Year · 20th century
1959 in Roman numerals
1959 is written MCMLIX
Type any other number or numeral below to convert it.
Above 3,999? Type the barred part in brackets, e.g. (IV)CC = 4,200.
How MCMLIX is built
Roman numerals are written one decimal place at a time, largest first.
- Mthousands · 1M is 1,000.
- CMhundreds · 9C before M means 1,000 − 100 = 900. This saves writing DCCCC.
- Ltens · 5L is 50.
- IXones · 9I before X means 10 − 1 = 9. This saves writing VIIII.
1,000 + 900 + 50 + 9 = 1,959
The pairs CM and IX use subtraction: a smaller letter before a larger one is taken away from it. Only six pairs work this way: IV, IX, XL, XC, CD and CM. More on subtraction
Mistakes to avoid
- Not MDCCCCLVIIII (12 letters). That adds everything up without subtraction. The Romans sometimes wrote numbers this way, and clocks still show 4 as IIII, but today MCMLIX (6 letters) is the standard.
1959 for a tattoo or engraving
- Shortened to two digits ('59), it's LIX. Many date tattoos use this shorter form.
- MCMLIX has 6 letters. 100 of the 201 years from 1900 to 2100 are longer.
- 1959 was not a leap year (365 days), and 1 January 1959 was a Thursday.
See MCMLIX in tattoo lettering
MCMLIX in ten open-source fonts, on your skin tone, ready to download or print as a stencil.
PNG downloads are 3000 px with a transparent background. SVG downloads keep the lettering as outlines, so they look the same in any app. All fonts are open source (SIL Open Font Licence) and free to use for tattoos and products. See the font credits.
Years around 1959
Within the 1950s, every year starts MCML (1,950).
Every year from 1955 to 1963 starts MCML (1,950); only the ending changes.
| Number | Roman numeral |
|---|---|
| 1955 | MCMLV |
| 1956 | MCMLVI |
| 1957 | MCMLVII |
| 1958 | MCMLVIII |
| 1959 | MCMLIX |
| 1960 | MCMLX |
| 1961 | MCMLXI |
| 1962 | MCMLXII |
| 1963 | MCMLXIII |