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

Monday 01:

Four black students stage a sit-in at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.

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".

Sunday 21:

Cuban leader Fidel Castro nationalizes all businesses in Cuba.

Sunday 28:

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

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

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.

Monday 09:

Reproductive rights: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves sale of the birth control pill.

Tuesday 10:

The nuclear submarine USS Triton completes the first underwater circumnavigation of the earth.

Wednesday 11:

1960 - The first contraceptive pill is made available on the market.

Sunday 22:

An earthquake measuring 9.5 on the Richter scale, now known as the Great Chilean Earthquake, hits southern Chile. It is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded.

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.

Friday 17:

Ted Williams becomes the fourth member of the 500 home run club with a home run at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.

Sunday 26:

Former British Protectorate of Somaliland British Somaliland gains its independence

Tuesday 28:

US-owned oil refineries in Cuba confiscated and nationalised.

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

Monday 01:

Communist PAI is banned in Senegal.

Friday 05:

Burkina Faso, then known as "Upper Volta", became independent from France

Monday 15:

Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) declares its independence from France

Wednesday 24:

A temperature of −88°C (−127°F) is measured in Vostok, Antarctica — a world-record low.

Thursday 25:

Games of the XVII Olympiad open in Rome.

September 1960

Monday 05:

Muhammad Ali wins the gold medal in boxing at the Rome Olympic Games.

Wednesday 14:

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is founded.

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.

Friday 30:

The last episode of "The Howdy Doody Show" airs on NBC.

October 1960

Saturday 01:

Nigeria gains independence from the United Kingdom.

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.

Wednesday 12:

Cold War: Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe on a table at a General Assembly of the United Nations meeting to protest discussion of Soviet Union policy toward Eastern Europe

Friday 14:

U.S. presidential candidate John F. Kennedy first suggests the idea for the Peace Corps.

November 1960

Wednesday 02:

Penguin Books is found not guilty of obscenity in the Lady Chatterley's Lover case

Friday 04:

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

Tuesday 08:

U.S. presidential election, 1960: John F. Kennedy is elected over Richard M. Nixon, becoming the youngest man elected to that office.

Sunday 13:

1960 - A fire at a movie theater in Amude Syria kills 152 people.

Monday 28:

Mauritania becomes independent of France.

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.