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Events of 1960
January
The Bathosphere “Trieste” reached the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
The testing of
Little Joe 1B the Mercury launch escape system was successful.
The British prime minister Harold Macmillan made his Wind of Change speech after spending a month in Africa.
February
France performed it’s first nuclear test at Reggane Proving Grounds Algeria.
March
Pioneer 5 was launched to investigate the space between the orbits of the Earth and Venus.
Explorer S-46 failed to reach orbit.
The Bank of England issued the new £1-00 note.
April
The U.S.A. launched “Tiros 1” the first observation weather satellite.
The first navigational satellite Transit 1B was placed into earth’s orbit.
May
president Dwight Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1960.
The USSR Sputnik 4 was launched into earths orbit.
The “Payola” court case which was cash or gifts given for airplay of records. The scandal involved Alan Freed who paid a small fine and was released.
The first contraceptive pill Enovid was approved and made available to the American market.
The first optical laser was demonstrated by Theodore Maiman at Hughes Research
laboratories in Malibu.
June
The Avro HS 748 made it’s first flight at Woodford, England.
July
The first Euro cup final The Soviet Union beat Yugoslavia 2-1.
The new American 50 star flag was unfurled honouring Hawaiian statehood.
August
The first communications satellite Echo 1 was successfully put into orbit..
Discoverer 13 was launched into orbit. The return capsule was recovered the next day.
Sputnik 5 launched carrying plants, mice and two dogs called Belka and Strelka. The spacecraft returned safely the next day without any casualties.
September
“USS Enterprise” was launched the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier.
Five oil producing nations formed Opec:- Iran - Iraq - Saudi Arabia
Kuwait - Venezuela.
October
At the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary Michael Woodruff performed the first successful kidney transplant.
The first active repeater satellite “Courier 1B” was launched.
November
John F. Kennedy was elected president of the United States.
Mercury-Redstone 1 launch failed
The weather satellite Tiros 2 was launched.
December
The first episode of Coronation Street was aired in the U.K.
The successful launch of the Mercury-Redstone 1A.
1960 was a year many countries became independent and among them were.
· Chad - Cyprus - Gabon - Togo
· Ivory Coast - Mauritania - Cameroon
Wilson Greatbatch created his implantable cardiac heart pacemaker.
Movies of 1960
H.G. Wells THE TIME MACHINE.
SPARTACUS starred Kirk Douglas.
THE ALAMO with John Wayne and Richard Widmark
Hammer Horror film THE BRIDES OF DRACULA with Peter Cushing.
BUTTERFIELD 8 with Elizabeth Taylor & Laurence Harvey.
EXODUS Directed by Otto Preminger.
Elvis Presley in FLAMING STAR.
G.I. BLUES Elvis Presley.
KIDNAPPED The Walt Disney adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson book.
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN Directed by John Sturges.
The Alfred Hitchcock film PSYCHO.
SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING Starred Albert Finney.
The science fiction film the VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED.
Events of 1961
January
The farthing ceased to be legal tender in the U.K. Later that year in March the black and
white five pound notes were also defunct.
The largest ever cheque issued by the National Bank of Chicago to Sears ($960242 billion).
Mercury-Redstone 2 was launched carrying a chimpanzee called Ham who had been trained to push buttons. He returned unharmed.
February
The entire U.S. figure skating championship team died in a Boeing 707 air crash in Belgium.
Sputnik 7 was launched into Earth’s orbit.
Explorer 9 was launched
March
Sputnik 9 carried a dog called Chernushka into orbit
Explorer 10 satellite was launched into high Earth orbit to relay magnetic field data.
President Kennedy established the Peace Corps.
The first U.S. Polaris submarine arrived at Holy Loch in Scotland.
The first London minicabs were introduced.
The singer, movie star and music hall entertainer George Formby died
April
April 12th Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin was the first human in space and the first man to orbit the Earth in Spacecraft Vostok 1.
The Adolf Eichmann trial started for war crimes during the second world war.
The Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba Failed.
May
Mercury-Redstone 3 was launched with astronaut Alan Shepard in the capsule Freedom 7. He was the first American in space.
In English Football Tottenham Hotspur won the double (league cup & FA cup).
South Africa left the British Commonwealth
June
Rudolf Nureyev the Russian ballet dancer requested asylum.
Kennedy and Khrushchev met in Vienna
July
The first inflight feature film “By Love Possessed” starring Lana Turner was shown.
Ralph Boston beat his world long jump record jumping 27 feet 2 inches.
Equal rights for men and women were accepted in Spain.
Mercury-Redstone 4 was launched with capsule Liberty Bell 7. Gus Grissom was the second American in space.
August
Gherman Titov was the second Russian in space aboard Vostok 2.
Ranger 1 was launched and returned out of Earths low orbit on the 30thof August.
The construction of the Berlin wall was completed.
Lyndon B Johnson U.S. vice president visited West Berlin.
September
Argentian Antonio Abertondo swam the first round trip of the English Channel
( 43hrs 10mins - 44miles).
Mercury-Atlas 4 was launched into Earth’s orbit.
October
A believed extinct volcano Tristan Da Cunha erupted (South Atlantic).
Roger Maris of the New York Yankees hit his 61st home run, beating the 34 year old record held by Babe Ruth.
The first edition of the magazine Private Eye was published in Britain.
Saturn 1 made an unmanned flight test.
November
Neil Armstrong recorded a world record speed in a X-15 rocket powered aircraft.
Ranger 2 was launched hoping to reach the Moon. It failed.
Mercury-Atlas 5 orbited the Earth twice carrying a chimp called Eno which returned unharmed.
Stalingrad was renamed Volvograd.
December
Adolf Eichmann was convicted in December by three judges for war crimes.
Oscar 1 the Ham Radio satellite launched.
Movies of 1961
The Walt Disney film THE ABSENT - MINDED PROFESSOR.
BARABBAS starred Anthony Quinn
BLUE HAWAII With Elvis Presley.
BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S featured Audrey Hepburn.
THE COMANCHEROS With John Wayne.
EL CID Starred Charlton Heston.
THE GUNS OF NAVARONE with Gregory Peck, David Niven & Anthony Quinn.
The Walt Disney Animated film 101 DALMATIANS.
THE PARENT TRAP Starred Hayley Mills & Maureen O’Hara.
A TASTE OF HONEY Directed by Tony Richardson.
WEST SIDE STORY Adapted from the Broadway Musical.
Elvis Presley film WILD IN THE COUNTRY.
THE YOUNG ONES Starred Cliff Richard.
Sixties Events
1960’s Music | Sixties Songs
Events of 1962
January
The United States Navy Seals were first established
The British spy Kim Philby defected to the USSR.
Pope John XXIII excommunicated Fidel Castro.
The Volcano Huascaran erupted in Peru where thousands of people were killed.
Ranger 3 was launched to study the Moon it missed by 22,000 miles.
February
Eight of the nine planets aligned within 16 degrees. The Sun, The Moon, Mercury,Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter.
President Kennedy banned all Cuban imports and exports and began the Cuban blockade.
John Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth in the Mercury-Atlas 6 spacecraft called the Friendship 7.
March
K-Mart opened.
Benny Paret was knocked out in a welterweight fight and died 10 days later.
April
The first Panda crossing opened outside Waterloo station, London.
Georges Pompidou became the president of France.
Ranger 4 was the first satellite to to reach the Moon it crash landed on the far side of the Moon.
Ariel 1 was launched the first U.K. satellite.
May
France did their first underground nuclear experiments.
Antonio Segni was elected president of Italy.
Scott Carpenter orbited the Earth three times in the Mercury-Atlas space capsule called the Aurora 7.
June
The first flight of the Vickers long range airliner VC-10.
Adolf Eichman was hanged in Israel for war crimes committed in the second world war.
Brazil beat Czechoslovakia 3-1 in the FIFA world cup.
The Oscar 2 satellite was launched.
July
Telstar was launched and relayed the first live transatlantic television pictures.
The first Wal-Mart opened.
Mariner 1 was ordered to be destroyed after launch.
August
The South African police arrested Nelson Mandela for incitement.
Thirty six year old film star Marilyn Monroe was found dead of a drug overdose.
Vostok 3 was launched manned by Andrian Nikolayev
Vostok 4 was launched manned by Pavel Popovich this was the first time two spacecrafts were in orbit at the same time. They also made radio contact with each other.
Mariner 2 was launched, it went on a three and half month trip to flyby Venus.
September
An earthquake in Iran, thousands were killed.
In Spain flash floods killed more than 400.
Rod Laver won the grand slam at tennis.
October
The first James Bond film Dr.No opened in cinemas in the U.K.
Nikita Khrushchev ordered the removal of Russian missiles in Cuba.
Wally Schirra in a spacecraft named Sigma 7 completed six Earth orbits.
Ranger 5 was launched to transmit pictures before impacting on the Moon. It missed and went into orbit.
November
Great Britain and France agreed to jointly build Concorde
The U.S. stopped the blockade of Cuba.
Nelson Mandela was sentenced and jailed on Robin Island.
The USSR launched Mars 1 their first probe.
December
Mariner 2 after launching in August completed the mission to flyby Venus.
The Newspaper workers went out on strike in New York.
Tanganyika became a republic.
Movies of 1962
THE 300 SPARTANS Starred Richard Egan.
THE BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ Featured Burt Lancaster.
The adaptation of the John Wyndham novel THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS.
Dr. NO The first James Bond film.
HELL IS FOR HEROES Starred Steve McQueen.
The epic western film HOW THE WEST WAS WON.
Elvis Presley musical KID GALAHAD.
A KIND OF LOVING Directed by John Schlesinger.
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA directed by David Lean.
The Stanley Kubrick film LOLITA.
THE LONELINESS OF LONG DISTANCE RUNNER Based on the book which was written by Alan Sillitoe..
Kirk Douglas in LONELY ARE THE BRAVE.
Richard Burton & Sean Connery featured in THE LONGEST DAY.
TARAS BULBA starred Yul Brynner and Tony Curtis.
Robert Aldrich directed WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE.
Events of 1963
January
Britain was hit with freezing temperatures which lasted up to April.
The leader of the British Labour Party Hugh Gaitskell died aged 56.
February
The Boeing 727 prototype had it’s first flight.
The United States launched the communications satellite Syncom1.
March
Alcatraz the penitentiary was closed and the prisoners were transferred.
The Beeching report called for massive cuts on the U.K.’s railways.
In the U.S. and the U.K. the Sabin Polio vaccine was given.
The first “Pop Art” exhibition was shown in New York.
Sony introduced the first fully transistorised portable video recorder.
April
Thresher the U.S. nuclear submarine was officially declared lost after sinking
with all hands drowned.
Explorer 17 was launched to study the Earth’s upper atmosphere
The USSR Luna 4 was launched.
May
James Bond film Dr. No opened in the U.S.
James Whittaker became the first American to climb the tallest mountain in the world Mt. Everest.
Telstar 2 was launched.
Gordon Cooper in the capsule named Faith 7, completed twenty two Earth orbits. This was the last Mercury mission.
June
John Profumo the British war minister resigned due to the Christine Keeler scandal.
Cardinal Montini became the 262nd leader of the Catholic Church. Pope Paul VI.
The cancellation of the Mercury-Atlas 10 moved all future interest to the Gemini projects.
Vostok 6 carried the first woman Valentina Tereshkova into space.
July
The U.S. postal service introduced the first zip (Zone Improvement Plan) codes.
Sonny Liston Knocked out Floyd Patterson to retain his heavyweight championship belt.
U.S. communications satellite Syncom 2 was launched.
August
The United States, Britain and USSR signed a nuclear test ban treaty that stated there was to be no testing underwater, outer space or in the Earth’s atmosphere.
A telephone “hotline” was installed between Washington and Moscow.
The great train robbery took place in Buckinghamshire, England.
Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech.
September
Czechoslovakian premier Sikory was deposed by Josef Lenart.
In the U.K. American Express launched their credit card.
October
The British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan resigned.
A landslide which fell into the Vaiont dam in Italy caused a huge wave which killed over a thousand people.
The French singer Edith Piaf died.
November
John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
An Air disaster in Montreal killed 118 people.
In the U. K. the Dartford – Purfleet road tunnel was opened.
December
Explorer 18 was launched to study radiation between the Earth and the Moon.
Frank Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped.
A fire on the Atlantic cruise liner Lakonia killed 128 people.
Zanzibar gained independence from Britain.
Movies of 1963
Alfred Hitchcock’s suspense film THE BIRDS.
CLEOPATRA directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. and starred Elizabeth Taylor.
John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Dorothy Lamour DONOVAN’S REEF.
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE the second James Bond film.
Directed by John Sturges THE GREAT ESCAPE.
The fantasy film JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS.
THE PINK PANTHER featured David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner.
SUMMER HOLIDAY starred Cliff Richard.
Walt Disney’s fantasy animated film THE SWORD IN THE STONE.
Richard Harris, Rachel Roberts and Alan Badel THIS SPORTING LIFE.
THE V.I.P’s Starred Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.
Events of 1964
January
U.S. launched Echo 2 the communications satellite.
Kenneth Kaunda was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Northern Rhodesia.
Ranger 6 was launched to transmit television pictures before crash landing on the Moon. No images were transmitted due to a camera system failure.
February
The Australian destroyer “Voyager” sank after a collision with the aircraft carrier “Melbourne”.
Peter Sellers married Brit Ekland.
France and Britain held talks to build a tunnel beneath the English Channel.
Fighting broke out in Cyprus between the Greeks and the Turks.
Cassius Clay beat Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship of the world.
March
A Dallas jury finds Jack Ruby guilty of Lee Harvey Oswald’s murder.
Trade Union Leader Jimmy Hoffa was convicted and sentenced to eight years.
Elizabeth Taylor the movie star got her fourth divorce this time from Eddie Fisher she then married Richard Burton.
April
The USSR launched Zond 1 to collect data from Venus.
The unmanned spacecraft Gemini1 was launched.
Geraldine Mock of the United States was the first woman to fly solo around the world.
In the U.K. BBC 2 channel premiered the first show was for children “Play School”.
John Lennon's "In His Own Write" was published in the U.S.
The prime minister of Southern Rhodesia Winston Field resigned and Ian Smith formed a new government.
May
The Indian Prime Minister, Pandit Nehru died of a heart attack at the age of seventy
four.
More than three hundred football fans were killed during riots and panic following
an unpopular decision by the referee in a Peru verses Argentina football match.
June
South Africa sentenced Nelson Mandela to life imprisonment.
Spain beat USSR 2-1 in the Euro football cup final.
July
Donald Campbell broke the land speed record on Lake Eyre Salt Flats in central Australia.
Ranger 7 sent back the first close up television pictures before crash landing on the Moon.
August
United States launched the communication’s satellite Syncom 3 and the weather satellite Nimbus 1.
The last executions took place in Britain.
September
In Scotland the Forth Road Suspension Bridge opened.
Malta gained it’s independence from Britain.
In the U.K. the Sun Newspaper was published for the first time.
President Lyndon B. Johnson presented Walt Disney with the “Medal of Freedom” at the White House.
American athlete Ralph Boston set the long jump record at 27' 4".
October
Brezhnev & Kosygin replaced Khrushchev as head of the USSR.
China became the world's fifth nuclear power.
The large Sapphire the Star of India and other jewels including the Eagle Star and the De Long Ruby were stolen from the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Craig Breedlove broke the land speed record of over 400 mph.
The USSR launched Voskhod 1 the first three man crew space craft (Feokistov, Komarov and Yegorov). They returned after completing sixteen orbits.
November
Paula Murphy set the female land speed record on Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah.
The world's longest suspension bridge "Verrazano Narrows" opened in New York.
Mariner 3 was launched to flyby Mars. It failed.
Mariner 4 was launched to flyby Mars and it returned with the first pictures of Mars surface.
The USSR launched Zond 2 to flyby Mars. Returned no pictures.
December
Donald Campbell (UK) set the world water speed record reaching an average speed of 276.33mph in his speedboat, Bluebird on Lake Dumbleyung in Perth, Western Australia. He was the first man to break the land and water speed record in the same year.
Movies of 1964
Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris and Harry Andrews 633 SQUADRON.
Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole BECKET.
Based on a novel by Harold Robbins THE CARPETBAGGERS.
Comedy film directed by Stanley Kubrick, starred Peter Sellers and George C. Scott
Dr. STRANGELOVE.
Sophia Loren in the epic film THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
The Spaghetti Western A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS starred Clint Eastwood.
The third James Bond film GOLDFINGER.
A HARD DAY’S NIGHT The Beatles.
Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke MARY POPPINS.
The musical film MY FAIR LADY starred Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison.
Elvis Presley ROUSTABOUT.
ZULU featuring Jack Hawkins, Stanley Baker and Michael Caine.
Events of 1965
January
The British Politician Winston Churchill died.
The United States launched the Tiros 9 weather satellite.
The unmanned Gemini 2 was launched
February
Canada changed to the Maple Leaf flag.
Malcolm X was assassinated.
Gambia received it’s independence from Britain.
Pegasus 1 was launched to detect micro meteoroids
Ranger 8 was launched to send pictures back from the Moon.
The USSR launched Kosmos 57 into Earth’s orbit.
March
Australia’s world record breaking swimmer Dawn Fraser was suspended and banned for ten years for misconduct.
TGI Friday’s opened it’s first restaurant New York.
The first man to walk in space was cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2.
The first American two man spacecraft Gemini 3 was launched into Earth’s orbit. Aboard were Gus Grissom and John Young.
April
Intelsat 1 The Early Bird communications satellite was launched and began it’s commercial service in June.
May
Jim Clark won the Indianapolis 500.
Muhammad Ali knocked out Sonny Liston in the first round with a Phantom Punch and retained his Heavy Weight title.
The USSR launched Luna 5.
June
The second man to walk in space was American Edward White leaving the spacecraft Gemini 4.
John Lennon's book "A Spaniard in the Works" was published.
Freddie Mills the former world light heavyweight boxing champion was found shot in his car.
Michel Fazy ran the mile in 3 minutes 53.6 seconds
July
The Mont Blanc road tunnel linking France and Italy was opened to traffic.
Mariner !V sent back the first pictures of Mars.
August
The photographer David Bailey married the film actress Catherine Deneuve.
Cigarette advertising was banned on British television.
September
The American silent film star Clara Bow died in Los Angeles, California, aged sixty.
October
London's Post Office Tower was opened by the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson. It was the tallest building in England.
USSR launched Lunar 7 which crash landed on the Moon.
November
The S.S. "Yarmouth Castle" burned and sank off the Bahamas.
Craig Breedlove set the land speed record.
France launched Asterix and became the third country to launch a satellite.
Lee Breedlove the wife of Craig, sets the female land speed record at over 300 mph in Utah
The seventy mph speed limit was introduced on U.K. motorways.
December
Gemini 6 & Gemini 7 performed the first controlled rendezvous in Earth’s orbit.
The James Bond film "Thunderball" was released.
Sea Gem a British off shore oil platform collapsed.
Writer William Somerset Maugham died in France.
Movies of 1965
Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin CAT BALLOU.
THE CINCINNATI KID Featured Steve McQueen and Edward G. Robinson.
Directed by David Lean and starred Omar Sharif and Julie Christie DOCTOR ZHIVAGO.
Produced and directed by George Stevens THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD.
Directed by Richard Lester HELP! starred The Beatles .
Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris in THE HEROES OF TELEMARK.
Michael Caine, Sue Lloyd and Gordon Jackson THE IPCRESS FILE.
OPERATION CROSSBOW Starred Sophia Loren, George Peppard, Tom Courtenay and John Mills.
Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer THE SOUND OF MUSIC.
The Fourth James Bond Film THUNDERBALL.
Directed by Mark Robson, starred Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard VON RYAN’S EXPRESS.
WHAT’S NEW PUSSYCAT? With Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole and Ursula Andress.
Events of 1966
January
All cigarette packets in America were printed with health warnings.
Russia launched Luna 9.
February
The first controlled landing on the Moon by the USSR Luna 9.
Russia launched Kosmos 110 with Veterok & Ugolek the first two dog crew.
March
The U.S. Launched Gemini 8.
The USSR launched Luna 10.
The Russian space probe Venera 3 crashed on Venus.
April
Luna 10 is the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon.
May
Ian Brady & Myra Hindley were sentenced to life in prison for committing the Moors Murders.
The U.S. Launched Explorer 32.
Real Madrid beat Partizan Belgrade Football Club 2-1 in the European Champions League.
June
The U.S. Surveyor 1 soft lands on the Moon.
Gemini 9 launched with Gene Cernan completing the second U.S. Spacewalk.
July
The U.S. Launched Explorer 33.
Saturn 1 rocket launched.
Gemini 10 launched.
England won the world cup beating West Germany 4-2 at Wembley.
August
The U.S. Launched Lunar Orbiter 1.
The USSR launched Luna 11.
September
Gemini 11 launched.
Surveyor 2 crashed on the Moon.
Star Trek first episode was shown on NBC T.V.
October
The USSR launched Luna 12.
Lunar Orbiter 1 crashed on the Moon.
November
The U.S. Launched Lunar Orbiter 2.
Gemini 12 launched.
December
The USSR launched Luna 13 which landed on the Moon.
Movies Of 1966
Adam West & Burt Ward in the first BATMAN film.
BORN FREE Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson who raised a lion cub.
The science fiction film written by Harry Kleiner the FANTASTIC VOYAGE.
OUR MAN FLINT Directed by Daniel Mann and starred James Coburn.
The musical comedy film A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM.
GAMBIT Featured Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine.
Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY.
KHARTOUM written by Robert Ardrey and directed by Basil Dearden.
A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS directed by Fred Zinnemann
The fantasy film with Raquel Welch ONE MILLION YEARS B.C.
WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? featured Elizabeth Taylor ,Richard Burton, George Segal and Sandy Dennis.
