Events from the year 1959 in Michigan.

Office holders

State office holders

Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the stat ...

G. Mennen Williams Gerhard Mennen "Soapy" Williams (February 23, 1911 – February 2, 1988) was an American politician who served as the List of governors of Michigan, 41st governor of Michigan, elected in 1948 and serving six two-year terms in office. He lat ...

( Democrat) *

Lieutenant Governor of Michigan The lieutenant governor of Michigan is the second-ranking official in U.S. state of Michigan, behind the governor. The current lieutenant governor by default is Garlin Gilchrist, a Democrat, who has held the office since January 1, 2019. Proce ...

John Swainson John Burley Swainson (July 31, 1925 – May 13, 1994) was a Canadian-American politician and jurist who served as the 42nd governor of Michigan from 1961 to 1963. Early life and education Swainson was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. He move ...

(Democrat) * Michigan Attorney General: Paul Adams * Michigan Secretary of State:

James M. Hare James M. Hare (July 31, 1910 – March 10, 1980) was an American politician who served as the 38th Michigan Secretary of State. Biography Hare was born James McNeil Hare in Racine, Wisconsin. He died in 1980. Hare was a Unitarian. Career Har ...

(Democrat) * Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives: Don R. Pears ( Republican) * Majority Leader of the Michigan Senate: Frank D. Beadle (Republican) * Chief Justice, Michigan Supreme Court:

Mayors of major cities

* Mayor of Detroit:

Louis Miriani Louis C. Miriani (January 1, 1897 – October 18, 1987) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Detroit, Michigan, from 1957 to 1962. To date, he remains the most recent Republican to serve as Detroit's mayor. Biography Miriani g ...

* Mayor of Grand Rapids: Stanley J. Davis * Mayor of Flint: Robert J. Egan *

Mayor of Saginaw This is a list of mayors of Saginaw, Michigan. City of East Saginaw 1859–1889 The City of East Saginaw was incorporated in 1859 and existed until it was consolidated with the City of Saginaw in 1889 (effective 1890). The City Charter was granted ...

R. James Harvey Russell James Harvey (July 4, 1922 – July 20, 2019) usually known as James Harvey, was a United States representative from Michigan and an inactive Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern Distric ...

/R. Dewey Stearns * Mayor of

Dearborn Dearborn may refer to: People * Dearborn (surname) ** Henry Dearborn (1751–1829), U.S. Secretary of War under President Thomas Jefferson, Senior Officer of the U.S. Army during the War of 1812 Places in the United States Forts * Fort Dearborn, ...

: Orville L. Hubbard *

Mayor of Lansing List Lansing, Michigan, was incorporated as a city on February 15, 1859. * Hiram H. Smith, 1859 * John A. Kerr, 1860 * William H. Chapman, 1861–62 * Dr. Ira H. Bartholomew, 1863–65 * Dr. William H. Haze, 1866 * George W. Peck, 1867 * ...

Ralph Crego Ralph William Crego (September 2, 1893 – May 28, 1989) was an American politician who served as Mayor of Lansing, Michigan from 1943 to 1961. Crego was born at Fife Lake, Michigan, and moved to Lansing at age 21. He attended Lansing Busines ...

Mayor of Ann Arbor This is a list of mayors of Ann Arbor, Michigan, beginning with Ann Arbor's incorporation as a city on April 4, 1851. References Ann Arbor mayors, Political Graveyard website* Samuel W. Beakes, Past and Present of Washtenaw County' (Washtenaw C ...

: Samuel J. Eldersveld/

Cecil Creal Cecil O. Creal (19 December 1899 – 20 November 1986) was mayor of Ann Arbor, in the U.S. state of Michigan, from 1959 to 1965. Life and career Creal was born in 1899 in Kiantone, Chautauqua County, New York. During World War I, he served i ...

Federal office holders

* U.S. Senator from Michigan:

Patrick V. McNamara Patrick Vincent McNamara (October 4, 1894 – April 30, 1966) was an American politician. A Democrat, he served as a United States Senator from Michigan from 1955 until his death from a stroke in Bethesda, Maryland in 1966. Early life and ...

(Democrat) * U.S. Senator from Michigan: Philip Hart (Democrat) * House District 1:

Thaddeus M. Machrowicz Thaddeus Michael Machrowicz (August 21, 1899 – February 17, 1970) was a United States representative from Michigan and later was a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern Dis ...

(Democrat) * House District 2:

George Meader George Meader (September 13, 1907 – October 15, 1994) was a Republican politician from the US state of Michigan. Early life Meader was born on September 13, 1907, in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and attended the public schools of various cities i ...

(Republican) * House District 3: August E. Johansen (Republican) * House District 4: Clare Hoffman (Republican) * House District 5:

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

(Republican) * House District 6:

Charles E. Chamberlain Charles Ernest Chamberlain (July 22, 1917 – November 25, 2002) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Life and career Chamberlain was born in Locke Township, Michigan and after graduating from Lansing Central High School in Lans ...

(Republican) *

House District 7 A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

James G. O'Hara James Grant O'Hara (November 8, 1925 – March 13, 1989) was a soldier and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan, serving as U.S. Representative from 1959 to 1977. Early life O'Hara was born in Washington, D.C. He moved with his parents to ...

(Democrat) * House District 8:

Alvin Morell Bentley Alvin Morell Bentley III (August 30, 1918 – April 10, 1969) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. As a U.S. representative, he made national headlines as one of the wounded of the 1954 United States Capitol shooting. Early years Ben ...

(Republican) * House District 9: Robert P. Griffin (Republican) * House District 10:

Elford Albin Cederberg Elford Albin "Al" Cederberg (March 6, 1918 – April 17, 2006) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Biography Cederberg was born to dairy farmers Albin and Helen (Olson) Cederberg in Bay City, Michigan; his father and maternal grand ...

(Republican) * House District 11:

Victor A. Knox Victor Alfred Knox (January 13, 1899 – December 13, 1976) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He served six terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1953 to 1965. Early life and education Knox was born on a farm i ...

(Republican) * House District 12:

John B. Bennett John Bonifas Bennett (January 10, 1904 – August 9, 1964) was an American lawyer and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1947 to 1964. Early life and education Bennett was bo ...

(Republican) * House District 13:

Charles Diggs Charles Coles Diggs Jr. (December 2, 1922 – August 24, 1998) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan who served in the state senate and U.S. House of Representatives. He was the first African American elected to Cong ...

(Democrat) * House District 14:

Louis C. Rabaut Louis Charles Rabaut (December 5, 1886 – November 12, 1961) was an American lawyer and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He was a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic congressman representing Michigan's 14th congressional distr ...

(Democrat) * House District 15: John Dingell Jr. (Democrat) * House District 16:

John Lesinski Jr. John Lesinski Jr. (December 28, 1914 in Detroit – October 21, 2005 in Dearborn) was a U.S. Congressman for seven terms from the state of Michigan. He was the son of John Lesinski Sr. He was of Polish descent. Life and career Lesinski was bo ...

(Democrat) * House District 17: Martha Griffiths (Democrat) * House District 18: William Broomfield (Republican)

Population

Sports

Baseball

1959 Detroit Tigers season The 1959 Detroit Tigers season was the 59th season for the American League franchise in Detroit. Although the Tigers lost 15 of their first 17 games in —resulting in the May 2 firing of manager Bill Norman—they recovered under his successor, ...

– Under managers Bill Norman and Jimmy Dykes, the Tigers compiled a 75–79 record and finished in fourth place in the American League. The team's statistical leaders included Harvey Kuenn with a .353 batting average,

Charlie Maxwell Charles Richard Maxwell (born April 8, 1927) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Boston Red Sox (1950–52, 1954), Baltimore Orioles (1955), Detroit Tigers (1955– ...

with 31 home runs and 95 RBIs, and Don Mossi with a 3.36 earned run average. * 1959

Michigan Wolverines baseball The Michigan Wolverines baseball team represents the University of Michigan in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Michigan athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games ...

team - Under head coach

Don Lund Donald Andrew Lund (May 18, 1923 – December 10, 2013) was an American professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1945, 1947–1948), St. Louis Browns (1948) and Detroit Tigers (1949, 1952–19 ...

, the Wolverines compiled a 10–17–2 record. Jim Dickey was the team captain.

American football

1959 Detroit Lions season Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

– The Lions, under head coach

George Wilson George Wilson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Balch Wilson (born 1927), American composer, professor emeritus at the University of Michigan * George Washington Wilson (1823–1893), Scottish photographer * George Christopher (actor) ...

, compiled a 3–8–1 record. The team's statistical leaders included Earl Morrall with 1,102 passing yards,

Nick Pietrosante Nicholas Vincent Pietrosante (September 10, 1937 – February 6, 1988), commonly known as Nick Pietrosante, was an American football fullback. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and professional football i ...

and 447 rushing yards, Jim Gibbons with 431 receiving yards, and Howard Cassady with 30 points scored. *

1959 Michigan State Spartans football team The 1959 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1959 Big Ten Conference football season. In their sixth season under head coach Duffy Daugherty, the Spartans compiled a 5–4 overall record (4–3 agai ...

– Under head coach Duffy Daugherty, the Spartans compiled a 5–4 record. The team's statistical leaders included Dean Look with 785 passing yards and Herb Adderly with 419 rushing yards and 265 receiving yards. *

1959 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1959 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1959 Big Ten Conference football season. In its first year under head coach Bump Elliott, Michigan compiled a 4–5 recor ...

– Under head coach Bump Elliott, the Wolverines compiled a 4-5 record. The team's statistical leaders included

Stan Noskin Stanton Charles Noskin (born June 12, 1938) is a former American football player. He played at the quarterback position for the University of Michigan from 1957 to 1959. He was the starting quarterback for the 1959 Michigan Wolverines football t ...

with 747 passing yards, Fred Julian with 289 rushing yards, and Robert Johnson with 264 receiving yards. *

1959 Central Michigan Chippewas football team The 1959 Central Michigan Chippewas football team represented Central Michigan University in the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1959 NCAA College Division football season The 1959 NCAA College Division footbal ...

– Under head coach Kenneth "Bill" Kelly, the Chippewas compiled a 7–3 record. *

1959 Western Michigan Broncos football team The 1959 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1959 NCAA College Division football season. In their third season under head coach Merle Schlosser, the Bron ...

– Under head coach

Merle Schlosser Merle Schlosser (born October 17, 1926) is an American former college football player and coach. He played football at the end position for the University of Illinois from 1948 to 1949. After graduating from Illinois, Schlosser was an assistant f ...

, the Broncos compiled a 4–5 record. *

1959 Eastern Michigan Hurons football team The 1959 Eastern Michigan Hurons football team represented Eastern Michigan University in the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1959 NCAA College Division football season. In their eighth season under head coach Fre ...

– Under head coach

Fred Trosko Fred Trosko (September 5, 1917 – February 6, 1999) was an American football player and coach. He played at the halfback position for the University of Michigan football team from 1937 to 1939. He later served as the head football coach at Ea ...

, the Hurons compiled a 1–7 record. *

1959 Detroit Titans football team The 1959 Detroit Titans football team represented the University of Detroit as an independent during the 1959 NCAA University Division football season. In their first year under head coach Jim Miller, the Titans compiled a 6–4 record and were ...

– The Titans compiled a 6–4 record under head coach Jim Miller.

Basketball

1958–59 Detroit Pistons season The 1958–59 NBA season was the Detroit Pistons' 11th season in the NBA and second season in the city of Detroit. The team played at Olympia Stadium in Detroit. The team finished with a 28-44 (.389) record, third in the Western Division, bu ...

– Under head coach Red Rocha, the Pistons compiled a 28–44 record. The team's statistical leaders included Gene Shue with 1,266 points,

Walter Dukes Walter F. Dukes (June 23, 1930 – March 13, 2001) was a center for the New York Knicks (1955–1956), Minneapolis Lakers (1956–1957) and Detroit Pistons (1957–1963). He played college basketball for the Seton Hall Pirates. Born in Ro ...

with 958 rebounds, and

Dick McGuire Richard Joseph McGuire (January 26, 1926 – February 3, 2010) was an American professional basketball player and coach. One of the premier guards of the 1950s, McGuire spent 11 seasons in the NBA (1949–60), eight with the New York Knicks and ...

with 443 assists. * 1958–59 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team – Under head coach

Forddy Anderson Forrest "Forddy" Anderson (March 17, 1919 – October 25, 1999) was an American basketball coach. He was the first coach in NCAA history to take two different teams to the Final Four; Bradley in 1950 and 1954 and Michigan State in 1957. Early l ...

, the Spartans compiled a 19–4 record and advanced to the NCAA tournament where they won Mideast Regional semifinal against Marquette, then lost the Mideast Regional Final to Louisville.

Bob Anderegg Robert H. Anderegg (born August 24, 1937) is an American former small forward / shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the American Basketball League (ABL). He played professionally for the New York Knicks and the Hawaii ...

led the team with an average of 19.6 points per game. *

1958–59 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team The 1958–59 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1958–59 season. The team played its home games at Fielding H. Yost Field House (renamed Yost Ice ...

– Under head coach William Perigo, the Wolverines compiled a 15–7 record. M.C. Burton, Jr. won the Big Ten Conference statistical championships for both scoring (22.6 points per game) and rebounding (249 in 14 conference games for a 17.8 rebound average). Burton was the first player to lead the conference in both scoring and rebounding. * 1958–59 Detroit Titans men's basketball team – The Titans compiled an 11–14 record under head coach Bob Calihan. * 1958–59 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team – Under head coach Don Boven, the Broncos compiled a 1–11 record.

Ice hockey

1958–59 Detroit Red Wings season The 1958–59 Detroit Red Wings season was the Red Wings' 33rd season. Offseason Regular season Final standings Record vs. opponents Schedule and results Playoffs They failed to make the playoffs Player statistics Regular season ;S ...

– Under head coach Sid Abel, the Red Wings compiled a 25–37–8 record and finished in sixth place in the National Hockey League. Gordie Howe led the team with 32 goals, 46 assists, and 78 points. The team's goaltender was Terry Sawchuk. * 1958–59 Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey season – Under head coach

Al Renfrew Allan McNab Renfrew (December 21, 1924 – November 10, 2014) was a hockey player (left wing) at the University of Michigan in the late 1940s and a college hockey coach with Michigan Technological University (1951–1956), the University of No ...

, the Wolverines compiled an 8–13–1 record. * 1958–59 Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey team – Under head coach John MacInnes, Michigan Tech compiled a 16–10–1 record. * 1958–59 Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey team – Under head coach Amo Bessone, the Spartans compiled a 17–6–1 record. and placed second at the

1959 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament The 1959 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1958–59 NCAA men's ice hockey season, the 12th such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 12 and 14, 1959, and concluded with North Dakota defeating Michigan ...

, losing to North Dakota in the championship game.

Boat racing

* Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race – * APBA Gold Cup –

Golf

Michigan Open The Michigan Open is the Michigan state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Michigan section of the PGA of America. It has been played annually since 1916 at a variety of courses around the sta ...

– * Motor City Open -

Chronology of events

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Births

* February 5 - Jennifer Granholm, 47th Governor of Michigan, in Vancouver * June 19 - Mark DeBarge, part of the Motown family group DeBarge and songwriter ("

Stay with Me Stay with Me may refer to: Film and television * ''Stay with Me'' (2004 film), an Italian film * ''Stay with Me'' (2010 film), a Canadian drama film * ''Stay with Me'' (2018 film), a South Korean romantic drama film * ''Stay with Me'' (TV series), ...

"), in Detroit * August 14 -

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...

, basketball player for

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

(1979–1991, 1996), 5x NBA champion, 3x NBA MVP, in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

* September 21 -

Dave Coulier David Alan Coulier ( ; born September 21, 1959) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, impressionist, and television host. He played Joey Gladstone on the ABC sitcom ''Full House'', voiced Peter Venkman on ''The Real Ghostbusters'', and voiced ...

, actor ('' Full House'') and stand-up comedian, in St. Clair Shores, Michigan * October 23 -

Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007) and the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present). He also directed the 1 ...

, film director ( ''Evil Dead'' series, the original ''Spider-Man'' trilogy, and ''

Darkman ''Darkman'' is a 1990 American superhero film directed and co-written by Sam Raimi. Based on a short story Raimi wrote that paid homage to Universal's horror films of the 1930s, the film stars Liam Neeson as scientist Peyton Westlake, who is br ...

'') and screenwriter, in Royal Oak, Michigan * no date - Bill Morrison, comic book artist and writer, co-founder and creative director of Bongo Comics (1993-2012), in Lincoln Park, Michigan

Gallery of 1959 births

File:Earvin "Magic" Johnson on '07.jpg,

File:Wikicoulier.png,

Sam Raimi by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg,

File:Bill Morrison by Gage Skidmore.jpg, Bill Morrison

Deaths

* March 17 - Howard Ehmke, pitcher for

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1916–1922), at age 64 in Philadelphia * April 9 - John Herrmann, writer who lived in Paris in the 1920s as part of its famous expatriate American writers' circle, at age 58 in Mexico * May 15 - Clarence J. McLeod, Congressman from Michigan (1920–1941), at age 63 in Detroit * August 5 - Edgar Guest, poet who became known as the "People's Poet", at age 77 in Detroit * September 7 -

Charline White Charline White (September 1, 1920September 7, 1959) was the first African-American woman to be elected to the Michigan Legislature. Early life White was born in Atlanta, Georgia on September 1, 1920. Sometime in 1923 she moved to Detroit, Mi ...

, first African-American woman to be elected to the Michigan Legislature, at age 39 in Detroit * December 2 -

Albert J. Engel Albert Joseph Engel (January 1, 1888 – December 2, 1959) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Biography Engel was born in New Washington, Ohio. He attended the public schools in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, and the Centra ...

, Congressman from Michigan (1935–1951), at age 71 in Grand Rapids

Gallery of 1959 deaths

File:HowardEhmke.jpg, Howard Ehmke File:ClarenceJMcLeod.jpg, Clarence J. McLeod File:Edgar Guest 1935.JPG, Edgar Guest File:Albert J Engel 24461r.jpg,

File:Charline White.png,

References

{{Michigan year nav

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