At A Glance

16 October 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
16 October 1959 was a Friday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Mack the Knife” by Bobby Darin.
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 16 October is Libra.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 16 October 1959 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for October is Opal.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 16 October 1959 was Full Moon.

On this day: 16 October

  • 1953 Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro delivers his "History Will Absolve Me" speech, and is sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment by the Fulgencio Batista government for leading an attack on the Moncada Barracks.
  • 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis begins: U.S. President John F. Kennedy is informed of photos taken on October 14 by a U-2 showing nuclear missiles (the crisis will last for 13 days starting from this point).
  • 1964 China detonates its first nuclear weapon.
  • 1964 Leonid Brezhnev becomes leader of the Soviet Communist Party, while Alexei Kosygin becomes the head of government.
  • 1968 Tommie Smith and John Carlos are ejected from the US Olympic team for participating in the Olympics Black Power salute.

Famous people born on October 16

  • Tim Robbins, American actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1958)
  • Naomi Osaka, Japanese tennis player (born 1997)
  • Angela Lansbury, English-American actress, singer, and producer (1925–2022)
  • Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright, novelist, and poet (1854–1900)

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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