I've got Thomas Graham's history of Revell and Arthur Ward's history of Airfix in front of me. Dr. Graham's books on Monogram and Aurora are elsewhere in the house; if you're interested in those, I'll dig them out too.
Since this thread is in the "Ships" forum, I'm assuming all you're interested in are the ship kits. (If we throw in the aircraft, cars, and armor, the list will be a lot longer.)
Here are the Revell ship kits that Dr. Graham lists as having appeared in the company catalog for the first time in 1959:
U.S.S. George Washington (the notorious cutaway submarine)
N.S Savannah
U.S.S. Olympia
H.M.S. Victory
Cutty Sark (1/96)
In other words - the same five kits Millard already mentioned. I have to admit I did a double-take when I saw how short that list was. I think the company was devoting most of its time to airplanes and cars that year.
Airfix, according to Mr. Ward's book, only released two ships in 1959: H.M.S. Cossack and H.M.S. Victorious, both on 1/600 scale.
Youth, talent, hard work, and enthusiasm are no match for old age and treachery.