At A Glance

24 July 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
24 July 1959 was a Friday.
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 24 July is Leo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 24 July 1959 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for July is Ruby.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 24 July 1959 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 24 July

  • 1950 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station begins operations with the launch of a Bumper rocket.
  • 1959 At the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, U.S. vice president Richard Nixon and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev have a "Kitchen Debate".
  • 1963 The ship Bluenose II is launched in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The schooner is a major Canadian symbol.
  • 1966 Michael Pelkey makes the first BASE jump from El Capitan along with Brian Schubert. Both came out with broken bones. BASE jumping has now been banned from El Cap.
  • 1967 During an official state visit to Canada, French President Charles de Gaulle declares to a crowd of over 100,000 in Montreal: Vive le Québec libre! ("Long live free Quebec!"); the statement angered the Canadian government and many Anglophone Canadians.

Famous people born on July 24

  • Jennifer Lopez, American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1969)
  • Rose Byrne, Australian actress (born 1979)
  • Anna Paquin, Canadian-New Zealand actress (born 1982)
  • Jorge Jesus, Portuguese footballer and manager (born 1954)

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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