At A Glance

1 December 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
1 December 1959 was a Tuesday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “What Do You Want?” by Adam Faith.
Top Film of 1959
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1959 was Ben-Hur.
Star sign
The star sign for 1 December is Sagittarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 1 December 1959 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 1 December 1959 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 1 December

  • 1955 American Civil Rights Movement: In Montgomery, Alabama, seamstress Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man and is arrested for violating the city's racial segregation laws, an incident which leads to that city's bus boycott.
  • 1958 The Central African Republic attains self-rule within the French Union.
  • 1959 Cold War: Opening date for signature of the Antarctic Treaty, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on the continent.
  • 1960 Patrice Lumumba is arrested by Mobutu Sese Seko's men on the banks of the Sankuru River, for inciting the army to rebellion.
  • 1963 Nagaland, became the 16th state of India.

Famous people born on 1 December

  • Zoë Kravitz, American actress, singer, and model (born 1988)
  • Riz Ahmed, English actor and rapper (born 1982)
  • Richard Pryor, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (1940–2005)
  • Robert Irwin, Australian conservationist and television personality (born 2003)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1959 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1959 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 7 May – Scientist and novelist C. P. Snow delivers an influential Rede Lecture on The Two Cultures, concerning a perceived breakdown of communication between the sciences and humanities, in the Senate House, University of Cambridge.
  • 28 May – The Mermaid Theatre opens in the City of London.
  • 1 June – The first episode of Juke Box Jury airs on BBC Television, chaired by David Jacobs.

Life in 1959

Prime Minister

Harold Macmillan

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

10p

Loaf of Bread

7p

Average House

£2,530

Weekly Wage

£13.05

Or

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Famous Faces Born in the 1950s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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