remember when 1959
DESCRIPTION
What life was like in 1959... what things cost, news of the world and moreTRANSCRIPT
May 1, 2016 www.militarypress.com • [email protected] For advertising information, call (858) 537-2280 • [email protected] May 1, 2016
• Income per year ..... $5,010• Minimum wage .................. $1• New house ............ $12,400• Rent ................................. $60• New car .................... $2,200• Gallon of gas .................. 25¢• Gallon of milk .............. $1.01• Loaf of bread ................ 20¢• First-class stamp .............4¢• Movie ticket ....................... $1
COST OF LIVING
Dwight Eisenhower34th. U.S. PresidentServed Jan. 20, 1953 – Jan. 20, 1961
‘I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it. ’
Chevrolet Apache Pickup
Berry Gordy, Jr. founds Motown Records.
aboard Jupiter AM-18.• The Navy launches the USS George Washington on June 9. It is the first sub-marine to carry ballistic missiles.• Disneyland opens its Monorail on June 14.• Rod Serling’s anthology series “The Twilight Zone” premieres Oct. 2 on CBS.• The Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens Oct. 21 in New York City.• MGM releases “Ben-Hur” starring Charlton Heston on Nov. 18. It would go on to win a record 11 Academy Awards — a record held until 1998.
Movies•“Ben-Hur”• “Some Like It Hot”• “The Nun’s Story”• “North by North-
west”• “Sleeping
Beauty”• “Anatomy of a Mur-
der”• “Rio Bravo”• “The 400 Blows”• “Imitation of
Life”• “Journey to the
Center of the Earth”
Music• “Mack the Knife,” Bobby Darin• “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” The Platters• “(Now & then There’s) A Fool
Such As I,” Elvis Presley• “Battle of New
Orleans,” Johnny Horton• “Venus,” Frankie
Avalon
• “Lonely Boy,” Paul Anka• “Dream Lover,” Bobby
Darin• “Living Doll,” Cliff Richard
• “(You’ve Got) Personality,” Lloyd Price• “Oh Carol,” Neil Sedaka
Plymouth Sport Fury Coupe
Khrushchev and Nixon spar in the “Kitchen Debate.”
World events• Rebels troops led by Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos enter Havana, Cuba, on Jan. 4. Fidel Castro would arrive two days later.• Charles de Gaulle becomes the first president of the French Fifth Republic on Jan. 8.• Pope John XXIII announces Jan. 25 the Second Vatican Council will be con-vened in Rome.• The United King-dom grants Cyprus its inde-
pendence Feb. 19.• India grants the Dalai Lama asylum March 31.• Charles Ovnand and Dale R. Buis be-come the first Americans killed in action in Vietnam on July 8.• Vice President Nixon and Soviet Pre-mier Nikita Khrushchev engage in the “Kitchen Debate” on July 24 at the open-
ing of the American National Exhibition in Moscow.• The USSR’s Luna 2 becomes the first man-made object to crash on the Moon on Sept. 14.• The first official large unit action of the Vietnam War takes place Sept. 26.• Twelve countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, sign the Ant-arctic Treaty, banning military activity on the continent Dec. 1. The treaty is the first arms control agreement of the Cold War.
U.S. News• Alaska becomes the 49th state Jan. 3.• Berry Gordy, Jr. founds Motown
Records on Jan. 12.• Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper and pilot Roger Peterson die in a plane crash Feb. 3 near Clear Lake, Iowa.• The Navy launches Vanguard 2, the first weather satellite, on Feb. 17 to measure cloud cover.• Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500 on Feb. 22.• The Marx Brothers appear on TV for the first time March 8 in “The Incredible Jewel Rob-bery.”• The Barbie doll debuts March 9.• President Eisenhower signs a bill March 18 granting Ha-
waii statehood. It will be admitted as the 50th state on Aug. 21.• NASA selects seven military pilots to become the first U.S. astro-nauts, April 9, known as the Mercury Seven.• The Saint Lawrence Seaway linking the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean opens to shipping April 25.• Two monkeys, Able and Miss Baker, become the first living beings to return to Earth from space May 28
Richard Nixon36th. U.S. Vice President
Served Jan. 20, 1953 – Jan. 20, 1961
Ford Galaxy
“Ben-Hur” dominates the box office.
rememb er when
1959
Members of the Mercury Seven, the first U.S.
astronauts, are selected.
BORN THIS YEAR: Magic Johnson, NBA star (Aug. 14). Above left: John McEnroe, tennis player (Feb. 16); Sean Bean, actor (April 17); Marie Osmond, singer/
television personality (Oct. 13); Allison Janney, actress (Nov. 19).