Date in year · 1959 · The 1950s

February 17, 1959

On February 17, 1959, project Vanguard: Vanguard 2: The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution. The year's #1 song was "The Battle of New Orleans" by Johnny Horton. John Middendorf, Susan Faludi, Perry Haddock would arrive in the same year.

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Year

1959

1950s

Around 1959

The year in brief

1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1959th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 959th year of the 2nd millennium, the 59th year of the 20th century, and the 10th and last year of the 1950s decade.

Read the full year of 1959 →

What happened

On February 17, 1959

  1. 1959 Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2: The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.

    U.S. Navy satellite program in the 1950s

    Project Vanguard was a program managed by the United States Navy Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), which intended to launch the first artificial satellite into low Earth orbit using a Vanguard rocket as the launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Missile Annex, Florida.

  2. 1959 A Turkish Airlines Vickers Viscount crashes near Gatwick Airport, killing 14; Turkish prime minister Adnan Menderes survives the crash.

    Flag carrier of Turkey

    Turkish Airlines, or legally Türk Hava Yolları Anonim Ortaklığı, is the flag carrier of Turkey. As of June 2024, it operates scheduled services to 352 destinations in Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and the Americas. The airline serves more destinations non-stop from a single airport than any other airline in the world and flies to 131 countries, more than any other airline.

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 1959

The class of 1959

Others born in 1959

John Middendorf 1959– American mountain climber (died 2024)
Susan Faludi 1959– American journalist, author and feminist
Perry Haddock 1959– Australian rugby league player
Tim Jacobus 1959– American illustrator and painter
Robert Smith 1959– English singer-songwriter and guitarist
Terry Francona 1959– American baseball player and manager

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