At A Glance

23 August 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
23 August 1959 was a Sunday.
Top Film of 1959
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1959 was Ben-Hur.
Star sign
The star sign for 23 August is Virgo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 23 August 1959 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 23 August 1959 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 23 August

  • 1948 The World Council of Churches is formed by 147 churches from 44 countries.
  • 1954 The first flight of the Lockheed C-130 multi-role aircraft takes place.
  • 1954 The Cruise of the Kings, a royal cruise organised by the Queen Consort of Greece, Frederica of Hanover, departs from Marseille, France.
  • 1966 Lunar Orbiter 1 takes the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the Moon.
  • 1970 Organized by Mexican American labor union leader César Chávez, the Salad Bowl strike, the largest farm worker strike in U.S. history, begins.

Famous people born on 23 August

  • River Phoenix, American actor (1970–1993)
  • Kobe Bryant, American basketball player and businessman (1978–2020)
  • Scott Caan, American actor (born 1976)
  • Louis XVI (1754–1793)

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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