Timeline August 1959

Events in August 1959 8

• 1879 – 1959 Wanda Landowska (1879-1959) Died 16 August 1959, aged 80 Landowska was a Polish harpsichordist and pianist who almost single-handedly revived the harpsichord and historically informed performance of early music in the twentieth century. Her recordings of Bach's Goldberg Variations were highly influential. She taught and performed across Europe before settling in the United States.
• 1880 – 1959 Jacob Epstein (1880-1959) Died 19 August 1959, aged 78 Epstein was an American-born sculptor who became a leading and often controversial figure in early modernist British sculpture. His bold bronze and stone works, including portrait busts and monumental religious figures, frequently provoked public outrage. He was knighted in 1954 for his contribution to art.
• 1898 – 1959 Preston Sturges (1898-1959) Died 6 August 1959, aged 60 Sturges was an American writer-director whose rapid-fire screwball comedies, including Sullivan's Travels and The Lady Eve, made him one of Hollywood's most acclaimed filmmakers of the early 1940s. He was the first Hollywood screenwriter to also direct his own scripts. His career declined sharply in his later years.
• 1959 US Championships 1959 Men: Neale Fraser · Women: Maria Bueno
• 1959 – present Magic Johnson Magic 5-time champion and leader of the Lakers "Showtime" era; revolutionized the point guard position.
• 1959 Miles Davis releases Kind of Blue Best-selling jazz album Modal jazz with Coltrane and Bill Evans.
• 1959 Hawaii becomes a U.S. state Admitted as the 50th state of the Union Hawaii was formally admitted to the United States as its 50th state, following a territorial referendum in which voters overwhelmingly favored statehood. It was the last state added to the Union. The islands had been a U.S. territory since 1898.
• 1959 Miles Davis beaten by police outside Birdland New York Arrested and beaten while taking a break outside the club.