Timeline 1959

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1959        Jan 1, Fidel Castro led Cuban revolutionaries to victory over Fulgencio Batista, who fled to the Dominican Republic. American mafia scrambled to secure their cash and close casinos ahead of crowds that took to the streets and trashed their businesses. In 2008 T.J. English Morrow authored “Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba …and Then Lost It to the Revolution.”
    (SFC,10/15/97, p.C2)(AP, 1/1/98)(SFC, 1/28/00, p.A14)(WSJ, 8/5/06, p.A9)

1959        Jan 3, President Eisenhower signed a proclamation admitting Alaska to the Union as the 49th state. Its area is 586,412 sq. mls. Capital: Juneau; bird: willow ptarmigan; flower: forget-me-not; nickname: The Last Frontier.
    (TMC, 1994, p.1959)(THM, 4/27/97, p.L5)(AP, 1/3/98)(440 Int'l. 1/3/99)
1959         Jan 3, Castro took command of the Cuban army.
    (HN, 1/3/99)

1959        Jan 5, The "Bozo the Clown" live children's show premiered on TV.
    (MC, 1/5/02)

1959        Jan 7, The United States recognized Fidel Castro’s new government in Cuba.
    (AP, 1/7/98)

1959        Jan 8, Fidel Castro rolled into Havana a week after Batista fled. In 2002 Julia E. Sweig authored "Inside the Cuban Revolution."
    (SSFC, 6/9/02, p.F3)(WSJ, 7/10/02, p.D8)
1959        Jan 8, Charles de Gaulle was inaugurated as president of France’s Fifth Republic.
    (AP, 1/8/98)

1959        Jan 9, The TV show "Rawhide" with Clint Eastwood as Rowdy Yates premiered on CBS.
    (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052504/)(SSFC, 5/17/09, DB p.50)

1959        Jan 11, Mohammed Zakaria Ghonein, discoverer of 6,000 year old pyramid, died.
    (MC, 1/11/02)

1959        Jan 21, Cecil Blount de Mille (Cecil B. DeMille), one of Hollywood’s most successful filmmakers, died at age 77. He was also one of the toughest. He once said to his staff, "You are here to please me. Nothing else on earth matters." He produced the "The 10 Commandments." In 2004 Robert S. Birchard authored “Cecil B. DeMille’s Hollywood.”
    (HNPD, 8/12/98)(HNQ, 10/27/98)(MC, 1/21/02)(WSJ, 7/14/04, p.D14)

1959        Jan 22, USAF concluded that less than 1% of UFO's are unknown objects.
    (MC, 1/22/02)   
1959        Jan 22, The Adolph Coors Co. of Golden, Colombia, introduced the aluminum beer can.
    (www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/22/a-golden-milestone/)

1959        Jan 25, American Airlines opened the jet age in the United States with the  first scheduled transcontinental flight of a Boeing 707 from LA to NY for $301.
    (AP, 1/25/98)(HN, 1/25/99)(MC, 1/25/02)
1959        Jan 25, Pope John XXIII proclaimed the 2nd Vatican council.
    (MC, 1/25/02)

1959        Jan 27, NASA selected 110 candidates for the first U.S. space flight.
    (HN, 1/27/99)
1959        Jan 27, Aldous Huxley (64), British author of Brave New World (1932), attended a conference at the Univ. of California Medical school and warned that manipulation of personality by drugs is already here.
    (SSFC, 1/25/09, DB p.50)

1959        Jan 28, Joseph Sprinzak (73), Speaker of Israel Knesset (1949-59), died.
    (MC, 1/28/02)

1959        Jan 29, Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" was released.
    (MC, 1/29/02)

1959        Jan, In New Delhi, India, the Int’l. Commission of Jurists held a congress with the theme “The Rule of Law.” They drew up the “declaration of Delhi,” which developed the principles and procedures underlying the Rule of Law as well as defining and clarifying the concept itself.
    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Delhi)(Econ, 3/15/08, p.84)

1959        Feb 1, Texas Instruments requested a patent for the IC (Integrated Circuit).
    (MC, 2/1/02)

1959        Feb 2, Buddy Holly made his last performance.
    (MC, 2/2/02)
1959        Feb 2, Arlington and Norfolk, Va., peacefully desegregated public schools.
    (HN, 2/2/99)

1959         Feb 3, A plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, claimed the lives of rock- and-roll stars Buddy Holly (22), Ritchie Valens (17) and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson (28). They had just finished performing at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. Buddy Holley and the Crickets had 2 hit songs "Oh Boy" and "Maybe Baby," Valens had the 2-sided hit "Donna" and "La Bamba," Richardson was popular for his song "Chantilly Lace."
    (AP, 2/3/97)(WSJ, 2/25/99, p.A16)
1959        Feb 3, An American Airlines Lockheed Electra crashed into New York's East River while approaching LaGuardia Airport, killing 65 of the 73 people on board.
    (AP, 2/3/08)
1959        Feb 3, Vincent Astor (b.1891), businessman and philanthropist, died. He left almost his entire fortune to his wife, Brooke Astor (b.1902 as Roberta Brooke Russell). In 2007 Frances Kiernan authored “The Last Mrs. Astor: A New York Story.”
    (WSJ, 5/18/07, p.W10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Astor)

1959        Feb 4, In Fargo, N.D., Bobby Vee (15), aka Robert Veline, and the Shadows performed in public for the first time. The audience had come to see Buddy Holly and the Crickets. Rock-n-roll stars, including Dion and the Belmonts, traveled by bus from Iowa to Fargo in order to perform in nearby Moorhead, Minn.
    (SFEC, 1/31/99, p.A24)(WSJ, 2/25/99, p.A16)

1959        Feb 6, The United States successfully test-fired for the first time a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile from Cape Canaveral.
    (AP, 2/6/97)
1959        Feb 6, Fidel Castro was interviewed by Edward R. Murrow.
    (MC, 2/6/02)

1959        Feb 7, Castro proclaimed a new Cuban constitution.
    (MC, 2/7/02)

1959        Feb 8, William J. "Wild Bill" Donovan (76), Office Strategic Services, died.
    (MC, 2/8/02)

1959        Feb 12,  Harry S. Truman was quoted in Newsweek Magazine: "Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better."
    (HNQ, 8/24/01)

1959        Feb 14, A $3.6 million heroin seizure was made in NYC.
    (MC, 2/14/02)

1959        Feb 16, Leonard Spigelgass' "Majority of One," premiered in NYC.
    (MC, 2/16/02)
1959        Feb 16, The US House Committee on Un-American Activities has charged that an “elite corps” of Communist lawyers is promoting the party’s cause in the courts, Congress and government agencies. A committee report dealt with the activities of 39 lawyers, who were among more than 100 lawyers identified as Communists in sworn testimony before the committee in the past decade.
    (SSFC, 2/15/09, DB p.50)
1959        Feb 16, Fidel Castro took the oath as Cuban premier in Havana after the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista.
    (HN, 2/16/98)(AP, 2/16/98)

1959        Feb 17, The U.S. launched its first weather station in space, Vanguard II weighing 9.8 kg.
    (HN, 2/17/98)(MC, 2/17/02)

1959        Feb 19, A USAF rocket-powered rail sled attained Mach 4.1 (4970 kph) in NM.
    (MC, 2/19/02)
1959        Feb 19, An agreement was signed by Britain, Turkey and Greece granting Cyprus its independence.
    (AP, 2/19/98)

1959        Feb 20, Joel Rifkind, NY serial killer, was born.
    (MC, 2/20/02)
1959        Feb 20, The FCC applied the equal time rule to TV newscasts of political candidates.
    (HN, 2/20/98)

1959        Feb 24, Khrushchev rejected the Western plan for the Big Four meeting on Germany.
    (HN, 2/24/98)

1959        Mar 1, Archbishop Makarios returned to Cyprus after 3 years.
    (SC, 3/1/02)

1959        Mar 2, Miles Davis began recording "Kind of Blue" with John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly, Philley Joe Jones, Paul Chambers and Bill Evans. Modes rather than chords formed the basis for improvisation on "So What" and "Flamenco Sketches." In 2000 Ashley Kahn authored "Kind of Blue," The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece. Eric Nisenson authored "The Making of Kind of Blue: Miles Davis and His Masterpiece."
    (SFC, 8/24/98, p.B1)(SFEC, 11/5/00, BR p.1)

1959        Mar 3, The new home of the San Francisco Giants baseball team was officially named, Candlestick Park. The name was chosen in a contest to name the newly-built stadium. Al Dermody (1910-2004), the contest winner didn't have to look far, as the windswept and chilly confines of the National League's least favorite stadium are located just a few hundred feet from Candlestick Point, on San Francisco Bay. In 1995, the venerable name, Candlestick Park was changed to 3COMM Park, after a relatively small area computer software developer bid a half-million dollars for the rights to the stadium name – beating out such giants as Apple Computer, IBM and others.
    (HC, Internet, 3/3/98)(SFC, 9/24/04, p.B6)
1959        Mar 3, Pioneer 4, the 1st US probe to enter solar orbit, was launched.
    (SFC, 10/2/07, p.A6)
1959        Mar 3, British government arrested Hastings Banda of Nyasaland (later Malawi), and ended an emergency crisis.
    (SC, 3/3/02)
1959        Mar 3, Lou Costello (b.1906), American film comedian, died. He paired with Bud Abbott in numerous films and the famous "Who's on First" routine.
    (HN, 3/6/99)(MC, 3/6/02)(SC, 3/3/02)

1959        Mar 4, US Pioneer IV missed the Moon and became a 2nd (US 1st) artificial planet.
    (SC, 3/4/02)

1959        Mar 7, "Bells Are Ringing" closed at Shubert Theater in NYC after 925 performances.
    (MC, 3/7/02)
1959        Mar 7, Arthur Cecil Pigou (b.1877), English economist, died. He was known for his work in many fields and particularly in welfare economics. Pigou advocated taxation as a way to combat the side effects associated with certain activities.
    (Econ, 11/11/06, p.85)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Cecil_Pigou)
1959        Mar 7, Hinsdale Smith (88), developer of roll-down auto windows, died.
    (MC, 3/7/02)

1959        Mar 8, Groucho, Chico and Harpo made their final TV appearance together.
    (MC, 3/8/02)

1959        Mar 9, The Barbie doll was unveiled at the American Toy Fair in New York City. The Barbie Doll No. 1 was introduced by Mattel Toy Company for $3. Ruth Handler (d.2002), co-founder of Mattel, had spotted the German Bild-Lilli doll in 1956 and asked toy designer Jack Ryan (d.1991) to create a version for American girls. The first dolls were produced by Mattel Toy Co. in Hawthorne, Ca. In 1994 one sold for $4000 as a collector’s item.
    (WSJ, 12/9/94, p.R-8)(SSFC, 4/28/02, p.A2)(SFC, 5/31/05, p.E1)(WSJ, 2/18/09, p.A15)
1959        Mar 9, The 1st known radar contact was made with Venus.
    (MC, 3/9/02)

1959        Mar 10, Tennessee Williams' "Sweet Bird of Youth," premiered in NYC.
    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Bird_of_Youth)
1959        Mar 10, In Tibet an uprising against Chinese occupation force took place in Lhasa. China reacted harshly, arrested tens of thousands and held strict control until the late 1970s. The Chinese forced the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, and many of his followers to flee to India. The Communists destroyed 6,500 monasteries. About 250 monks of the Drepung Loseling Monastery escaped to India and established a replica of their ancient institution.
    (SFEC, 10/7/96, A12)(TMC, 1994, p.1959)(SFC, 10/10/96, p.E1)(WSJ, 9/4/97, p.A9)(MC, 3/10/02)

1959        Mar 11, The Lorraine Hansberry drama "A Raisin in the Sun" opened at New York City’s Ethel Barrymore Theater.
    (AP, 3/11/98)

1959        Mar 12, The US House joined the Senate in approving the statehood of Hawaii.
    (http://modern-us-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/hawaii_becomes_the_50th_state)

1959        Mar 16, Michael J. Bloomfield, Major USAF, astronaut (STS 86), was born in Flint, Mich.
    (MC, 3/16/02)
1959        Mar 16, John Sailling (111), last documented Civil War vet, died.
    (MC, 3/16/02)

1959        Mar 17, The USS Skate became the 1st submarine to surface at the North Pole. The ships crew held a funeral service and scattered the ashes of explorer Hubert Wilkins (d.1958), who had attempted the feat in 1931.
    (ON, 1/02, p.9)
1959        Mar 17, The Dalai Lama fled Tibet and went to India.
    (HN, 3/17/98)

1959        Mar 18, President Eisenhower signed the Hawaii statehood bill. Hawaii became a state on Aug. 21, 1959.
    (AP, 3/18/07)

1959        Mar 20, In SF Harry Bridges spoke to a crowd at the Commonwealth Club luncheon regarding his recent trip to Russia. The Longshore Union president gave his audience the challenge he received in Russia: Within 10 years the Soviet Union will give its workers the highest standard of living in the world, the highest wages, the shortest work week, the best free medical care, the best education, and no unemployment.
    (SSFC, 3/15/09, DB p.50)

1959        Mar 24, Gen. Qasim pulled Iraq out of the Baghdad Pact after the United States signed bilateral cooperation agreements with Turkey, Iran and Pakistan. A number of assassination attempts on Qasim failed including an attempt that included Baath Socialist Party activist Saddam Hussein.
    (HNQ, 7/28/98)(SFC, 9/24/02, p.A10)(MC, 3/24/02)

1959        Mar 26, Raymond Chandler (71), American writer, best known for his Philip Marlowe detective novels, died. He wrote seven Marlowe books that includes "Farewell My Lovely," "The Long Goodbye" (1953) and "The Big Sleep" (1939). In 1976 Prof. Frank MacShane wrote "The Life of Raymond Chandler." In 1995 he was honored with a 2-volume issues of his works by the Library of America. A CD-ROM was also made titled after a novel: Trouble is My Business. In 1997 Tom Hiney wrote "Raymond Chandler: A Biography." In 2001 Tom Hiney and Frank MacShane edited "The Raymond Chandler Papers." In 2007 Judith Freeman authored “The Long Embrace: Raymond Chandler and the Woman He Loved.”
    (WSJ, 10/18/95, A-16)(SFC, 7/9/97, p.D5)(SFC, 3/14/98, p.B7)(SFC, 11/18/99, p.C8)(WSJ, 4/23/01, p.A20)(SS, 3/26/02)(SSFC, 11/4/07, p.M1)

1959        Mar 28, China announced the dissolution of the Tibetan government.
    (AP, 1/16/09)

1959        Mar 29, "Some Like it Hot" with Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon premiered.
    (MC, 3/29/02)

1959        Mar 31, Dalai Lama fled the Chinese suppression of a national uprising in Tibet and crossed the border into India. India granted him political asylum.
    (MC, 3/31/02)

1959        Mar, In California 22 college kids of St. Mary’s in Moraga stuffed themselves into a telephone booth. Their effort was captured by a Life Magazine photographer. A South African team had set the world record of 25 1958. In 2009 St. Mary’s students attempted to break the campus record, but failed when a plexiglas wall popped.
    (http://tinyurl.com/c9et4a)(SFC, 3/27/09, p.F2)

1959        Apr 3, David Hyde Pierce, actor (Niles Crane-Fraiser), was born in NY.
    (MC, 4/3/02)
1959        Apr 3, "Charlie Brown" by The Coasters was banned by the BBC because it contained the word "spitball."
    (AP, 4/3/03)

1959        Apr 4, The French show "Les Folies Bergere" was brought to the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Las Vegas by Lou Walters, entertainment director and father of Barbara Walters.
    (WSJ, 6/12/97, p.A19)

1959        Apr 6, In the 31st Academy Awards "Gigi," Susan Hayward and David Niven won.
    (MC, 4/6/02)

1959        Apr 7, Oklahoma ended prohibition after 51 years.
    (MC, 4/7/02)

1959        Apr 9, NASA announced the selection of America’s first seven astronauts for the US first orbital flight in 1962 under the Mercury program: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton.
    (SFC, 3/10/97, p.A16)(AP, 4/9/97)
1959        Apr 9, Frank Lloyd Wright (b.1869), American architect (Guggenheim Museum, NYC), died in Arizona. In 1998 Ken Burns produced his video documentary "Frank Lloyd Wright." An earlier British documentary of Wright was made c1983. In 1987 Brendan Gill authored the Wright biography: "Many Masks." In 2004 Ada Louise Huxtabel authored “Frank Lloyd Wright.”
    (SFC, 9/25/97, p.B2)(SFEC, 11/8/98, DB p.48)(SFEC, 2/20/00, p.T10)(WSJ, 11/9/04, p.D12)

1959        Apr 10, Japan’s Crown Prince Akihito married a commoner, Michiko Shoda.
    (AP, 4/10/97)

1959        Apr 11, "Jamaica" closed at Imperial Theater in NYC after 558 performances.
    (MC, 4/11/02)

1959        Apr 12, France Observator reported torture practice by French army in Algeria.
    (MC, 4/12/02)

1959        Apr 13, A Vatican edict forbade Italian Roman Catholics from for voting for communists.
    (MC, 4/13/02)
1959        Apr 13, Eduard A van Beinum (57), Dutch musician, conductor, died.
    (MC, 4/13/02)

1959        Apr 14, The Taft Memorial Bell Tower was dedicated in Washington, D.C.
    (HN, 4/14/98)

1959        Apr 15, Emma Thompson, actress (Henry V, Howard's End, Oscar-1992), was born in England.
    (MC, 4/15/02)
1959        Apr 15, John Foster Dulles, US Sec. of State, resigned.
    (MC, 4/15/02)
1959        Apr 15, Cuban leader Fidel Castro arrived in Washington, D.C., to begin a goodwill tour of the United States.
    (AP, 4/15/97)(HN, 4/15/98)

1959        Apr 17, A nationwide US air raid drill suspended most television and radio programs for a half hour.
    (SSFC, 3/22/09, DB p.50)

1959        Apr 22, In SF dignitaries opened the new 1.4 mile extension of the Central Freeway from 13th and Mission to Golden Gate Ave. and Franklin St. In 1999 SF and the California Dept. of Transportation agreed replace it with a ground-level thoroughfare. Octavia Blvd. was dedicated in 2005.
    (SFC, 8/21/96, p.A13)(SFC, 1/3/07, p.B1)

1959        Apr 25, St. Lawrence Seaway linking Atlantic, Great Lakes opened to shipping.
    (AP, 4/25/97)(HN, 4/25/98)

1959        Apr 26, The Panamanian government reported 'suppression' of attempted guerilla invasion from Cuba.
    (DBD, p.824)

1959        Apr 27, US State Dept. announced small arms stored in Canal Zone will be provided to Panamanian forces to repel Cuban invaders.
    (DBD, p.824)
1959        Apr 27, Gordon Armstrong, inventor of the baby incubator, died.
    (MC, 4/27/02)
1959        Apr 27, Liu Shaoqi (d.1969) was named president of China in the wake of the Great Leap Forward.
    (AFP, 9/6/06)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Shaoqi)

1959        Apr 28, Organization of American States voted unanimously to send a commission to Panama.
    (DBD, p.824)
1959        Apr 28, Charles de Gaulle resigned as president of France.
    (MC, 4/28/02)

1959        Apr 29, Premier Castro denied any Cuban role, direct or indirect, in a Panamanian invasion.
    (DBD, p.824)

1959        Apr, In San Francisco the Crystal Palace Market at Eighth and Market and its 75 concessionaires were ordered to close shop within 90 days. A new $8 million, 800-room luxury motel was scheduled for the site.
    (SSFC, 4/26/09, DB p.50)

1959        May 1, Some 87 guerillas, mostly Cubans, surrendered without resistance to Panamanian troops at the village of Nombre de Dios in response to appeals by Castro.
    (DBD, p.824)
1959        May 1, West Germany introduced a 5 day work week.
    (MC, 5/1/02)

1959        May 4, Randy Travis, country singer (Diggin' Up Bones), was born in Marshville, NC.
    (MC, 5/4/02)
1959        May 4, Pulitzer prize was awarded to Archibald Macleish (again) for his poetic drama, JB based on the Book of Job.
    (MC, 5/4/02)

1959        May 6, Iceland gunboats shot at British fishing ships.
    (MC, 5/6/02)

1959        May 7, In San Francisco Albert C. Kogler, a SF State college student, died 2½ hours following a shark attack while swimming off Baker Beach. Shirley O’Neill (19), also a SF State College student, had risked her life to pull her friend to the beach. In June she was awarded the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission’s silver medal.
    (SSFC, 5/3/09, DB p.50)(SSFC, 6/14/09, DB p.50)

1959        May 8, A 3-deck Nile excursion steamer sprang a leak panicking passengers who capsized  the ship. 200 drowned just yards from shore.
    (MC, 5/8/02)

1959        May 10, Soviet forces arrived in Afghanistan.
    (MC, 5/10/02)

1959        May 14, Sidney Bechet, clarinetist and pioneer jazz composer, died.
    (WSJ, 8/24/00, p.A20)(www.sidneybechet.org/bio.html)

1959        May 19, Nicole Brown Simpson, Mrs. OJ Simpson (murdered), was born in Frankfurt, Germany.
    (MC, 5/19/02)
1959        May 19, The Peoples’ Army of Vietnam’s Military Transportation Group 559 formed on the 69th birthday of Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh. It ultimately resulted in the creation of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The trail was intended to facilitate the infiltrating of troops and transporting supplies from North Vietnam to support the revolution in South Vietnam.
    (HNQ, 6/1/99)

1959        May 20, Ford won a battle with Chrysler to call its new car "Falcon."
    (MC, 5/20/02)
1959        May 20, Japanese-Americans regained their citizenship.
    (MC, 5/20/02)

1959        May 21, The musical "Gypsy," inspired by the life of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, opened on Broadway.
    (AP, 5/21/97)

1959        May 23, Presbyterian church accepted women preachers.
    (MC, 5/23/02)

1959        May 25, US Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana’s prohibition of black-white boxing was unconstitutional.
    (SC, 5/25/02)
1959        May 25, In San Francisco Walter S. Johnson, president of the Palace of Fine Arts League, said he would save the monument if nobody else would. He soon pledged $2 million to save the plaster relic that dated back to the 1915 Panama Pacific Expo.
    (SSFC, 5/24/09, DB p.39)
1959        May 25, Cathryn Harrison, actress (Old Woman in Black Moon), was born in  London, England.
    (SC, 5/25/02)
1959        May 25, Khrushchev visited Angola.
    (SC, 5/25/02)

1959        May 28, Johnson & Bart's musical "Lock up your daughters," premiered in London.
    (MC, 5/28/02)
1959        May 28, Monkeys Able & Baker zoomed 300 mi (500 km) into space on Jupiter missile and became the 1st animals retrieved from a space mission.
    (MC, 5/28/02)

1959        May 29, Rupert Everett, actor (My Best Friend's Wedding, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Next Best Thing), was born in Norfolk, England.
    (SC, 5/29/02)
1959        May 29, Mel Gaynor, rock drummer (Simple Minds-Water Front), was born in  Glasgow, Scotland.
    (SC, 5/29/02)
1959        May 29, Tamayo Otsuki, actress (Mrs. Yamagami-Davis Rules), was born.
    (SC, 5/29/02)
1959        May 29, Charles de Gaulle formed a French Government.
    (SC, 5/29/02)

1959        May 30, President-Generalissimo Alfredo Stroessner disbanded Paraguay's parliament and established a dictatorship. Josef Mengele became a citizen of Paraguay.
    (MC, 5/30/02)

1959        Jun 1, "Juke Box Jury" began its long run on BBC-TV.
    (DT, 6/1/97)
1959        Jun 1, R.C., "The Battle Of New Orleans" by Johnny Horton peaked at #1 on the pop singles chart and stayed there for six weeks.
    (DT, 6/1/97)
1959        Jun 1, R.C., "Frankie Man’s Johnny" by Johnny Cash peaked at #57 on the pop singles chart.
    (DT, 6/1/97)
1959        Jun 1, American Smelting & Refining, Corn Products Refining, National Steel and National Distillers & Chemical Corp. were removed from the DJIA. Anaconda Copper, Swift & Co., Aluminum Co. of America and Owens-Illinois Glass were added as a components of the Dow Jones.
    (WSJ, 5/28/96, p. R-45,46)(WSJ, 4/8/04, p.C4)

1959        Jun 2, Allen Ginsberg wrote his poem "Lysergic Acid," in SF.
    (SC, 6/2/02)

1959        Jun 4, The Soviet Union’s Bolshoi Ballet company arrived in San Francisco following performances in New York and Los Angeles. They were scheduled for 4 performances at the War Memorial House. In LA troupe members bought furs, rugs, china and curtain rods.
    (SSFC, 5/31/09, DB p.50)

1959        Jun 5, In the San Francisco Bay Area 40 teachers were subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Hearings were to open on June 17. The ACLU said it would do everything it can to block the San Francisco hearings.
    (SSFC, 5/31/09, DB p.50)

1959        Jun 8, The NASA rocket powered X-15 made its first glide flight.
    (http://history.nasa.gov/x15/chrono.html)

1959        Jun 9, The first ballistic missile carrying submarine, the USS George Washington, was launched at Groton, Ct.
    (HN 6/9/98)(MC, 6/9/02)

1959        Jun 10, Eliot Spitzer, later NY state governor (2007), was born in the Bronx. In 2008 he faced the end of his political career amidst a sex scandal.
    (WSJ, 3/11/08, p.A18)

1959        Jun 11, Postmaster General banned D.H. Lawrence's book, "Lady Chatterley's Lover." Charles Rembar (d.2000 at 85) began a 7-year fight against obscenity laws when he contested the US postmaster general’s ban on Lady Chatterley’s Lover. In 1968 Rembar authored "The End of Obscenity." In 1980 he authored a history of American law: "The Law of the Land."
    (SFC, 10/28/00, p.A25)(SC, 6/11/02)

1959        Jun 16, George Reeves (b.1914), American film and TV actor, died. Suicide was the predominant presumed cause of death. Reeves starred as Superman on TV from 1952-1958. In 1976 Gary Grossman  authored “Superman: Serial to Cereal.” The 1996 book “Hollywood Kryptonite,” by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger, discusses the doubts by friends and relatives and the forensic evidence as to whether suicide was even physically possible.
    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Reeves)

1959        Jun 17, Eamon de Valera was elected president of Ireland.
    (MC, 6/17/02)

1959        Jun 18, A Federal Court annulled the Arkansas law allowing school closings to prevent integration.
    (HN, 6/18/98)

1959        Jun 23, Klaus Fuchs was released after nine years in British prison. Fuchs was a German-born Los Alamos scientist whose espionage had helped the USSR build their first atomic and  hydrogen bombs.
    (MC, 6/23/02)

1959        Jun 25, In San Francisco a new Safeway grocery store opened on Marina Boulevard adjacent to Gas House Cove. Murals by John Garth flanked the store’s two entrances.
    (SSFC, 6/21/09, DB p.50)
1959        Jun 25, Charles Starkweather, spree murderer, was executed.
    (MC, 6/25/02)
1959        Jun 25, The Cuban government seized 2.35 million acres under a new agrarian reform law.
    (HN, 6/25/98)

1959        Jun 26, President Eisenhower joined Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in ceremonies officially opening the St. Lawrence Seaway.
    (CFA, ‘96, p.48)(AP, 6/26/97)

1959        Jun 27, The play, "West Side Story", with music by Leonard Bernstein, closed at Winter Garden Theater in NYC after 734 performances.
    (MC, 6/27/02)

1959        Jun, Supervisors of Prince Edward County, Va., passed a $210,654 budget that provided no money for public schools and cut the property tax in half rather than comply with school desegregation. The public schools closed down for 5 years. The county whites opened a tuition-free, private academy for white children.
    (WSJ, 5/17/04, p.A1)
1959        Jun, Britain shipped 20 tons of heavy water to Israel. The information, made public in 2005, revealed that the water was vital for the production of plutonium at Israel's secret Dimona nuclear reactor in the Negev desert. The documents revealed that heavy water was transported from a British port in Israeli ships in two shipments, half in June 1959 and half a year later.
    (AP, 8/4/05)(AP, 12/10/05)

1959        Jul 1, Israeli Knesset agreed to weapon sales to West Germany.
    (MC, 7/1/02)

1959        Jul 2, Wendy B. Lawrence, USN Lt Commander, astronaut, was born in Jacksonville, Fla.
    (SC, 7/2/02)

1959        Jul 4, A 49-star flag was raised for the first time at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., in honor of Alaska which had become the 49th state in the Union on July 7, 1958.
    (IB, Internet, 12/7/98)
1959        Jul 4, Cayman Islands separated from Jamaica, made a crown colony.
    (Maggio)

1959        Jul 5, Ben-Gurion's Israeli government resigned.
    (MC, 7/5/02)

1959        Jul 6, Saar became part of the German Federal Republic.
    (MC, 7/6/02)

1959        Jul 13, In San Francisco city barbers decided to increase the price of haircuts by 25 cents to $2.00, following a meeting of some 300 of the city’s 700 barbers.
    (SSFC, 7/12/09, DB p.42)

1959          Jul 17, The US Congress approved a joint resolution establishing Captive Nations Week to be observed on the 3rd week of July.  Pres. Eisenhower signed Public Law 86-90 establishing the week, aimed at raising public awareness of the oppression of nations under the control of Communist and other non-democratic governments, began in 1953.
    (www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/WCPD-2002-07-22/pdf/WCPD-2002-07-22-Pg1222.pdf)
1959        Jul 17, Dr. Leakey discovered oldest human skull (600,000 years old) to date.
    (MC, 7/17/02)
1959        Jul 17, Billie Holiday (b.1915), jazz and blues singer, died in NYC at age 44. In 1956 William Dufty (d.2002) authored the biography "Lady Sings the Blues." In 2000 Robert O’Meally authored "Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday."
    (SFEM, 10/1/00, p.4)(SFC, 7/5/02, p.A24)(SSFC, 7/12/09, p.42)
1959        Jul 17, Tibet abolished serfdom.
    (MC, 7/17/02)

1959        Jul 21, The 1st atomic powered merchant ship, NS Savannah, was christened at Camden, NJ. In 1995 it was docked as part of the Navy’s James River Reserve Fleet at Fort Eustis, Va. Soviets launched the world’s 1st operational nuclear surface ship in 1958.
    (OGA, Internet, 11/24/98)(SFC, 3/12/05, p.B5)

1959        Jul 23, Vice President Richard M. Nixon flew to Moscow to open the US Trade and Cultural Fair in Sokolniki Park, organized as a goodwill gesture by the USSR.
    (MC, 7/23/02)

1959        Jul 24, During a visit to the Soviet Union, VP Richard M. Nixon got into a "kitchen debate" with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev at a US exhibition. Nixon correctly said that the $100-a-month mortgage for the model ranch house was well within the reach of a typical American steelworker.
    (AP, 7/24/97)(Econ, 5/26/07, p.33)

1959        Jul 25, Dr. Isaac Halevi Herzog (71), chief rabbi of Israel (1936-59), died.
    (SC, 7/25/02)

1959        Jul 26, Kevin Spacey, actor (Henry & June, Darrow), was born in South Orange, NJ.
    (MC, 7/26/02)
1959        Jul 26, There was a nuclear reactor meltdown at Rocketdyne’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. A report in 2006 said it may have caused hundreds of cases of cancer in the community, and that chemicals threaten to contaminate ground and water.
    (AP, 10/6/06)(www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/PHA/santa/san_p1.html)

1959        Jul 28, In preparation for statehood, Hawaiians voted to send the first Chinese-American, Hiram L. Fong, to the Senate and the first Japanese-American, Daniel K. Inouye, to the House of Representatives. Hiram Fong served 3 terms.
    (AP, 7/28/97)(SFEC, 2/6/00, Rp.10)

1959        Jul 31, In Spain dissident student members of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), inspired by Marxist-Leninist teachings, founded ETA, which stands for Euskadi ta Askatasuna, meaning Basque Fatherland and Liberty in the Basque language. Its founders focused on Gen. Francisco Franco's suppression of the Basque language and culture.
    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ETA)(AP, 7/30/09)(www.cfr.org/publication/9271/)

1959        Jul, Aristotle Onassis took on board his ship, Christina, Maria Callas and her husband, Battista Meneghini, as well as Sir Winston and Lady Churchill. The cruise was later referred to as the "voyage of the damned." In 2000 the Onassis-Callas relationship was described in "Greek Fire" by Nicholas Gage.
    (WSJ, 10/13/00, p.W8)

1959        Aug 3, Victoria Jackson, actress (Casual Sex, SNL), was born in Miami, Fla.
    (SC, 8/3/02)

1959        Aug 6, Preston Sturges (60), born as Edmund Biden, US director, screenwriter, died.
    (MC, 8/6/02)

1959        Aug 7, The United States launched Explorer 6, which sent back a picture of the Earth. The satellite, popularly known as the "paddlewheel satellite," featured a photocell scanner that transmitted a crude picture of the earth's surface and cloud cover from a distance of 17,000 miles
    (HFA, '96, p.36)(AP, 8/7/97)(MC, 8/7/02)

1959        Aug 10, Rosanna Arquette (actress: Pulp Fiction, Silverado,  Desperately Seeking Susan, New York Stories, The  Executioner's Song, After Hours), was born.
    (MC, 8/10/02)

1959        Aug 12, The 1st ship firing of a Polaris missile was from Observation Island.
    (SC, 8/12/02)

1959        Aug 14, Magic (Earvin Jr.) Johnson; basketball player (LA Lakers NBA MVP [1987, 89, 90]; Olympic Dream Team [1992]), was born.
    (MC, 8/14/02)

1959        Aug 16, William F. Halsey (Bull Halsey), US vice-admiral (WW II Pacific), died.
    (MC, 8/16/02)

1959        Aug 17, A 7.1 quake struck at Yellowstone National Park.
    (SC, 8/17/02)

1959        Aug 18, A magnitude 7.3 quake near Hebgen Lake, Montana, just west of Yellowstone National Park triggered a landslide that killed 28 people.
    (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/events/1959_08_18.php)
1959        Aug 18, The Baghdad Pact was officially changed to Central Treaty Organization (CENTO).
    (HNQ, 7/28/98)

1959        Aug 19, Jacob Epstein (78), US-English sculptor, painter, died.
    (MC, 8/19/02)

1959        Aug 21, Hawaii became the 50th state as President Eisenhower signed an executive order, five months after he'd signed the Hawaiian statehood bill.
    (AP, 8/21/08)

1959        Aug 24, Three days after Hawaiian statehood, Hiram L. Fong was sworn in as the first Chinese-American U.S. Senator while Daniel K. Inouye was sworn in as the first Japanese-American U.S. Representative.
    (AP, 8/24/97)

1959        Aug 31, Australia defeated the US for tennis' Davis Cup.
    (YN, 8/31/99)

1959        Aug, In Britain the first Mini Cooper automobile was built in response to the gas shortage. It was called the Austin Mini Seven or the Morris Mini Minor. In 2002 an updated version was introduced.
    (WSJ, 10/30/98, p.A17)(SSFC, 7/7/02, p.A21)

1959        Sep 4, "Mack the Knife" was banned from WCBS Radio in New York City. The ban was due to teenage stabbings in NYC.
    (MC, 9/4/01)

1959        Sep 11, The US Congress passed a bill authorizing food stamps for poor Americans.
    (MC, 9/11/01)

1959        Sep 12, NBC launched "Bonanza," the first color western on TV. 428 episodes were produced and the show ran to 1973. 431 episodes were filmed at the 570-acre site in Incline Village, Nevada. Michael Landon (d.1991) played Little Joe, Lorne Greene (d.1987) played Ben Cartwright, and Dan Blocker (d.1972) played Hoss. [see Jan 16, 1973]
    (SFC, 9/3/98, p.A12)(SSFC, 6/9/02, p.A29)(SSFC, 8/8/04, p.D2)
1959        Sep 12, The Luna 2, a Soviet space probe, was launched for the moon.
    (SFEC, 9/28/97, p.A14)

1959        Sep 14, The Soviet space probe Luna 2 became the first man-made object to reach the moon as it crashed onto the lunar surface.
    (AP, 9/14/97)

1959        Sep 15, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev arrived in the United States to begin a 13-day visit.
    (AP, 9/15/97)

1959        Sep 17, The North American Aviation X-15 rocket plane, piloted by Scott Crossfield, made its first powered flight.
    (HN, 9/17/98)(SFC, 4/21/06, p.B9)
1959        Sep 17, Typhoon Sara killed 2,000 in Japan & Korea. 840 people were left dead or missing in South Korea. [see Japan Sep 27]
    (MC, 9/17/01)(SFC, 9/3/02, p.A3)

1959        Sep 19, Nature ran a paper by Giuseppe Cocconi and Philip Morrison that said terrestrial radio telescopes were sensitive enough to detect radio signals from other stars. This was later seen as the beginning of SETI, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.
    (SFEM, 8/22/99, p.10)
1959        Sep 19, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev reacted angrily during a visit to Los Angeles upon being told that, for security reasons, he wouldn’t be allowed to visit Disneyland.
    (AP, 9/19/97)

1959        Sep 22, The first telephone cable linking Europe and the United States was inaugurated.
    (HN, 9/22/98)

1959        Sep 25, President Eisenhower and Soviet Premier Khrushchev began Camp David talks.
    (HN, 9/25/98)
1959        Sep 25, Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley (37) & David Brown (43) wed.
    (MC, 9/25/01)

1959        Sep 26, Vera, Japan, was hit by a typhoon; about 5,000 died. [see Sep 17,27]
    (MC, 9/26/01)

1959        Sep 27, Beth Heiden, 3000m speed skater (Olympic-bronze-1980), was born in Madison, Wisc.
    (MC, 9/27/01)
1959        Sep 27, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev concluded his visit to the United States. During the visit he debated with Richard Nixon. He also saw the filming of Can Can and the found the dance immoral. Bassetts produced 50 tubs of borscht sorbet in honor of Premier Nikita Khrushchev’s visit to Philadelphia.
    (TMC, 1994, p.1959)(SFEC, 9/15/96, C10)(WSJ, 8/1/00, p.A24)(AP, 9/27/00)
1959        Sep 27, Typhoon Vera battered the main Japanese island of Honshu, killing nearly 5,000 people. [see Sep 17,26]
    (AP, 9/27/97)(MC, 9/27/01)

1959        Sep 28, Explorer VI, the U.S. satellite, took the first video pictures of earth.
    (HN, 9/28/98)
1959        Sep 28, Edward Albee’s play “The Zoo Story,” written in 1958, opened in Berlin. In 1960 it opened in the US.
    (SFC, 12/31/08, p.E2)
1959        Sep 28, Gerard Hoffnung, artist, humorist, musician, died.
    (MC, 9/28/01)

1959        Oct 2, Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone" made its debut on CBS-TV.
    (AP, 10/2/99)

1959        Oct 5, Maya Lin, American architect who designed the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., was born.
    (HN, 10/5/98)

1959        Oct 7, Mario Lanza (b.1921), undisciplined opera singer and temperamental movie star, died of a heart attack in Rome. Born with a glorious Italian tenor, Lanza resisted all professional urgings. He first came to light while in the Army, then started singing publicly, first on radio, then in movies. He signed a contract with MGM studios, where he made such movies as "The Toast of New Orleans," and "The Great Caruso." His heroic bellow sold records and filled concert halls. Lanza put several teachers through hell because he would not learn to read music, and he began to believe his hype as the century's greatest talent since Enrico Caruso (a thought which made Mrs. Caruso gag and Met Opera General Manger Rudolf Bing to ask: "Mario Who?"). He spent money as fast as he earned it, pampering himself through his life. He was fired by MGM because of his unpredictably in weight, ranging from  compactness to obesity, often within a month's time.
    (www.lanzalegend.com/bio.htm)(www.nndb.com/people/994/000091721/)
1959        Oct 7, Saddam Hussein participated in a Baath team that ambushed Iraqi strongman Abdel-Karim Kassem in Baghdad, wounding him. Saddam, wounded in leg, fled country.
    (AP, 10/17/05)

1959        Oct 8, In Britain Harold MacMillan (b.1894) won re-election as prime minister.
     (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_general_election,_1959)

1959        Oct 10, Pan American became the first to offer regular flights around world.
    (MC, 10/10/01)

1959        Oct 13, K. Rudolf Mengelberg, Dutch composer (Amsterdam Concertgebouw), died at  67.
    (MC, 10/13/01)

1959        Oct 14, Errol Flynn, US actor (Captain Blood), died of heart attack at 50.
    (MC, 10/14/01)

1959        Oct 15, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, aka 'Fergie,' was born.
    (MC, 10/15/01)
1959        Oct 15, The TV show "The Untouchables" premiered with Robert Stack (d.2003) as Eliot Ness. It was produced by Bert Granet (d.2002 at 92) and ran to 1963.
    (SFC, 5/12/96, Par, p.14)(MC, 10/15/01)(SFC, 11/25/02, p.A15)(AP, 5/15/03)

1959        Oct 16, George C. Marshall (b.1880), US army general and Nobel Prize winner (1953), died in Virginia.
    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_C._Marshall)

1959        Oct 19, William Gibson's "Miracle Worker," premiered in NYC.
    (MC, 10/19/01)

1959        Oct 21, The Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (1869-1959), opened in NYC. In 2009 the museum published “The Guggenheim: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Making of the Modern Museum.”
    (AP, 10/21/97)(AH, 10/04, p.15)(SSFC, 7/26/09, p.F5)
1959        Oct 21, Dr. Werner Von Braun started work at NASA. By the late 1960s his rockets were taking men to the moon. The Dr at age 25 had masterminded the V-2 rocket for Nazi Germany.
    (MC, 10/21/01)
1959        Oct 21, Contra revolutionaries bombed Havana.
    (MC, 10/21/01)

1959        Oct 22, Bob Merrill's musical "Take me Along," premiered in NYC.
    (MC, 10/22/01)

1959        Oct 23, "Weird Al" Yankovic, parody singer (Eat It, UHF, Naked Gun), was born in California.
    (MC, 10/23/01)
1959        Oct 23, Chinese troops moved into India and 17 died.
    (MC, 10/23/01)

1959        Oct 31, A former U.S. Marine from Fort Worth, Texas, announced in Moscow that he would never return to the United States. His name: Lee Harvey Oswald.
    (AP, 10/31/99)
1959        Oct 31, The USSR and Egypt signed contracts for building the Aswan Dam.
    (MC, 10/31/01)

1959        Nov 1, Patrice Lumumba was arrested in the Belgian Congo.
    (MC, 11/1/01)

1959        Nov 2, Charles Van Doren admitted to a House subcommittee that he had the questions and answers in advance of his appearances on the NBC-TV game show "Twenty-One."
    (AP, 11/2/97)(HN, 11/2/98)

1959        Nov 3, Pres. Eisenhower laid the cornerstone for the CIA headquarters building in Langley, Va.
    (SFC, 9/17/97, p.A3)
1959        Nov 3, Ben-Gurion's Mapai-party won Israeli parliamentary election.
    (MC, 11/3/01)

1959        Nov 8, Tunisian Pres. Habib Bourguiba's Nes Destour party won every chair.
    (MC, 11/8/01)

1959        Nov 11, The 1st episode of "Rocky & His Friends" aired on TV. Jay Ward (d.1989), cartoonist, created the TV show "Rocky and His Friends," which featured Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose. It ran to 1961.
    (SFEC, 12/15/96, DB p.63)(SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.38)(MC, 11/11/01)

1959        Nov 15, Richard Hickok and Perry Smith savagely murdered the Clutter Family in Kansas.
    (MC, 11/15/01)(www.crimelibrary.com)
1959        Nov 15, In Germany the Bad Godesberg Program, designed to broaden support for the Social Democratic Party, was ratified at an SPD party convention. For the first time the SPD forswore all Marxist ideas.
    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godesberg_Program)

1959        Nov 16, The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music" opened on Broadway at Lunt Fontanne Theater, NYC, for 1443 performances.
    (AP, 11/1697)(MC, 11/16/01)

1959        Nov 17, William Shea  proposed a NYC stadium with transparent roof.
    (MC, 11/17/01)
1959        Nov 17, Heitor Villa-Lobos (b.1887), Brazilian composer, pianist and conductor, died.
    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heitor_Villa-Lobos)

1959        Nov 18, "Ben-Hur," the Biblical-era movie spectacle starring Charlton Heston, had its world premiere in New York.
    (AP, 11/18/99)

1959        Nov 19, Ford Motor Co. announced it was halting production of the unpopular Edsel. Ford discontinued the Edsel after selling less than 110,000 cars.
    (WSJ, 6/19/96, Adv. Supl)(AP, 11/19/97)

1959        Nov 20, The United Nations issued its "Declaration of the Rights of the Child."
    (AP, 11/20/99)
1959        Nov 20, Seven European nations (Austria, Britain, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland) signed the Stockholm Convention to form the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). The organization becoming operative on May 3 1960.
    (www.iceland.org/efta/the-mission/int-organizations/efta/)

1959        Nov 21, Jack Benny on violin and Richard Nixon on piano played their famed duet.
    (MC, 11/21/01)
1959        Nov 21, Max Baer (b.1909), US boxer, died. In 2005 Jeremy Schaap authored “Cinderella Man: James J. Braddock, Max Baer and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History.”
    (SFC, 8/25/05, p.B1)(www.ibhof.com/baer.htm)

1959        Nov 23, The musical "Fiorello!," with music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, opened on Broadway.
    (AP, 11/23/97)

1959        Nov 24, The new TV show Twilight Zone ran "The Time Element" about a bartender returning to Pearl Harbor Dec 6, 1941.
    (SFC, 11/25/02, p.A15)

1959        Nov 26, Albert William Ketelby (84), composer, died.
    (MC, 11/26/01)

1959        Nov 27, Gerard Philipe (36), actor and director (La Ronde, Gambler), died of cancer.
    (MC, 11/27/01)
1959        Nov 27, Demonstrators marched in Tokyo to protest a defense treaty with the US.
    (HN, 11/27/98)

1959        Nov, Chubby Checker introduced "The Twist" on the "Dick Clark Saturday Night Show."
    (SFC, 9/5/00, p.D3)
   
1959        Dec 1, Representatives of 12 countries signed the Antarctic Treaty in Washington DC setting aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, free from military activity (effective in 1961). It was adopted by the governments of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, the French Republic, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Union of South Africa, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the UK of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the USA [see 1961]. By 2007 45 signatories agreed to suspend territorial claims and disputes, to forego all military and mining activity, and to protect the continent as a natural reserve devoted to peace and science.
    (AP, 12/1/97)(www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=1187)(Econ, 3/31/07, p.86)
1959        Dec 1, The 1st color photograph of Earth was received from outer space.
    (MC, 12/1/01)

1959        Dec 4, Peking pardoned Pu Yi, ex-emperor of China and of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. Aisingyoro Henry Puyi, the last emperor, Xuantong, was declared rehabilitated and released as "citizen" Puyi. He settled down as a gardener and wrote the book "From Emperor to Citizen."
    (SFC, 6/11/97, p.C16)(HN, 12/4/98)

1959        Dec 9-1959 Dec 14, Pres. Eisenhower visited India and met with President Prasad and Prime Minister Nehru. He addressed  India’s Parliament and said: “ We who are free, and who prize our freedom above all other gifts of God and nature, must know each other better; trust each other more; support each other.”
    (www.theamericanpresidency.us/34thvisitsabroad.htm)(Econ, 2/25/06, p.29)

1959        Dec 15, Joseph Rogers (1924-2005) set the single-engine jet world record of 1,525 miles per hour in an F-106 Delta Dart over Edwards Air Force Base in southern California.
    (SFC, 8/12/05, p.B9)

1959        Dec 18, Dorothy L. Sayers (66), writer, died.
    (MC, 12/18/01)

1959        Dec 19, Walter Williams (117), officially recognized as the last survivor of the 4 million who fought in the Civil War, died in Houston. He served as forage master for a Confederate cavalry company. The last survivor of the Union Army was Albert Woolson. He died on August 2, 1956 at the age of 109.
    (HN, 12/19/98)(www.chipublib.org/008subject/005genref/faqvet.html)

1959        Dec 21, Florence Griffith Joyner, runner (Olympic-3 gold-1988), was born in LA, Calif.
    (MC, 12/21/01)

1959        Dec 29, Saul Levitt's "Andersonville Trial," premiered in NYC.
    (MC, 12/29/01)

1959        Dec 30, Tracey Ullman, singer and actress (Tracey Ullman Show), was born in Slough, England.
    (MC, 12/30/01)

1959        Dec 31, Bebe Neuwirth, actress (Lilith-Cheers, Damn Yankees), was born in Princeton, NJ.
    (MC, 12/31/01)
1959        Dec 31, The DJIA closed the decade at 679.36.
    (WSJ, 4/8/04, p.C4)

1959        Joyce Ballantine Brand (1918-2006), commercial artist, created the Coppertone Girl for Coppertone suntan lotion. She used her 3-year-old daughter as the model.
    (SFC, 5/18/06, p.B7)

1959        Alexander Calder (1898-1976) made his "Arches," and "Big Red" mobile.
    (SFC,11/15/97, p.C6)

1959        William Christenberry, American artist from Alabama, painted "Let the Dreadful Engines..."
    (SFC, 3/31/97, p.E6)

1959        Jasper Johns painted "Shade."
    (SFEC, 11/24/96, C15)

1959        Rene Magritte painted "Blood Will Tell."
    (SFC, 5/4/00, p.B5)

1959        David Park (1911-1960), American artist painted: "Torso."
    (SFEC, 12/1/96, DB p.21)(SFC, 8/23/97, p.A20)

1959        The Surrealists gave their last exhibition.
    (SFC, 2/7/02, p.D12)

1959        Edward Albee (30) wrote "The Zoo Story and The Sandbox."
    (SFC, 9/5/96, p.B2)(SFEC, 9/5/99, BR p.4)

1959        Norman O. Brown (d.2002), philosopher, authored "Life Against Death." His 1966 book "Love’s Body" was a follow-up.
    (SFC, 10/7/02, p.A19)

1959        Lorraine Hansberry wrote her play "A Raisin In the Sun."
    (SFEC, 5/30/99, DB p.37)

1959        Anna Balakian (d.1997 at 82) wrote "Surrealism: The Road to the Absolute," an exposition of surrealist literature and art.
    (SFC, 8/16/97, p.A18)

1959        Rex Burch (d.1996), microbiologist, and William Russell, a classics scholar, outlined how the use of animals in scientific research could be made more humane in their book: “The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique.”
    (www.nal.usda.gov/awic/newsletters/v7n2/7n2burch.htm)(Econ, 5/9/09, p.84)

1959         Chardin’s work "The Phenomenon of Man" was translated to English. It is here that he developed the idea of the noosphere, or sphere of the mind.
    (V.D.-H.K.p.388)

1959        Richard Condon (d.1996) authored his novel "The Manchurian Candidate." It was made into a film with Frank Sinatra in 1962. In 2003 it was revealed that phrases and ideas were plagiarized from "I, Claudius," the 1934 historical novel by Robert Graves.
    (SFC, 10/4/03, p.D1)

1959        Philip K. Dick wrote his sci-fi novel "Time Out of Joint."
    (WSJ, 4/27/99, p.A20)

1959        Allen Drury (d.1998 at 80) published his novel "Advise and Consent." The book was made into a 1962 film. He wrote a total of 23 books.
    (SFC, 9/3/98, p.C6)

1959        Gunter Grass, German author, published his novel "The Tin Drum." It criticized German authorities for supplying arms to the Turkish government. An English translation was published in 1963.
    (SFC,10/21/97, p.A12)

1959        Jack Kerouac published "Doctor Sax" with Grove Press. He had begun the book while visiting William Burroughs in Mexico City around 1951. In 2003 it was released on CD based on a 1998 screenplay by Jim Sampas, Kerouac's nephew.
    (SSFC, 11/2/03, p.M2)

1959        John Knowles (d.2001 at 75) authored "A Separate Peace." It was considered an enduring study of an adolescent’s inner conflict.
    (SFC, 11/30/01, p.A27)

1959        Arthur Koestler authored "The Sleepwalkers," a history of early astronomy.
    (WSJ, 3/5/04, p.W8)

1959        Laurie Lee (d.1997 at 82), English author, wrote "Cider with Rosie," an autobiographical classic of country life. His book, "As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning," described his experiences on a visit to Spain just before the revolution of Jul, 1936. In 1993 he published the sequel "A Moment of War: A Memoir of the Spanish Civil War."
    (SFC, 5/15/97, p.A26)

1959        Janet Lewis wrote her historical novel "The Ghost of Monsieur Scarron."
    (SFC, 12/5/98, p.C2)

1959        Leo Lionni (d.1999 at 89) published his 1st children's book, " Little Blue and Little Yellow." Lionni went on to write and illustrate another 30 children's books.
    (SFC, 10/19/99, p.A23)

1959        Lawrence Lipton authored "The Holy Barbarians," a guidebook to the beat scene in Venice, California.
    (SFC, 4/13/02, p.A21)

1959        James Michener (d.1997 at 90) wrote "Japanese Prints," and his novel "Hawaii."
    (SFC,10/17/97, p.A17)

1959        Poet Frank O’Hara wrote his mock manifesto "Personism."
    (WSJ, 9/18/98, p.W8)

1959        Raymond Queneau (d.1976), Parisian surrealist, published "Zazie dans le Metro."
    (SFEC, 8/2/98, BR p.4)

1959        Mordecai Richler (d.2001 at 70) authored the novel ""The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz."
    (SFC, 7/5/01, p.D3)

1959        J.I. Rodale published "The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening."
    (WSJ, 8/5/97, p.A16)

1959        Philip Roth authored his coming-of-age novella “Goodbye Columbus.” The initial publication included 5 other short stories.
    (WSJ, 12/15/07, p.W10)

1959        C.P. Snow, physicist and novelist, published "The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution." He articulated the growing dichotomy between the sciences and the humanities. He suggested that "the scientific mind was progressive and the literary mind was reactionary." This produced a strong reaction from F.R. Leavis, literary critic.
    (WSJ, 6/10/97, p.A16)(NH, 10/98, p.12)

1959        Paul Tabori wrote "The Natural Science of Stupidity."
    (WSJ, 10/10/96, p.A20)

1959        Hunter Thompson spent time working in San Juan as a journalist and based his novel "The Rum Diary," published in 1998, on the experience. Plans for a film based on the book developed in 2003.
    (SFC, 11/7/03, p.D11)

1959        Eugene Vale (d.1997) wrote "The 13th Apostle." It was a bestseller for more than 30 weeks. Vale spent 21 years writing the book.
    (SFC, 5/9/97, p.E5)

1959        Dr. Allen Wheelis (1916-2007, SF Bay Area psychologist, authored his 1st book: “The Quest for Identity.” He went on to write 13 more books including novels.
    (SSFC, 6/24/07, p.B5)

1959        William Appleman Williams (1921-1990), American historian, authored “The Tragedy of American Democracy,” in which he blamed the Cold War on the US. Historian Robert James Maddox provided a devastating critique of Williams’ shoddy in “the New Left and the Origins of the Cold War” (1973).
    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Appleman_Williams)(WSJ, 4/28/09, p.A11)

1959        Bernard Wolfe authored his historic novel "The Great Prince Died," centered on the 1940 assassination of Trotsky.
    (NW, 8/20/01, p.56)

1959        Tennessee Williams wrote his play "Sweet Bird of Youth." It was about an aging movie queen and a male gigolo visiting his Gulf Coast home town. It was made into a 1962 film with Geraldine Page and Paul Newman who also starred in the original play.
    (WSJ, 6/10/98, p.A16)

1959        The Broadway show "Goodbye Charlie" starred Lauren Bacall. It was written by George Axelrod.
    (SFEC, 5/18/97, Par p.6)

1959        The musical "Redhead" was directed by Bob Fosse and composed by Albert Hague.
    (WSJ, 11/11/98, p.A21)

1959        Jack Gelber's (d.2003 at 71) play "The Connection" opened off Broadway at the Living Theater. It was a graphic depiction of the dead-end life of drug addicts.
    (SSFC, 5/11/03, p.A26)

1959        Bob Merrill made the Broadway hit "Take Me Along," which was based on O’Neills "Ah, Wilderness."
    (SFC, 2/19/98, p.A22)

1959        The musical play "Once Upon a Mattress" was produced. It was based on a Hans Christian Anderson fable: "The Princess and the Pea." The lyrics were written by Marshall Barer (d.1998 at 75). Barer also wrote the lyrics for the "Mighty Mouse" song.
    (WSJ, 12/24/96, p.A7)(SFC, 8/27/98, p.C4)

1949        Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca (d.2001) starred on the "Admiral Broadway Revue" TV show (Jan-Jun), a forerunner of "Your Show of Shows," which ran to 1954.
    (SSFC, 6/3/01, p.A29)(SFC, 8/9/02, p.D17)

1959        The "Dennis the Menace" show began on TV and ran for 146 episodes. it was based on the cartoon strip by Hank Ketcham.
    (SFC, 9/20/97, p.E1)

1959        The "Maverick" TV cowboy show was written and produced by Coles Trapnell (d.1999) until 1962.
    (SFC, 2/5/99, p.D4)

1959        "The Twilight Show" under Rod Serling began on TV. It ran to 1965.
    (SFEC, 5/24/98, DB p.38)

1959        It was learned that most TV quiz shows were fixed.
    (TMC, 1994, p.1959)

1959        Paul Anka made a hit with "Put Your head on My Shoulders."
    (SFEC, 1/17/99, Par p.18)

1959         Tom Butala began to develop the Letterman vocal group sound. Their early songs included "The Way You look Tonight" and "That’s My Desire."
    (SFEC, 7/21/96, DB p.53)

1959        Ornette Coleman formed his jazz quartet with drummer Billy Higgins and bassist Charlie Haden.
    (WSJ, 7/16/97, p.A20)

1959        Herbie Mann (1930-2003) formed his Afro-Jazz Sextet.
    (SFC, 7/3/03, p.A2)

1959        Martin Denny recorded an album that typified the Hawaiian Exotica style. Arthur Lyman (d.2002 at 70), vibraphonist, played in the combo.
    (SFC, 3/8/02, p.A31)

1959        The band "The Blue Velvets" made their debut performance at a sock hop at El Cerrito High in Northern California. The John Fogerty band went on to become the Golliwogs and then Credence Clearwater Revival.
    (SSFC, 4/14/02, p.30)

1959        Billy Mitchell (d.2002 at 71) and the Clovers made a hit with the Lieber and Stoller song "Love Potion No. 9."
    (SFC, 11/15/02, p.A25)

1959        Eldon Shamblin (d.1998 at 82), guitarist, left the Bob Wills and the Playboys band. He contributed a jazz influence to the band and was called the world’s greatest rhythm guitar player.
    (SFC, 8/8/98, p.A21)

1959        The Skyliners recorded "Since I Don’t Have You." Manager Joe Rock (d.2000 at 63) wrote the lyrics and singer Jimmy Beaumont wrote the melody.
    (SFC, 4/8/00, p.A23)

1959        The album "Frank Sinatra with the Red Norvo Quintet, Live in Australia," was released on Blue Note.
    (SFEM, 7/13/97, p.6)

1959        Estonian Veljo Tormis composed his 11-minute effusion "Overture No. 2."
    (SFC,11/6/97, p.C9)

1959        Johnny Cash shot a man in Reno, Nv.
    (RNR, 7/19/95, p.10)

1959        Ray Charles made a hit with "What’d I Say." His moaning and wailing suggested sexual play and was banned on radio stations across America.
    (SSFC, 7/28/02, Par p.20)(Econ, 6/19/04, p.84)

1959        Motown Records was launched when Gwendolyn Gordy Fuqua (d.1999 at 71) and her sister Anna talked the Gordy family into loaning Berry Gordon $800 to make a master recording of singer Marv Johnson.
    (SFC, 11/13/99, p.A22)

1959        The first Grammy Awards were issued.
    (WSJ, 2/20/97, p.A18)

1959        The Newport Folk Festival began. Joan Baez (18) sang at the festival and began her career as a professional singer.
    (WSJ, 7/28/98, p.A16)(SFEM, 11/1/98, p.12)

1959        Singer Eddie Fisher divorced Debbie Reynolds to marry Elizabeth Taylor. He was best known for his song "Oh! My Papa." Reynolds was pregnant with their 2nd child at the time.
    (SFEC, 9/26/99, DB p.35)(WSJ, 10/8/99, p.W14)

1959        August A. Busch, president of the Anheuser-Busch Beer Co., constructed his elaborate bird sanctuary in Tampa, Fla.
    (Hem., 3/97, p.61)

1959        The Central Artery freeway was erected in Boston. It was scheduled to come down in 2004 the completion of the "Big Dig" underground freeway.
    (SFC, 12/20/02, p.J12)

1959        Americans bought 100 million Hula Hoops.
    (SFC, 1/25/97, p.E4)

1959        References to glue-sniffing first appeared in print.
    (SFC, 1/25/97, p.E4)

1959         The Starkspur Golden Delicious Apple was discovered in the Yakima Valley, Wash.
    (T&L, 10/1980, p.42)

1959        The West End Brewing Co., producers of Utica Club Beer, began running TV commercials in the Northeast US. The ad campaign included the Schultz and Dooley ceramic mugs based on the ad characters.
    (SFC, 2/1/06, p.G6)

1959        In Chicago Kikkoman first introduced soy sauce to American consumers at an International Trade Fair.
    (Econ, 4/11/09, p.68)

1959        Hewitt Crane (d.2008 at 81), inventor and bioengineering pioneer, co-founded Ridge Vineyards, resurrecting a 19th century winery in Cupertino, Ca.
    (SFC, 6/26/08, p.B5)

1959        Germain G. Glidden (d.1999 at 85) founded the National Art Museum of Sport.
    (SFC, 2/17/99, p.C3)

1959        The NYC Atheneum Publishers was co-founded by Alfred Knopf Jr. (1918-2009), editor Simon Michael Bessie and editor Hiram Haydn.
    (SFC, 3/15/99, p.A19)(SFC, 2/17/09, p.B4)

1959        Al Haber organized “Students for a Democratic Society.” SDS held its first organizational meeting in 1960 at Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Robert Alan Haber was elected president. Its initial philosophy was embodied in the 1962 Port Huron Statement, principally written by Univ. of Michigan student Tom Hayden. In 2008 Harvey Pekar, Gary Dumm and Paul Buhle wrote, illustrated and edited “Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History.”
    (SFC, 1/8/08, p.E2)(http://ma.essortment.com/sdsstudentsfo_rmsx.htm)

1959        Captains. Richard Munger and Charles Dent founded the Business Council of the United Nations (BCUN.
    (Hem., 12/96, p.19)

1959        Sam Marcy (1911-1998) founded The Workers World Party, an independent Communist party, in New York City. In 1990 he wrote a collection of articles titled: "Perestroika: A Marxist Critique."
    (SFC, 2/9/98, p.A19)

1959        Research Triangle Park in North Carolina was created by universities, government and industry leaders as an economic engine for the state.
    (SFEC, 10/6/96, B6)

1959        Owen Chamberlain (1920-2006) and Emilio Segre of UC Berkeley received the Nobel Prize in Physics for their 1955 discovery of the anti-proton. Oreste Piccioni (d.2002 at 86) did many of the landmark experiments that led to the discoveries.
    (SFC, 10/10/96, p.A1)(SFC, 5/1/02, p.A22)(SFC, 3/2/06, p.B7)

1959        Arthur Kornberg (1918-2007) of Stanford Univ. won the Nobel Prize for physiology of medicine. He shared the prize with Severo Ochoa for their research on how genetic information is transferred from one DNA molecule to another.
    (SFC, 10/8/01, p.A17)(SFC, 10/27/07, p.A2)

1959        In boxing American Floyd Patterson was knocked out by Sweden’s Ingemar Johansson.
    (SFC, 6/28/97, p.B1)

1959        In football the Baltimore Colts under Johnny Unitas won the "world title."
    (SFEM, 1/4/98, p.15)

1959        The first US Open in Surfing was held at Huntington Beach, Ca. Jack Haley (d.2000 at 65) won.
    (SFC, 3/29/00, p.A23)

1959        The US sent advisors to Vietnam.
    (SFEC, 4/23/00, p.A19)

1959         The first American advisors were killed in Vietnam during a communist attack near Bien Hoa Air Base. That triggered the transition that by 1968 led to more than 500,000 American combatants in Southeast Asia.
    (HNQ, 8/12/02)

1959        Ronald Reagan delivered over 200 speeches as a "Democrat for Nixon."
    (SSFC, 6/9/02, p.F3)

1959        The FAA established its age-60 rule that called for commercial airline pilots to retire at age 60 to promote safety.
    (SFEC, 5/17/98, p.A26)

1959        S. Ernest Vandiver began serving as governor of Georgia (1959-1963). His campaign motto was “No, not one,” meaning not one black child in a white school.
    (SSFC, 12/22/02, p.A3)

1959        Gus Hall (d.2000 at 90) was elected as US Communist Chairman.
    (SFC, 10/17/00, p.A28)

1959        A 116-day strike opened the doors to foreign imports as 519,000 US workers demanded better benefits.
    (WSJ, 5/12/03, p.A6)

1959        The Lincoln Memorial was added to the reverse side of the Lincoln penny to mark Lincoln’s 150th birthday.
    (USAT, 7/19/01, p.3A)

1959        The Rev. Willie James launched a lawsuit that led to the desegregation of Willingboro (Levittown), Pa.
    (Econ, 5/31/08, p.29)

1959        Jet air travel was introduced to Hawaii.
    (SFC, 3/8/96, p.A21)

1959        The name Amway, an abbreviation for "American Way," was coined by founders Jay Van Andel (1924-2004) and Richard DeVos. They had begun their business in the 1950s using direct selling to market NUTRILITE TM   Dietary Supplements. In 1959 they incorporated in Michigan and introduced a multi-purpose cleaner.
    (www.amway.com/en/History/history-10362.aspx)

1959        The first civilian hovercraft, prototype SR-N2 with 68 seats, crossed the English Channel in 20 minutes. The craft was invented by Christopher Cockerell (d.1999 at 88), who was knighted in 1969.
    (SFC, 6/4/99, p.D4)

1959        Honda began to sell motorcycles in the US.
    (WSJ, 6/19/96, Adv. Supl)

1959        DDB Worldwide Marketing created the Juan Valdez character for advertising Colombian coffee.
    (SFC, 2/3/00, p.A14)

1959        Guarantee Trust merged with J.P. Morgan.
    (WSJ, 6/11/99, p.A1)

1959        William Emerson Ayer (d.1998 at 76) founded Applied Technology Inc. of Palo Alto, Ca. He established success with a device that warned combat pilots when they were under enemy radar surveillance.
    (SFC, 2/14/98, p.A21)

1959        Harold Geneen (d.1997 at 87) was named CEO of the International Telephone and Telegraph Corp. He remained CEO until 1977.
    (SFEC,11/23/97, p.D5)

1959        Becton Dickinson acquired Falcon Plastics, a pioneer in the manufacture of disposable plastic labware.
    (Echo, 6/2009, p.7)

1959        Johnson & Johnson acquired McNeill Laboratories, the maker of Children’s Tylenol.
    (SFC, 11/1/05, p.D7)

1959        Moe Moskowitz opened Moe’s Books on Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley, Ca.
    (SFC, 10/3/08, p.C3)

1959        Parker Brothers launched the board game Risk.
    (Econ, 11/22/03, p.81)

1959        The Eveready Battery division of Union Carbide introduced the alkaline battery developed by researcher Lew Urry.
    (WSJ, 8/27/99, p.B7A)

1959        The 3-point seat belt, invented by Nils Bohlin (d.2002 at 82), was introduced by Volvo.
    (SFC, 9/27/02, p.A25)

1959        Pantyhose first came out.
    (SFC, 1/25/97, p.E4)

1959        Canadian Joseph-Armand Bombardier introduced the Ski-Doo snowmobile.
    (ON, 4/03, p.6)

1959        Robert Noyce (1927-1990) of Fairchild Semiconductor constructed an integrated circuit. Both Texas Instruments and Fairchild claimed independent discovery of the IC. Noyce went on to found Intel Corp. Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments had made a working prototype in 1958.
    (WSJ, 9/22/98, p.B3)(SFC, 10/11/00, p.A6)

1959        Devol and Engelberger [see 1956] created Unimate, the world’s first industrial robot.
    (Hem., 2/96, p.93)

1959        William W. Meyer (d.2001 at 82) was selected to captain the Savannah, the world’s 1st nuclear-powered merchant ship.
    (SFC, 8/18/01, p.E3)

1959        The Xerox model 914 copier had a single green button and a fire extinguisher, "scorch eliminator," in case paper caught fire.
    (WSJ, 10/26/99, p.A1)

1959        Russia’s unmanned spacecraft, Lunik II, hit the moon.
    (TMC, 1994, p.1959)

1959        Physicists Philip Morrison and Giuseppe Cocconi laid out the rationale for searching the skies for extraterrestrial life with radio telescopes in a Nature article.
    (Wired, 1/97, p.141)

1959        Researchers in 1998 found the HIV virus of AIDS in a 1959 blood specimen (ZR59) from a Bantu man who died in Leopoldville, Belgian Congo (later Kinshasa, Congo). This became the oldest known case and researchers believed that incidents could go back to the 1940s.
    (SFC, 2/4/98, p.A5)(www.aidsorigins.com/content/view/165/2/)

1959        Dr. Norman E. Shumway (1923-2006) and Dr. Richard Lower of Stanford Univ. made the 1st successful transplant of a dog’s heart.
    (SFC, 2/11/06, p.B5)

1959        Reinhold Rasmussen, geologist, abandoned his job in a Utah potash mine and went to St. Louis to study botany with the author of an article on the "blue mist" that forms over forested areas. He later discovered that trees produced significant amounts of isoprene, a natural hydrocarbon that is a key ingredient in chemical interactions that create smog.
    (WSJ, 3/16/99, p.A1)

1959        Mary Leakey found a hominid fossil skull of about 1,750,00 years old. It was named Australopithecus boisei.
    (Enc. of Africa, 1976, p.164)(NH, 4/97, p.23)

1959        It was estimated that the average US family spent 42 hrs per week watching TV.
    (TMC, 1994, p.1959)

1959        The US Fish and Wildlife Service recommended that the northern California Iron Mountain mine owners seal mine tunnels or collect mine drainage in a reservoir to halt the killing of salmon.
    (SFEC,11/2/97, p.A13)

1959        In New York City Salvador Agron (16), A Puerto Rican gang member, stabbed to death 2 white teenagers whom he mistakenly took to be members of a rival gang. In 1998 Paul Simon wrote a musical titled "The Capeman" based on Agron’s life story.
    (WSJ, 1/30/98, p.A12)

1959        Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist, was assassinated by a KGB agent who used a spray gun to fire cyanide gas into his face.
    (WSJ, 11/21/96, p.A10)

1959        In Kansas Herb and Bonnie Clutter and their 2 children were murdered by Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. The event was the basis for the 1966 Truman Capote novel "In Cold Blood," and a 1967 film.
    (WSJ, 11/18/96, p.A10)

1959        Beatrix Farrand (b.1872), landscape architect, died in Bar Harbor, Maine.
    (WSJ, 7/22/04, p.D10)

1959        Alfred Kubin (b.1877), eccentric visionary artist, died.
    (SFC, 11/13/01, p.D1)

1959        Mario Lanza died in Italy at age 38. He was born as Freddy Cocozza in South Philly. A museum dedicated to the Italian singer is tucked inside of the Settlement Music School of Philadelphia.
    (Smith., 4/1995, p.95)(SFEC, 3/21/99, DB p.9)

1959        Bert Rupp Jr., "a handsome wastrel with access to the Chrysler fortune," committed suicide.
    (SFC, 11/4/96, p.A21)

1959        Sir Stanley Spencer, British painter (b.1891), died. His life was later depicted in the musical play by Pam Gem, "Stanley." he also completed a self-portrait this year.
    (SFC, 2/17/97, p.D6)(WSJ, 2/21/97, p.A12)(SFC, 8/27/98, p.E3)

1959        Lester Young, tenor saxophonist and aka the "Prez", died at 49. He was nicknamed Prez by Billie Holiday. His recordings include "The Complete Lester Young" (Mercury), "Prez and Sweets" (Verve), "The Jazz Giants" (Verve), "Prez and Teddy Wilson" (Verve), "The President Plays with the Oscar Peterson Trio" (Verve) and "The Lester Young Trio" (Verve). Emile Rogier Heier (d.1997 at 55) later wrote "Lester Leaps In, " a biography of the jazz saxophonist Lester Young. David Meltzer later authored ""No Eyes: Lester Young."
    (WSJ, 8/21/96, p.A12)(SFC, 9/18/97, p.C2)(SFC, 4/14/01, p.B3)

1959        In Afghanistan the Purdah was made optional under King Zahir Shah. Women began to enroll in the university, which had become co-educational, and they began to enter the workforce, as well as the government.
    (www.afghan-web.com/history/)(Econ, 7/28/07, p.88)

1959        In the Belgian Congo a 50-kilowatt Triga Mark I nuclear reactor made by Gen’l. Atomic of San Diego went on line.
    (WSJ, 5/30/97, p.A1)
   
1959        The British Parliament revoked a 300-year-old law that made it a crime, punishable by burning at the stake, to forecast the weather.
    (SFEC, 8/3/97, Z1 p.2)

1959        Steven Truscott (14) was convicted for the rape and strangling death of 12-year-old school friend Lynne Harper, becoming Canada's youngest death-row inmate. His sentence was commuted to life in prison, and he was quietly released after 10 years behind bars. Truscott always insisted he was innocent and sought complete exoneration in 2007. On Aug 28, 2007 he was acquitted by the Ontario Court of Appeal.
    (Reuters, 1/31/07)(Reuters, 8/28/07)

1959        The Central African Republic adopted a Constitution.
    (SFC, 5/22/96, p.A9)

1959        China’s Great Hall of the People was completed in Beijing.
    (WSJ, 3/13/06, p.A14)
1959        In China defense minister Peng Dehuai was sacked for criticizing Mao’s “Great leap Forward” economic experiment. Lin Biao replaced Defense Minister Peng Dehuai.
    (Econ, 1/14/06, p.84)(AP, 7/16/07)
1959        China discovered huge oil reserves in the northern basin of the Songhua and Liao Rivers. This ended dependence on Soviet supplies. The area was named Daqing (Great Happiness).
    (WSJ, 3/1/00, p.A8)(Econ, 5/1/04, p.41)

1959        Fidel Castro visited Argentina following his revolution in Cuba.
    (AP, 7/22/06)
1959        The Dominican dictator Trujillo broke relations with Cuba soon after Castro took power.
    (WSJ, 4/9/98, p.A1)

1959        Ecuador turned 97% of the Galapagos Islands into a national park.
    (SSFC, 12/22/02, p.M6)

1959        The Grand Sheikh of Cairo’s al-Azhar University, the foremost seat of Sunni scholarship, issued a fatwa that officially recognized mainstream Shiism as a legitimate school of thought.
    (Econ, 3/4/06, p.22)
1959        A water agreement between Egypt and Sudan was based on an annual net yield of 96.2 billion cubic yards of water and gave Egypt 72.15 billion and Sudan 20.04. Ethiopia got no allocation and never recognized the treaty.
    (WSJ, 8/22/97, p.A1)

1959        Albert Uderzo and René Goscinny introduced their comic characters Asterix and Obelix in the magazine Pilote. A book followed in 1961. Comic books in France are known as bandes dessinees (BD).
    (Hem., 4/97, p.103)(Econ, 12/23/06, p.72)
1959        French railroad officials introduced the Eurailpass. It allowed North American tourists in Europe to travel through 13 countries on one pass.
    (SFC, 8/11/05, p.B7)

1959        In Hong Kong the Ming Pao newspaper was launched under editor Louis Cha, who doubled as popular novelist of martial arts epics.
    (WSJ, 4/21/97, p.A1)

1959        India kicked out Gilette Co. in order to protect its domestic blade makers.
    (WSJ, 3/13/97, p.A1)

1959        In Indonesia the constitution of 1950 was rescinded.
    (SFC, 5/20/98, p.A12)

1959        Sean Lemass became prime minister of Ireland.
    (AP, 6/13/06)

1959        In Italy Steno Marcegaglia founded the Marcegaglia steel works.
    (www.marcegaglia.com/news/18_03_06_steel.html)

1959        The Japanese film “Odd Obsession” starred Tatsuya Nakadai and was directed by Kon Ichikawa.
    (WSJ, 7/2/08, p.B13)
1959        Japan’s Tokyo Trust Bank was founded. In 2001 it joined with Sanwa Bank and Tokai Bank to form UFJ Holdings. In 2005 it became part of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.
    (WSJ, 9/23/08, p.C1)

1959        Hifikepunye Pohamba and Sam Nujoma of Namibia founded the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO).
    (Econ, 11/20/04, p.50)

1959        King Mahendra promulgated Nepal's first constitution based on a multiparty democratic polity under which the first general elections were held later this year to elect a House of Representatives.
    (www.nepalmonarchy.gov.np/monarcyinnepal/monarchyinnepal.php)

1959        The massive Groningen gas field was discovered in the Netherlands.
    (WSJ, 6/26/08, p.B1)

1959        A group of Palestinians met in Kuwait and formed Fatah. Yasser Arafat became the group’s leader.
    (SFC, 11/11/04, p.A18)

1959        The first International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), a World Championship Mathematics Competition for High School students, was held in Romania, with 7 countries participating. In 1978 Dr. George Lenchner (1917-2006 created the Mathematical Olympiads for Elementary and Middle Schools (MOEMS, originally LIMOES).
    (http://imo.math.ca/)(www.moems.org/memoriam.htm)

1959        In Russia Alexander I. Ginzburg (1936-2002), poet, attracted the attention of the authorities with a typewritten magazine called Syntax, that reflected anger and disillusionment with the Soviet Union. It became the 1st samizdat (self-published journal). After 3 issues Ginzburg was put into Lubyanka Prison.
    (SSFC, 7/21/02, p.A27)

1959        In Rwanda the Tutsi rulers were overthrown by the Hutu majority. Some 20,000 Tutsis were killed and the Tutsi king was forced into exile. The Tutsis had been the feudal rulers of Rwanda for centuries up to this time.
    (WSJ, 11/15/96, p.A16)(SFC, 6/21/99, p.A10)(SSFC, 4/7/02, p.A19)

1959        In South Africa the Pan African Congress was founded.
    (SFC, 8/21/96, p.A8)

1959        In Sri Lanka Wijayananda Dahanayake (d.1997 at 94) became the Prime Minister after the assassination of Solomon Bandaranaike. He handed power over to the widow of Bandaranaike’s after 6 months.
    (SFC, 5/5/97, p.A20)

1959        Lavalua Tomasi Kulimoetoke (41) became king of Wallis and Futuna Islands. The 2 Pacific islands between Hawaii and New Zealand, are about 2,800 miles southwest of Honolulu. The islands have a total area about 1 1/2 times the size of Washington D.C. and a population of about 15,000.
    (AP, 9/23/05)

1959-1960    Francis Poulenc, composer, wrote his work "Gloria."
    (SFC, 9/21/96, p.E3)

1959-1961    The Japanese tripartite film “The Human Condition” starred Tatsuya Nakadai and was directed by Masaki Kobayashi.
    (WSJ, 7/2/08, p.B13)

1959-1962    The famine of this period is described by Jasper Becker in his 1997 book: "Hungry Ghosts: Mao’s Secret Famine."
    (SFEC, 8/17/97, BR p.8)

1959-1963    The TV series "The Many Loves of Dobbie Gillis" featured Sheila Kuehl as Zelda Gilroy. She was elected to the California Assembly in 1994. From 1959-1960 the show featured Tuesday Weld as Thalia Menninger.
    (SFC, 9/22/96, Zone 1 p.3)(SFC, 9/22/96, DB p.55)

1959-1963    The Limelighters, with Lou Gottlieb (1924-1996), Glenn Yarborough and Alex Hassilev, made popular such songs as "A Dollar Down," "John Henry," "There’s a Meeting Here Tonight," and "Those Were the Days."

1959-1969    In 1998 the Library of Congress issued a 2-volume collection of American journalism from the Vietnam War, "Reporting Vietnam." This period was covered in Vol. 1. The 2nd volume covered the war to 1975.
    (WSJ, 10/5/98, p.A21)(SFEC, 10/18/98, BR p.1)

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