At A Glance

20 July 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
20 July 1959 was a Monday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Lonely Boy” by Paul Anka.
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 20 July is Cancer.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 20 July 1959 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for July is Ruby.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 20 July 1959 was Full Moon.

On this day: 20 July

  • 1950 Cold War: In Philadelphia, Harry Gold pleads guilty to spying for the Soviet Union by passing secrets from atomic scientist Klaus Fuchs.
  • 1954 Germany: Otto John, head of West Germany's secret service, defects to East Germany.
  • 1960 The Polaris missile is successfully launched from a submarine, the USS George Washington, for the first time.
  • 1961 French military forces break the Tunisian siege of Bizerte.
  • 1968 The first International Special Olympics Summer Games are held at Soldier Field in Chicago, with about 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities.

Famous people born on July 20

  • Haakon VIII (born 1973)
  • Chris Cornell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (1964–2017)
  • Julianne Hough, American singer-songwriter, actress, and dancer (born 1988)
  • Natalie Wood, American actress (1938–1981)

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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