At A Glance

20 May 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
20 May 1959 was a Wednesday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “A Fool Such as I / I Need Your Love Tonight” by Elvis Presley.
Top Film of 1959
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1959 was Ben-Hur.
Star sign
The star sign for 20 May is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 20 May 1959 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 20 May 1959 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 20 May

  • 1948 Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek wins the 1948 Republic of China presidential election and is sworn in as the first President of the Republic of China at Nanjing.
  • 1949 In the United States, the Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to the National Security Agency, is established.
  • 1964 Discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation by Robert Woodrow Wilson and Arno Penzias.
  • 1967 The Popular Movement of the Revolution political party is established in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • 1969 The Battle of Hamburger Hill in Vietnam ends.

Famous people born on 20 May

  • Enes Kanter Freedom, Turkish basketball player (born 1992)
  • Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, English journalist and author (born 1964)
  • Cher, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (born 1946)
  • Timothy Olyphant, American actor and producer (born 1968)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

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.
More events of 1959 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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.

Richard E. Grant5 May 1957ActorView their day →Gary Oldman21 March 1958Actor & filmmakerView their day →Anthony Head20 February 1954ActorView their day →Phil Collins30 January 1951Drummer & singerView their day →Bonnie Tyler8 June 1951SingerView their day →Liam Neeson7 June 1952ActorView their day →Emma Thompson15 April 1959Actress & screenwriterView their day →Rowan Atkinson6 January 1955Actor & comedianView their day →

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

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