At A Glance

24 May 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
24 May 1959 was a Sunday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Kansas City” by Wilbert Harrison.
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 May is Gemini.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 24 May 1959 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 24 May 1959 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 24 May

  • 1956 The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland.
  • 1958 United Press International is formed through a merger of the United Press and the International News Service.
  • 1960 Following the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the largest ever recorded earthquake, Cordón Caulle begins to erupt.
  • 1961 American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for "disturbing the peace" after disembarking from their bus.
  • 1962 Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.

Famous people born on May 24

  • Queen Victoria (1819–1901)
  • Bob Dylan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, artist, writer, and producer; Nobel Prize laureate (born 1941)
  • Priscilla Presley, American actress and businesswoman (born 1945)
  • Alfred Molina, English actor (born 1953)

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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