At A Glance

13 April 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
13 April 1959 was a Monday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Come Softly to Me” by The Fleetwoods.
Top Film of 1959
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1959 was Ben-Hur.
Bestselling Novel of 1959
“Exodus” by Leon Uris was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1959.
Top-Rated TV Show
“Gunsmoke” (CBS) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1959–60 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 13 April is Aries.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 13 April 1959 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for April is Diamond.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 13 April 1959 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 13 April

  • 1953 CIA director Allen Dulles launches the mind-control program Project MKUltra.
  • 1960 The United States launches Transit 1-B, the world's first satellite navigation system.
  • 1964 At the Academy Awards, Sidney Poitier becomes the first African-American man to win the Best Actor award for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field.
  • 1970 At 10:08 PM EST an oxygen tank aboard the Apollo 13 Service Module explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the Apollo command and service module (codenamed "Odyssey") while en route to the Moon.
  • 1972 The Universal Postal Union decides to recognize the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative, effectively expelling the Republic of China administering Taiwan.

Famous people born on April 13

  • Thomas Jefferson, American lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the United States (1743–1826)
  • Ron Perlman, American actor (born 1950)
  • Jonathan Brandis, American actor (1976–2003)
  • Christopher Hitchens, English-American essayist, literary critic, and journalist (1949–2011)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1959 in the United States

A selection from Wikipedia's '1959 in the United States'. Not a complete list.

  • January 3 – Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state (see History of Alaska).
  • January 12 – The Motown record label is founded as Tamla by Berry Gordy in Detroit.
  • May 8 – The first Little Caesars pizza restaurant is opened by Mike Ilitch and his wife Marian in Garden City, Michigan.

Life in the US in 1959

President

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Gas (per gallon)

$0.31

Loaf of Bread

$0.20

Average House

$11,500

Weekly Wage

$83

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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