in China by the Panchen Lama. March 31 – The Dalai Lama is granted asylum in India. April April 6 – The 31st Academy Awards ceremony is held. April 8 – The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) is established. April 9 – NASA announces its selection of seven military pilots to become the first U.S. astronauts (later known as the Mercury Seven). April 10 – Crown Prince Akihito of Japan marries Shōda Michiko, the first commoner to marry into the Imperial House of Japan. April 25 – The Saint Lawrence Seaway linking the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean officially opens to shipping. April 27 – National People's Congress elects Liu Shaoqi as Chairman of the People's Republic of China, as a successor of Mao Zedong. May May Import tariffs are lifted in the United Kingdom. The first Ten Tors event is held on Dartmoor in England. May 2 – 1959 FA Cup Final: Nottingham Forest defeats Luton Town 2–1 at Wembley Stadium. May 18 – The National Liberation Committee of Côte d'Ivoire is launched in Conakry, Guinea. May 21 – Gypsy: A Musical Fable, starring Ethel Merman in her last new musical, opens on Broadway and runs for 702 performances May 24 – British Empire Day is renamed Commonwealth Day. May 28 – Jupiter AM-18 rocket launches two primates, Miss Baker and Miss Able, into space from Cape Canaveral in the United States along with living microorganisms and plant seeds. Successful recovery makes them the first living beings to return safely to Earth after space flight. June June 3 Singapore becomes a self-governing crown colony of Britain with Lee Kuan Yew as Prime Minister. Real Madrid beats Stade Reims 2–0 at Neckarstadion, Stuttgart and wins the 1958–59 European Cup (football). June 5 – A new government of the State of Singapore is sworn in by Sir William Goode. Two former ministers are re-elected to the Legislative Assembly. June 8 – The USS Barbero and United States Postal Service attempt the delivery of mail via Missile Mail. June 9 – The USS George Washington is launched as the first submarine to carry ballistic missiles. June 14 - A 3-front invasion of the Dominican Republic by exile forces backed by Fidel Castro and Venezuela attempt to overthrow Rafael Trujillo. June 18 – The film The Nun's Story, based on the best-selling novel, is released. Audrey Hepburn stars as the title character; she