1959
1959 (MCMLIX in Roman numerals) is a year of the 20th century.
Events
At the IUPAC World Congress the current chemical nomenclature is established.
For the first time in Europe, ENI is setting up a marine oil well, the "Gela mare 21", off the coast of Gela, in the province of Caltanissetta.
The Bank of Italy retires the minting of 1 lira coins.
January
1 January - Cuba: the dictator Fulgencio Batista leaves Havana. Fidel Castro enters the Cuban capital at the head of his troops.
January 2: The Soviet Union launches Luna 1, the first man-made object to leave Earth's orbit, into space.
January 3 - USA: Alaska joins the Union, becoming the 49th state.
January 6 - Bologna: Giuseppe Dossetti, former Christian Democrat politician and parliamentarian, member of the party's left, receives priestly ordination.
January 8 - France: at the Elysee Palace, René Coty, the last president of the Fourth Republic, hands over to Charles de Gaulle, the first president of the new Constitution.
January 26 - Italy: the second Fanfani government falls. The politician will also leave the post of secretary of the Christian Democrats.
February
Spain - ETA is founded.
February 2: Incident of the Dyatlov Pass. On the night of February 2, 1959, nine hikers encamped in the northern part of the Ural Mountains died of unknown causes.
February 3: young musicians Richie Valens, Buddy Holly and J.P. are killed in a plane crash. "The Big Bopper" Richardson. It is remembered as the day music died.
February 13: marketing of the Barbie doll begins.
February 15 - Italy: the new government is chaired by Antonio Segni.
February 19: Cyprus becomes independent with the Anglo-Greek-Turkish treaty.
March
Tibet: after violent clashes with the Chinese occupiers, the Dalai Lama finds refuge in India.
March 9: the first Barbie doll is sold, a doll destined to have enormous commercial success.
March 10: Tibetan resistance culminates in a great popular uprising repressed by the Chinese government.
March 11: The Netherlands win the Eurovision Song Contest, hosted in Cannes, France.
March 14 - Italy: the National Council elects Aldo Moro as the new political secretary of the Christian Democrats.
March 17: Tenzin Gyatso, XIV Dalai Lama, escapes from Tibet to India.
March 29: China, after the revolt in Tibet, dissolves the Tibetan government and installs the Panchen Lama.
April
China: the Chinese government closes its borders with India.
April 13 - Italy: the first Italian nuclear reactor is inaugurated in Ispra, province of Varese.
April 25: first known case of AIDS (the official start of the epidemic will be set on June 5, 1981).
May
May 8 - Italy: Mother's Day is officially celebrated for the first time, after the year before Raul Zaccari had proposed the institution approved by law in the Senate after a year of debates.
17 May - Cuba: Fidel Castro announces on the radio the approval of the law for land reform.
June
Cuba: the lands of American agrarian possessions are expropriated.
June 1 - Tunisia: the first republican constitution is adopted.
June 3 - Singapore: self-government within the Commonwealth is proclaimed.
June 15 - Italy: the first Consolidated Law on the road is issued.
June 26 - Italy: serious plane crash in Olgiate Olona. A four-engined Lockheed Super Constellation of Trans World Airlines explodes and disintegrates on the ground killing 69.
July
July 5 - Israel: Prime Minister Ben Gurion resigns.
July 21-31 - Romania: the first international mathematics Olympics are held in Brașov, with the participation of seven nations.
August
12 August: the Ac
