The events of 1959
- 01 January 1959
Cuban leader Fulgencio Batista flees Havana as forces of Fidel Castro advance.
- 03 January 1959
U.S. – Alaska becomes the 49th U.S. state.
- 03 February 1959
Buddy Holly killed in air crash along with Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper.
- 16 February 1959
Fidel Castro becomes the leader of Cuba.
- 09 March 1959
The Barbie Doll is born.
- 11 March 1959
Eurovision Song Contest – The Netherlands win the Eurovision Song Contest with Een beetje by Teddy Scholten.
- 09 April 1959
U.S. – NASA announces the of seven pilots who will become the first US astronauts.
- 22 April 1959
Dame Margot Fonteyn is realised after spending 24 hours in a Panama City jail.
- 28 May 1959
Two Monkeys are fired into space and return unarmed.
- 09 June 1959
The USS George Washington is launched and becomes the first submarine to carry ballistic missiles.
- 11 June 1959
The Hovercraft makes its maiden voyage.
- 26 June 1959
The Queen and U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower open Saint Lawrence Seaway.
- 21 August 1959
U.S. – Hawaii is becomes the 50th U.S. state.
- 26 August 1959
The Cold War – U.S. sides with West Germany and pledges support against the Soviet Union.
- 05 September 1959
National Trunk Calls from Public Call Box kick off in Bristol. Coin operated phones will accept 3d and 6d coins.
- 09 October 1959
Harold Macmillan wins the 1959 General Election for the Conservatives .
- 26 October 1959
The Soviet Union shows the world the dark side of the moon for the first time.
- 31 October 1959
Lee Harvey Oswald travels to Moscow renounces his US citizenship.
- 02 November 1959
The first sections of the M1 motorway are opened.
- 01 December 1959
The Antarctic Treaty – 12 countries, including the U.S. and the Soviet Union, sign a treaty, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve .
