At A Glance

19 January 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
19 January 1959 was a Monday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” by The Platters.
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 19 January is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 19 January 1959 fell in the Year of the Dog.
Birthstone
The birthstone for January is Garnet.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 19 January 1959 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 19 January

  • 1945 World War II: Soviet forces liberate the Łódź Ghetto. Of more than 200,000 inhabitants in 1940, fewer than 900 had survived the Nazi occupation.
  • 1946 General Douglas MacArthur establishes the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo to try Japanese war criminals.
  • 1953 Almost 72 percent of all television sets in the United States are tuned into I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth.
  • 1960 Japan and the United States sign the US–Japan Mutual Security Treaty
  • 1966 Indira Gandhi becomes India's first female prime minister.

Famous people born on January 19

  • Dolly Parton, American singer-songwriter and actress (1946–2026)
  • Shelley Fabares, American actress and singer (1944–2026)
  • Mac Miller, American rapper (1992–2018)
  • Edgar Allan Poe, American short story writer, poet, and critic (1809–1849)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

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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