July 1959 in History

Events in History

Event of Interest

Jul 5 Ben-Gurion's Israeli government resigns

1st Prime Minister of Israel David Ben-Gurion

Jul 5 Indonesia restores constitution
Jul 5 Jack Gelber's "Connection" premieres in NYC
Jul 6 Saar becomes part of German Federal Republic
Jul 14 USS Long Beach, first nuclear powered cruiser launched at Quincy, Massachusetts
Jul 15 The US steel strike of 1959 begins, leading to significant importation of foreign steel for the first time in United States history.
Jul 17 2,000 ft long by 1,300 foot wide section of ridge falls into Madis

Scientific Discovery

Jul 17 Paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey discovers partial skull of a new species of early human ancestor, Zinjanthropus boisei or 'Zinj' (now called Paranthropus boisei) lived in Africa almost 2 million years ago

Jul 17 River Canyon extending man-made Lake Hebgen by 5 miles. (Montana)
Jul 17 Tibet abolishes serfdom
Jul 21 1st nuclear powered merchant ship, NS Savannah, named, Camden NJ
Jul 22 Natural gas found at Slochteren, Groningen, Netherlands

Event of Interest

Jul 23 US Vice President Richard Nixon begins visit to the USSR

Kitchen Debate

Jul 24 US Vice President Richard Nixon argues with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow, known as the "Kitchen Debate"

Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (left) and US Vice President Richard Nixon (right) debate each other in Moscow

Jul 25 SR-N1 hovercraft crosses the English Channel from Calais to Dover in just over 2 hours.
Jul 27 Abbas Ali Baig scores 112 for India v England on debut
Jul 28 Hawaii's 1st US election sends 1st Asian-Americans to Congress
Jul 28 United Kingdom starts using postal codes
Jul 29 First United States Congress elections in Hawaii as a state of the Union

Birthdays in History

Jul 2 Wendy B Lawrence, astronaut (STS 67, 86, sk:91), born in Jacksonville, Florida
Jul 5 Veronica Guerin, Irish crime journalist, born in Dublin (d. 1996)
Jul 7 Ben Linder, American engineer, born in California (d. 1987)
Jul 9 Clive Stafford Smith, British human-rights lawyer, born in Cambridge
Jul 12 Rolonda Watts, talk show hostess (Rolanda)
Jul 12 Tupou VI, King of Tonga (2012-), born in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
Jul 14 Susana Martinez, American politician (Governor of New Mexico) 1st female Hispanic US governor, born in El Paso, Texas
Jul 17 Janet Lynn Kavandi, American scientist and NASA astronaut (sk:STS 91), born in Carthage, Missouri
Jul 23 Carl Phillips, American poet ("Then the War" - 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry), born in Everett, Washington
Jul 23 Li Qiang, Chinese politician (Premier of China 2023-), born in Rui'an, Zhejiang, China
Jul 26 Rick Bragg, American journalist and writer, born in Piedmont, Alabama
Jul 28 Kelly Hoppen, South African-born British interior designer, born in Cape Town, South Africa
Jul 28 Mark Meadows, American politician (Rep-R-North Carolina 2013-20, Donald Trump's Chief of Staff 2020-21), born in Verdun, France
Jul 29 Ruud Janssen, Dutch writer and artist
Jul 30 Abdullah of Pahang, sixth Sultan of Pahang, King of Malaysia (2019-), born in Pekan, Malaya

Weddings in History

Jul 2 Belgian Albert, Prince of Liège marries Dona Paola, Princess Ruffo di Calabria in Brussels

Deaths in History

Jul 6 George Grosz, German cartoonist and painter (Ecce Homo), dies at 65
Jul 8 US Army Maj. Dale Buis & MSgt. Chester Ovnand killed in Viet Cong attack, becoming the first and second Americans killed in combat in the Vietnam War
Jul 14 Grock [Adrien Wettach], Swiss clown and circus director, dies at 79
Jul 15 Peter Egge, Norwegian writer (The Dream), dies at 90
Jul 15 Vance Palmer, Australian author, dies at 73
Jul 17 Eugene Meyer, American businessman and newspaper publisher (b. 1875)
Jul 17 Henri Pourrat, French writer (Le chasseur de la nuit), dies at 72
Jul 20 William D. Leahy, American admiral and chief of staff during WWII, dies at 84
Jul 25 Isaac Halevi Herzog, chief rabbi of Israel (1936-59), dies at 71
Jul 26 Manuel Altolaguirre, Spanish poet and publisher (Amor), dies at 54