At A Glance

2 April 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
2 April 1959 was a Thursday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Venus” by Frankie Avalon.
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 2 April is Aries.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 2 April 1959 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for April is Diamond.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 2 April 1959 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 2 April

  • 1975 Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from Quảng Ngãi Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops.
  • 1976 Prince Norodom Sihanouk resigns as leader of Cambodia and is placed under house arrest.
  • 1980 United States President Jimmy Carter signs the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act.
  • 1982 Falklands War: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.
  • 1986 Alabama governor George Wallace, a former segregationist, best known for the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door", announces that he will not seek a fifth four-year term and will retire from public life upon the end of his term in January 1987.

Famous people born on April 2

  • Jesse Plemons, American actor (born 1988)
  • Pedro Pascal, Chilean and American actor (born 1975)
  • Michael Fassbender, German-Irish actor and producer (born 1977)
  • Marvin Gaye, American singer-songwriter (1939–1984)

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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