December 31, 1959
By the winter of 1959, Eisenhower was in the White House and the federal minimum wage stood at $1.00/hr — the United States and Soviet Union jointly proposed a permanent United Nations space agency, reflecting a rare moment of cooperation amid the Cold War. On television, "Gunsmoke" continued its run as the country's top-rated show, while Frank Sinatra's album "Come Dance with Me" took home the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The Baltimore Colts were the reigning NFL champions, and on January 2, the Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 became the first human-made object to escape Earth's gravitational pull and enter orbit around the sun.
On the cover
Magazine Covers — December 31, 1959
NY Times Headlines — Week of December 31, 1959
Khrushchev Says Soviet May Start Disarming Alone; Indicates Moscow Will Not Wait If West Refuses To Reach Agreement Troop Cuts Promised Premier Declares Country Would Depend More On Nuclear Weapons Soviet To Disarm, Premier Implies
Border Build-Up Rushed In India; Army Reinforced And Roads Built Near Tibet -- Peiping Stand Is Unchanged Border Build-Up Rushed In India
Eishenhower Wary On Plan To Widen Civil Rights Law; Unlikely To Press Congress For U.S. Vote Registrars To Protect Negroes Eisenhower Wary Of A Rights Plan
World Events — December 1959
Time Person of the Year — 1959
On the radio
Billboard Charts — December 31, 1959
Grammy Awards
On the bookshelf
On the television
Nielsen Top 10 — 1959–60 Season
Emmy Winners — 1959
At the movies
Box Office & Oscar Winners — December 31, 1959
On the field
Sports Champions — December 31, 1959
Interested in postcards, posters or t-shirts? Leave your email and we’ll let you know.