News
Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev visits the U.S. to meet with President Dwight Eisenhower and tour the country.
1959 Context: News, Entertainment, Lifestyle
Fidel Castro Takes Power In Cuba
Cuban President Juan Batista flees and Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba.
News
Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama escapes Communist China control by fleeing to India.
News
Actor George Reeves commits suicide. Reeves rose to fame playing Superman on the series The Adventures Of Superman from 1952 to 1958.
News
Both Hawaii and Alaska become states in 1959. Pictured is a new suburban grocery store in Hawaii.
Advertising
1959 Oldsmobile Advertisement
Advertising
Full service gas station ad for Gulf Oil 1959.
Advertising
1959 advertisement for Post Alpha Bits cereal showing the influence of the 50's space race.
Advertising
Air travel is still considered glamorous in 1959, as depicted in this 1959 Pan Am advertisement.
Advertising
TV dinners packaged in heat-and-serve aluminum trays are a hit in the 50's.
Advertising
Portable entertainment options advertised by Silvertone including transistor radios, portable TVs and record players.
Advertising
Detail from a 7UP soft drink ad from April 1959.
Movies
Cary Grant and Doris Day in a still from the 1959 romantic comedy film Pillow Talk.
Movies
Cary Grant in the spy thriller North By Northwest directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Television
The Western TV series Bonanza debuts on NBC where it would run until 1973.
Television
Rod Serling narrates the sci-fi, fantasy television series The Twilight Zone which debuts on CBS in 1959 and runs for five seasons.
Fashion
A model preps for a photo shoot in 1959.
Fashion
1959 swimsuit fashion.
Lifestyle
Mid Century Modern architecture in Los Angeles 1959.
Lifestyle
American college girls in 1959.
Lifestyle
Passenger train arrival in San Mateo, California.
Lifestyle
8th Grade couple heading to the dance in Walnut Creek, California.
Lifestyle
Seeing how many people can fit into a phone booth was a popular gag for young people in 1959.
Lifestyle
Children at parade in 1959.