February 4 » The Philippine–American War begins with the Battle of Manila.
May 30 » Pearl Hart, a female outlaw of the Old West, robs a stage coach 30 miles southeast of Globe, Arizona.
July 11 » Fiat founded by Giovanni Agnelli in Turin, Italy.
September 13 » Henry Bliss is the first person in the United States to be killed in an automobile accident.
December 11 » Second Boer War: In the Battle of Magersfontein the Boers commanded by general Piet Cronjé inflict a defeat on the forces of the British Empire commanded by Lord Methuen trying to relieve the Siege of Kimberley.
Day of death February 5, 1959
The temperature on February 5, 1959 was between -3.4 °C and 3.2 °C and averaged -0.9 °C. There was 7.7 hours of sunshine (83%). The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the east-northeast. Source: KNMI
April 8 » A team of computer manufacturers, users, and university people led by Grace Hopper meets to discuss the creation of a new programming language that would be called COBOL.
May 30 » The Auckland Harbour Bridge, crossing the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, is officially opened by Governor-General Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham.
June 9 » The USSGeorge Washington is launched. It is the first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.
June 23 » Convicted Manhattan Project spy Klaus Fuchs is released after only nine years in prison and allowed to emigrate to Dresden, East Germany where he resumes a scientific career.
August 3 » Portugal's state police force PIDE fires upon striking workers in Bissau, Portuguese Guinea, killing over 50 people.
September 16 » The first successful photocopier, the Xerox 914, is introduced in a demonstration on live television from New York City.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Hendrik Dreyer, "Dreyer Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/dreyer-tree/I13280.php : accessed February 4, 2026), "Petrus Adriaan Johannes (Piet) Dreyer (1899-1959)".
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