John Herschel discovered NGC 2059 = h2936 on 11 Nov 1836 and reported "vF; the 5th (4th in MS) of a group of 6. Pl IV, fig 9." His position and sketch is accurate.

The cluster was sketched using the 48" Great Melbourne Telescope by Le Sueur on 7 Feb 1870, Joseph Turner on 26 Apr 1876 and Pietro Baracchi on 18 Dec 1884 . Le Sueur's and Turner's sketches were published in "Observations of Southern Nebulae made with the Great Melbourne Telescope 1869 - 1885" on plate IV, figure 32 and figure 33. Both observers drew the cluster elongated N-S.

The Hodge-Wright Atlas misidentifies OGLE-CL LMC 632 (too far north) as NGC 2059. Interestingly, Pietro Baracchi's sketch of the field on 18 Dec 1884 with the GMT, shows OGLE-CL LMC 632 as a nebulous object close northwest of NGC 2059, directly south of a star labeled as 15th magnitude

600/800mm - 24" (4/9/08 - Magellan Observatory, Australia): this LMC cluster is on the north side of a field of 8 NGC clusters. At 200x it appeared moderately bright, fairly small, round, 35" diameter. At 350x it appeared grainy but was still unresolved except for a faint star at the north edge. Located 2.1' NNE of NGC 2058 and just 40" following a mag 12 star.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb