At A Glance

31 January 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
31 January 1959 was a Saturday.
Top Film of 1959
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1959 was Ben-Hur.
Star sign
The star sign for 31 January is Aquarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 31 January 1959 fell in the Year of the Dog.
Birthstone
The birthstone for January is Garnet.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 31 January 1959 was Last Quarter.

On this day: 31 January

  • 1951 United Nations Security Council Resolution 90 relating to the Korean War is adopted.
  • 1958 Cold War: Space Race: The Explorer 1, the first successful American satellite, detects the Van Allen radiation belt.
  • 1961 Project Mercury: Mercury-Redstone 2: The chimpanzee Ham travels into outer space.
  • 1966 The Soviet Union launches the unmanned Luna 9 spacecraft as part of the Luna program.
  • 1968 Vietnam War: Viet Cong guerrillas attack the United States embassy in Saigon, and other attacks, in the early morning hours, later grouped together as the Tet Offensive.

Famous people born on 31 January

  • Julián Alvarez, Argentine footballer (born 2000)
  • Justin Timberlake, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor (born 1981)
  • Minnie Driver, English singer-songwriter and actress (born 1970)
  • Jackie Robinson, American baseball player and sportscaster (1919–1972)

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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