August 1959 Explained
The following events occurred in August 1959:
August 1, 1959 (Saturday)
August 2, 1959 (Sunday)
August 3, 1959 (Monday)
- Portuguese soldiers and civilian police fired on a crowd of strikers at a dock in Pijiguiti, Portuguese Guinea, killing as many 50 and wounding 100. The massacre was the start of a 13-year battle that culminated in the independence of the colony in 1974 as Guinea-Bissau.[4]
- The Army's Combat Development Experimentation Center unveiled the "Soldier of Tomorrow", described in a press release as "America's ultimate weapon – the man." The soldier of 1965 would have "a helmet with a built-in radio, infra-red binoculars and his own rocket device", a "jump belt", which "will enable him to cross streams and cliffs with ease".[5]
- Major General Donald N. Yates was appointed as the U.S. Department of Defense representative for Project Mercury support operations.[6]
- Born: Koichi Tanaka, Japanese scientist, recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, in Toyama
August 4, 1959 (Tuesday)
August 5, 1959 (Wednesday)
- U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved a change in America's Basic National Security Policy, providing that "The United States will be prepared to use chemical and biological weapons to the extent that such use will enhance the effectiveness of the armed forces. The decisions as to their use will be made by the President."[9]
- Three months of negotiations between the Soviet Union, and the United States, Great Britain and France, ended in Geneva with no resolution on the future of Berlin.[10]
- Died: Edgar A. Guest, 77, English-born American poet for the Detroit Free Press who published 11,000 poems between 1898 and his death. At his height, he was syndicated in 300 newspapers and was dubbed "The People's Poet".
August 6, 1959 (Thursday)
- Four F-102 aircraft were made available for use by the Mercury astronauts to maintain proficiency in high performance vehicles.[6]
- The B-17 Flying Fortress was used in an American military operation for the last time. An unmanned radio-controlled drone was guided over the White Sands Missile Range and shot down by Falcon air-to-air missiles from F-101 and F-106 jets.[11]
- Born: Donna Lewis, Welsh singer-songwriter, in Cardiff[12]
- Died: Preston Sturges, 60, American film director and writer
August 7, 1959 (Friday)
- In Taiwan, 1,075 people died in floods after Typhoon Ellen caused 1,164 mm of rain to fall over three days.[13]
- Six city blocks in downtown Roseburg, Oregon, were levelled at by the explosion of a dynamite truck. The blast killed 14 people and left a 50adj=midNaNadj=mid crater.[14]
- The United Nations reported a deficit of $7,469,150. More than 60 member nations had not paid annual dues.[15]
- Pakistan passed the Elective Bodies Disqualification Order, barring 75 leaders in East Pakistan from political activity until December 31, 1966.[16]
August 8, 1959 (Saturday)
- After more than 1,000 performances in the London production of My Fair Lady, Julie Andrews retired from the role of Eliza Doolittle, freeing her to go on to a career in film and television. She was replaced in the role by Anne Rogers.[17]
- A fatal car accident ignited a wildfire in the Decker Canyon near Lake Elsinore, California. The ensuing blaze killed six firefighters.[18]
- Died: Albert Namatjira, 57, Australian aboriginal artist and activist. Namatjira was the first Northern Territory aboriginal person to be granted Australian citizenship and the right to vote in national elections.[19]
August 9, 1959 (Sunday)
August 10, 1959 (Monday)
- Four of the five singers for The Platters, who had hit No. 1 earlier in the year with "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", were arrested in Cincinnati and charged with soliciting prostitutes and using drugs. The charges were eventually dismissed, but the group's concert dates were cancelled, and disc jockeys refused to play their records, for several months.[21]
- Born: Rosanna Arquette, American actress, in New York City
August 11, 1959 (Tuesday)
- Sheremetyevo International Airport opened at the site of the former Sheremetyevsky Air Base near Moscow as the second civilian airport to serve the Russian capital, in order to supplement the smaller Vnukovo International Airport. Initially limited to domestic traffic, its first civilian flight was the arrival of an Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-104B jet flight from Leningrad, and it would begin international flights on June 1, 1960, and it is now the busiest airport in Russia. [22]
- The longest home run of all time was hit in a minor league baseball game in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Gil Carter literally knocked the ball out of the park, clearing the left field light tower at Montgomery Field. His team, the Carlsbad Potashers, lost to the Odessa (Texas) Dodgers, 6–2, in the Sophomore League (Class D) game.[23] The ball was found the next day, from home plate.[24] [25]
- Born:
August 12, 1959 (Wednesday)
- The New Projects Panel of Space Task Group (STG) met for the first time, with H. Kurt Strass in the chair. The panel was to consider problems related to atmospheric reentry at speeds approaching escape velocity, maneuvers in the atmosphere and space, and parachute recovery for earth landing. Alan B. Kehlet of STG's Flight Systems Division was assigned to initiate a program leading to a second-generation capsule incorporating several advances over the Mercury spacecraft: It would carry three astronauts; it would be able to maneuver in space and in the atmosphere; the primary reentry system would be designed for water landing, but land landing would be a secondary goal.[26]
- High schools in Little Rock, Arkansas, reopened, a year after being closed in order to avoid integration. Governor Orval E. Faubus addressed a crowd of 1,000 segregationists in front of the State Capitol while the two schools, each admitting three black students, were beginning classes. Afterward, a group of 200 protestors outside of Central High School were dispersed by the city police.[27] [28]
- The city of Crosslake, Minnesota, was incorporated.[29]
August 13, 1959 (Thursday)
- North Korea and Japan agreed on terms for repatriation of Koreans living in Japan. For two years, thousands moved back to their homes in North Korea, even with an option to live in South Korea.[30]
- The Philippines Department of Education declared that Pilipino, a standardized form of Tagalog, would replace English as the national language of instruction for grades 1 through 4.[31]
- Born: Danny Bonaduce, American actor; in Broomall, Pennsylvania
August 14, 1959 (Friday)
- Typhoon Georgia struck Japan, killing 137 people. Hitting Honshu Island, the typhoon caused the worst damage in history to Japan's rail lines.[32]
- The formation of the American Football League was announced at a press conference in Chicago, with at least six teams to begin play in autumn 1960, in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Denver and Minneapolis. Founder Lamar Hunt would later say that he had envisioned the AFL as being a six-team league in its inaugural season, but that interest from Ralph Wilson and others led to an 8-team circuit.[33]
- Earth was photographed for the first time from an orbiting satellite, Explorer 6, which had been launched on August 7. The first image, taken from an altitude of about 27,000 km or 17,000 miles, showed the clouds over the northern Pacific Ocean. Although the photo was crude, it demonstrated the potential of observing weather patterns from orbit.[34]
- NASA Headquarters approved a Space Task Group proposal that negotiations be undertaken with McDonnell for the fabrication of six additional Mercury spacecraft.[6]
- The Federal Radiation Council was created by Executive Order 10831. Consisting of six cabinet members and the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, the council was established to advise the American President on federal standards for radiation and nuclear plant safety.[35]
- Born: Magic Johnson, American NBA player (as Earvin Johnson, Jr.), in Lansing, Michigan
August 15, 1959 (Saturday)
- The Mercury astronauts began their initial centrifuge training at the Aviation Medical Acceleration Laboratory.[6]
- The first fatal crash of a passenger jet killed five American Airlines crewmen, who were on a training flight of a Boeing 707. The crew were practicing landings at a private airfield owned by Grumman Aircraft when the jet crashed in a potato field at Calverton, New York, at .[36]
- Born: Scott Altman, American astronaut; in Lincoln, Illinois
August 16, 1959 (Sunday)
August 17, 1959 (Monday)
- Measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale, an earthquake struck the Madison River Canyon in Montana at, near Yellowstone National Park. Lasting 8 seconds, the tremor toppled tons of earth into the canyon, killing 28 people, and creating Quake Lake.[38]
- The U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Arleigh Burke, disclosed that the Soviet Union could fire submarine-launched ballistic missiles, based on observations made in May. At the time, the United States was still constructing its own Polaris missile subs. Burke added, "I don't know how many they have."[39]
- Pope John XXIII was presented the third part of the "Three Secrets of Fatima" in a sealed envelope, but decided against reading it. Pope John Paul II would release the contents in 2000.[40]
- Indonesia's President Sukarno outlined his political manifesto, which he called "Manipol-USDEK", a five-point plan (Undang-Undang Dasar 1945, Sosialisme a la Indonesia, Demokrasi Terpimpin, Ekonomi Terpimpin, Kepribadian Indonesia) stressing the 1945 Constitution, Indonesian socialism and Indonesian identity, guided democracy and guided economy.[41]
- Born:
August 18, 1959 (Tuesday)
August 19, 1959 (Wednesday)
- In Kandy, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), where 200,000 were gathered at the Temple of the Tooth for the Esala Perahera ceremonies, an elephant charged into a crowd and killed 20 people and injured hundreds.[45]
- The Baghdad Pact, which had been kicked out of Baghdad after Iraq withdrew from the alliance, changed its name to the CENTO, the Central Treaty Organization, with the United Kingdom, Turkey, Pakistan and Iran.[46]
- Died:
August 20, 1959 (Thursday)
- The Pilar II, an inter-island transport ship, capsized and sank off of the coast of Palawan Island in the Philippines, drowning more than 100 people on board.[47]
August 21, 1959 (Friday)
- During the countdown of the first programed Little Joe launching (LJ-1 beach abort test) at Wallops Island, the escape rocket fired prematurely 31 minutes before the scheduled launch. The spacecraft rose to an altitude of and landed about from the launch site. Premature firing was caused by a faulty escape circuit.[6]
- Hawaii was proclaimed the 50th state of the United States of America. At Washington time, in Honolulu, President Dwight D. Eisenhower called William F. Quinn, who was then administered the oath as the first state governor. Quinn had been the last territorial governor, appointed by Eisenhower in 1957.[48] Eisenhower then issued Executive Order 10834, prescribing the standards for the 50-star American flag.
- Born: Jim McMahon, American NFL quarterback, in Jersey City, New Jersey
August 22, 1959 (Saturday)
August 23, 1959 (Sunday)
- Professional baseball was played at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field for the last time. A crowd of 4,000 turned out to watch a doubleheader featuring Negro league teams in an exhibition. In the first game, the Kansas City Monarchs beat the Brooklyn Stars 3–1. In the second, the Monarchs lost to the Havana Cubans, 6–4.[50]
August 24, 1959 (Monday)
August 25, 1959 (Tuesday)
- Troops in India and China clashed for the first time in a border dispute. A squad of Indian troops at Longju fired across the "McMahon Line" at Chinese guards stationed at the Tibetan village of Migyitun.[53]
- The wives and daughters of senior government officials in Afghanistan appeared in public without veils. After initial resistance by Islamic scholars, the controversy over the unveiling ceased within a month.[54]
- Born: Sönke Wortmann, German film director
August 26, 1959 (Wednesday)
August 27, 1959 (Thursday)
- The Bulgarian prison camp at Belene Island, in the Danube River, was closed permanently when the Politburo of the Bulgarian Communist Party ordered the release of 276 political prisoners. Another 166 "incorrigible recidivsts" were transferred to the newer Lovech camp. At one time, Belene Island held 4,500 detainees.[57]
- The Polaris missile was successfully launched for the first time. Designed to be fired by a submarine from underwater, the Polaris was tested above the surface from the ship . The 28adj=midNaNadj=mid missile was fired by compressed air, with engine ignition at .[58]
- Mercury astronaut Donald "Deke" Slayton was found to have an irregular heartbeat while undergoing centrifuge training, later diagnosed as atrial fibrillation. A month later, he was disqualified from spaceflight. Slayton would eventually fly in space in 1975 as part of the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project.[59]
- Poet Frank O'Hara created what he called "Personism", noting later in "Personism: A Manifesto" that "It was founded by me after lunch with LeRoi Jones on August 27, 1959, a day in which I was in love with someone not Roi, by the way, a blond). I went back to work and wrote a poem for this person. While I was writing it I was realizing that if I wanted to, I could use the telephone instead of writing the poem, and so Personism was born." He added "It is too new, too vital a movement to promise anything ..."[60]
August 28, 1959 (Friday)
- In the wake of runaway inflation, Indonesia reissued its currency, with 1,000 Indonesian rupiahs being replaced by 100 "new" rupiahs. Six years later, the currency would be reformed again with 1,000 new rupiahs being replaced by one rupiah.[61]
- Supported by the Communist government of North Vietnam, the first mass uprising began in South Vietnam, starting in Trà Bồng District in the mountains of Quảng Ngãi Province. Sixteen villages were taken over by rebels, and the revolt spread to the neighboring districts of Sơn Trà, Ba Tơ and Minh Long.[62]
- India's Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru declared in a speech before the Lok Sabha that India would protect the borders and independence of the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan.[63]
- Thirty-two of the 35 passengers in an aerial tramway car died when a support broke as they were descending a mountain near São Paulo, Brazil. All were employees of the city power company.[64]
- NASA Headquarters authorized the Space Task Group to enter into negotiations with the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division for the procurement of additional Atlas launch vehicles in support of Project Mercury.[6]
- Died:
August 29, 1959 (Saturday)
- The Casbah Coffee Club, located at West Derby in suburban Liverpool, opened for business. The Les Stewart Quartet had been scheduled to play on opening night, but the group broke up after an argument. Instead, Quartet members George Harrison and Ken Brown teamed up with two members of The Quarry Men, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and the four guitarists played the opener. Dissatisfied with the pay, Brown quit The Quarry Men after six weeks, while Lennon, McCartney and Harrison went on to greater fame.[65]
- Lightning killed nine people in one afternoon in the Northeastern United States. The dead were three picnickers in Pottsville, PA; two golfers, one in Hartford, CT and another in Rumson, NJ; a boater in White Plains, NY; a man working on a roof in Jersey City, NJ; a man standing outside in the Bronx in New York; and a housewife standing at her kitchen sink in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.[66]
- Born:
August 30, 1959 (Sunday)
August 31, 1959 (Monday)
- King Norodom Suramarit and Queen Sisowath Kosamak of Cambodia escaped an assassination attempt when a present for the Queen was opened instead by the Chief of Protocol, Prince Norodom Vakrivin. A bomb inside the package exploded, killing Vakrivin and two other servants.[70] Ten years later, Trần Kim Tuyến, who had been director of intelligence for South Vietnam at the time, admitted that the gift box had been prepared on orders of Ngô Đình Nhu, because the Queen was known to enjoy opening her own gifts.[71]
- Born: Tony DeFranco, Canadian pop singer
- Died: David Carr, a 25-year-old English apprentice printer, died at the Manchester Royal Infirmary from an unknown disease that destroyed his immune system, and tissue samples were saved for future study. Thirty years later, a team of researchers would conclude that Carr (whose name would be revealed by a newspaper exposé) had been infected with HIV, more than 20 years before the virus's identification as the cause of AIDS, and reported their results in the July 7, 1990, issue of The Lancet.[72]
Notes and References
- Deborah Cowley, Georges Vanier, Soldier: The Wartime Letters and Diaries, 1915–1919 (Dundurn Press Ltd., 2000), p301
- "The New Godfather", by Michael Daly, New York Magazine, June 23, 1986, p30
- Vladimir A. Kozlov, Elaine McClarnand MacKinnon translator, Mass Uprisings in the USSR: Protest and Rebellion in the Post-Stalin Years (M.E. Sharpe, 2002), pp32–43
- Book: Lobban, Richard A . Richard Lobban . Cape Verde: Crioulo Colony to Independent Nation . . 1998 . 89–90.
- News: Army Unveils Secret Weapon for 1965 – a Super-Soldier . Independent . . August 4, 1959 . A-6.
- Book: Grimwood, James M. . Project Mercury - A Chronology . PART II (A) Research and Development Phase of Project Mercury October 3, 1958 through December 1959 . NASA Special Publication-4001 . https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4001/p2a.htm . . 4 February 2023.
- Book: Chronology . The World Almanac and book of facts 1960 . . 1960 . 114.
- Book: Cullather, Nick . Nick Cullather . Illusions of Influence: The Political Economy of United States-Philippines Relations, 1942–1960 . . 1994 . 156–157.
- Book: Mark . Wheelis . Mark Wheelis . Lajos . Rózsa . Malcolm . Dando . Deadly Cultures: Biological Weapons Since 1945 . . 2006 . 403.
- Book: Joseph . Smith . Simon . Davis . Historical Dictionary of the Cold War . . 2000 . 88–89.
- News: Once Mighty Flying Fortress On Its Last And Lonely Trip . . August 20, 1959 . 11.
- Web site: Donna LEWIS personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK. find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk.
- Matthias Jakob and Oldrich Hungr, Debris-flow Hazards and Related Phenomena (Springer, 2005), p556
- "TNT Blast Levels 6 Blocks, Kills 9", Oakland Tribune, August 7, 1959, p1
- P.N. Sharma, Politics Of Peace: U N General Assembly (Abhinav Publications, 1977), p188
- Salahuddin Ahmed, Bangladesh: Past and Present (APH Publishing, 2004), p153
- Jared Brown, Moss Hart: A Prince of the Theatre: A Biography In Three Acts (Back Stage Books, 2006), p59
- http://www.wildfirelessons.net/documents/Decker_Fire_1959.pdf Report on Decker Fire
- Web site: Albert Namatjira | Biography & Facts | Britannica .
- Book: Catchpole, John . Project Mercury: NASA's First Manned Space Programme . Springer . 2001 . 38.
- Fred Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits (Billboard Books, 2003), p48
- Web site: Hotel Reservations & Cheap Discounts at 250K+ Hotels. www.hotelplanner.com.
- News: Carter Hits Mighty 600 Foot Homer . . August 12, 1959 . 16.
- News: 650-Foot Homer ... Longest? . El Paso Herald-Post . August 18, 1959 . 18.
- Web site: Elysian Fields Quarterly - The Baseball Review. www.efqreview.com.
- Book: Project Gemini Technology and Operations - A Chronology . PART I (A) Concept and Design April 1959 through December 1961 . Grimwood . James M. . Hacker . Barton C. . Vorzimmer . Peter J. . NASA Special Publication-4002 . https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4002/p1a.htm . . 17 February 2023.
- News: Club-Swinging Police Beat Back Crowd at Central High . . . August 12, 1959 . 1.
- Book: Gregg . Ivers . Kevin T. . McGuire . Creating Constitutional Change: Clashes Over Power and Liberty in the Supreme Court . . 2004 . 20.
- Book: Warren . Upham . Warren Upham . Patricia C. . Harpole . Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia . . 2001 . 157–58.
- Balázs Szalontai, Kim Il Sung in the Khrushchev era: Soviet-DPRK Relations and the Roots of North Korean Despotism, 1953–1964 (Stanford University Press, 2005) p146
- Robert B. Kaplan and Richard B. Baldauf, Jr., Language and Language-in-Education Planning in the Pacific Basin (Springer, 2003), pp72–73
- News: Second Typhoon Hits Central Japan . . August 14, 1959 . 28.
- Book: Miller, Jeff . Going Long: The Wild 10-Year Saga of the Renegade American Football League in the Words of Those Who Lived It . . 2003 . 7–8.
- Book: Encyclopedia of Optical Engineering . 3 . . 2003 . 2049–50. 2003eoe..book.....D .
- Book: Harry . Foreman . Nuclear Power and the Public . . 1970 . 149–150.
- News: Jetliner Crashes On Training Flight . Oakland Tribune . August 16, 1959 . 1.
- Web site: Queensland's 50 years of news. https://web.archive.org/web/20110716204457/http://blog.televisionau.com/2009/03/queensland-50-years-of-news.html. dead. July 16, 2011.
- Ed Cooper, Soul of the Rockies: Portraits of America's Largest Mountain Range (Globe Pequot, 2008), p34; David Lavender, The Rockies (University of Nebraska Press, 2003), p9
- "Ballistic Missiles on Soviet Subs", Oakland Tribune, August 17, 1959, p1
- Thomas W. Petrisko, Fatima's Third Secret Explained (St. Andrews Productions, 2001), pp50–55
- M.C. Ricklefs, A History of Modern Indonesia Since c. 1200 (Stanford University Press, 2002), p323
- John E. Jessup, An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Conflict and Conflict Resolution, 1945–1996 (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998), p153; Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
- Lee Lowenfish, Branch Rickey: Baseball's Ferocious Gentleman (University of Nebraska Press, 2007), pp558–59
- "60 Firemen Hurt As Tanks Blow Up", Oakland Tribune, August 18, 1959, p1
- "Berserk Elephant Attacks At Ritual; 20 Killed in Crush", Charleston (W.V.) Daily Mail, August 20, 1959, p34
- Amos Jenkins Peaslee, International Governmental Organizations (BRILL, 1979), p266
- "Storm Sinks Ship; 100 Feared Lost", Oakland Tribune, August 21, 1959, p1
- News: Hawaii Becomes 50th Star In New US Flag . . August 22, 1959 . 3-A.
- "Bernstein, N.Y. Philharmonic Smash hit in Moscow Debut", Oakland Tribune, August 23, 1959, p1
- Web site: BrooklynBallParks.com - Ebbets Field. www.covehurst.net.
- "Congress Seats 3 Hawaii Solons", Oakland Tribune, August 24, 1959, p4
- Congressional Deskbook: The Practical and Comprehensive Guide to Congress (The Capitol Net Inc, 2007), pp218–19
- Book: Mark A. . Ryan . David M. . Finkelstein . Michael A. . McDevitt . Chinese Warfighting: The PLA Experience Since 1949 . . 2003 . 177.
- Book: Hiro, Dilip . Dilip Hiro . War Without End: The Rise of Islamist Terrorism and Global Response . . 2002 . 192–193.
- Kenneth T. Walsh, Air Force One: A History of the Presidents and Their Planes (Hyperion, 2003), pp57–58
- Patrick C. Paternie, MINI (MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company, 2002), p60
- Book: Stan, Lavinia . Lavinia Stan . Transitional Justice in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union: Reckoning With the Communist Past . . 2009 . 158.
- Book: Kane, Joseph Nathan . Joseph Nathan Kane . Famous First Facts . 4th . . 1974 . 550.
- Book: Lamb, Lawrence E. . Inside the Space Race: A Space Surgeon's Diary . . 2006 . 104–111.
- Mark Ford, ed., Frank O'Hara: Selected Poems (reissue Random House, Inc., 2008), pp247–48
- Currency . Historical Dictionary of Indonesia . Audrey . Kahin . . 2015 . 109–110.
- Book: Ang, Cheng Guan . The Vietnam War From the Other Side: The Vietnamese Communists' Perspective . Routledge . 2002 . 41–42.
- Book: Warikoo, K. . Himalayan Frontiers of India: Historical, Geo-Political and Strategic Perspectives . Taylor & Francis . 2009 . 141.
- News: 32 Killed in Crash of Suspension Car . Oakland Tribune . August 29, 1959 . 1.
- [Walter Everett (musicologist)|Walter Everett]
- "9 Killed By Lightning in Wide Storm", Oakland Tribune, August 30, 1959, p1
- Virginia Thompson and Richard Adloff, Djibouti and the Horn of Africa (Stanford University Press, 1968), p75
- "The Murders and the Musical", by Mike McAlary, New York Magazine, November 10, 1997, pp38–44
- Book: Warner, Denis . The Last Confucian: Vietnam, South-East Asia, and the West . 1964 . Sydney . Angus and Robertson . 112–114.
- News: Royal Pair Miss Death By Bomb . Oakland Tribune . September 1, 1959 . 3.
- Book: Short, Philip . Philip Short . Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare . Macmillan . 2006 . 126.
- Gerald . Corbitt . Andrew S. . Bailey . George . Williams . HIV infection in Manchester, 1959 . . 336 . 8706 . 51 . 7 July 1990. 10.1016/0140-6736(90)91561-N . 1973229 . 39314658 .