At A Glance

8 April 1959 at a glance

Day of the week
8 April 1959 was a Wednesday.
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 8 April is Aries.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 8 April 1959 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for April is Diamond.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 8 April 1959 was New Moon.

On this day: 8 April

  • 1959 A team of computer manufacturers, users, and university people led by Grace Hopper meets to discuss the creation of a new programming language that would be called COBOL.
  • 1959 The Organization of American States drafts an agreement to create the Inter-American Development Bank.
  • 1960 The Netherlands and West Germany sign an agreement to negotiate the return of German land annexed by the Dutch in return for 280 million German marks as Wiedergutmachung.
  • 1968 BOAC Flight 712 catches fire shortly after takeoff. As a result of her actions in the accident, Barbara Jane Harrison is awarded a posthumous George Cross, the only GC awarded to a woman in peacetime.
  • 1974 Hank Aaron passes Babe Ruth as the all-time leader in career home runs by hitting his 715th home run off of Al Downing at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

Famous people born on April 8

  • Patricia Arquette, American actress and director (born 1968)
  • Chris Kyle, American sniper and memoirist (1974–2013)
  • Robin Wright, American actress, director, producer (born 1966)
  • Julian Lennon, English singer-songwriter (born 1963)

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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