At A Glance

19 May 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
19 May 1959 was a Tuesday.
Top Film of 1959
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1959 was Ben-Hur.
Star sign
The star sign for 19 May is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 19 May 1959 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 19 May 1959 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 19 May

  • 1950 A barge containing munitions destined for Pakistan explodes in the harbor at South Amboy, New Jersey, devastating the city.
  • 1959 The North Vietnamese Army establishes Group 559, whose responsibility is to determine how to maintain supply lines to South Vietnam; the resulting route is the Ho Chi Minh trail.
  • 1961 Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly by another planet by passing Venus (the probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier and did not send back any data).
  • 1962 A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe's rendition of "Happy Birthday".
  • 1963 The New York Post Sunday Magazine publishes Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail.

Famous people born on 19 May

  • Malcolm X, American minister and activist (1925–1965)
  • Lainey Wilson, American singer-songwriter (born 1992)
  • Archie Manning, American football player (born 1949)
  • Dusty Hill, American singer-songwriter and bass player (1949–2021)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1959 in Ireland

A selection from Wikipedia's '1959 in Ireland'. Not a complete list.

  • 7 January – Dáil Éireann debated a motion that Éamon de Valera's position as controlling director of the Irish Press newspaper could be regarded as incompatible with his duties as Taoiseach.
  • 23 January – The government was considering the introduction of a pay-as-you-earn system of income tax.
  • 8 April – James Dillon of the Fine Gael party wanted to abolish compulsory Irish language studies at school as he felt they were counter-productive.

Life in Ireland in 1959

Taoiseach

Éamon de Valera

Petrol (per litre)

2s 4d/gal

Loaf of Bread

7½d

Average House

£2,100

Weekly Wage

£5 5s

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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