WHAT ALL HAPPENED JULY TO AUGUST 1959
Find out what all happened July to August 1959

Portugal's state police force PIDE fires upon striking workers in Bissau, Portuguese Guinea, killing over 50 people. (3. August 1959)

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

SR.N1 hovercraft crosses the English Channel from Calais, France to Dover, England in just over 2 hours. (25. July 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)

Quake Lake is formed by the magnitude 7.5 1959 Yellowstone earthquake near Hebgen Lake in Montana. (17. August 1959)

Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, the much acclaimed and highly influential best selling jazz recording of all time, is released. (17. August 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)

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)

Founding and first official meeting of the American Football League. (14. August 1959)

Sheremetyevo International Airport, the second-largest airport in Russia, opens. (11. August 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)

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)

United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order proclaiming Hawaii the 50th state of the union. Hawaii's admission is currently commemorated by Hawaii Admission Day (21. August 1959)

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

The Party of the African Federation holds its constitutive conference. (1. July 1959)