At A Glance

21 July 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
21 July 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 21 July is Cancer.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 21 July 1959 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for July is Ruby.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 21 July 1959 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 21 July

  • 1954 First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
  • 1959 NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, is launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" initiative.
  • 1959 Elijah Jerry "Pumpsie" Green becomes the first African-American to play for the Boston Red Sox, the last team to integrate. He came in as a pinch runner for Vic Wertz and stayed in as shortstop in a 2–1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
  • 1960 Sirimavo Bandaranaike is sworn in as prime minister of Ceylon, becoming the world's first democratically elected female head of government.
  • 1961 Mercury program: Mercury-Redstone 4 mission: Gus Grissom piloting Liberty Bell 7 becomes the second American to go into space (in a suborbital mission).

Famous people born on 21 July

  • Robin Williams, American actor and comedian (1951–2014)
  • Erling Haaland, Norwegian footballer (born 2000)
  • Juno Temple, English actress (born 1989)
  • Josh Hartnett, American actor (born 1978)

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

Seán Lemass

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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