Car racers Andrea De Cesaris

Events in 1959 and 31-5

Events in the world in the birth year of Andrea De Cesaris

• Cuban President Batista resigns and flees (Jan. 1). Fidel Castro assumes power (Feb. 16).
• Tibet's Dalai Lama escapes to India (Mar. 31).
• Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev tours the United States, meeting with Eisenhower at Camp David.
• Britain recognizes the independence of Cyprus.

Birthday Andrea De Cesaris (31-5) in history

• Day 31-5 year 1790: The first U.S. Copyright Law was enacted, protecting books, maps, and other original materials.
• Day 31-5 year 1889: Heavy rains caused the South Fork Dam to collapse, sending 20 million tons of water into Johnstown, Pa. Over 2,200 people were killed and the town was nearly destroyed.
• Day 31-5 year 1911: The hull of the Titanic was launched in Belfast. At the ceremony, a White Star Line employee claimed, “Not even God himself could sink this ship.”
• Day 31-5 year 1961: South Africa became an independent republic.
• Day 31-5 year 1962: Former Gestapo official Adolf Eichmann was hanged in Israel.
• Day 31-5 year 1970: An earthquake in Peru left more than 50,000 dead.
• Day 31-5 year 2004: Alberta Martin, 97, one of the last widows of a U.S. Civil War veteran, died. She had married Confederate veteran William Martin in 1927 when she was 21 and he was 81.
• Day 31-5 year 2010: Nine people are dead after an Israeli navy commando attacks a flotilla of cargo ships and passenger boats on their way to Gaza to provide aid and supplies for the area.