At A Glance

8 January 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
8 January 1959 was a Thursday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “It's Only Make Believe” by Conway Twitty.
Top Film of 1959
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1959 was Ben-Hur.
Star sign
The star sign for 8 January is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 8 January 1959 fell in the Year of the Dog.
Birthstone
The birthstone for January is Garnet.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 8 January 1959 was New Moon.

On this day: 8 January

  • 1946 Andrei Zhdanov, Chairman of the Finnish Allied Commission, submits to the Finnish War Criminal Court an interrogation report by General Erich Buschenhagen, a German prisoner of war, on the contacts between Finnish and German military personnel before the Continuation War and a copy of Hitler's Barbarossa plan.
  • 1959 Charles de Gaulle is proclaimed as the first President of the French Fifth Republic.
  • 1961 In France a referendum supports Charles de Gaulle's policies in Algeria.
  • 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a "War on Poverty" in the United States.
  • 1972 Bowing to international pressure, President of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto releases Bengali leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from prison, who had been arrested after declaring the independence of Bangladesh.

Famous people born on 8 January

  • Elvis Presley, American singer, guitarist, and actor (1935–1977)
  • David Bowie, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (1947–2016)
  • Stephen Hawking, English physicist and author (1942–2018)
  • Damiano David, Italian singer-songwriter (born 1999)

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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