WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO JULY 1959
Find out what all happened January to July 1959

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

A rare June hurricane strikes Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence killing 35. (20. June 1959)

The steel strike of 1959 begins, leading to significant importation of foreign steel for the first time in United States history. (15. July 1959)

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

President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill into law allowing for Hawaiian statehood, which would become official on August 21. (18. March 1959)

Specific values for the international yard, avoirdupois pound and derived units (e.g. inch, mile and ounce) are adopted after agreement between the U.S.A., the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries. (1. July 1959)

Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500. (22. February 1959)

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

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

The Barbie doll makes its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York. (9. March 1959)

A fire in a resort hotel in Stalheim (Norway) kills 34 people. (23. June 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 Party of the African Federation is launched by Léopold Sédar Senghor and Modibo Keïta. (24. March 1959)

Launch of the National Liberation Committee of Côte d'Ivoire in Conakry, Guinea. (18. May 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)

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)

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)

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)

Iakovos is enthroned as Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America. (1. April 1959)

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