1959 in the United States

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

Federal government

• President: Dwight D. Eisenhower (R-Kansas/Pennsylvania)
• Vice President: Richard Nixon (R-California)
• Chief Justice: Earl Warren (California)
• Speaker of the House of Representatives: Sam Rayburn (D-Texas)
• Senate Majority Leader: Lyndon B. Johnson (D-Texas)
• Congress: 85th (until January 3), 86th (starting January 3)

Events

January–March

• 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
  • A chartered plane transporting musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper crashes in foggy conditions near Clear Lake, Iowa, killing all four occupants on board, including pilot Roger Peterson. The tragedy is later termed "The Day the Music Died", popularized in Don McLean's 1971 song "American Pie". Future country star Waylon Jennings was scheduled to be on the plane, but gave up his seat to The Big Bopper.
  • American Airlines Flight 320, a Lockheed L-188 Electra from Chicago crashes into the East River on approach to New York City's LaGuardia Airport, killing 65 of the 73 people on board.
• 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 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
  • Queen Elizabeth II (as monarch of Canada) and U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower open the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
  • Darby O'Gill and the Little People, a film based on Herminie T. Kavanagh's short stories, is released in the U.S. by Walt Disney, two days after its world premiere in Ireland.

July–September

• July 8 — Charles Ovnand and Dale R. Buis become the first Americans killed in action in Vietnam.
• July 15 — Steel strike of 1959: Labor union strike in the U.S. steel industry.
• July 21 — Grove Press, Inc. v. Christenberry decided, affirming that copies of Lady Chatterley's Lover may be distributed in the U.S. under the First Amendment.
• July 24
  • At the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and USSR Premier Nikita Khrushchev have a "kitchen debate."
  • With the admission of Alaska as the 49th U.S. state earlier in the year, the 49-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• August 7
  • Explorers program: Launch of Explorer 6 satellite from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
  • The Roseburg blast in Oregon, caused when a truck carrying explosives catches fire, kills 14 and causes $12 million worth of damage.
• August 17
  • The 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake in southwest Montana kills 28.
  • Miles Davis' influential jazz album Kind of Blue is released.
• August 21 — Hawaii is admitted as the 50th and last U.S. state (see History of Hawaii).
• August 22 — American Football League founded by Lamar Hunt
• August 28–September 7 — The 1959 Pan American Games are held in Chicago.
• September 15-28 — Premier of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev and his wife tour the U.S. at the invitation of President Eisenhower.
• September 16 — The Xerox 914, the first plain paper copier, is introduced to the public.
• September 17 — The hypersonic North American X-15 research aircraft, piloted by Scott Crossfield, makes its first powered flight at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

October–December

• 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.
• 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
• 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. It revolutionizes the electronics industry, becomes the fundamental building block of the Digital Revolution and goes on to become the most widely manufactured device in history.
• 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

• Car tailfin design reaches its apex with such as the Cadillac Eldorado, Chevrolet Impala second generation model, Dodge Silver Challenger and Imperial Crown Sedan.
• The Henney Kilowatt goes on sale in the U.S., becoming the first production electric car in almost three decades, but only 47 models will be sold in its 2-year production run.
• Pantyhose (nylon or sheer tights) are first sold on the open market as 'Panti-Legs' by Glen Raven Knitting Mills.
• First femur of Arlington Springs Man is found on Santa Rosa Island, California, by Phil C. Orr. The remains are subsequently dated to 13,000 years BP, making them potentially the oldest known human remains in North America.
• Skidmore Studio is founded in Detroit, Michigan.

Ongoing

• Cold War (1947–1991)
• Space Race (1957–1975)
• Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968)

Births

January

• January 1 – Andy Andrews, American tennis player
• January 2 – Joe Bevilacqua, radio producer and dramatist
• January 5 – Clancy Brown, actor and voice actor
• January 8 – Keith Rodden, NASCAR crew chief
• January 9
  • Mark Martin, race car driver and coach
  • Otis Nixon, baseball player
• January 10 – Larry McReynolds, auto racing commentator
• January 27 – Keith Olbermann, television sports and political commentator
• January 28 – Megan McDonald, children's author
• January 29 – Michael Sloane, actor, director and screenwriter

February

• February 1 – Wade Wilson, American football player and coach (died 2019)
• February 4
  • Pamelyn Ferdin, actress and activist
  • Lawrence Taylor, American football player and sportscaster
• February 14 – Renée Fleming, soprano
• February 16 – John McEnroe, tennis player
• February 18 – James Metzger, businessman and philanthropist
• February 19 – Roger Goodell, businessman and football administrator
• February 22 – Kyle MacLachlan, actor

March

• March 6 – Lars Larson, conservative talk show host
• March 8
  • Lester Holt, journalist and news anchor
  • Kato Kaelin, witness in the O. J. Simpson murder case
• March 17
  • Christian Clemenson, actor
  • Danny Ainge, basketball player, coach and baseball player
• March 18 – Irene Cara, singer-songwriter and film actress (d. 2022)
• March 22 – Matthew Modine, actor
• March 31 – Arun Raha, executive director and chief economist for Washington state

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
• April 25 — Tony Phillips, baseball player (d. 2016)

May

• May 5 – Brian Williams, television journalist
• May 8 – Ronnie Lott, American football player and sportscaster
• May 12
  • Dave Christian, ice hockey player
  • Ray Gillen, rock singer-songwriter (d. 1993)
  • Ving Rhames, African-American actor
• May 17 – Jim Nantz, sportscaster
• May 19
  • Nicole Brown Simpson, second wife of O. J. Simpson and murder victim (d. 1994)
  • Jim Ward, voice actor
• May 21 – Loretta Lynch, 83rd U.S. Attorney General from 2015 to 2017.
• May 22 – David Blatt, Israeli-American professional basketball player and coach
• May 26 – Kevin Gage, actor
• May 25 – Jim Ardis, corporate executive and politician

June

• June 3
  • John Carlson, radio host
  • Sam Mills, American football player
• 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
  • Anjani, singer-songwriter and pianist
  • Eliot Spitzer, Governor of New York from 2007 to 2008
• 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

• 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
  • Rick Bragg, journalist
  • Kevin Spacey, actor and director
• July 27 – Hugh Green, American football player
• July 28 – Mark Meadows, politician
• July 31 – Scott Pilarz, Jesuit priest and academic (died 2021)

August

• August 4 – Robbin Crosby, rock guitarist (Ratt) (died 2002)
• August 10 – Rosanna Arquette, actress
• August 13 – Danny Bonaduce, actor
• August 14
  • Marcia Gay Harden, actress
  • Magic Johnson, African American basketball player
• August 15 – Scott Altman, astronaut
• August 17
  • Jonathan Franzen, novelist
  • David Koresh, spiritual leader of the Branch Davidian religious cult (d. 1993)
  • Brad Wellman, baseball player
• August 18 – Dorothy Bush Koch, author and philanthropist
• August 19 – Anthony Sowell, serial killer (died 2021)
• August 21 – Jim McMahon, American football player
• August 26 – Stan Van Gundy, basketball coach
• August 29
  • Jeff Adachi, attorney (died 2019)
  • Timothy Shriver, disability rights activist, film producer, educator and Chairman of Special Olympics

September

• September 1
  • Keith Clearwater, golfer
  • Kenny Mayne, American football player and journalist
  • Joe Jusko, illustrator and painter
• September 10 – Michael Earl, American puppeteer (died 2015)
• September 11 – Robert Wrenn, golfer and sportscaster
• September 12 – Scott Brown, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts from 2010 to 2013
• September 13 – Chris Hansen, journalist
• September 14
  • Mary Crosby, actress
  • Haviland Morris, actress
• September 15
  • Mark Kirk, U.S. Senator from Illinois from 2010 to 2017
  • Mike Reiss, television comedy writer
• September 18
  • Mark Romanek, filmmaker
  • Ryne Sandberg, baseball player
• September 21 – Dave Coulier, actor and comedian
• September 22 – Saul Perlmutter, astrophysicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011
• September 23 – Jason Alexander, actor
• September 24 – Steve Whitmire, puppeteer
• September 28
  • Steve Hytner, actor
  • Laura Bruce, artist

October

• October 1 – Brian P. Cleary, humorist, author and poet
• October 3
  • Fred Couples, golfer
  • Greg Proops, comedian
  • Jack Wagner, actor
• October 5
  • Maya Lin, architect and sculptor, designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Civil Rights Memorial
  • Kelly Joe Phelps, singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2022)
  • David Shannon, writer and illustrator
• October 7 – Clayton Weishuhn, football player (died 2022)
• October 8
  • Nick Bakay, actor, producer and screenwriter
  • Brad Byers, entertainer
  • Tim Flakoll, national education expert and politician
  • Mike Morgan, baseball player and coach
• October 10 – Maya Lin, designer and artist
• October 13 – Marie Osmond, country pop singer
• October 17 – Richard Roeper, film critic
• October 23
  • Nancy Grace, television host
  • Sam Raimi, film producer, writer and director
  • "Weird Al" Yankovic, singer, accordionist and parodist
• October 24
  • Mike Brewer, baseball player
  • Michelle Lujan Grisham, lawyer and politician
  • Dave Meltzer, journalist and historian
• October 25 – Collette Sunderman, voice director
• October 26 – Paul Farmer, anthropologist and physician (died 2022)
• October 29 – Jesse Barfield, baseball player and sportscaster

November

• November 14 – Bryan Stevenson, lawyer and social justice activist
• November 16 – RaeAnn Kelsch, politician (died 2018)
• November 17 – William R. Moses, actor
• November 19
  • Robert Barron, bishop, author and theologian
  • Jo Bonner, U.S. Representative for Alabama's 1st congressional district
  • Allison Janney, actress
• November 20
  • Raffi Hovannisian, American-born Armenian politician
  • James McGovern, lawyer and politician
  • Sean Young, actress

December

• December 2 – David Alward, 32nd Premier of New Brunswick (2010-2014)
• December 10 – Mariann Budde, Episcopal Bishop of Washington
• December 21 – Florence Griffith Joyner, African American athlete (d. 1998)
• December 24 – Lee Daniels, African American film director
• December 25 – Michael P. Anderson, astronaut (d. 2003)
• December 31
  • Al Giordano, journalist and political activist (d. 2023)
  • Val Kilmer, American actor

Deaths

See also

• List of American films of 1959
• Timeline of United States history (1950–1969)

References

External links

• Media related to 1959 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons

1. List of states and territories of the United States
2. List of one-hit wonders in the United States
3. 1959 United States Senate elections in Hawaii
4. State visit by Nikita Khrushchev to the United States
5. 1959 United States elections
6. 1959–60 United States network television schedule
7. Territories of the United States
8. Metropolitan statistical area
9. Native Americans in the United States
10. Slavery in the United States
11. 1959 United States Grand Prix
12. Education in the United States
13. History of the United States
14. List of United States representatives from New York
15. Gangs in the United States
16. United States Army
17. Conscription in the United States
18. Capital punishment in the United States
19. Timeline of United States history (1820–1859)
20. Presidential immunity in the United States