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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 : James Lindsay Almond, Jr. (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 cuts 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 , Pennsylvania in Port Griffith ; 12 miners are killed.
January 29 – Walt Disney releases his 16th animated film, Sleeping Beauty Beverly Hills . It is the final fairy tale adaptation released by Disney during his lifetime and the last the studio would produce until 1989's The Little Mermaid
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 1972 song "American Pie ".
February 6 – At Cape Canaveral , Florida , the first successful test firing of a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile is accomplished.
February 17 – The United States launches the Vanguard II weather satellite .
February 22 – Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500 .
March 1 – USS Tuscaloosa , USS New Orleans , USS Tennessee and USS West Virginia are struck from the Naval Vessel Register .
March 3 – Lunar probe Pioneer 4
March 11 – A Raisin in the Sun Lorraine Hansberry opens on Broadway in New York City .
March 18 – American 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 " 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 CBS .
October 8 - The Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Chicago White Sox , 4 games to 2, to win their 2nd World Series Title.
October 13 – Launch of Explorer 7 .
October 21 – In New York City , the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright ) opens to the public.
November 15 – The Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas is brutally murdered.
November 18 – MGM 's widescreen, multimillion-dollar, Technicolor version of Ben-Hur Charlton Heston , is released and becomes the studio's greatest hit up to that time. It is critically acclaimed and eventually wins 11 Academy Awards – a record held until 1998, when 1997's Titanic
November 25 - Nick Van Til and Ernie Strack opens the first Strack & Van Til in Highland, Lake County, Indiana .
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 File:Potamkin Chevrolet, Philadelphia PA, 1959.jpg 1959: Potamkin Chevrolet, Philadelphia Undated Ongoing Births
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
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 4 – Pamelyn Ferdin , actress and activist
February 14 – Renée Fleming , soprano
February 18 – James Metzger , businessman and philanthropist
February 22 – Kyle MacLachlan , actor
March 8 – Lester Holt , journalist and news anchor
March 17 – Christian Clemenson , actor
March 22 – Matthew Modine , actor
April 3 – David Hyde Pierce , actor
April 15 – Thomas F. Wilson , actor, writer, musician, painter, voice-over artist, stand-up comedian and podcaster
May 5 – Brian Williams , television journalist
May 8 – Ronnie Lott , American football player and sportscaster
May 17 – Jim Nantz , sportscaster
May 19 – Nicole Brown Simpson , second wife of American football player and actor O. J. Simpson and murder victim (k. 1994 )
May 21 – Loretta Lynch , 83rd U.S. Attorney General from 2015 to 2017.
June 3
June 6 – Paul Germain , television screenwriter and producer
June 7 – Mike Pence , 50th Governor of Indiana 2013–2017, 48th Vice President of the United States from 2017
June 10 – Eliot Spitzer , Governor of New York from 2007 to 2008
June 11 – Magnum T.A. (Terry Allen), wrestler
June 14 – Marcus Miller , African American jazz musician
July 5, Jack Alvis, Legend, Golf expert, and Automobile Doctor
July 6 – Glenn Kessler , journalist
July 7 – Ben Linder , engineer (d. 1987 ) July 9 - Renee M. Schwartz, A Force to be reckoned with.
July 14 – Susana Martinez , Governor of New Mexico from 2011 to 2019
July 23 – Carl Phillips , poet
July 26 – Kevin Spacey , actor and director
August 10 – Rosanna Arquette , actress
August 13 – Danny Bonaduce , actor
August 14
August 15 – Scott Altman , astronaut
August 17
August 19 – Anthony Sowell , serial killer
August 21 – Jim McMahon , American football player
August 26 – Stan Van Gundy , basketball coach
August 29 - Timothy Shriver , Chairman of Special Olympics and a member of the Kennedy family
September 12 – Scott Brown , U.S. Senator from Massachusetts from 2010 to 2013
September 15 – Mark Kirk , U.S. Senator from Illinois from 2010 to 2017
September 22 – Saul Perlmutter , astrophysicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011
September 23 – Jason Alexander , actor
October 1 – Brian P. Cleary , humorist, author and poet
October 3
October 5 – David Shannon , writer and illustrator
October 10 – Maya Lin , designer and artist
October 13 – Marie Osmond , country pop singer
October 23
October 29 – Jesse Barfield , baseball player and sportscaster
November 19 – Allison Janney , actress
November 20
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 )
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 20 – Ray McDonald, dancer, barbiturate overdose (born 1920)
February 22 – Helen Parrish , film actress, cancer (born 1924 )
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)
April 9 – Frank Lloyd Wright , architect, interior designer, writer and educator (born 1867 )
April 27 – Gordon Armstrong, inventor of the baby incubator
May 26 – Joe Kelly, TV host (Quiz Kids ) (born 1902)
June 2 – Orelia Key Bell , poet (born 1864 )
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 )
August 16 – William Halsey Jr. , U.S. vice-admiral (Pacific War ) (born 1882 )
October 7 – Mario Lanza , opera singer, heart attack (born 1921 )
October 14 – Errol Flynn , film actor, heart attack (born 1909 in Australia )
October 16 – George Marshall , U.S. army general (born 1880 )
November 21 – Max Baer , heavyweight boxing champion (born 1909 )
See also External links
1959 in North America
Sovereign states Dependencies and
Media related to 1959 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons
