1960 - What happened in 1960 ?

January 1960

Friday 01:

The Republic of Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Saturday 09:

Construction of the Aswan Dam begins in Egypt.

Saturday 23:

The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record when by descending to the deepest point in the Pacific Ocean. (The depth was measured to be 35,813 ft (10,916 m) but later measurements show it to be 35,798 ft (10,911 m))

Monday 25:

The National Association of Broadcasters reacts to the Payola scandal by threatening fines for any disc jockeys who accepted money for playing particular records.

February 1960

Thursday 04:

Lorraine, Quebec is founded.

Monday 08:

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issued an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name "Mountbatten-Windsor".

Tuesday 09:

Joanne Woodward receives the first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Sunday 28:

End of 10th Winter Olympic Games in Squaw Valley, California

Monday 29:

An earthquake in Morocco kills over 3,000 people and nearly destroys Agadir in the southern part of the country.

March 1960

Saturday 05:

Elvis Presley is discharged from the United States Army.

Saturday 12:

A fire at a chemical plant in Pusan, Korea kills 68.

Monday 21:

Apartheid: Massacre in Sharpeville, South Africa: Police open fire on a group of unarmed black South African demonstrators, killing 69 and wounding 180

Tuesday 22:

Arthur Leonard Schawlow & Charles Townes receive the first patent for a laser.

Friday 25:

In London, United Kingdom, Jacqueline Boyer wins the fifth Eurovision Song Contest for France singing "Tom Pillibi".

April 1960

Friday 01:

The United States launches the first weather satellite, TIROS-1.

Tuesday 19:

Students in South Korea hold a nationwide pro-democracy protest against their president Syngman Rhee, eventually forcing him to resign.

Thursday 21:

Founding of the Orthodox Baha'i faith in Washington, DC.

Wednesday 27:

Togo gains independence from French-administered UN trusteeship.

May 1960

Sunday 01:

Cold War: U-2 Crisis – Francis Gary Powers, in a U-2 spyplane, is shot down over the Soviet Union, sparking off a crisis.

Tuesday 03:

The Off-Broadway musical comedy, The Fantasticks, opens in New York City's Greenwich Village, eventually becoming the longest-running musical of all time.

Saturday 07:

Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that his nation is holding American U-2 pilot Gary Powers.

Friday 13:

First ascent of Dhaulagiri, world's seventh-highest mountain.

Sunday 15:

The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 4.

June 1960

Friday 03:

In Gideon v. Wainwright, the United States Supreme Court rules that all accused persons must be given the right to an attorney.

Thursday 16:

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho opens in New York

Monday 20:

Independence of Mali and Senegal.

Sunday 26:

Former British Protectorate of Somaliland British Somaliland gains its independence

Thursday 30:

Congo gains independence from Belgium.

July 1960

Friday 01:

Independence of Somalia.

Monday 04:

Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Act).

Monday 11:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is first published.

Tuesday 12:

Orlyonok, the main Young Pioneer camp of the Russian SFSR, is founded.

August 1960

Wednesday 03:

Niger gains independence from France.

Thursday 11:

Chad declares independence

Wednesday 17:

Gabon gains independence from France.

Saturday 20:

Senegal breaks from the Mali federation, declaring independence.

Tuesday 23:

In Equatorial Guinea, the world's largest frog (3.3 kg) is caught.

September 1960

Thursday 01:

Disgruntled railroad workers effectively halt operations of the Pennsylvania Railroad, marking the first shutdown in the history of the company.

Thursday 08:

In Huntsville, Alabama, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally dedicates the Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA had already activated the facility on July 1).

Sunday 11:

Young Americans for Freedom meeting at home of William F. Buckley, Jr. promulgates the Sharon Statement.

Thursday 22:

Mali gains independence from France.

Monday 26:

In Chicago, Illinois, the first televised debate takes place between presidential candidates Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy.

October 1960

Monday 03:

The Andy Griffith Show debuts.

Tuesday 04:

An Eastern Airlines Lockheed L-188 Electra flying from Boston crashes, killing 62 people after a bird strike.

Friday 07:

1960 - "Route 66" premieres.

Thursday 13:

1960 World Series: Baseballer Bill Mazeroski becomes the first person to end a World Series with a home run.

Monday 24:

Nedelin catastrophe: An R-16 ballistic missile explodes on the launch pad at the Soviet Union's Baikonur Cosmodrome space facility, killing 165. Among the dead is Field Marshall Mitrofan Nedelin, whose death is reported to have occurred in a plane crash.

November 1960

Tuesday 01:

While campaigning for President of the United States, John F. Kennedy announces his idea of the Peace Corps.

Friday 04:

Filming wraps on The Misfits, starring Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable -- the last film for both.

Tuesday 15:

The Polaris missile is test launched.

Wednesday 23:

The long-running serial, Ma Perkins, airs its last episode on CBS radio.

Friday 25:

The Mirabal sisters of the Dominican Republic were assassinated .

December 1960

Friday 09:

Coronation Street first airs on televisions across the United Kingdom.

Friday 16:

A United Airlines DC-8 and a TWA Super-Constellation collide over New York City, killing 134

Tuesday 20:

National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam is formed

Saturday 31:

The farthing coin, used in Britain since the 13th century, ceases to be legal tender.