January 1959 - January 27, 1959 (Tuesday)

January 27, 1959 (Tuesday)

• The 21st Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was opened at Sverdlovsky Hall in Moscow as Nikita Khrushchev welcomed 1,500 delegates, including Communist leaders from 70 nations. For the first time, Western reporters were admitted to the conclave, held for the first time since 1956.
• NASA Director T. Keith Glennan disclosed that the first 110 candidates had been selected for the first American in space, and that he believed that man would land on the moon by 1969. Scientist Eugen Sänger of Stuttgart predicted that man might be able to approach the speed of light by 1999, reaching a speed of 670 million miles per hour.
• The Convair 880 jet airliner made its first flight, taking off from San Diego and returning after two hours. The jet, fastest up to that time, got its name from its speed of 880 feet per second (600 m.p.h.) but the planes had high operational costs and complicated electrical systems. The last was flown in 1975.
• Born: Keith Olbermann, American news commentator (Countdown with Keith Olbermann) and sportscaster; in New York