The Twilight Zone
https://youtu.be/vB1Ot9MEOOs The Twilight Zone debuted on CBS TV in October 1959. Created by Rod Serling, the show's episodes were a blend of fantasy, science fiction, horror, black comedy and psychological thrills that often ended with an unexpected...
Khrushchev & Eisenhower Meet at Camp David
In September 1959 Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev made an extended visit to the USA. While visiting Los Angeles, Khrushchev was infuriated when barred from visiting Disneyland because of security concerns. Khruschev and President Eisenhower met at Camp David in...
Bonanza
https://youtu.be/i2IvhKl_hKQ In September 1959 NBC launched "Bonanza," the first TV color western. Filmed at Incline Village, Nevada, the show ran until 1973 with Michael Landon as Little Joe, Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright and Dan Blockeras Hoss. Source: Wikipedia...
First Satellite Images of Earth
https://youtu.be/-O99IH9kbPw In August 1959 the United States launched the Explorer 6 satellite, popularly known as the "paddlewheel satellite. The satellite featured a photocell scanner that transmitted a crude picture of the earth's surface and cloud cover from a...
Nixon-Khruschev Kitchen Debate
https://youtu.be/XRgOz2x9c08 During a visit to the Soviet Union in July 1959, Vice President Richard Nixon got into a "kitchen debate" with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev at a US exhibition. Source: Wikipedia
Hawaii Becomes 50th State
In August 1959 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation admitting Hawaii into the Union as the 50th state. The new American flag, featuring 50 stars arranged in staggered rows became official July 4, 1960. Source: History.com
Superman George Reeves Dies
https://youtu.be/p0swAKS-5qA George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer in 1914) died from a gunshot in June1959. He was best known for the television series Adventures of Superman (1952–1958). Reeves death at age 45 remains controversial. Although ruled...
First Grammy Awards
https://youtu.be/t4IjJav7xbg I think that dream like that Will never return I painted my hands And face blue Then all of sudden I was Abducted by the wind And I started to fly In the infinite sky .... first verse (https://lyricstranslate.com) The First Grammy...
Barbie Doll Released
https://youtu.be/9hhjjhYGQtY In March 1959 the Barbie doll was unveiled by the American Toy Fair in New York City. Doll No. 1 was sold by Mattel Toy Company for $3. Source: History.com
The Day the Music Died
On a February 3, 1959 tour of the Midwest, rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson were killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. https://youtu.be/9mDGcxbAusg...
Rawhide
Rawhide was an American Western TV series starring Eric Fleming and Clint Eastwood that aired on the CBS network for 7 1/2 years. The series was produced by Charles Marquis Warren, who also produced early episodes of Gunsmoke. The show is fondly remembered...
Alaska Becomes 49th State
In January 1959, President Eisenhower signed a special proclamation admitting the territory of Alaska into the Union as the 49th and largest state. Although indigenous peoples inhabited the region for centuries, Europeans first discovered Alaska in 1741. Russian...
1958 Top News and Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXIHoO76xpM https://youtu.be/AUnsMuxjIlc
Kingston Trio – Tom Dooley
The Kingston Trio, an American folk and pop group from San Fancisco helped launch the folk music revival of the late 1950s. The original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds rose to international popularity fueled by an...
Little Rock Voters Close Public Schools
In September 1958, Gov. Orval Faubus closed all Little Rock, Arkansas public high schools for one year rather than allow integration to continue, leaving 3,665 black and white students without access to public education. Source: Library of Congress.
Independence Day
https://youtu.be/XRLRKNXVuTY Independence Day (Fourth of July) is a federal holiday commemorating the Declaration of Independence of the United States, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Congress declared that the thirteen American...
USS Nautilus Submarine Travels Beneath North Pole
https://youtu.be/vjK126hN4qc USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine and the first submarine to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole in August 1958. The nuclear submarine...
Loving v. Virginia Landmark Court Case
Loving v. Virginia was a 1958 Supreme Court case that struck down state laws banning interracial marriage in the United States. With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Richard and Mildred Loving, a white man and Black woman whose marriage was...
NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Following closely after the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik, the act abolished the National Advisory Committee for...
US Marines Sent To Lebanon
https://youtu.be/0qFbBgDFzBM In July 1958 President Eisenhower ordered 5,000 US Marines to Lebanon, at the request of that country’s president, to face a perceived threat by Muslim rebels and help end a short-lived civil war. Eisenhower justified his decision to send...
Cuban Rebels Capture US Sailors & Marines
In June 1958, Cuban rebel forces captured 29 Sailors and Marines as they returned to Guantamano from leave in Cuba. The hostages were detained in the hills for 22 days, then released . Source: Naval Technology
Nuclear Waste in Marshall Islands
The Runit Dome (aka Cactus Dome) is a 377 foot X 18 inch dome of radioactive debris, entombed in concrete, that stems from nuclear tests conducted in the Enewetak Atoll of the Marshall Islands by the United States between 1946...
Memorial To Americans St, Paul’s London
Source: Wikipedia
U.S. plan to explore space near the moon
https://youtu.be/38pfWCaSZ9Y During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union began to build powerful new rockets—which they would eventually use to send humans into space and, ultimately, to the moon. In 1958 NASA launched Project Mercury with three...
Elvis Joins the US Army
Elvis Aron Presley entered the United States Army at Memphis, Tennessee in March 1958. During his active military career Presley served as a member of two different armor battalions. At the 2d Medium Tank Battalion, 37th Armor in Fort Hood, Texas he completed basic...