What Happened In January 1959 In History

Historical Events for January, 1959

• 2nd » 'Luna 1', the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union.
• 3rd » Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state.
• 3rd » Separatists in the Maldives declare the establishment of the United Suvadive Republic.
• 4th » 'Luna 1' becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
• 7th » The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro.
• 12th » The Caves of Nerja are rediscovered in Spain.
• 20th » The first flight of the Vickers Vanguard.
• 22nd » Knox Mine disaster: Water breaches the River Slope Mine near Pittston, Pennsylvania in Port Griffith, Pennsylvania known as Port Griffith; 12 miners are killed.
• 30th » ship MS Hans Hedtoft, said to be the safest ship afloat and "unsinkable" like the RMS Titanic, strikes an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sinks, killing all 95 aboard.

Famous Birthdays on January in 1959

• 1st » Andy Andrews (tennis) or Andy Andrews, American tennis player
• 1st » Azali Assoumani, Comorian politician, List of heads of state of Comoros called President of the Comoros
• 1st » Panagiotis Giannakis, Greek basketball player and coach
• 1st » Abdul Ahad Mohmand, Afghan pilot and astronaut
• 1st » Michel Onfray, French philosopher
• 1st » Lysa Thatcher, American porn actress
• 2nd » Kirti Azad, Indian cricketer and politician
• 2nd » Kim Coates, Canadian-American actor
• 5th » Clancy Brown, American actor
• 5th » David Eastwood, English academic
• 6th » Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer
• 6th » Kathy Sledge, American singer (Sister Sledge)
• 7th » Jon Larsen, Norwegian guitarist and songwriter (Hot Club de Norvège)
• 7th » Ross Norman, New Zealand squash player
• 7th » Angela Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon, English politician
• 8th » Paul Hester, Australian drummer (Crowded House, Split Enz, Deckchairs Overboard, and Tarmac Adam) (d. 2005)
• 8th » Duk Koo Kim, South Korean boxer (d. 1982)
• 9th » Mark Martin, American race car driver
• 9th » Rigoberta Menchú, Guatemalan activist, Nobel Peace Prize known as Nobel Prize laureate
• 9th » Otis Nixon, American baseball player
• 10th » Bernhard Hoff, German sprinter
• 10th » Chris Van Hollen, American politician
• 10th » Fran Walsh, New Zealand screenwriter and producer
• 11th » Rob Ramage, Canadian ice hockey player
• 12th » Blixa Bargeld, German singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Einstürzende Neubauten)
• 12th » Per Gessle, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Roxette and Gyllene Tider)
• 12th » Nick Nairn, Scottish chef
• 13th » Ernie Irvan, American race car driver
• 14th » Geoff Tate, German-American singer-songwriter (Queensrÿche)
• 15th » Sister Carol, Jamaican singer
• 15th » Pavle Kozjek, Slovenian mountaineer and photographer (d. 2008)
• 16th » Sade Adu, Nigerian-English singer-songwriter and producer
• 16th » Juanita Bynum, American actress and singer
• 16th » Lisa Milroy, Canadian painter
• 17th » Susanna Hoffs, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (The Bangles and Ming Tea)
• 17th » Momoe Yamaguchi, Japanese singer and actress
• 19th » Jeff Pilson, American bass player, songwriter, and actor (Dokken, Dio (band) known as Dio, and Foreigner (band) called Foreigner)
• 20th » Tami Hoag, American author
• 20th » R.A. Salvatore, American author
• 21st » Alex McLeish, Scottish footballer and manager
• 22nd » Linda Blair, American actress
• 23rd » Clive Bull, English radio host
• 24th » Akira Maeda, Japanese wrestler
• 24th » David Mills (author) called David Mills, American author
• 24th » Vic Reeves, English comedian, actor, and author
• 27th » Cris Collinsworth, American football player
• 27th » Göran Hägglund, Swedish politician
• 27th » Keith Olbermann, American journalist and author
• 28th » Frank Darabont, American director and producer
• 28th » Megan McDonald, American author
• 28th » Randi Rhodes, American radio host
• 28th » Dave Sharp, English guitarist (The Alarm, The Hard Travelers, and AOR – Spirit of The Alarm)
• 28th » Bill Ware, American vibraphone player
• 29th » Mike Foligno, Canadian ice hockey player
• 29th » Nadezhda Markina, Russian actress
• 29th » Michael Sloane, American actor, director, and screenwriter
• 29th » Nick Xenophon, Australian politician
• 30th » Mark Eitzel, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (American Music Club, Toiling Midgets, The Undertow Orchestra, and The Naked Skinnies)
• 30th » Jody Watley, American singer-songwriter and producer (Shalamar)
• 31st » Anthony LaPaglia, Australian actor
• 31st » Kelly Lynch, American actress
• 31st » Kelly Moore, American race car driver
• 31st » Mickey Simmonds, English keyboard player and songwriter (Renaissance (band) known as Renaissance and Camel (band) named Camel)

Famous Deaths for January 1959

• 2nd » Chris van Abkoude, Dutch-American author (b. 1880)
• 3rd » Edwin Muir, Scottish poet, author, and translator (b. 1887)
• 14th » Eivind Berggrav, Norwegian bishop (b. 1884)
• 16th » Phan Khôi, Vietnamese journalist and author (b. 1887)
• 21st » Cecil B. DeMille, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1881)
• 21st » Carl Switzer, American actor (b. 1927)
• 22nd » Mike Hawthorn, English race car driver (b. 1929)
• 28th » Walter Beall, American baseball player (b. 1899)
• 29th » Winifred Brunton, English-South African painter (b. 1880)

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