January 1, 1959 New Year's Day

January 1, 1959, was a Thursday. It was 65 years, 11 months, and 18 days ago. The zodiac star sign for this date is Capricorn.

On this day

What happened on January 1, 1959?

The Cuban Revolution ends when Cuban president Fulgencio Batista and his government ministers flee the country.

Top song: January 1, 1959

The best-selling single on January 1, 1959 was "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" by The Chipmunks and David Seville.

The Billboard Hot 100 on January 1, 1959

The top five songs from the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The Chipmunk Song - The Chipmunks With David Seville
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - The Platters
To Know Him, Is To Love Him - The Teddy Bears
One Night - Elvis Presley
Problems - The Everly Brothers

Play the top singles from 1959
A Spotify playlist of songs from the year 1959. Take a trip back to the days of The Platters, Frankie Avalon, The Fleetwoods and Johnny Horton.

Top movie at the box office

The movie "Auntie Mame" was at the top of the box office on January 1, 1959.

Facts

New Year's Day 1959 occurred 24,094 days ago. Approximately 803 months have passed. It was the 1st day of 1959, in week 01. The decade was the fifties. People who were born on January 1, 1959, are now 65 years old and belong to the Baby Boomer generation. The Earth has experienced 268 seasons of weather since then.

Take me back to January 1, 1959

Let's take a stroll down memory lane.

The date is January 1, 1959, and it's a Thursday. Anyone born today will have the star sign Capricorn. It's New Year's Day, the official start of the year 1959. A lot of people are relaxing at home. Some are nursing hangovers from the night before.

In music, the song "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" by The Chipmunks and David Seville is the best-selling record at the moment. Dwight David Eisenhower is the President of the United States, and the movie Auntie Mame is at the top of the box office. Harold Macmillan is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

On television, people are watching popular shows such as "The Ed Sullivan Show", "What's My Line?", "The Jack Benny Program", and "Fury". In fashion, women are sporting chemise dresses, sheaths, sack dresses and straight-cut suits. Short boxy jackets and shift dresses are also beginning to become popular. Meanwhile, a lot of men are sporting a "Teddy Boy" style that involves leather jackets, greased-back hair, extremely narrow trousers and velvet-collared jackets. Men are also wearing formal suits as daywear. Tailfins on cars are extremely popular at the moment. The design looks futuristic, almost like a rocket or the twin rudders on the back of an airplane.

It's 1959, so radio stations and jukeboxes are playing hit songs from artists such as Johnny Horton, Bobby Darin, Lloyd Price, Frankie Avalon, Paul Anka, The Browns, The Fleetwoods and Wilbert Harrison. If you were to travel back to this day, notable figures such as Buddy Holly and Clark Gable would be still alive. Kids and teenagers are watching TV shows such as "Lassie", "Mighty Mouse Playhouse", "Heckle and Jeckle", and "Leave It to Beaver".

Children are playing with toys such as Play-Doh, Metal House robots, Fisher Price Little People, and Crater Critters.

Zodiac

Zodiac, birthstone, and birth flower information.

Personality summary image

Zodiac Sign (Astrology): Anyone born on January 1, 1959, will have the star sign Capricorn.
Zodiac Element: Earth.
Chinese Zodiac Animal: In the Chinese Zodiac, 1959 was the year of the Pig (Yin Wood).
The Life Path Number for this date is 8.
Native American Zodiac: January 1, 1959 falls under the Goose.
Birthstone: A person during the month of January will have the birthstone Garnet.
Birth flower (January): The Carnation and the Snowdrop.

News, nostalgia, and fads

These are news stories, trending topics, and fads that were popular on January 1, 1959.

Phonebooth stuffing has become a fad
In 1959, a new fad swept across South Africa, the United States, Canada, and Britain. This fad was called "phonebooth stuffing". As the name suggests, it involved trying to fit as many people into a telephone booth as possible.
Movies from 1959
The most popular movies in 1959 were Ben-Hur, The Shaggy Dog, Operation Petticoat, Some Like It Hot, Pillow Talk, Imitation of Life, "Suddenly, Last Summer", Rio Bravo and The Nun's Story.
1959 in music
The radio stations in 1959 were dominated by artists such as Johnny Horton, Bobby Darin, Lloyd Price, Frankie Avalon, Paul Anka, The Browns, The Fleetwoods and Wilbert Harrison.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
US President Dwight D. Eisenhower was named Time Person of the Year in 1959.
Tailfins on cars
Tailfins on cars were a popular style around this time. The design looked futuristic, almost like the twin rudders on the back of an airplane.
Panty raids are all the rage on college campuses
Panty raids were a popular college prank at the time. Large groups of male students would "raid" the living quarters of their female counterparts and then steal their underwear as proof that the raid had been successful. These raids took place during a time when colleges had curfews and men were forbidden from entering female dormitories.
Poodle skirts are a thing
Women and young girls were wearing wide, unrestricted felt skirts called "poodle skirts." These were solid-colored skirts that had a design or a logo. In many cases, the design was an image of a poodle or a cat.
Greasers
A youth subculture called "greasers" emerged during the 1950s and early 1960s. The style included greased-back hairstyles, work pants, and denim or leather jackets.
The Jukebox
The jukebox was at the height of its popularity. Teenagers and young adults would often hang out at local restaurants and diners and listen to the latest songs.
Men are getting "DA haircuts"
The "DA haircut" was extremely popular among men. The cut consisted of a combed-back hairstyle that was parted down the middle at the back. "DA" stood for "Duck's Ass," which is what many people liked to call the style.
Sock hops
Sock hops were informal dance events for teenagers. The name originated from the fact that many of these dances required participants to remove their shoes. This is because sock hops were often held in high school gymnasiums, and the organizers didn't want scuff marks on the floors.
Capitalism vs Communism
The ideological clash between capitalism and communism heated up during the 1950s. It was during this period that a "Cold War" started between the United States and the Soviet Union. In the US, there were fears that Soviet spies had infiltrated all parts of society, including Hollywood.
The economy is booming
The world was recovering from World War II. Many countries witnessed an economic boom during this decade. Unemployment was low, consumerism increased, mortgages were cheap, and governments started to invest in infrastructure such as highways. For many, this was the "golden age" of the economy.
Rotary phones
Almost everyone had rotary phones in the 1950s. However, the heavier metal dial components were being phased out and replaced with plastic.
More and more people are buying television sets
More and more households were buying TV sets. In 1950, 20% of homes had a television. By the end of the decade, that figure had risen to 90%.

Personality traits

Check out our personality summary for people who were born on January 1, 1959.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

View Personality Summary

What happened around this time?

News stories, pop culture trends, and other events that happened around January 1, 1959.

December 28, 1958: NFL: The Baltimore Colts defeat the New York Giants by 23-17 to win the 1958 NFL Championship Game.
This date: January 1, 1959
January 3, 1959: Alaska becomes the 49th US state.
January 4, 1959: Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos lead rebel troops into the Cuban city of Havana.
January 13, 1959: 71 supporters of Fulgencio Batista are executed by the new Communist regime.
January 29, 1959: Disney's animated film Sleeping Beauty is released.

1950s fashion

Photographs of 1950s fashion and hairstyles.

Television shows in January 1959

Television shows that people were watching in January 1959:

77 Sunset Strip

Casey Jones

Maverick

Perry Mason

Wagon Train

Have Gun - Will Travel

Tonight Starring Jack Paar

Fury

Gunsmoke

The Danny Thomas Show

Sky King

The Jack Benny Program

Cars in 1959

1959 saw the introduction of cars such as the Ford Falcon, the Chevrolet El Camino, the BMW 700, the Mini, the Buick Electra, and the Studebaker Lark.

Cartoons and children's TV shows in January 1959

Children and teenagers were watching the following cartoons and TV series:

Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks

Felix the Cat

Bozo: The World's Most Famous Clown

The Rifleman

The Huckleberry Hound Show

The Adventures of Spunky and Tadpole

The Ruff and Reddy Show

Leave It to Beaver

Captain Pugwash

Colonel Bleep

Tom Terrific

Toys in 1959

Children were playing with the following toys and games:

Crater Critters

Fisher Price Little People

The Hula Hoop

Metal House robots

The Frisbee

Wooly Willy

Play-Doh

Matchbox toy cars

Colorforms

BAS-KET Miniature Basketball

Tiny Tears (doll)

Spinning Tops

Were you born on January 1, 1959?

If you were born on this date, then it is unlikely that you will remember anything from the year 1959.

This is because humans find it difficult to retrieve memories of their early childhood.

If you are looking for some childhood nostalgia, then you should check out January 1, 1965, instead.

Celebrity birthdays

Celebrities, historical figures, and other notable people who were born on January 1.

J. Edgar Hoover

The first Director of the FBI Deceased
Born on January 1, 1895
He turned 64 on this day in 1959.

Grandmaster Flash

Hip Hop DJ
Born on January 1, 1958
He turned 1 on this day in 1959.

Verne Troyer

Actor Deceased
Born on January 1, 1969
He was born exactly 10 years after this date.

Ice Spice

Rapper
Born on January 1, 2000
She was born exactly 41 years after this date.

Holidays

National holidays and famous events that fall on January 1:

New Year's Day

US President

Dwight David Eisenhower was the President of the United States on January 1, 1959.

UK Prime Minister

Harold Macmillan was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Irish Taoiseach

Éamon de Valera was the Taoiseach of Ireland.

Conception dates

Conception estimates for this date.

Note: These conception dates are based on broad estimates.

A baby that was born on January 1, 1959 was most likely conceived around April 10, 1958.
The due date for a baby that was conceived on January 1, 1959 is close to September 24, 1959.

Submit a comment

Have something to say about this date? Was it your birthday? Or perhaps you have a memory of it?

Your name

Write something about this date

All comments are moderated. Our system may automatically edit comments to correct misspellings and grammar. We may also remove or redact personal information.

How old was I?

Find out what your age was on January 1, 1959, by entering your date of birth below.
This information is not sent to our server.

Statistics

Here are some interesting statistics about January 1, 1959:

24,094 days have passed since this date.
3,442 weeks have passed.
2,081,721,600 seconds have passed since January 1, 1959.
If you were born on this day, your heart has beat approximately 2,428,675,200 times.
Since then, the Earth has traveled approximately 1,074,168,345,600 miles through space.
If you were born on this day, your eyes have blinked approximately 346,953,600 times.
You have taken approximately 179,028,058 steps. That's roughly 79,568 miles.
24,980,659 meteors have entered the Earth's atmosphere.
How many years ago was 1959?

Search

It looks like you have reached the end. Try searching for another date.

Random dates

Check out some of these random dates.

January 1, 1959 New Year's Day

On this day

Top song: January 1, 1959

The Billboard Hot 100 on January 1, 1959

Top movie at the box office

Facts

Take me back to January 1, 1959

Zodiac

News, nostalgia, and fads

Phonebooth stuffing has become a fad

Movies from 1959

1959 in music

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Tailfins on cars

Panty raids are all the rage on college campuses

Poodle skirts are a thing

Greasers

The Jukebox

Men are getting "DA haircuts"

Sock hops

Capitalism vs Communism

The economy is booming

Rotary phones

More and more people are buying television sets