At A Glance

23 August 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
23 August 1959 was a Sunday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “A Big Hunk o' Love” by Elvis Presley.
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 23 August is Virgo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 23 August 1959 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 23 August 1959 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 23 August

  • 1948 The World Council of Churches is formed by 147 churches from 44 countries.
  • 1954 The first flight of the Lockheed C-130 multi-role aircraft takes place.
  • 1954 The Cruise of the Kings, a royal cruise organised by the Queen Consort of Greece, Frederica of Hanover, departs from Marseille, France.
  • 1966 Lunar Orbiter 1 takes the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the Moon.
  • 1970 Organized by Mexican American labor union leader César Chávez, the Salad Bowl strike, the largest farm worker strike in U.S. history, begins.

Famous people born on August 23

  • River Phoenix, American actor (1970–1993)
  • Kobe Bryant, American basketball player and businessman (1978–2020)
  • Scott Caan, American actor (born 1976)
  • Louis XVI (1754–1793)

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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