of Earth from space August 21 - Hawaii is admitted as the 50th U.S. state. September 13 - Luna 2 crashes onto the Moon as the first man-made object September 15 - Russian probe Luna 2 sends back first photos of the far side of Earth's Moon September 25 - Ceylon's prime minister SWRD Bandaraike assassinated October-December October 21 - Mau Mau leader Dedan Kimathi is arrested in Nyeri, Kenya October 21 - In New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opens to the public. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. October 31 - Riots in the Belgian Congo November 1 - Ice Hockey: After being struck in the face with a hockey puck, Montreal Canadiens goalie, Jacques Plante offered to return to play on the condition that he can wear his protective face mask. It was the first time such equipment was used in a regular NHL game. November 2 - Quiz show scandals: "Twenty-One" game show contestant Charles Van Doren admits to a Congressional committee that he had been given questions and answers in advance November 15 - The Clutter Family murdered at their farm outside Holcomb, Kansas November 19 - Ford Motor Company announces the discontinuation of the unpopular Edsel December 1 - Cold War: Antarctic Treaty signed - 12 countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, sign a landmark treaty, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on that continent (this was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War) unknown date The neutrino is first experimentally detected, by Cowan and Reines. TAT-2 cable goes into operation. Workers World Party is founded by Sam Marcy. Year in topic 1959 in film Ben-Hur The Diary of Anne Frank Anatomy of a Murder Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest, starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint 1959 in literature Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein: The Tin Drum by Günter Grass: 1959 in music February 3 - News of the early-morning plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper becomes widely known. This date becomes known as "The Day The Music Died". An expressway is built through the Bronx in New York City; this causes the mass exodus of middle-class residents, making the Bronx into a progressively poorer ghetto over the years and is often cited as a major cause of the rise of hip hop in the 1970s 1959 in science 1959 in sports 1959 in television Fall – Scandals involving rigged network quiz shows create havoc within the television industry. Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone debuts Bonanza debuts, starring Lorne Greene. Births January January 6 - Kathy Sledge, singer January 16 - Sade, singer January 27 - Keith Olbermann, news correspondent, sportscaster February February 4 - Lawrence Taylor, American football star February 11 - Corinne Shigemoto, US judo coach February 14 - Renee Fleming, Canadian soprano February 16 - John McEnroe, tennis player February 22 - Kyle MacLachlan, actor February 26 - Rolando Blackman, basketball star March March 6 - Tom Arnold, actor, comedian March 8 - Aidan Quinn, actor March 9 Rodney A. Grant, Native American actor March 15 - Harold Baines, former Major League Baseball player March 16 - Flavor Flav, rap musician March 16 - Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister of Norway March 17 - Danny Ainge, basketball player, coach, baseball player March 18 - Luc Besson, producer, writer, director March 22 - Matthew Modine, actor (Full Metal Jacket, Memphis Belle, Any Given Sunday) March 29 - Perry Farrell, musician ("Jane's Addiction", "Porno for Pyros") April-September April 3 - David Hyde Pierce, actor (Frasier) April 22 - Ryan Stiles, actor (The Drew Carey Show, Whose Line is it Anyway?) May 3 - Ben Elton, British comedian and author May 3 - Uma Bharati, first woman chief minister of Madhya Pradesh May 15 - Andrew Eldritch, British rock artist of The Sisters of Mercy May 20 - Bronson Pinchot, actor May 20 - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Hawaiian singer May 22 - Steven Morrissey, singer June 30 - Vincent D'Onofrio, actor (Full Metal Jacket, Ed Wood, Law & Order: Criminal Intent) July 3 - Julie Burchill, UK journalist July 7 - Ben Linder, American engineer murdered in Nicaragua (d. 1987) July 11 - Suzanne Vega, singer (Bad Wisdom) July 16 - Gary Anderson, American football player July 26 - Kevin Spacey, actor July 29 - Ruud Janssen, artist July 29 - Sanjay Dutt, actor August 10 - Rosanna Arquette, actress August 14 - Magic Johnson, basketball legend September 21 - Dave Coulier, actor October-November October 3 - Fred Couples, American golfer October 7 - Simon Cowell, American Idol judge October 15 - Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York October 23 - Weird Al Yankovic, rock music parodist October 25 - Nancy Cartwright, voice actress (The Simpsons, Rugrats, Kim Possible) October 27 - Rick Carlisle, NBA basketball coach November 10 - Linda Cohn, sports anchor November 14 - Paul McGann, British actor November 23 - Dominique Dunne, actress (Poltergeist) (d. 1982) November 25 - Charles Kennedy, British politician Deaths January 21 - Cecil B. DeMille, director January 22 - Mike Hawthorn, racing champion February 3 - rock and roll performers Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper, in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. The news isn't widely known until daybreak. February 3 - Vincent Astor, American philanthropist February 14 - Baby Dodds, jazz musician (b. 1898) February 28 - Maxwell Anderson, playwright, film writer March 3 - Lou Costello, actor, comedian March 4 - Maxey Long, American athlete March 26 - Raymond Chandler, American novelist. March 29 - Barthélemy Boganda, first President of the Central African Republic April 9 - Frank Lloyd Wright, architect (b. 1897) May 14 - Sidney Bechet, jazz musician (b. 1897) May 24 - John Foster Dulles, US Secretary of State (b. 1888) July 15 - Billie Holiday, jazz and blues singer August 6 - Preston Sturges, director and writer August 11 - Mario Lanza, American tenor (b. 1921) August 15 - Blind Willie McTell, blues singer August 28 - Bohuslav Martinu, composer September 13 - Gilbert Adrian, Hollywood fashion designer October 14 - Errol Flynn, American actor. October 18 - Boughera El Ouafi, Algerian athlete November 17 - Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian composer. Nobel Prizes Physics - Emilio Gino Segrè, - Owen Chamberlain Chemistry - Jaroslav Heyrovský Medicine - Severo Ochoa, Arthur Kornberg Literature - Salvatore Quasimodo Peace - Philip John Noel-Baker ast:1959 Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. 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