1959 in the United Kingdom

none October 2022 April 2020 January 2013 1959 Constituent countries of the United Kingdom Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Popular culture 1959 British Grand Prix 1959 English cricket season Football: England Scotland 1959 in British television 1959 in British radio 1959 in British music UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 Events from the year 1959 in the United Kingdom. Incumbents Monarch – Elizabeth II Prime Minister – Harold Macmillan (Conservative) Events 15 January – Tyne Tees Television, the ITV franchise for North East England, goes on the air.The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/oct/07/citynews.ITV#:~:text=1959%0ATyne%20Tees%20(January)%2C%20Ulster%20and%20Anglia%20(both%20October)%20all%20join%20the%20ITV%20network. The Guardian 7 October 2003 22 January – Racing driver Mike Hawthorn is killed after his Jaguar 3.4-litre car collides with a tree on the A3 near Guildford.Death details https://www.historicracingnews.com/Article/On-This-Day-Mike-Hawthorn-Just-what-DID-happen-on-22nd-January-1959-/2151 29 January – Dense fog brings chaos to Britain.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/29/newsid_2506000/2506057.stm 1959: Fog brings transport chaos BBC News 2009-07-02 29 January 1959 19 February – First of the London and Zürich Agreements under which the UK agrees to grant independence to Cyprus.CYPRUS (AGREEMENT) (Hansard, 19 February 1959) https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1959/feb/19/cyprus-agreement api.parliament.uk 30 July 2025 1 23 February – Prime Minister Harold Macmillan holds talks with the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev on a visit to the USSR.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/23/newsid_2752000/2752737.stm 1959: Macmillan and Khrushchev talk peace BBC News 2008-02-05 23 February 1959 https://web.archive.org/web/20080226161647/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/23/newsid_2752000/2752737.stm 26 February 2008 live 7 March – Independence movement leader Kanyama Chiume, wanted in the British territory of Nyasaland, flees to London and goes into hiding.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/7/newsid_2780000/2780875.stm 1959: African activist flees to UK BBC News 2009-07-02 7 March 1959 10 March – The comedy film Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (U.S. title: Man in a Cocked Hat) is released.Man in a Cocked Hat https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053044/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20261002180247/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053044/ 2 October 2026 2 October 2026 IMDB 30 March – 20,000 demonstrators attend a CND rally in Trafalgar Square. thumb|175px|Poster introduced in April 1 April – The official name of the administrative county of Hampshire is changed from "County of Southampton" to "County of Hampshire". 2 April – United Dairies merges with Cow & Gate to form Unigate Dairies.Cow & Gate Limited The Times 1 April 1959 22 April – Ballerina Margot Fonteyn is released from prison in Panama following involvement in her husband's planned coup against the government of President Ernesto de la Guardia.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/22/newsid_2938000/2938889.stm 1959: Dame Margot Fonteyn released from jail BBC News 2009-07-02 22 April 1959 30 April – Icelandic gunboat fires on British trawlers in the first of the Cod Wars over fishing rights. thumb|First Morris Mini-Minor off the production line, 8 May, ready for public launch in August. 2 May The Chapelcross nuclear power station in Scotland opens.Penguin Pocket On This Day Penguin Reference Library 0-14-102715-0 2006 Nottingham Forest beat Luton Town 2–1 in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.FA Cup Final Results http://www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk/results.html FA Cup Finals 27 November 2015 7 May – Scientist and novelist C. P. Snow delivers an influential Rede Lecture on The Two Cultures, concerning a perceived breakdown of communication between the sciences and humanities, in the Senate House, University of Cambridge. It is subsequently published as The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. 24 May – British Empire Day becomes Commonwealth Day. 28 May – The Mermaid Theatre opens in the City of London. May – The first Ten Tors event is held on Dartmoor. June – Import tariffs are lifted in the United Kingdom. 1 June – The first episode of Juke Box Jury airs on BBC Television, chaired by David Jacobs.https://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/great_moments/archive/june.shtml June anniversaries The BBC Story BBC 2011-03-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20110128104134/http://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/great_moments/archive/june.shtml 28 January 2011 dead 3 June – Singapore is granted self-governing status. 11 June – Christopher Cockerell's invention of the hovercraft is officially launched.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/11/newsid_4333000/4333329.stm 1959: Hovercraft marks new era in transport BBC News 2008-02-05 11 June 1959 https://web.archive.org/web/20080106211645/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/11/newsid_4333000/4333329.stm 6 January 2008 live On 25 July, the SR.N1 craft crosses the English Channel from Calais to Dover in just over 2 hours. 22 June – Harrods enters talks with Debenhams over a possible £34,000,000 merger. 23 June – Klaus Fuchs is released from Wakefield prison having served over nine years for giving British nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union and moves to East Germany. 9 July – Wing Commander Michael Beetham flying a Royal Air Force Vickers Valiant sets a record of 11 hours 27 minutes for a non-stop London–Cape Town flight.http://www.rafweb.org/Records.htm Records set by the RAF Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation June 10, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20110812152044/http://www.rafweb.org/Records.htm August 12, 2011 dead 10 July – Cliff Richard and The Drifters release the song "Living Doll" (written by Lionel Bart) as a single. 28 July – UK postcodes are introduced for the first time, albeit as an experiment, in the city of Norwich."Norwich to use postal codes – Experimenting in automation", The Times, 29 July 1959 29 July The Mental Health Act becomes law, modernising the care of mental disorders. The Obscene Publications Act becomes law. The Legitimacy Act becomes law, permitting the legitimisation of a child, one of whose parents was married to a third person at the time of their birth, by subsequent marriage of the parents. 4 August – Barclays become the first bank to install a computer.1959 https://www.expressandstar.com/days/1950-75/1959.html Those were the days Express & Star Wolverhampton 2014-07-23 24 August – House of Fraser wins the bidding war for Harrods in a £37,000,000 deal.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/22/newsid_2960000/2960214.stm 1959: Harrods in £34m merger talks BBC News 2009-07-02 22 June 1959 26 August – BMC launches the Mini to showrooms, a two-door, 10-foot-long car with an 848cc four-cylinder transverse engine and a top speed of 70 mph, designed to carry the driver and three passengers and their luggage in comfort. The designer is Alec Issigonis who also designed the Morris Minor. It will remain in production until the year 2000 and be replaced with a BMW-made version a year later. 31 August – Harold Macmillan and US President Dwight Eisenhower make a joint television broadcast from Downing Street.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/31/newsid_3034000/3034678.stm 1959: Anglo-US TV debate makes history BBC News 2008-02-05 31 August 1959 https://web.archive.org/web/20080203135114/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/31/newsid_3034000/3034678.stm 3 February 2008 live 18 September – Auchengeich mining disaster: 47 miners die as the result of an underground fire at Auchengeich Colliery, Lanarkshire, Scotland.http://www.kirkintilloch-herald.co.uk/news/Community-pays-tribute-to-Auchengeich.3192264.jp https://archive.today/20120906091544/http://www.kirkintilloch-herald.co.uk/news/Community-pays-tribute-to-Auchengeich.3192264.jp dead 6 September 2012 Community pays tribute to Auchengeich mining disaster victims Kirkintilloch Herald 11 September 2007 2010-07-14 7 October – Southend Pier is damaged in a fire.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/7/newsid_3151000/3151625.stm 1959: Southend Pier fire traps hundreds BBC News 2008-02-05 7 October 1959 https://web.archive.org/web/20080307122122/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/7/newsid_3151000/3151625.stm 7 March 2008 live 8 October – The 1959 General Election is held resulting in a record third successive Conservative victory.https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/9/newsid_3095000/3095531.stm 1959: 'Supermac' leads Tories to victory BBC News 2008-02-05 9 October 1959 https://web.archive.org/web/20080307122135/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/9/newsid_3095000/3095531.stm 7 March 2008 live Harold Macmillan, running under the slogan "Life's better with the Conservatives, Don't let Labour ruin it", increases the Conservative majority in Parliament to 100 seats.http://www.ukpolitical.info/1959.htm 1959 General election results summary UK Political Info 2014-07-23 The Labour Party contest their first (and only) General Election under the leadership of Hugh Gaitskell.Nigel Rees Nigel Rees Sayings of the Century London Unwin Paperbacks 1987 0-04-440080-2 Among the new Members of Parliament entering the Commons for the first time are future Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who will represent Finchley in North London for 33 years and future leader of the Liberal Party Jeremy Thorpe.History of Baroness Margaret Thatcher https://www.gov.uk/government/history/past-prime-ministers/margaret-thatcher GOV.UK 27 November 2015 12 October – A large-scale diamond robbery takes place in London. 21 October – Mau Mau leader Dedan Kimathi is arrested in Nyeri, Kenya. 30 October – Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club opens in the Soho district of London. 2 November – The first section of the M1 motorway is opened between Watford and Rugby. It is set to be extended over the next few years, southwards to Edgware and northwards to Leeds. 5 November – Philip John Noel-Baker wins the Nobel Peace Prize.http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1959/ The Nobel Peace Prize 1959 2008-02-05 11 November – London Transport introduces the production AEC Routemaster double-decker bus into public service. 14 November – The nuclear Dounreay Fast Reactor in Scotland achieves criticality.The Hutchinson Factfinder Helicon 1999 1-85986-000-1 17 November – Prestwick and Renfrew Airport in Scotland become the first airports in the UK with duty-free shops.Chronology of Scottish History A Timeline of Scottish History Rampant Scotland http://www.rampantscotland.com/timeline/2000.htm 2014-07-23 20 November – Britain becomes a founder member of the European Free Trade Association. December – Health enthusiast Dr. Barbara Moore walks from Edinburgh to London. 6 December – Aberdeen trawler George Robb runs aground at Duncansby Head in Scotland in a severe gale with the loss of all 12 crew.MFV George Robb (A406) http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?170762 2012 WreckSite 2014-07-23 8 December – Broughty Ferry life-boat Mona capsizes on service to North Carr Lightship in Scotland, all eight life-boat crew are lost. 28 December – Associated-Rediffusion first airs the children's television series Ivor the Engine, made by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin's Smallfilms in stop motion animation using cardboard cut-outs. Undated London County Council completes the first portion of Alton Estate in Roehampton, southwest London, considered a model of post-war public housing.Elain Harwood England: a Guide to Post-War Listed Buildings rev. London Batsford 2003 0-7134-8818-2 "Aluminium War": concluding the first hostile takeover of a public company in the UK, Tube Investments (under its chairman Ivan Stedeford), allied with Reynolds Metals of the United States and advised by Siegmund Warburg of S. G. Warburg & Co., secure control of British Aluminium.http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/search/article/411031/uk-outsider-changed-city/ https://web.archive.org/web/20091103111958/http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/search/article/411031/uk-outsider-changed-city dead 3 November 2009 Outsider who changed the City Management Today 1 November 1998 2010-07-09 The iconic Bush TR82 transistor radio, by Ogle Design, is launched. North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board's Sloy-Awe Hydro-Electric Power Scheme becomes fully operational. The Noise Abatement Society is established. Car ownership in Britain now exceeds 30% of households.http://www.localhistories.org/britain1948.html Britain Since 1948 Tim Lambert A World History Encyclopedia 2014-07-23 Economic growth for the year is a very strong 7.2% while the Retail Price Index shows a zero percentage change over the year.Consumer Price Indices - RPI annual percentage change: 1948 to 2015 http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/datasets-and-tables/data-selector.html?cdid=CZBH&dataset=mm23&table-id=2.2 Office for National Statistics 2015-03-24 2015-03-24 Approximate date, Ballads and Blues folk club founded by Ewan MacColl and others in a London pub in Soho as part of the second British folk revival.Georgina Boyes The Imagined Village: Culture, Ideology, and the English Folk Revival Manchester University Press 1993 0-7190-2914-7 231 Publications Agatha Christie's novel Cat Among the Pigeons, featuring Hercule Poirot. Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Goldfinger. Colin MacInnes' novel Absolute Beginners. Spike Milligan's collection Silly Verse for Kids. Iona and Peter Opie's study The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren. Mervyn Peake's novel Titus Alone, last completed of the Gormenghast series. Alan Sillitoe's story The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Keith Waterhouse's novel Billy Liar. Births October 2022 January – February 4 January – John Batchelor, racing driver, businessman and political activist (died 2010) 5 January – David Eastwood, English historian and academic 7 January – Angela Smith, British Labour Co-operative politician and MP for Basildon 12 January – Simon Tolkien, novelist 16 January – Sade Adu, Nigerian-born British singer-songwriter and record producer 24 January – Jim Moir (Vic Reeves), English comedian and artist 29 January – Frank Key, writer (died 2019) 30 January – Alex Hyde-White, English actor 3 February – Lol Tolhurst, cofounder and drummer/keyboardist of rock band The Cure 4 February – John Wraw, Anglican prelate (died 2017) 6 February – Martyn Quayle, politician (died 2016) 7 February – Mick McCarthy, football player and manager 11 February – Deborah Meaden, businesswoman 15 February Adam Boulton, English journalist Ali Campbell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist Martin Rowson, English author and illustrator 17 February – Dave Courtney, gangster, author and actor (died 2023) 18 February Jayne Atkinson, English-born actress David Parker, swimmer (died 2010) 23 February – Richard Dodds, British field hockey player 27 February – Simon Critchley, British philosopher March – April 1 March – Nick Griffin, British politician, chairman of the British National Party (BNP) 9 March – Mark Carwardine, British zoologist 15 March – Ben Okri, Nigerian-born poet and novelist 19 March – Terry Hall, British singer (died 2022) 20 March Steve McFadden, British actor Peter Truscott, Baron Truscott, Labour politician and peerhttps://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/people/mr-peter-truscott/index.html Mr Peter Truscott (Hansard) api.parliament.uk 21 March – Colin Jones, Welsh boxer 29 March – Richard Cousins, English businessman (died 2017) 30 March – Andrew Bailey, English banker 4 April – Gordon Dunne, Northern Irish politician (died 2021) 5 April – Ian Pearson, British Labour politician and MP for Dudley South 7 April – Nigel Walker, footballer (died 2014) 8 Apri – Martin Weston, cricketer 9 April – Bernard Jenkin, politician 11 April – John Myers, radio executive (died 2019) 14 April – Ali Brownlee, radio sports broadcaster (died 2016) 15 April – Emma Thompson, English actress, comedian and screenwriterEmma Thompson https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/70692/Emma-Thompson/biography https://web.archive.org/web/20131016063025/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/70692/Emma-Thompson/biography dead 16 October 2013 Rebecca Flint Marx Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times 2013 12 October 2013 16 April Yvonne Carter, general practitioner and academic (died 2009) Alison Ramsay, Scottish field hockey playerhttp://www.olympics.org.uk/athleterecord.aspx?at=2583 Alison Ramsay MBE at the British Olympic Committee 16 June 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20070830160740/http://www.olympics.org.uk/athleterecord.aspx?at=2583 30 August 2007 dmy-all 17 April Imogen Bain, actress (died 2014) Sean Bean, actorFilm Review: Special Visual Imagination Limited 2005 96 Peter Doig, British painter 19 April – Jane Campbell, Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, disability rights campaigner 21 April – Robert Smith, gothic rock singer-songwriter (The Cure) 24 April – Paula Yates, television presenter (died 2000)"Paula Yates" https://web.archive.org/web/20160227150927/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1355814/Paula-Yates.html 27 February 2016 . The Telegraph (18 September 2000). Retrieved 3 October 2020. 25 April – Adrian Sanders, British Liberal Democrat politician and MP for Torbay 27 April – Sheena Easton, Scottish singerChase's Calendar of Events 2020: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months Bernan Press 2019 9781641433167 245 May – June 1 May – David Cordier, countertenor (died 2025) 3 May – Ben Elton, English comedian and writerBen Elton https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/ben_elton/ 2020-11-13 British Comedy Guide en-GB 4 May – Dick Bradsell, bartender (died 2016) 5 May – Ian McCulloch, English rock singer-songwriter (Echo & the Bunnymen) 8 May Kevin McCloud, television presenter David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland, aristocrat and politician 12 May Mark Davies, Roman Catholic bishop of Shrewsbury Deborah Warner, stage director and producer 13 May – Peter Longbottom, cyclist (died 1998) 15 May – Andrew Eldritch, English gothic rock singer-songwriter (The Sisters of Mercy) 16 May – Tracy Hyde, English actress and model 17 May – Richard Barrons, English general 18 May Graham Dilley, cricketer (died 2011) Rupert Soames, businessman 20 May Annabel Giles, broadcaster and actress (died 2023) Gregory Gray, Northern Irish singer-songwriter (died 2019) 22 May Graham Fellows, English comedy performer Morrissey, English alternative rock singer-songwriterSimpson Mark Saint Morrissey London SAF Publishing 2004 0-946719-65-9 32 Jon Sopel, journalist and television presenter 23 May – Bob Mortimer, English comedian and actor 24 May – Sharon Peacock, microbiologist 25 May – Julian Clary, comedian 27 May – Gerard Kelly, Scottish actor (died 2010) 28 May Bernardine Evaristo, author and academic John Morgan, writer and etiquette expert (died 2000) 29 May Rupert Everett, English actor Everett, Rupert (1959-) Biography BFI Screenonline 29 May 1959 http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/865655/index.html 17 September 2022 Brian McFarlane Adrian Paul, English-born actor Tessa Tennant, English green investment campaigner (died 2018) 30 May – David Thomas, cricketer (died 2012) 1 June Martin Brundle, English Formula One motor racing driver John Pullinger, English statistician and librarian Peter Skinner, English Labour politician and MEP for South East England 6 June – Lindsay Posner, English theatre director and manager 11 June – Hugh Laurie, English actor, comedian and writerChase's Calendar of Events 2020: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months Bernan Press 2019 9781641433167 318 19 June Ray Deakin, footballer (died 2008) Sophie Grigson, English cookery writer and celebrity chef 21 June – John Baron, English Conservative politician and MP for Billericay 24 June – Andy McCluskey, musician and songwriter (OMD) 26 June – Lucy Kellaway, English columnist at the Financial Times and teacher 27 June – Clint Boon, English rock keyboardist (Inspiral Carpets) and DJ 28 June – Sally Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Huyton, English Labour politician and educationalist 29 June – Richard Vranch, English comedian, actor and television panel show participant 30 June – Jane Gregory, Olympic equestrian (died 2011) July – August 3 July Julie Burchill, journalist Graham Roberts, footballer and manager 4 July – Jan Brittin, cricketer (died 2017) 8 July – Pauline Quirke, actress 9 July Jim Kerr, singer Clive Stafford Smith, civil rights activist 11 July – Steve Whatley, actor and television presenter (died 2005) 13 July – Richard Leman, field hockey player 15 July – Charles Farr, civil servant (died 2019) 16 July Joanna MacGregor, pianist James MacMillan, composer and conductor 18 July – Jonathan Dove, operatic composer 29 July – John Sykes, guitarist (died 2024) 31 July – Kim Newman, journalist, film critic and fiction writerhttps://johnnyalucard.com/biography/ Biography The Kim Newman Web Site Kim Newman 24 May 2011 August 4, 2021 1 August Joe Elliott, rock singer (Def Leppard) Desmond Noonan, gangster (died 2005) 5 August – Pete Burns, pop singer (died 2016) 19 August – Russell Foster, neuroscientist 20 August – Andrew Pelling, Conservative politician and MP for Croydon Central 24 August – Meg Munn, Labour Co-operative politician and MP for Sheffield Heeley 27 August – Jeanette Winterson, novelist 28 August – John Yems, football manager 29 August – Stephen Wolfram, scientist September – October 8 September – Judy Murray, tennis coach 11 September – Colin Butts, novelist and screenwriter (died 2018) 12 September Mike Barrett, footballer (died 1984) Julia Samuel, psychotherapist 13 September – Andy Gray, Scottish actor (died 2021) 18 September Ian Arkwright, English footballer Lucy Birley, model, photographer and socialite (died 2018) 20 September – Kevin Stonehouse, footballer (died 2019) 21 September – Corinne Drewery, singer-songwriter and fashion designer 23 September Frank Cottrell-Boyce, writer Karen Pierce, British diplomat 24 September – Drummie Zeb, reggae musician (died 2022) 28 September – Paul 'Trouble' Anderson, DJ (died 2018) 4 October – Chris Lowe, synth-pop singer-songwriterhttp://www.petshopboys.co.uk/history/195910 Pet Shop Boys Official Site, History Section Petshopboys.co.uk 28 October 2010 17 May 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160517230408/http://petshopboys.co.uk/history/195910 dead 7 October – Simon Cowell, English music producer and television talent show judge 10 October Mark Johnston, Scottish-born racehorse trainer Kirsty MacColl, British singer-songwriter (died 2000) 15 October Sarah Ferguson Tibor Fischer, British fiction writer Andy Holmes, rower (died 2010) 16 October Gary Kemp, English pop artist (Spandau Ballet) John Whittingdale, British Conservative politician and MP for Maldon and Chelmsford East 20 October – Niamh Cusack, Irish-born actress 21 October – Cleveland Watkiss, jazz vocalist 24 October – Ruth Perednik, English-Israeli psychologist and academic 27 October – Liz Howe, ecologist (died 2019) November – December 1 November – Susanna Clarke, British writer 2 November Kevin Ashman, English quiz player Peter Mullan, Scottish actor 9 November Andy Kershaw, British music broadcaster (died 2026) Frances O'Grady, British trade union leader Tony Slattery, actor and comedian (died 2025) 13 November – Caroline Goodall, actress 14 November – Paul McGann, British actor 18 November – Jimmy Quinn, Irish footballer and football manager 23 November – Maxwell Caulfield, British actor 25 November Mark Andrews, rower (died 2020) Charles Kennedy, Scottish Liberal Democrat politician (died 2015)Charles Kennedy obituary https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jun/02/charles-kennedy the Guardian 31 May 2021 en 2015-06-02 26 November – Dai Davies, Welsh politician and independent MPDod's Parliamentary Companion https://books.google.com/books?id=K7pDAQAAIAAJ 2010 Dod's Parliamentary Companion Limited 978-0-905702-89-6 30 November – Lorraine Kelly, Scottish presenter and journalist 1 December – Billy Childish, English painter, writer and musician 2 December – Gwyneth Strong, British actress 5 December – Robbie France, drummer (died 2012) 6 December – Stephen Hepburn, British Labour MP for Jarrow 10 December – Kevin Ash, journalist and author (d. 2013) 11 December – Phil Woolas, disgraced Labour MPhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/445.stm https://web.archive.org/web/20060524055126/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/445.stm dead 24 May 2006 BBC News - Politics - Find Your MP - Oldham East & Saddleworth - Phillip Woolas 24 May 2006 12 December – Jasper Conran, English designer 28 December – Andy McNab, British soldier turned novelist 29 November – Richard Borcherds, mathematician 30 December Antonio Pappano, conductor and pianist Tracey Ullman, English comedian, actress, singer, dancer, screenwriter and author Unknown dates Amanda Craig, British novelist Edith Hall, classicist Mick Hume, British journalist and organiser of the Revolutionary Communist Party Mick Manning, British children's author and illustrator Jasper Morrison, English product and furniture designer Deaths October 2022 14 January – G. D. H. Cole, political and economic theorist, historian and detective fiction writer (born 1889) 22 January – Mike Hawthorn, English race car driver (car crash) (born 1929) 15 February – Sir Owens Willans Richardson, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1879) 20 February – Laurence Housman, playwright and writer (born 1865) 21 February – Kathleen Freeman, classical scholar (born 1897) 24 February – Arthur Young, actor (born 1898) 26 February – Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife (Princess Arthur of Connaught), member of the royal family (born 1891) 25 April – Janet Philip, academic administrator (born 1876) 16 May – Elisha Scott, Northern Irish footballer (born 1894) 17 May – George Albert Smith, English film pioneer (born 1864) 11 June – Gordon Selwyn, educator and Anglican priest (born 1885) 11 July – Charlie Parker, English cricketer (born 1882) 5 August – Edgar A. Guest, English poet (born 1881) 19 August Jacob Epstein, American-born British sculptor (born 1880) Claude Grahame-White, English aviator (born 1879) 6 September – Kay Kendall, English actress (born 1926) (leukaemia) 21 September – Agnes Nicholls, operatic soprano (born 1877) 25 September Gerard Hoffnung, German-born humorist (born 1925) Vera Laughton Mathews, naval officer (born 1888) 15 November – Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Scottish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1869) 26 November – Albert Ketèlbey, pianist, conductor and composer (born 1875) 14 December – Stanley Spencer, painter (born 1891) See also 1959 in British music 1959 in British television List of British films of 1959 References 1959 Category:Years of the 20th century in the United Kingdom Category:1959 by country Category:1950s in the United Kingdom Category:1959 in Europe