At A Glance

8 December 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
8 December 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 8 December is Sagittarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 8 December 1959 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 8 December 1959 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 8 December

  • 1953 U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers his "Atoms for Peace" speech, which leads to an American program to supply equipment and information on nuclear power to schools, hospitals, and research institutions around the world.
  • 1955 The Flag of Europe is adopted by Council of Europe.
  • 1962 Workers at four New York City newspapers (this later increases to nine) go on strike for 114 days.
  • 1971 Indo-Pakistani War: The Indian Navy launches an attack on West Pakistan's port city of Karachi.
  • 1974 A plebiscite results in the abolition of monarchy in Greece.

Famous people born on 8 December

  • Raheem Sterling, English footballer (born 1994)
  • Mary, Queen of Scots, Queen of Scots, daughter of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise (1542–1587)
  • Sinéad O'Connor, Irish singer-songwriter (1966–2023)
  • Nicki Minaj, Trinidadian-American rapper and actress (born 1982)

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.
More events of 1959 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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.

Pierce Brosnan16 May 1953ActorView their day →Brendan Gleeson29 March 1955ActorView their day →Fiona Shaw10 July 1958ActressView their day →Gabriel Byrne12 May 1950ActorView their day →Colm Meaney30 May 1953ActorView their day →Bob Geldof5 October 1951Singer-songwriter & political activistView their day →Catherine Connolly5 November 1955President of IrelandView their day →Shane MacGowan25 December 1957Singer-songwriterView their day →

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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