Year 1959: Fun Facts, Trivia, and History

This quick read presents a collection of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1959. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, sports facts, historic firsts, entertainment trivia, and much more.

Take a journey through history in just minutes.

1. In 1959, Dwight D. Eisenhower was the president of the United States, and Richard M. Nixon was the nation’s vice president.
2. The U.S. unemployment rate averaged 5.3%, inflation was 0.69%, and GDP growth for the year was 6.9%.
3. The average annual household income in the U.S. was $5,016, the average cost of a new house was $12,400, and the average price of a new car was $2,200.
4. The minimum wage was $1.00 per hour, the cost of a first-class postage stamp was four cents, and the average retail price for a gallon of gas was 25 cents.
5. At the grocery store, milk cost $1.01 a gallon, Swanson TV dinners were 49 cents apiece, and Skippy peanut butter was 33 cents for a 12-ounce jar. Eggs were 53 cents a dozen, Herr’s potato chips cost 59 cents for a 16-ounce bag, and SPAM was 43 cents for a 12-ounce can.
6. In the marketplace, a movie ticket went for $1.00, a daily newspaper cost seven cents, and a Chevrolet Kingswood station wagon retailed at $2,970.00.
7. American companies and brands established in 1959 included AmeriGas, the Conair Corporation, Family Dollar, Little Caesars Pizza, Round Table Pizza, and Speedway Motorsports.
8. Consumer products launched during the year were 9 Lives cat food, Jiffy Pop popcorn, Princess telephones, Surf laundry detergent, Troll dolls, and the Xerox 914 plain paper copier.
9. On January 3, Alaska became the 49th and largest U.S. state.
10. On January 12, Berry Gordy Jr. founded the record company Motown as Tamla Records.
11. On January 29, Walt Disney’s animated musical fantasy film, Sleeping Beauty, was released.
12. On February 3, a chartered plane that was transporting rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper crashed in foggy conditions near Clear Lake, Iowa. All four occupants on board, including the pilot Roger Peterson, were killed.
13. On February 28, Discoverer 1 was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and became “the first man-made object ever put into a polar orbit.”
14. On March 3, Pioneer 4 was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and became “the first U.S. spacecraft to leave the Earth’s gravitational field.”
15. On March 9, the first Barbie doll went on display at the American Toy Fair in New York. American businesswoman Ruth Handler was credited with creating Barbie by using a German doll named Bild Lilli as her inspiration.
16. On March 18, Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state.
17. On April 6, at the 31st Academy Awards, Gigi won an Oscar for Best Picture, and Vincent Minnelli (Gigi) won an Oscar for Best Director. David Niven (Separate Tables) won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Susan Hayward (I Want to Live!) won an Oscar for Best Actress. Finally, Burt Ives (The Big Country) won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and Wendy Hiller (Separate Tables) won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
18. On April 7, Oklahoma ended Prohibition after 51 years.
19. On April 9, NASA announced its selection of seven military pilots, the “Mercury Seven,” who would become the first U.S. astronauts. They were Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton.
20. On April 25, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened, connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.
21. On May 6, at the 11th Primetime Emmy Awards, The Jack Benny Show (CBS) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and Alcoa-Goodyear Theatre (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. Perry Como (The Perry Como Show) (CBS) won an Emmy for Best Performance by an Actor in a Musical or Variety Series, and Dinah Shore (The Dinah Shore Chevy Show) (NBC) won an Emmy for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical or Variety Series.
22. On May 13, the final broadcast of the Kraft Music Hall aired on NBC. The variety show ran for 13 seasons.
23. On July 8, Charles Ovnand and Dale R. Buis became the first Americans to be killed in action in Vietnam.
24. A 116-day steel strike halted the steel industry nationwide from July 15 to November 7.
25. On August 15, the American Football League (AFL) was founded. The AFL's original lineup consisted of an Eastern division of the Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Houston Oilers, and New York Titans, and a Western division of the Dallas Texans, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, and Oakland Raiders.
26. On August 26, the British Motor Corporation (BMC) introduced the Morris Mini-Minor, a small economy car that was only 10 feet long but seated four passengers.
27. On September 21, Congress passed legislation authorizing the Secretary of Agriculture to run a food stamp program through January 31, 1962. However, the Eisenhower administration never took action on the measure.
28. On October 2, Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone debuted on CBS.
29. On October 21, the Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opened to the public in New York City.
30. The Ford Motor Company discontinued the troubled Edsel brand, and the final car rolled off the assembly line in November.
31. On November 15, in the killing that shocked the nation, four members of the Clutter family—Herb Clutter, his wife Bonnie, and their teenage children Nancy and Kenyon—were brutally murdered in Holcomb, Kansas. Two ex-convicts, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, were found guilty of the murders and sentenced to death. (Truman Capote’s best-selling novel, In Cold Blood, published in 1966, details the quadruple murders.)
32. On November 16, The Sound of Music, a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City. It ran for 1,443 performances.
33. On November 18, the adventure film Ben-Hur, directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston, premiered in New York City.
34. On November 21, Jack Benny (violin) and Richard Nixon (piano) played their famous duet.
35. In 1959, the United States and Great Britain “adopted a new standard for the yard and the inch. The yard was defined as 0.9144 meters, and the inch was defined as 0.0254 meters.”
36. British paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey discovered a human skull in Tanzania that was about 1.8 million years old.
37. In 1959, the aluminum Christmas tree was invented, and Bic pens were introduced in the U.S.
38. Danny’s coffee shops were renamed Denny’s.
39. There were about 15,000 delis throughout New York City.
40. The one-billionth can of Spam was sold.
41. McDonald’s opened its 100th restaurant.
42. There were about 32,000 supermarkets in the United States.
43. Coors of Golden, Colorado, introduced the recyclable aluminum beer can.
44. Mike Ilitch and his wife, Marian, opened the first Little Caesars Pizza restaurant in Garden City, Michigan.
45. New York businessman Reuben Mattus created a premium ice cream and gave it a Danish-sounding name—Haagen Dazs.
46. Gunsmoke (CBS) was the most popular TV show, and Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago was a best-selling fiction book.
47. Don McNeill’s Breakfast Club was a top-rated radio program, and Ben-Hur was the highest-grossing film.
48. In 1959, Allison Janney, Babyface, Chris Hansen, Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Lawrence Taylor, Maggie Baird, Magic Johnson, Marie Osmond, Michael Kors, and Mike Pence were all born.
49. Here are some additional sports facts from 1959: The Boston Celtics were the NBA champs, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series, and the Montreal Canadiens clinched the Stanley Cup.
50. In addition, the San Francisco Giants named their new baseball stadium Candlestick Park, and Lee Petty won the first Daytona 500.
51. In 1959 as well, the words "binge eating," "brown bagging," "dinner theater," "fine-tune," "happy hour," "hard rock," "minimart," "personal computer," "queen-size," "soul music," "spandex," and "sticker price" appeared in print for the first time.
52. Alcoa aluminum wrap (75’): 69 cents
53. Boy’s coat: $6.66
54. General Electric washing machine: $185.00
55. Girl’s dress: $2.98 to $3.98
56. Man’s wool sports coat: $21.95
57. Pontiac Star Chief: $3,500.00
58. Sears Craftsman lawn mower: $79.88 to $89.95
59. Women’s bowling dress: $10.98 to $14.98
60. Women’s shoes: $14.95 a pair

References:

1. https://www.history.com/a-year-in-history/1959
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1959
3. https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/vintage-recipes-from-the-50s/
4. https://www.foodtimeline.org/fooddecades.html#1950s
5. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1959
6. https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/if-you-grew-50s-you-ll-definitely-remember-these-foods-slideshow/
7. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1959

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor