January 1 » New York, New York annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs.
January 13 » Émile Zola's J'accuse…! exposes the Dreyfus affair.
April 25 » Spanish–American War: The United States declares war on Spain.
September 18 » The Fashoda Incident triggers the last war scare between Britain and France.
October 14 » The steam ship SSMohegan sinks near the Lizard peninsula, Cornwall, killing 106.
November 3 » France withdraws its troops from Fashoda (now in Sudan), ending the Fashoda Incident.
Day of death October 16, 1959
The temperature on October 16, 1959 was between 5.3 °C and 20.0 °C and averaged 11.9 °C. There was 9.0 hours of sunshine (84%). The average windspeed was 4 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the south east. Source: KNMI
January 29 » The first Melodifestivalen is held in Cirkus, Stockholm, Sweden.
April 8 » The Organization of American States drafts an agreement to create the Inter-American Development Bank.
April 9 » Project Mercury: NASA announces the selection of the United States' first seven astronauts, whom the news media quickly dub the "Mercury Seven".
August 11 » Sheremetyevo International Airport, the second-largest airport in Russia, opens.
November 15 » The murders of the Clutter Family in Holcomb, Kansas were discovered, inspiring Truman Capote's non-fiction book In Cold Blood.
November 19 » The Ford Motor Company announces the discontinuation of the unpopular Edsel.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Peeters Mathieu, "FutureHistory", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-riske/I5121.php : accessed August 29, 2026), "Alfons de Meirleir (1898-1959)".
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