WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO FEBRUARY 1959
Find out what all happened January to February 1959

Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union. (2. January 1959)

Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1. (16. February 1959)

Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2 – The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution. (17. February 1959)

Separatists in the Maldives declare the establishment of the United Suvadive Republic. (3. January 1959)

The R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile, becomes operational at Plesetsk, USSR. (9. February 1959)

The Federation of Arab Emirates of the South, which will later become South Yemen, is created as a protectorate of the United Kingdom. (11. February 1959)

The first flight of the Vickers Vanguard. (20. January 1959)

Fulgencio Batista, dictator of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro's forces during the Cuban Revolution. (1. January 1959)

Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon. (4. January 1959)

Knox Mine Disaster: Water breaches the River Slope Mine near Pittston City, Pennsylvania in Port Griffith; 12 miners are killed. (22. January 1959)

Discoverer 1, an American spy satellite that is the first object intended to achieve a polar orbit, is launched. It failed to achieve orbit. (28. February 1959)

The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate. (20. February 1959)

Deaths of rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. (3. February 1959)

The Caves of Nerja are rediscovered in Spain. (12. January 1959)

Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments files the first patent for an integrated circuit. (6. February 1959)

The United Kingdom grants Cyprus independence, which is then formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960. (19. February 1959)

The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro. (7. January 1959)

Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state. (3. January 1959)

MS Hans Hedtoft, said to be the safest ship afloat and "unsinkable" like the RMS Titanic, strikes an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sinks, killing all 95 aboard. (30. January 1959)

At Cape Canaveral, Florida, the first successful test firing of a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile is accomplished. (6. February 1959)