Date in year · 1959 · The 1950s

November 15, 1959

On November 15, 1959, four members of the Clutter family are murdered near Holcomb, Kansas, by Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, a crime later detailed by Truman Capote in his 1966 non-fiction novel In Cold Blood. 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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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 November 15, 1959

  1. 1959 Four members of the Clutter family are murdered near Holcomb, Kansas, by Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, a crime later detailed by Truman Capote in his 1966 non-fiction novel In Cold Blood.

    1959 killings in Kansas, United States

    In the early morning of November 15, 1959, four members of the Clutter family – Herb Clutter, his wife, Bonnie, and their teenage children Nancy and Kenyon – were murdered in their rural home just outside the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. Two ex-convicts, Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, were found guilty of the murders and sentenced to death. They were both executed on April 14, 1965.

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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