Date in year · 1959 · The 1950s

January 8, 1959

On January 8, 1959, charles de Gaulle is proclaimed as the first President of the French Fifth Republic. 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 8, 1959

  1. 1959 Charles de Gaulle is proclaimed as the first President of the French Fifth Republic.

    French general and statesman (1890–1970)

    Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces against Nazi Germany and Vichy France in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Republic from 1944 to 1946 to restore democracy in France. Following the 1958 Algiers putsch, he came out of retirement at the request of President René Coty, who appointed him Prime Minister. He commissioned a new constitution which was approved by voters in a referendum, establishing the Fifth Republic.

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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