1959
1959 was the 88th year after the founding of the city of Birmingham.
Events
- May 5: The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham was founded.
- October 5–10: The 1959 Alabama State Fair was held at the Alabama State Fairgrounds.
Business
- The first Catfish King restaurant opened.
- The Coffee Cup Restaurant was established.
- Fife's Restaurant opened.
- John's Photo Service opened the first color film lab in Alabama at its newly-constructed Vanderbilt Road location.
- Pioneer Cafeteria opened its first location on Parkway East near the Gadsden Highway.
Civil Rights Movement
- November 23: Judge Seybourn H. Lynne again dismissed the Baldwins lawsuit to integrate Birmingham Terminal Station.
Sports
- The University of Alabama debuted its elephant in a red A logo.
Individuals
Births
- January 10: Larry McReynolds, racing analyst and NASCAR crew chief
- January 13: Steve Skipper, sports artist
- March 24: Emmit King, sprinter
- April 22: Terry Francona, baseball manager
- May 3: Rodney Huntley, warden and community activist
- June 8: Britt Burns, baseball player
- July 25: Barry Mask, state representative
- July 26: Rick Bragg, writer
- August 28: Don Stewart, visual artist
- October 20: Don Heinkel, baseball player and doctor
- December 6: Lawrence Conaway, pastor
- December 12: Mike Anderson, college basketball coach
- December 27: Andre Tippett, football player
- December 29: Eric Essix, jazz guitarist and bandleader
- Guillermo Castro, chef and restauranteur
- Mike Clements, football coach
- L. Scott Coogler, judge
- Cornelius Cummings, pastor
- Anthony Farley, police chief
- Robbie Fearn, actor and environmentalist
- Emanuel Ford, community activist
- Chris Giles, college basketball player and coach
- Mike Grissom, teacher
- Mark Hall, police chief
- Charles Hart, veterinarian and Mayor of Clay
- Hezekiah Jackson IV, businessman and community activist
- Bill Johnson, city councilor
- Matt Kimbrell, musician
- Rica Lewis-Payton, VA medical center director
- Bert Miller, city councilor
- Vijay Misra, doctor
- Stan Pate, real estate developer
- Wanda Radford, minister
- Keith Rice, investigator
- Anne Ruisi, journalist
- Jimmy Snow, chef and business owner
- David Stiles, educator
- Daniel Wallace, novelist
Deaths
- May: Harold Blach, retailer
- January 6: Octavus Roy Cohen, author
- June 24: Jimmy Hitchcock, football and baseball player
- December 1: Avery Parrish, jazz pianist
- E. E. Forbes, businessman
- Louis Pizitz, merchant
Works
Buildings
- Berney's Drug Store
- Capri Apartments
- Fun-O-Rama
- Greater Guiding Light Missionary Baptist Church sanctuary
- Green Springs Plaza (6th Street)
- Holiday Bowl
- Jackson Building redesign
- Jemison Building redesign
- John's Photo Service's Vanderbilt Road location
- Oliver Elementary School
- Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church
- Pilgrim Church "Blue Roof" building
- Shelby Memorial Hospital
- Vestavia Hills Shopping Center
- Oscar Wells Memorial Building for the Birmingham Museum of Art
Gallery
The Goldstein building in 1959
Portrait of Charles Brooks by Hubert Harper in 1959
Portrait of Hubert Harper by Charles Brooks in 1959
Context
In 1959, Alaska and Hawaii were admitted as the 49th & 50th states. The Cuban Revolution ended with Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement taking power. A chartered plane carrying musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper and pilot Roger Peterson crashed, killing all aboard. American Airlines Flight 320, departing New York City, crashed into the East River, killing 65 of the 73 people on board. Lee Petty won the first Daytona 500. The Barbie doll debuted. NASA announced its selection of seven military pilots to become the first U.S. astronauts. The Saint Lawrence Seaway opened. Explorer 6 sent the first picture of Earth from orbit. The Antarctic Treaty sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on that continent. Pantyhose debuted on the open market.
Notable births in 1959 included actor Clancy Brown; NASCAR driver Mark Martin; tennis player John McEnroe; actor Tom Arnold; rapper Flavor Flav; singer Irene Cara; actor David Hyde Pierce; musician Brian Setzer; actress Emma Thompson; singer Sheena Easton; video game designer Peter Molyneux; singer Morrissey; wrestler Kevin Nash; actor Kevin Spacey; basketball player Magic Johnson; spiritualist David Koresh; actor Jason Alexander; actor Jack Wagner; television personality and producer Simon Cowell; singer Marie Osmond; Sarah, Duchess of York; comedy musician "Weird Al" Yankovic; television host Nancy Grace; singer Bryan Adams; and comedian Tracey Ullman.
Notable deaths included film director Cecil B. DeMille, musicians The Big Bopper, Buddy Holly, & Ritchie Valens, comedian Lou Costello, writer Raymond Chandler, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, actor George Reeves, actress Ethel Barrymore, singer Billie Holiday, writer Preston Sturges, sculptor Jacob Epstein, actor Errol Flynn, boxer Max Baer, and tennis player Molla Mallory.
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