1959

Centuries: Year in Review 20th Century (19th century - 20th century - 21st century)

Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s - 1950s - 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s

Years: 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 - 1959 - 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964

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Births

• February 11 - Corinne Shigemoto, US judo coach.
• July 11 - Suzanne Vega, US singer
• October 15 - Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York

Deaths

• February 3 - rock and roll performers Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper, in a plane crash outside Mason City, Iowa.
• August 15 - Blind Willie McTell, blues singer
• October 14 - Errol Flynn, American actor.
• Raymond Chandler, American novelist.

Events

• September 15 : Russian probe Luna 2 sends back first photos of the far side of the Moon.
• China annexes Tibet.

Nobel Prizes

• Physics - Emilio Gino Segrè, - Owen Chamberlain
• Chemistry - Jaroslav Heyrovsky
• Medicine - Severo Ochoa, Arthur Kornberg
• Literature - Salvatore Quasimodo
• Peace - Philip J. Noel-Baker