From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
List of events
Dwight Eisenhower ,
Nikita Khrushchev and their wives at a state dinner, 1959.
Events from the year 1959 in the United States . With the admittance of
Alaska and
Hawaii , this is the last year in which states are added to the union.
Incumbents
Governors and
lieutenant governors
Governors
Governor of Alabama :
Jim Folsom (
Democratic ) (until January 19),
John M. Patterson (
Democratic ) (starting January 19)
Governor of Alaska :
Waino Edward Hendrickson (
Republican ) (until January 3),
William A. Egan (
Democratic ) (starting January 3)
Governor of Arizona :
Ernest McFarland (
Democratic ) (until January 5),
Paul Fannin (
Republican ) (starting January 5)
Governor of Arkansas :
Orval Faubus (
Democratic )
Governor of California :
Goodwin Knight (
Republican ) (until January 5),
Pat Brown (
Democratic ) (starting January 5)
Governor of Colorado :
Stephen L. R. McNichols (
Democratic )
Governor of Connecticut :
Abraham A. Ribicoff (
Democratic )
Governor of Delaware :
J. Caleb Boggs (
Republican )
Governor of Florida :
LeRoy Collins (
Democratic )
Governor of Georgia :
Marvin Griffin (
Democratic ) (until January 13),
Ernest Vandiver (
Democratic ) (starting January 13)
Governor of Hawaii :
William F. Quinn (
Republican ) (starting August 21)
Governor of Idaho :
Robert E. Smylie (
Republican )
Governor of Illinois :
William G. Stratton (
Republican )
Governor of Indiana :
Harold W. Handley (
Republican )
Governor of Iowa :
Herschel C. Loveless (
Democratic )
Governor of Kansas :
George Docking (
Democratic )
Governor of Kentucky :
Happy Chandler (
Democratic ) (until December 8),
Bert T. Combs (
Democratic ) (starting December 8)
Governor of Louisiana :
Earl K. Long (
Democratic )
Governor of Maine :
Governor of Maryland :
Theodore R. McKeldin (
Republican ) (until January 14),
J. Millard Tawes (
Democratic ) (starting January 14)
Governor of Massachusetts :
Foster Furcolo (
Democratic )
Governor of Michigan :
G. Mennen Williams (
Democratic )
Governor of Minnesota :
Orville L. Freeman (
Democratic )
Governor of Mississippi :
James P. Coleman (
Democratic )
Governor of Missouri :
James T. Blair, Jr. (
Democratic )
Governor of Montana :
J. Hugo Aronson (
Republican )
Governor of Nebraska :
Victor E. Anderson (
Republican ) (until January 8),
Ralph G. Brooks (
Democratic ) (starting January 8)
Governor of Nevada :
Charles H. Russell (
Republican ) (until January 5),
Grant Sawyer (
Democratic ) (starting January 5)
Governor of New Hampshire :
Lane Dwinell (
Republican ) (until January 1),
Wesley Powell (
Republican ) (starting January 1)
Governor of New Jersey :
Robert B. Meyner (
Democratic )
Governor of New Mexico :
Edwin L. Mechem (
Republican ) (until January 1),
John Burroughs (
Democratic ) (starting January 1)
Governor of New York :
Nelson Rockefeller (
Republican ) (starting January 1)
Governor of North Carolina :
Luther H. Hodges (
Democratic )
Governor of North Dakota :
John E. Davis (
Republican )
Governor of Ohio :
C. William O'Neill (
Republican ) (until January 12),
Michael DiSalle (
Democratic ) (starting January 12)
Governor of Oklahoma :
Raymond D. Gary (
Democratic ) (until January 12),
J. Howard Edmondson (
Democratic ) (starting January 12)
Governor of Oregon :
Robert D. Holmes (
Democratic ) (until January 12),
Mark Hatfield (
Republican ) (starting January 12)
Governor of Pennsylvania :
George M. Leader (
Democratic ) (until January 20),
David L. Lawrence (
Democratic ) (starting January 20)
Governor of Rhode Island :
Dennis J. Roberts (
Democratic ) (until January 6),
Christopher Del Sesto (
Republican ) (starting January 6)
Governor of South Carolina :
George Bell Timmerman, Jr. (
Democratic ) (until January 20),
Ernest Hollings (
Democratic ) (starting January 20)
Governor of South Dakota :
Joe Foss (
Republican ) (until January 6),
Ralph Herseth (
Democratic ) (starting January 6)
Governor of Tennessee :
Frank G. Clement (
Democratic ) (until January 19),
Buford Ellington (
Democratic ) (starting January 19)
Governor of Texas :
Price Daniel (
Democratic )
Governor of Utah :
George Dewey Clyde (
Republican )
Governor of Vermont :
Joseph B. Johnson (
Republican ) (until January 8),
Robert T. Stafford (
Republican ) (starting January 8)
Governor of Virginia :
J. Lindsay Almond (
Democratic )
Governor of Washington :
Albert D. Rosellini (
Democratic )
Governor of West Virginia :
Cecil H. Underwood (
Republican )
Governor of Wisconsin :
Vernon W. Thomson (
Republican ) (until January 5),
Gaylord A. Nelson (
Democratic ) (starting January 5)
Governor of Wyoming :
Milward L. Simpson (
Republican ) (until January 5),
John J. Hickey (
Democratic ) (starting January 5)
Lieutenant governors
Lieutenant Governor of Alabama :
William G. Hardwick (
Democratic ) (until month and day unknown),
Albert B. Boutwell (
Democratic ) (starting month and day unknown)
Lieutenant Governor of Alaska :
Hugh Wade (
Democratic ) (starting month and day unknown)
Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas :
Nathan Green Gordon (
Democratic )
Lieutenant Governor of California :
Harold J. Powers (
Republican ) (until January 5),
Glenn Malcolm Anderson (
Democratic ) (starting January 5)
Lieutenant Governor of Colorado :
Frank L. Hays (
Republican ) (until month and day unknown),
Robert Lee Knous (
Democratic ) (starting month and day unknown)
Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut :
Charles W. Jewett (
Democratic ) (until month and day unknown),
John N. Dempsey (
Democratic ) (starting month and day unknown)
Lieutenant Governor of Delaware :
David P. Buckson (
Republican )
Lieutenant Governor of Georgia :
S. Ernest Vandiver (
Democratic ) (until January 13),
Garland T. Byrd (
Democratic ) (starting January 13)
Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii :
James Kealoha (
Republican ) (starting August 21)
Lieutenant Governor of Idaho :
J. Berkeley Larsen (
Republican ) (until January 5),
W. E. Drevlow (
Democratic ) (starting January 5)
Lieutenant Governor of Illinois :
John William Chapman (
Republican )
Lieutenant Governor of Indiana :
Crawford F. Parker (
Republican )
Lieutenant Governor of Iowa :
William H. Nicholas (
Republican ) (until month and day unknown),
Edward J. McManus (
Democratic ) (starting month and day unknown)
Lieutenant Governor of Kansas :
Joseph W. Henkle, Sr. (
Democratic )
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky :
Harry Lee Waterfield (
Democratic ) (until month and day unknown),
Wilson W. Wyatt (political party unknown) (starting month and day unknown)
Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana :
Lether Frazar (
Democratic )
Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts :
Robert F. Murphy (
Democratic )
Lieutenant Governor of Michigan :
Philip A. Hart (
Democratic ) (until January 1),
John B. Swainson (
Democratic ) (starting January 1)
Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota :
Karl Rolvaag (
Democratic )
Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi :
Carroll Gartin (
Democratic )
Lieutenant Governor of Missouri :
Edward V. Long (
Democratic )
Lieutenant Governor of Montana : Paul Cannon (
Democratic )
Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska :
Dwight W. Burney (
Republican )
Lieutenant Governor of Nevada :
Rex Bell (
Republican )
Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico : vacant (until January 1), Ed V. Mead (
Democratic ) (starting January 1)
Lieutenant Governor of New York :
Malcolm Wilson (
Republican ) (starting January 1)
Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina :
Luther E. Barnhardt (
Democratic )
Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota :
Francis Clyde Duffy (
Republican ) (until month and day unknown),
Clarence P. Dahl (
Republican ) (starting month and day unknown)
Lieutenant Governor of Ohio :
Paul M. Herbert (
Republican ) (until January 12),
John W. Donahey (
Democratic ) (starting January 12)
Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma :
Cowboy Pink Williams (
Democratic ) (until January 12),
George Nigh (
Democratic ) (starting January 12)
Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania :
Roy E. Furman (
Democratic ) (until January 20),
John Morgan Davis (
Democratic ) (starting January 20)
Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island :
Armand H. Cote (
Democratic ) (until January 6),
John A. Notte, Jr. (
Democratic ) (starting January 6)
Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina :
Ernest Hollings (
Democratic ) (until January 20),
Burnet R. Maybank, Jr. (
Democratic ) (starting January 20)
Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota : L. Roy Houck (
Republican ) (until January 6),
John F. Lindley (
Democratic ) (starting January 6)
Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee :
Jared Maddux (
Democratic ) (until January 19), William D. Baird (
Democratic ) (starting January 19)
Lieutenant Governor of Texas :
Ben Ramsey (
Democratic )
Lieutenant Governor of Vermont :
Robert T. Stafford (
Republican ) (until January 8),
Robert S. Babcock (
Republican ) (starting January 8)
Lieutenant Governor of Virginia :
Allie Edward Stokes Stephens (
Democratic )
Lieutenant Governor of Washington :
John Cherberg (
Democratic )
Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin :
Warren P. Knowles (
Republican ) (until January 5),
Philleo Nash (
Democratic ) (starting January 5)
Events
January–March
January 3:
Alaska admitted as 49th state
January 2 —
CBS Radio ends four soap operas:
Backstage Wife , Our Gal Sunday , The Road of Life and This is Nora Drake .
January 3 —
Alaska is admitted as the 49th
U.S. state (see
History of Alaska ).
January 7 — The United States recognizes the new
Cuban government of
Fidel Castro .
January 22 —
Knox Mine Disaster : Water breaches the River Slope Mine near
Pittston City in
Port Griffith, Pennsylvania ; 12 miners are killed.
January 29 —
Walt Disney releases his 16th animated film,
Sleeping Beauty , in
Beverly Hills . It is the final fairy tale adaptation released by Disney during his lifetime and the last the studio will produce until 1989's
The Little Mermaid ; also Disney's first animated film to be shown in
70mm and modern
6-track stereophonic sound . Also on the program is Disney's new "pictorial interpretation"
Grand Canyon , which uses the music of
Ferde Grofé 's
Grand Canyon Suite . Grand Canyon wins an
Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) .
February 3
February 6 — At
Cape Canaveral ,
Florida , the first successful test firing of a
Titan intercontinental ballistic missile is accomplished.
February 13 —
TAT-2 ,
AT&T 's second
transatlantic telephone cable , goes into operation.
February 17 — The
Vanguard II
weather satellite is launched to measure
cloud cover for the
United States Navy .
February 22 —
Lee Petty wins the first
Daytona 500 .
March 1 —
USS Tuscaloosa ,
USS New Orleans ,
USS Tennessee and
USS West Virginia are stricken from the
Naval Vessel Register .
March 3 — Lunar probe
Pioneer 4 becomes the first American object to escape dominance by Earth's gravity.
March 11 —
A Raisin in the Sun by
Lorraine Hansberry opens on
Broadway in
New York City .
March 18 — U.S. President
Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill allowing for
Hawaiian statehood.
March 31 — The first
Busch Gardens amusement park, in
Tampa, Florida , is dedicated and opens its gates.
April–June
April 9:
NASA announces the "
Mercury Seven "
April 6 — The
31st Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by
Jerry Lewis ,
Mort Sahl ,
Tony Randall ,
Bob Hope ,
David Niven and
Laurence Olivier , is held at
Pantages Theatre in
Hollywood .
Vincente Minnelli 's
Gigi wins a record nine awards, including
Best Motion Picture and
Best Director for Minnelli. The film's clean sweep of all nine of its nominations will not be tied again until
1988 , and will not be broken until
2004 . Gigi is also equalled in nominations by
Stanley Kramer 's
The Defiant Ones .
April 9 —
NASA announces its selection of the "
Mercury Seven ", seven military pilots to become the first U.S. astronauts.
April 25 — The
Saint Lawrence Seaway linking the North American
Great Lakes and the
Atlantic Ocean officially opens to
shipping .
May 8 — The first
Little Caesars pizza restaurant is opened by
Mike Ilitch and his wife
Marian in
Garden City, Michigan .
May 21 —
Gypsy: A Musical Fable , starring
Ethel Merman in her last new musical, opens on
Broadway and runs for 702 performances.
May 28 —
Jupiter AM-18 rocket launches two primates,
Miss Baker and Miss Able, into space from
Cape Canaveral along with living microorganisms and plant seeds. Successful recovery makes them the first living beings to return safely to Earth after space flight.
June 8 —
USS Barbero and the
United States Postal Service attempt the delivery of mail via
Missile Mail .
June 9 — The
USS George Washington is launched at
Groton, Connecticut , as the first submarine to carry
ballistic missiles (December 30 — commissioned)
June 23 — Convicted
Manhattan Project spy
Klaus Fuchs is released after nine years in a British prison and allowed to emigrate to
Dresden ,
East Germany (where he resumes a scientific career).
June 25 — A KH-1
Corona satellite , believed to be the first operational spy satellite, is launched as science mission 'Discoverer 4' from
Vandenberg Air Force Base , California, aboard a
Thor-Agena rocket.
June 26
July–September
August 21:
Hawaii admitted as 50th state
October–December
October 21:
The Guggenheim opens
October 2 —
Rod Serling 's classic anthology series
The Twilight Zone premieres on
CBS .
October 8 —
The Los Angeles Dodgers defeat
the Chicago White Sox , 4 games to 2, to win their 2nd World Series Title in baseball.
October 13 — Launch of
Explorer 7 satellite.
October 21 — The
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of modern art (designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright , who died April 9) opens to the public in
New York City .
November 15 — The brutal
Clutter family murders are committed in
Holcomb, Kansas .
[4]
November 18 —
MGM 's widescreen, multimillion-dollar,
Technicolor version of
Ben-Hur , starring
Charlton Heston , is released and becomes the studio's greatest hit up to this time. It is critically acclaimed and eventually wins 11
Academy Awards — a record held until 1998 (when 1997's
Titanic becomes the first film to equal it).
November 22 —
Boston Patriots founded by William H. Sullivan
[5]
November 25 — Nick Van Til and Ernie Strack open the first
Strack & Van Til grocery store in
Highland, Lake County, Indiana .
November — The
MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor
field-effect transistor ), also known as the MOS
transistor , is invented by
Mohamed Atalla and
Dawon Kahng at
Bell Labs .
[6]
[7] It revolutionizes the
electronics industry ,
[8] becomes the fundamental building block of the
Digital Revolution
[9] and goes on to become the most widely manufactured device in history.
[10]
[11]
December 1 —
Cold War :
Antarctic Treaty — 12 countries, including the United States and the
Soviet Union , sign a landmark
treaty , which sets aside
Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on that
continent (the first
arms control agreement established during the Cold War).
December 13 — Three years after its first telecast,
MGM 's
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film) is shown on television for the second time, but gains a larger viewing audience than its first television outing, spurring CBS to make it an annual tradition.
Undated
1959: Potamkin Chevrolet,
Philadelphia
Ongoing
Births
January
February
March
Lester Holt
April
April 3 –
David Hyde Pierce , actor
April 13 –
Kim Guadagno , first
Lt. Governor of New Jersey
April 15 –
Thomas F. Wilson , actor, writer, musician, painter, voice-over artist, stand-up comedian and podcaster
April 18 –
Susan Faludi , feminist
[15]
April 25 —
Tony Phillips , baseball player (d.
2016 )
May
Brian Williams
June
Mike Pence
The Ultimate Warrior
June 3
June 6 –
Paul Germain , television screenwriter and producer
June 7 –
Mike Pence , 50th governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017 & 48th
vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021
June 8 –
C.T. Fletcher , powerlifter and bodybuilder
June 9 –
Miles O'Brien , television news anchor, pilot
June 10
June 11 –
Magnum T. A. (Terry Allen), wrestler
June 11 –
Stephen Sweeney , politician
June 14 –
Marcus Miller , African American jazz musician
June 15 –
Eileen Davidson , actress and author
June 16 –
The Ultimate Warrior , professional wrestler (died
2014 )
June 27 –
Jeff Miller , politician
July
Kevin Nash
Kevin Spacey
July 1 –
Dale Midkiff , actor
July 5 –
Marc Cohn , singer-songwriter
July 6 –
Glenn Kessler , journalist
July 7 –
Ben Linder , engineer (d.
1987 )
July 8 –
Robert Knepper , actor
July 9 –
Kevin Nash , pro wrestler
July 12 –
Rolonda Watts , actress, producer, voiceover artist, novelist, motivational speaker, and television and radio talk show host
July 14 –
Susana Martinez , Governor of New Mexico from 2011 to 2019
July 16 –
Bob Joles , voice actor and musician
July 21 –
Terry Long , football player (d.
2005 )
July 22 –
Ed Tarver , lawyer (died
2024 )
July 23 –
Carl Phillips , poet
July 26
July 27 –
Hugh Green , American football player
July 28 –
Mark Meadows , politician
July 31 –
Scott Pilarz , Jesuit priest and academic (died
2021 )
August
Magic Johnson
David Koresh
September
Chris Hansen
October
Nancy Grace
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Dave Meltzer
November
December
Lee Daniels
Deaths
January 20 –
Carl Switzer , actor, shot to death (born
1927 )
January 21 –
Cecil B. DeMille , film director (born
1881 )
February 3 – "
The Day the Music Died " plane crash
February 7 –
Nap Lajoie , baseball player (
Cleveland Indians ) and a member of the
MLB Hall of Fame (born
1874 )
February 20 – Ray McDonald, dancer, barbiturate overdose (born 1920)
February 22 –
Helen Parrish , film actress, cancer (born
1924 )
February 23 –
Joseph DuMoe , football coach (born
1895 )
March 3 –
Lou Costello , actor and comedian, part of
Abbott & Costello team (born
1906 )
March 4 –
Maxie Long , track athlete (born
1878 )
March 16 – John Sailing, last documented Civil War veteran (age 111)
March 27 –
Grant Withers , American actor (born
1905 )
March 30 –
Reginald R. Belknap , United States Navy rear admiral (born
1871 )
April 9 –
Frank Lloyd Wright , architect, interior designer, writer and educator (born
1867 )
April 17 –
Cecil Cunningham , American actress (born
1888 )
April 27 – Gordon Armstrong, inventor of the baby incubator
May 3 –
Troy Sanders , film score composer (born
1901 )
May 4 –
William S. Pye , admiral (born
1880 )
May 15 –
Joe Cook , actor (born
1890 )
May 23 –
Earl D. Hall , Wisconsin politician (born
1879 )
[20]
June 2 –
Orelia Key Bell , poet (born
1864 )
June 12 –
Clyde E. Elliott , American director, producer and writer (b.
1885 )
June 16 –
George Reeves , actor, shot to death (born
1914 )
June 18 –
Ethel Barrymore , actress (born
1879 )
June 25 –
Charles Starkweather , spree killer, judicially executed by electrocution (born
1938 )
July 8 – 1st Americans killed in
Vietnam War
July 17 –
Billie Holiday , jazz singer (born
1915 )
[21]
July 30 –
Heinie Conklin , actor (born
1886 )
August 8 –
Henry St. George Tucker ,
Episcopal bishop and reverend (born
1874 )
August 16
October 7 –
Mario Lanza , opera singer, heart attack (born
1921 )
October 11 –
Bert Bell , 2nd commissioner of the
National Football League (born
1895 )
October 12 –
Edward Keane , actor (born
1884 )
October 14 –
Errol Flynn , film actor, heart attack (born
1909 in Australia )
October 16
October 18 –
Edward Hanson , 28th
Governor of American Samoa (born
1889 )
October 25 –
Genevieve R. Cline , jurist (born
1879 )
[22]
November 18 –
Arthur Q. Bryan , actor, voice actor, comedian and radio personality (born
1899 )
November 21 –
Max Baer , heavyweight boxing champion (born
1909 )
December 9 –
Donald MacDonald , actor (born
1898 )
December 12
December 14 –
Edna Wallace Hopper , actress (born
1872 )
[23]
December 24 –
Edmund Goulding , director (born
1891 )
See also
References
^
Grove Press, Inc. v. Christenberry, 175 F. Supp. 488 (SDNY 1959) , 21 July 1959.
^ Carroll, Bob, ed. (1999). Total football: the official encyclopedia of the National Football League .
New York City :
HarperCollins . p. 84.
ISBN
9780062701749 .
^ Bell, Daniel (17 March 2016).
Encyclopedia of International Games . McFarland. p. 512.
ISBN
978-1-4766-1527-1 .
^
Capote, Truman (1966).
In Cold Blood .
^ Carroll, Bob, ed. (1999). Total football: the official encyclopedia of the National Football League .
New York City :
HarperCollins . p. 84.
ISBN
9780062701749 .
^
"1960 — Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) Transistor Demonstrated" . The Silicon Engine .
Computer History Museum .
^ Bassett, Ross Knox (2007).
To the Digital Age: Research Labs, Start-up Companies and the Rise of MOS Technology . Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 22.
ISBN
9780801886393 .
^ Chan, Yi-Jen (1992).
Studies of InAIAs/InGaAs and GaInP/GaAs heterostructure FET's for high speed applications .
University of Michigan . p. 1. The Si MOSFET has revolutionized the electronics industry and as a result impacts our daily lives in almost every conceivable way.
^ Wong, Kit Po (2009). Electrical Engineering . Vol. II.
EOLSS Publications . p. 7.
ISBN
9781905839780 .
^
"13 Sextillion & Counting: The Long & Winding Road to the Most Frequently Manufactured Human Artifact in History" . Computer History Museum. 2018-03-02. Retrieved 2019-07-28 .
^ Baker, R. Jacob (2011).
CMOS: Circuit Design, Layout and Simulation . John Wiley & Sons. p. 7.
ISBN
978-1118038239 .
^ Gant, Margaret Elizabeth (1979). The Raven's Story . Glen Raven, NC: Glen Raven, Inc.
ISBN
0-9603138-0-X .
^
"Studio to Move Downtown" . Detroit2020. Retrieved May 27, 2011 .
^ "Lars Kristopher Larson". Who's Who in the West , 26th ed. Accessed June 17, 2013 via LexisNexis.
^
"Susan Faludi" . Britannica Presents 100 Women Trailblazers . 25 March 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2021 .
^
"Official site biography" . Archived from
the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2009 .
^
Former Patriots LB Clayton Weishuhn Dies at 62
^
"Nancy Grace: Biography" .
TV Guide . CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved January 21, 2014 .
^
Dr. Paul Farmer, global humanitarian leader, dies at 62
^ 'Veteran Wisconsin Assemblyman Dies,' The Eau Claire Daily Telegram (Wisconsin), May 26, 1959, pg. 10
^
New York Times (The ) (July 18, 1959).
"Billie Holiday Dies Here at 44 – Jazz Singer Had Wide Influence" . The New York Times . Vol. 108, no. 37065 (Late City ed.). p. 15. Retrieved November 25, 2013 – via
TimesMachine .
^
Genevieve Rose Cline at the
Biographical Directory of Federal Judges , a publication of the
Federal Judicial Center .
^
"Edna Wallace Hopper, Actress With Perpetual Youth, Is Dead. Star of 'Floradora', Other Hits of the Early 1900s. Lectured on Beauty. A Stock Trader" .
The New York Times . December 15, 1959. Retrieved March 10, 2015 .
External links