Date in year · 1959 · The 1950s

January 2, 1959

On January 2, 1959, luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union. 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.

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What happened

On January 2, 1959

  1. 1959 Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union.

    Soviet spacecraft

    4 and First Lunar Rover, was the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of Earth's Moon, the first spacecraft to leave Earth's orbit, and the first to be placed in heliocentric orbit. Luna 1 was launched as part of the Soviet Luna programme in 1959.

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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