At A Glance

15 April 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
15 April 1959 was a Wednesday.
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 15 April is Aries.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 15 April 1959 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for April is Diamond.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 15 April 1959 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 15 April

  • 1945 Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated.
  • 1947 Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball's color line.
  • 1952 First flight of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.
  • 1955 McDonald's restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois.
  • 1960 At Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ella Baker leads a conference that results in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, one of the principal organizations of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

Famous people born on April 15

  • Jeffrey Archer, English author, playwright, and politician (1940–2026)
  • Emma Watson, English actress (born 1990)
  • Emma Thompson, English actress, comedian, author, activist and screenwriter (born 1959)
  • Maisie Williams, English actress (born 1997)

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

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

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Famous Faces Born in the 1950s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Michael Jackson29 August 1958Singer & songwriterView their day →Anthony Bourdain25 June 1956Chef & television personalityView their day →Bruce Willis19 March 1955ActorView their day →Madonna16 August 1958SingerView their day →Annette Bening29 May 1958ActressView their day →Robin Williams21 July 1951Actor & comedianView their day →Steve Jobs24 February 1955Entrepreneur & co-founder of Apple Inc.View their day →Prince7 June 1958MusicianView their day →

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

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