1960 in the United States
| 1960 in the United States | |
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| Years: | 1957 1958 1959 – 1960 – 1961 1962 1963 |
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 50 stars (1960–present) | |
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Timeline of United States history
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Events from the year 1960 in the United States.
Incumbents
Federal Government
- President: Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican)
- Vice President: Richard Nixon (Republican)
- Chief Justice: Earl Warren
- Speaker of the House of Representatives: Sam Rayburn (D-Texas)
- Senate Majority Leader: Lyndon B. Johnson (D-Texas)
- Congress: 86th
Events
January
- January 2 – U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy (D-MA) announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.
- January 19 – The Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan is signed in Washington, DC.
- January 23 – Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh descend into the Mariana Trench in the bathyscaphe Trieste, reaching the depth of 10,916 meters.
- January 25 – In Washington, DC, the National Association of Broadcasters reacts to the payola scandal by threatening fines for any disc jockeys accepting money for playing particular records.
February
- February 1 – Greensboro sit-ins: In Greensboro, North Carolina, four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University begin a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. Although they are refused service, they are allowed to stay at the counter. The event triggers many similar nonviolent protests throughout the Southern United States, and 6 months later the original 4 protesters are served lunch at the same counter.
- February 9 – Adolph Coors III, chairman of the board of the Coors Brewing Company, is kidnapped and captors demand $500,000. Coors is later found dead and Joseph Corbett, Jr. is indicted.
- February 11 – The airship ZPG-3W is destroyed in a storm in Massachusetts.
- February 18 – The 1960 Winter Olympics open in Squaw Valley, California.
March
- March 3 – Lisa Starks returns home from Germany, after being away on duty for 2 years.
- March 6 – Vietnam War: The United States announces that 3,500 American soldiers will be sent to Vietnam.
- March 17 – Northwest Airlines Flight 710 crashes near Tell City, Indiana, killing all 63 on board.
- March 22 – Arthur Leonard Schawlow and Charles Hard Townes receive the first patent for a laser.
- March 28 – Director Stanley Kramer receives the first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[1]
April
- April 1
- The United States launches the first weather satellite, TIROS-1.
- The 1960 United States Census begins. There are 179,323,175 U.S. residents on this day.[2] All people from Latin America are listed as white, including blacks from the Dominican Republic, European whites from Argentina and Mexicans who resemble Native Americans.
- April 4 – The 32nd Academy Awards ceremony is held: Ben Hur wins Best Picture.
- April 13 – The United States launches navigation satellite Transit I-b.
- April 17 – Russwood Park, a baseball stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, burns to the ground from a fire shortly after a Chicago White Sox versus Cleveland Indians game.
May
- May 1 – A Soviet missile shoots down an American Lockheed U2 spy plane; the pilot Gary Powers is captured.
- May 6 – President Dwight Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1960 into law.
- May 9 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announces that it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle's Enovid, making it the world's first approved oral contraceptive pill.
- May 10 – The nuclear submarine USS Triton, under the command of Captain Edward L. Beach, Jr., completes the first underwater circumnavigation of the Earth.
- May 16
- Theodore Maiman operates the first laser.
- Nikita Khrushchev demands an apology from U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower for U-2 spy plane flights over the Soviet Union, thus ending the 1960 Paris summit.
- May 20 – In Japan, police carry away Socialist members of the Diet who are protesting the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan; the Japanese House of Representatives then approves the treaty.
June
- June 7 – U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy wins the California Democratic primary.
- June 16 - The film Psycho is released, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
July
July 4: The 50-star U.S. flag is adopted
- July 1 – A Soviet MiG fighter north of Murmansk in the Barents Sea shoots down a 6-man RB-47. Two United States Air Force officers survive and are imprisoned in Moscow's dreaded Lubyanka prison.
- July 4 – Following the admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state the previous year, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- July 11 – Harper Lee releases her critically acclaimed novel To Kill a Mockingbird.
- July 13 – U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy is nominated for President at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, California.
- July 21 – Francis Chichester, English navigator and yachtsman, arrives in New York aboard Gypsy Moth II, having made a record solo Atlantic crossing in 40 days.
- July 25 – The Woolworth's counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, the subject of a sit-in which sparked sit-ins and pickets across the southern United States in February 1960, serves its first black customer.
- July 25–28 – In Chicago, the Republican National Convention nominates U.S. Vice President Richard M. Nixon for President and Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. for Vice President.
August
- August 6 – Cuban Revolution: In response to a United States embargo against Cuba, Fidel Castro nationalizes American and foreign-owned property in the nation.
- August 16 – Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at 102,800 feet (31,333 m). He sets world records for: high-altitude jump; free-fall by falling 16 miles (25.7 km) before opening his parachute; and fastest speed by a human without motorized assistance, 982 km/h (614 mi/h). These records would stand unbeaten for over 60 years.
- August 17 – The trial of U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers begins in Moscow.
- August 19 – Cold War: In Moscow, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by the Soviet Union for espionage.
- August 25 – The USS Seadragon surfaces at the North Pole, where the crew plays softball.
- August 29 – Hurricane Donna kills 50 in Florida and New England.
September
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September 26: The first televised U.S. presidential election debate
- September 1 – Disgruntled railroad workers effectively halt operations of the Pennsylvania Railroad, marking the first shutdown in the company's history (the event lasts two days).
- September 5 – 1960 Summer Olympics: Cassius Clay wins the gold medal in boxing.
- September 8 – In Huntsville, Alabama, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally dedicates the Marshall Space Flight Center (activated by NASA on July 1).
- September 26 – The two leading U.S. presidential candidates, Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy, participate in the first televised presidential election debate.
October
- October 14 – U.S. presidential candidate John F. Kennedy first suggests the idea for the Peace Corps.
- October 26 – Robert F. Kennedy calls Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King, Jr., and secures his release from jail on a traffic violation in Atlanta, Georgia.
- October 29 – In Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) wins his first professional fight.
November
USS Oklahoma City (CLG-5) steams under Golden Gate Bridge, 16 November 1960.
- November 8 – United States presidential election, 1960: In a close race, Democratic U. S. Senator John F. Kennedy is elected over Republican U. S. Vice President Richard M. Nixon, becoming (at 43) the youngest man elected President.
- November 13 – Sammy Davis, Jr. marries Swedish actress May Britt.
- November 15 – The Polaris missile is test-launched.
- November 24 – Basketball player Wilt Chamberlain grabs 55 rebounds in a single game, the all-time record in the NBA.
December
The Texas Zephyr in Dallas, December 26, 1960
- December 2 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the use of $1 million for the relief and resettlement of Cuban refugees, who have been arriving in Florida at the rate of 1,000 a week.
- December 5 – Boynton v. Virginia: The U.S. Supreme Court declares segregation in public transit to be illegal.
- December 12 – The U.S. Supreme Court upholds a Federal Court ruling that Louisiana's segregation laws are unconstitutional.
- December 13 – Navy Commander Leroy Heath (Pilot) and Lieutenant Larry Monroe (Bombardier/Navigator) establish a world altitude record of 91,450.8 feet (27,874.2 metres) in an A3J Vigilante carrying a 1,000 kilogram payload, besting the previous record by over 4 miles.
- December 16
- U.S. Secretary of State Christian Herter announces that the United States will commit five atomic submarines and eighty Polaris missiles to NATO by the end of 1963.
- 1960 New York air disaster: United Airlines DC-8 collides with a TWA Lockheed Constellation over Staten Island, New York City. All 128 passengers and crew on both planes are killed, as are 6 persons on the ground.
- December 19 – Fire sweeps through the USS Constellation, the largest U.S. aircraft carrier, while it is under construction at a Brooklyn Navy Yard pier, killing 50 and injuring 150.
- December 20 – Discoverer 19 is launched into polar orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base, to measure radiation.
Ongoing
- Cold War (1945–1991)
- Space Race (1957–1975)
Births
- January 28 – Robert von Dassanowsky, academic, writer, poet, film and cultural historian and producer
- February 7 – Robert Smigel, actor, comedian and puppeteer
- April 13 – Bob Casey, Jr., U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania from 2007
- April 18 – J. Christopher Stevens, diplomat, U.S. Ambassador to Libya (d. 2012)
- April 28 – Elena Kagan, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S. from 2010
- May 3 – Jaron Lanier, computer scientist
- May 6 – John Flansburgh, rock musician (They Might Be Giants)
- May 10 – Dean Heller, U.S. Senator from Nevada from 2011
- May 21 – John O'Brien, novelist (d. 1994)
- May 25 – Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Senator from Minnesota from 2007
- June 6 – Steve Vai, guitarist
- June 12
- Meredith Brooks, singer
- Joe Kopicki, basketball player
- June 17 – Thomas Haden Church, film actor
- June 21 – Kevin Harlan, sports announcer
- June 22 – Erin Brockovich, environmental activist
- June 24 – Siedah Garrett, singer-songwriter and pianist (Brand New Heavies)
- June 26 – Zachary Breaux, jazz guitarist (d. 1997)
- June 28 – John Elway, football player
- July 1 – Guy Williams, basketball player
- July 10 – Ariel Castro, criminal (died 2013)
- July 11 – David Baerwald singer-songwriter (David & David)
- July 14 – Kyle Gass, singer-songwriter and guitarist and actor
- July 22 – Jon Oliva, vocalist and pianist (Savatage)
- August 7 – David Duchovny, actor
- August 13 – Lorna Simpson, African-American photographic and video artist
- August 17 – Sean Penn, film actor
- August 26 – Branford Marsalis, African-American jazz musician
- September 14 – Melissa Leo, film actress
- September 30 – Blanche Lincoln, U.S. Senator from Arkansas from 1999 to 2011
- October 13 – Joey Belladonna, born Joseph Bellardini, thrash metal vocalist (Anthrax)
- October 18 – Craig Mello, biologist
- October 20 – Peter Fitzgerald, U.S. Senator from Illinois from 1999 to 2011
- November 11 – Stanley Tucci, actor and film director
- November 14 – Tom Judson, musical theatre actor
- November 15 – Keith Washington, singer
- November 19 – Matt Sorum, drummer of Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver and The Cult
- November 25 – Amy Grant, Christian singer-songwriter and actress
- December 1 – Carol Alt, model and actress
- December 3
- Daryl Hannah, actress
- Julianne Moore, actress
- December 5 – Brian Bromberg, jazz bassist and composer
- December 9 – Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, television director, writer, producer, storyboard artist and actor
- December 22 – Jean-Michel Basquiat, artist (d. 1988)
- December 27 – Fred Hammond, African-American gospel musician
Deaths
January–June
- January 1 – Margaret Sullavan, film actress (b. 1909)
- January 4 – Dudley Nichols, screenwriter (b. 1895)
- January 10 – Arthur S. Carpender, admiral (b. 1884)
- January 12 – William Adams Delano, architect (b. 1874)
- January 16 – Rudulph Evans, sculptor (b. 1878)
- January 24
- John Miljan, film actor (b. 1892)
- Matt Moore, Irish-American film actor (b. 1888)
- January 25 – Diana Barrymore, stage & film actress (b. 1921)
- January 28 – Zora Neale Hurston, African-American folklorist and author (b. 1891)
- February 6 – Jesse Belvin, R&B singer (b. 1932)
- February 12 – Bobby Clark, comedian and singer (b. 1888)
- February 29
- Melvin Purvis, law officer (b. 1903)
- Walter Yust, encyclopedia editor (b. 1894)
- March 4 – Leonard Warren, operatic baritone (b. 1911)
- March 11 – Roy Chapman Andrews, explorer, adventurer and naturalist (b. 1884)
- March 26 – Ian Keith, actor (b. 1899)
- April 5 – Alma Kruger, actress (b. 1868)
- April 17 – Eddie Cochran, rock singer (b. 1938)
- April 19 – Beardsley Ruml, economist (b. 1894)
- April 25 – Hope Emerson, actress (b. 1897)
- May 2 – Caryl Chessman, criminal (b. 1921)
- May 27
- Edward Brophy, actor (b. 1895)
- James Montgomery Flagg, artist and illustrator (b. 1877)
- June 4 – Lucien Littlefield, actor (b. 1895)
- June 6 – Ernest L. Blumenschein, painter, member of Taos art colony (b. 1874)
- June 20 – John B. Kelly, Sr., Olympic rower (father of Grace Kelly) (b. 1889)
- June 25 – Tommy Corcoran, baseball player (b. 1869)
July–December
- July 15 – Lawrence Tibbett, operatic baritone (b. 1896)
- July 16 – John P. Marquand, novelist (b. 1893)
- July 22 – Buddy Adler, film producer (b. 1909)
- July 26 – Cedric Gibbons, Irish-American art director (b. 1893)
- August 10 – Frank Lloyd, film director (b. 1886)
- August 14 - Fred Clarke, baseball player (Pittsburgh Pirates), member of MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1872)
- August 23 - Oscar Hammerstein II, librettist (b. 1895)
- August 27 – Stanley Clifford Weyman, impostor (b. 1890)
- September 8 – Oscar Pettiford, African-American jazz bassist and composer (b. 1922)
- September 11 – Edwin Justus Mayer, screenwriter (b. 1896)
- September 20 – David Park, painter (b. 1911)
- September 23 – Kathlyn Williams, actress (b. 1879)
- October 11 – Richard Cromwell, actor (b. 1910)
- October 15 – Clara Kimball Young, actress (b. 1890)
- October 22 – Morgan Dennis, painter and illustrator (b. 1892)
- October 31 – H. L. Davis, author (b. 1894)
- November 3
- Bobby Wallace, baseball player (St. Louis Browns), member of MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1873)
- Paul Willis, silent film actor (b. 1901)
- November 5
- Ward Bond, film actor (b. 1903)
- Johnny Horton, country singer (b. 1925)
- November 7 – A. P. Carter, singer and songwriter (b. 1891)
- November 12 – Lord Buckley, monologist (b. 1906)
- November 14 – Walter Catlett, actor (b. 1889)
- November 16 – Clark Gable, film actor (b. 1901)
- November 17 – Gene Ahern, comic-strip artist (b. 1895)
- November 19 – Phyllis Haver, film actress (b. 1899)
- November 28 – Richard Wright, African-American novelist (b. 1908)
- November 5 – Johnny Horton, country singer, in automobile accident (b. 1925)
- December 13 – John Charles Thomas, operatic baritone (b. 1891)
- December 26 – Giuseppe Bellanca, Italian-American aircraft designer and company founder (b. 1886)
References
- ↑ "History of the Walk of Fame". Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
- ↑ Population
External links
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Media related to 1960 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons
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