At A Glance

22 December 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
22 December 1959 was a Tuesday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?” by Emile Ford and the Checkmates.
Top Film of 1959
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1959 was Ben-Hur.
Star sign
The star sign for 22 December is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 22 December 1959 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 22 December 1959 was Last Quarter.

On this day: 22 December

  • 1948 Sjafruddin Prawiranegara established the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia (Pemerintah Darurat Republik Indonesia, PDRI) in West Sumatra.
  • 1963 The cruise ship Lakonia burns 290 kilometres (180 mi) north of Madeira, Portugal with the loss of 128 lives.
  • 1964 The first test flight of the SR-71 (Blackbird) takes place at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, United States.
  • 1965 In the United Kingdom, a 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) speed limit is applied to all rural roads including motorways for the first time.
  • 1968 Cultural Revolution: People's Daily posted the instructions of Mao Zedong that "The intellectual youth must go to the country, and will be educated from living in rural poverty."

Famous people born on 22 December

  • Ralph Fiennes, English actor (born 1962)
  • Ted Cruz, Canadian-American lawyer and politician (born 1970)
  • Jean-Michel Basquiat, American painter and poet (1960–1988)
  • Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician and theorist (1887–1920)

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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