1959

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	19th century – 20th century – 21st century
Decades:	1920s  1930s  1940s  – 1950s –  1960s  1970s  1980s
Years:	1956 1957 1958 – 1959 – 1960 1961 1962

Events

• Fidel Castro becomes the President of Cuba.
• Alaska and Hawaii become the 49th and 50th states of the United States.
• February 3- American musicians, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" are killed in a plane crash on their way to a concert.
• March 9 – the first Barbie dolls are issued.

Births

• January 5 – Clancy Brown, American actor
• January 22 – Linda Blair, actress
• January 30 – Irina Pudova, Yakut ballerina
• March 6 – Tom Arnold, American comedian
• April 15 – Emma Thompson, British actor
• April 20 – Clint Howard, American actor
• May 3 – Ben Elton, British comedian and writer
• June 19 – Christian Wulff, German politician
• June 20 – Chris Williams, African-American actor
• July 29 – Sanjay Dutt, Indian actor
• October 10 – Maya Lin, American architect
• October 31 – Neal Stephenson – science fiction writer
• November 10 – Nancy Cartwright, American actress
• November 14 – Paul McGann, British actor
• December 31 – Val Kilmer, American actor
• R. A. Salvatore, science-fiction and fantasy writer

Deaths

• February 4 – Una O'Connor, actress
• February 5 – Gwili Andre, actress
• February 28 – Maxwell Anderson, playwright, movie writer
• March 3 – Lou Costello, comedian and actor, half of Abbott and Costello comedy team
• March 26 – Raymond Chandler, American novelist.
• June 16 – George Reeves, actor
• June 18 – Ethel Barrymore, actress
• June 23 – Boris Vian, French novelist
• October 14 – Errol Flynn, actor
• November 20 – Sylvia Lopez, European actress
• November 25 – Gérard Philipe, French actor

Movies released

• Anatomy of a Murder
• Auntie Mame
• Ben-Hur
• Darby O'Gill and the Little People
• Diary of Anne Frank
• Imitation of Life
• North by Northwest
• The Nun's Story
• Pillow Talk
• Rio Bravo
• The Shaggy Dog
• Some Like It Hot
• Sleeping Beauty

Series

• The Gumby Show – Gumby is premiered The Zoops, Even Stevens, The Glob, Chicken Feed, Hidden Valley, The Groobee, The Witty Witch and Hot Rod Granny.

New books

• Advertisement for Myself – Norman Mailer
• Advise and Consent – Allen Drury
• The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz – Mordecai Richler
• The Children of Gebelaawi – Naguib Mahfouz
• Children of the Wolf – Alfred Duggan
• Dear and Glorious Physician – Taylor Caldwell
• The Defeat of the Spanish Armada – Garett Mattingly
• The Elements of Style – William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White
• Exodus – Leon Uris
• Goldfinger – Ian Fleming
• Goodbye, Columbus – Philip Roth
• The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson
• Hawaii – James A. Michener
• Henderson the Rain King – Saul Bellow
• The Magic Christian – Terry Southern
• Mountolive – Lawrence Durrell
• Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris – Paul Gallico
• Naked Lunch – William S. Burroughs
• Poor No More – Robert Ruark
• Psycho – Robert Bloch
• Rape of the Fair Country – Alexander Cordell
• Sink the Bismarck! aka The Last Nine Days of the Bismark – C.S. Forester
• The Sirens of Titan – Kurt Vonnegut
• Starship Troopers – Robert Heinlein
• The Tin Drum – Günter Grass
• The Ugly American – William J. Lederer and Eugene L. Burdick

Hit songs

• "A Fool Such As I" – Elvis Presley
• "All For The Love Of A Girl" – Johnny Horton
• "(All of A Sudden) My Heart Sings" – Paul Anka
• "Among My Souvenirs" – Connie Francis
• "Apron Strings" – Cliff Richard
• "The Battle Of New Orleans" – Johnny Horton
• "Beyond The Sea" – Bobby Darin
• "The Big Hurt" – Toni Fisher
• "Billy Bayou" – Jim Reeves
• "Ciao, Ciao Bambina" – Dalida
• "Come Softly To Me" – The Fleetwoods
• "Crackin' Up" – Bo Diddley
• "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" – Buddy Holly
• "Dream Lover" – Bobby Darin
• "El Paso" – Marty Robbins
• "First Name Initial" – Annette
• "Forty Miles Of Bad Road" – Duane Eddy
• "Heartaches By The Number" – Guy Mitchell
• "He'll Have To Go" – Jim Reeves
• "High Hopes" – Frank Sinatra
• "I'm Blue Again" – Patsy Cline
• "I'm Sorry" – Bo Diddley
• "I Only Have Eyes For You" – The Flamingos
• "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" – Buddy Holly
• "It's All In The Game" – Tommy Edwards
• "It's Just A Matter Of Time" – Brook Benton
• "It's Only The Good Times" – Tommy Edwards
• "Kansas City" – Wilbert Harrison
• "Kissin' Time" – Bobby Rydell
• "La Bamba" – Ritchie Valens
• "Lipstick On Your Collar" – Connie Francis
• "Lonely Boy" – Paul Anka
• "Lonesome Town" – Ricky Nelson
• "Love Potion Number Nine" – The Clovers
• "M.T.A" – The Kingston Trio
• "Mack The Knife" – Bobby Darin
• "Mr. Blue" – The Fleetwoods
• "Misty" – Johnny Mathis
• "My Heart Is An Open Book" – Carl Dobkins, Jr.
• "Non Dimenticar" – Nat King Cole
• "Peggy Sue Got Married" – Buddy Holly
• "Personality" – Lloyd Price
• "Pillow Talk" – Doris Day
• "Poison Ivy" – The Coasters
• "Poor Jenny" – The Everly Brothers
• "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" – Paul Anka
• "Raining In My Heart" – Buddy Holly
• "Roberta" – Frankie Ford
• "Rockin' Mother" – Frankie Laine
• "Rocks And Gravel" – Frankie Laine
• "Rummy Polka" – Matys Brothers
• "Running Bear" – Johnny Preston
• "Say Man" – Bo Diddley
• "Say Man, Back Again" – Bo Diddley
• "Sea Cruise" – Frankie Ford
• "Since I Don't Have You" – The Skyliners
• "Sleepwalk" – Santo & Johnny
• "Small World" – Johnny Mathis
• "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" – The Platters
• "Stagger Lee" – Lloyd Price
• "Sweet Nothin's" – Brenda Lee
• "Take A Message To Mary" – The Everly Brothers
• "Tall Oak Tree" – Dorsey Burnette
• "A Teenager In Love" – Dion & the Belmonts
• "There Goes My Baby" – The Drifters
• "'Til I Kissed Youe" – The Everly Brothers
• "Till There Was You" – Anita Bryant
• "True Love, True Love" / "Dance With Me" – The Drifters
• "The Twist" – Hank Ballard
• "Venus" – Frankie Avalon
• "What A Difference A Day Makes" – Dinah Washington
• "What'd I Say" – Ray Charles
• "Where the Boys Are" – Connie Francis
• "Why" – Frankie Avalon
• "A Worried Man" – The Kingston Trio