What Happened in 1959

Major Events

1959 in Film & TV

1959 in Music

  • Feb 3 "The Day the Music Died" plane crash kills musicians Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, J. P. Richardson (aka The Big Bopper), and the pilot. near Clear Lake, Iowa
  • May 4 First Grammy Awards: Perry Como & Ella Fitzgerald win
  • Jul 31 Cliff Richard and the Shadows have their 1st British No. 1 single with "Living' Doll" (biggest British single of 1959)
  • Nov 16 "The Sound of Music" musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, opens at Lunt Fontanne Theater, NYC; runs for 1443 performances

1959 in Sport

  • Apr 9 13th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics sweep Minnesota Lakers in 4 games, first of Boston Celtics record 8 straight titles

Did You Know?

Far side of Moon seen for the 1st time, courtesy of USSR's Luna 3 space probe

October 7, 1959


More People Born in 1959

Fun Fact About 1959

Governor of Louisiana Earl K. Long is committed to a state mental hospital; he responds by having the hospital's director fired and replaced with a crony who proceeds to proclaim him perfectly sane

June 18, 1959


More 1959 Deaths

Famous Weddings in 1959

  • Jan 26 President of Cuba Raúl Castro (27) weds revolutionary Vilma Espín (28) in Santiago de Cuba
  • Apr 1 American sci-fi writer "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Philip K Dick marries 3rd wife Anne Williams Rubinstein
  • Apr 10 Japan's Crown Prince Akihito marries commoner Michiko Shoda

Famous Divorces in 1959


More 1959 Weddings