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 9, The American group Reynolds and Tube Investments took over British Aluminium. In the the first hostile takeover of a large British company.
(Econ, 6/26/10, p.87)(http://tinyurl.com/28c8c7h)
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. His major work, “Wealth and Welfare” (1912, 1920), brought welfare economics into the scope of economic analysis. 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. Pigovian taxes, taxes used to correct negative externalities, are named in his honor.
(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 18, The publisher of Big Table Magazine deposited at the Chicago Post Office several hundred copies of its first issue of Big Table Magazine. The contents consisted of a novel by Jack Kerouac, "Old Angel Midnight," two poems by Edward Dahlberg, "Ten Episodes from Naked Lunch" by William S. Burroughs and three poems by Gregory Corso. The Post Office General Counsel later alleged that the first and third articles were obscene and filthy. The magazine was published by Roland Pitschel (1942-2009) and his sister.
(Fremontia, 7/09, p.24)(www.usps.com/judicial/1959deci/1-150d.htm)
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. The NS Savannah served until 1971.
(OGA, Internet, 11/24/98)(SFC, 3/12/05, p.B5)(AH, 2/03, p.2)
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 partial 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 threatened 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, formally 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 22, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev visited San Francisco and dropped in at the ILWU union hall near Fisherman’s Wharf.
(SSFC, 9/20/09, DB p.50)
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, In San Francisco the Pacific Festival held a Youth Parade up Market Street and thousands of teenage girls mobbed Edd “Kookie” Byrnes (b.1933), star of the TV series “77 Sunset Strip” (1958-1964).
(SSFC, 9/27/09, DB p.50)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edd_Byrnes)
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 (b.1909), Tasmania-born US actor, died of heart attack. His death ended a 2-year romance with Beverly Aadland (17). They had appeared together in 3 films. His autobiography, “My Wicked, Wicked Ways,” was published shortly after his death and contains humorous anecdotes about Hollywood. According to one literary critic, the book "remains one of the most compelling and appalling autobiographies written by a Hollywood star.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Errol_Flynn)(SSFC, 10/18/09, DB p.46)
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 15, Stepan Bandera (b.1909), a Ukrainian nationalist, was assassinated in Munich by a KGB agent who used a spray gun to fire cyanide gas into his face. In 2010 Ukraine Pres. Yushchenko issued a decree posthumously awarding the nation's highest award to Bandera weeks before his term ended in February. Yushchenko called Bandera patriot, but the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading Jewish rights group, said Bandera's followers were linked to the deaths of thousands of Jews. In April 2010 a court overturned the decree.
(WSJ, 11/21/96, p.A10)(AP, 4/2/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Bandera)
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 Oct, The San Francisco Board of Education invited parents, teachers and students to discuss the issue of who should be allowed to apply corporal punishment in schools, and whether spankings should be done by hand, strap or paddle.
(SSFC, 10/11/09, DB p.46)
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 4, In San Francisco a protest meeting was staged at Portsmouth Square to oppose plans for an 800-car garage at a cost of $3.2 million. 100 foot trees in the plaza were later felled for the underground parking structure.
(SSFC, 11/1/09, DB p.42)
1959 Nov 5, The Broadway play “The 10th Man” by Paddy Chayefsky opened at the Booth Theater. In 1961 it moved to the Ambassador Theater.
(SFC, 10/28/09, p.D5)(www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=2794)
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 28, Under a directive by Archbishop John J. Mitty, Catholics were urged to pray for rain as Northern California went through its 70th dry day. Beginning today the special prayer “oratio ad petendum pluviam” would be included in all Masses until the drought ends.
(SSFC, 11/22/09, DB p.50)
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)
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