WHAT ALL HAPPENED APRIL TO SEPTEMBER 1959
Find out what all happened April to September 1959

Elijah Jerry "Pumpsie" Green becomes the first African-American to play for the Boston Red Sox, the last team to integrate. He came in as a pinch runner for Vic Wertz and stayed in as shortstop in a 2-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. (21. July 1959)

Nearly 5000 people die on the main Japanese island of Honshū as the result of a typhoon. (27. September 1959)

The USS Barbero and United States Postal Service attempt the delivery of mail via Missile Mail. (8. June 1959)

The Soviet Union launches a large rocket, Lunik II, at the moon. (12. September 1959)

Solomon Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka is mortally wounded by a Buddhist monk, Talduwe Somarama, and dies the next day. (25. September 1959)

Venus occults the star Regulus. This rare event is used to determine the diameter of Venus and the structure of the Venusian atmosphere. (7. July 1959)

Convicted Manhattan Project spy Klaus Fuchs is released after only nine years in prison and allowed to emigrate to Dresden, East Germany where he resumes a scientific career. (23. June 1959)

Vanguard 3 is launched into Earth orbit. (18. September 1959)

Explorer program: Explorer 6 launches from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (7. August 1959)

The St. Lawrence Seaway, linking the North American Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, officially opens to shipping. (25. April 1959)

The MS Princess of Tasmania, Australia's first passenger roll-on/roll-off diesel ferry, makes her maiden voyage across Bass Strait. (23. September 1959)

At the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev have a "Kitchen Debate". (24. July 1959)

Project Mercury: NASA announces the selection of the United States' first seven astronauts, whom the news media quickly dub the "Mercury Seven". (9. April 1959)

The Lincoln Memorial design on the U.S. penny goes into circulation. It replaces the "sheaves of wheat" design, and was minted until 2008. (7. August 1959)

Premiere of Bonanza, the first regularly scheduled TV program presented in color. (12. September 1959)

The USS George Washington is launched. It is the first submarine to carry ballistic missiles. (9. June 1959)

Akihito, future Emperor of Japan, marries Michiko. (10. April 1959)

First United States Congress elections in Hawaii as a state of the Union. (29. July 1959)

The Soviet probe Luna 2 crashes onto the Moon, becoming the first man-made object to reach it. (14. September 1959)

A United States Air Force F-100 Super Sabre from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, crashes into a nearby elementary school, killing 11 students plus six residents from the local neighborhood. (30. June 1959)