See:
Wikipedia.
Events:
Sino-Indian War border dispute involving two of the world's largest nations (between India
and the People's Republic of China).
January 1 - Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
January 3 - Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.
January 4 - New York City introduces a train that operates without a crew on-board.
January 8 - Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is exhibited in the United States for the first
time (National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC).
January 9 - Trade pact between Cuba and the Soviet Union.
January 10 - Avalanche on Nevado Huascarán in Peru; 4000 deaths.
January 22 - The Organization of American States (OAS) suspends Cuba's membership.
January 26 - Ranger 3 is launched to study the moon. The space probe later missed the
moon by 22,000 miles.
January 30 - Two of the high-wire "Flying Wallendas" are killed when their famous
seven-person pyramid collapsed during a performance in Detroit, Michigan.
February 7 - The United States Government bans all US-related Cuban imports and exports.
February 14 - First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy takes television viewers on a tour of the
White House.
February 2 - For the first time in 400 years Neptune and Pluto align.
February 5 - French President Charles De Gaulle calls for allowing Algeria to be an
independent nation.
February 10 - Captured American spy pilot Francis Gary Powers is exchanged for
captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.
February 12 - Six members of the Committee of 100 of the Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament are found guilty of a breach of the Official Secrets Act.
February 20 - Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn orbits the Earth
three times in 4 hours, 55 minutes becoming the first American to orbit the Earth.
March 1 - an American Airlines Boeing 707 crashes on takeoff at John F. Kennedy
International Airport after its rudder separates from the tail, with loss of all life on board.
March 2 - Military coup in Burma.
March 18 - France and Algeria sign an agreement ending the Algerian War.
March 23 - Scandinavian States of Nordic Council sign Helsinki Convention on
Nordic Co-operation.
April 26 - The Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon.
May 14 - Milovan Djilas, former vice-president of Yugoslavia, is given further sentence
for publishing Conversations with Stalin.
May 23 - Drilling for new Montreal, Quebec subway commences.
May 24 - Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
May 25 - Consecration of the new Coventry cathedral.
June 15 - Students for a Democratic Society complete the Port Huron Statement.
June 25 - The Supreme Court rules in Engel v. Vitale that prayers in public schools
are unconstitutional.
July 1 - Independence of Rwanda and Burundi.
July 5 - Algeria becomes independent from France.
July 6 - Irish broadcaster, Gay Byrne, presents his first edition of The Late Late Show.
Byrne would go on to present the show for 37 years making it the longest running chat
show in the world.
July 10 - Telstar, the world's first active communications satellite, is launched into orbit.
July 17 - Nuclear testing: The "Small Boy" test shot Little Feller I becomes the last
atmospheric test detonation at the Nevada Test Site.
July 22 - Mariner program: Mariner 1 spacecraft flies erratically several minutes
after launch and has to be destroyed.
July 23 - Telstar relays the first live trans-Atlantic television signal.
August 5 - Film actress and sex icon, Marilyn Monroe is found dead in her Los
Angeles, California home after apparently overdosing on sleeping pills.
August 6 - Jamaica becomes independent.
August 17 - East German border guards kill 18-year-old Peter Fechter as he attempts
to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berlin.
August 31 - Trinidad and Tobago become independent.
September 2 - Soviet Union agrees to send arms to Cuba.
September 12 - President John F. Kennedy declares the USA will get a man on the
moon by the end of the decade.
October 1 - The first black student James Meredith registers in University of
Mississippi escorted by Federal marshals.
October 5 - French National Assembly censures the proposed referendum to sanction
presidential elections by popular mandate; prime minister Georges Pompidou resigns,
but President de Gaulle asks him to stay in office.
October 9 - Uganda becomes independent within the Commonwealth.
October 10 - Der Spiegel publishes an article on a NATO exercise criticizing the weakness
of the West German army (the offices of the paper are occupied by the police on the 16th).
October 11 - Second Vatican Council: Pope John XXIII convenes the first ecumenical
council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years.
October 13 - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opens on Broadway.
October 14 - Cuban Missile Crisis begins: A U-2 flight over Cuba takes photos of Soviet
nuclear weapons being installed. A stand-off then ensues the next day between the United
States and the Soviet Union, putting the entire world under threat of a nuclear war.
October 28 - Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev announces
that he had ordered the removal of Soviet missile bases in Cuba.
October 28 - a referendum in France favours the election of the president by
universal suffrage.
October 31 - the UN General Assembly requests the United Kingdom to suspend
enforcement of the new constitution in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), but the
constitution comes into effect on November 1.
November 5 - Franz Josef Strauß, the West German defence minister, is relieved of
his duties over the Spiegel affair because it is alleged that he was involved in police
action against the magazine.
November 5 - Saudi Arabia breaks off diplomatic relations with Egypt following a
period of unrest partly caused by the defection of several Saudi princes to Egypt.
Novemver 5 - A coal mining desaster in Ny-Ålesund kills 21 people. The norwegian
government is forced to resign in the aftermath of this accident in August, 1963.
November 6 - Apartheid: The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution
condemning South Africa's racist apartheid policies and calls for all UN member states
to cease military and economic relations with the nation.
November 7 - Richard M. Nixon loses the California governor's race. In his concession
speech, he states that this is his "last press conference" and that "you won't have
Dick Nixon to kick around any more".
November 17 - In Washington, DC, US President John F. Kennedy dedicates Dulles
International Airport.
November 20 - Cuban Missile Crisis ends: In response to the Soviet Union agreeing
to remove its missiles from Cuba, US President John F. Kennedy ends the quarantine
of the Caribbean nation.
November 29 - An agreement is signed between Britain and France to develop the
Concorde supersonic airliner.
November 30 - The United Nations General Assembly elects U Thant of Burma as
the new UN Secretary-General.
December 2 - Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of US President
John F. Kennedy, US Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first
American official to not make an optimistic public comment on the war's progress.
December 8 - Closing of first period of Second Vatican Council.
December 9 - Tanganyika (now Tanzania) becomes a republic within the Commonwealth,
with Julius Nyerere as president.
December 11 - Formation in West Germany of coalition government of Christian
Democrats, Christian Socialists, and Free Democrats.
December 19 - Britain acknowledges the right of Nyasaland (now Malawi) to secede
from the Central African Federation - The last foreign occupied territories of India,
Daman and Diu and Goa are freed from the clutches of the Portuguese by
the Indian Army.
Unknown date:
Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring released, giving rise to the modern
environmentalist movement.
Pantyhose becomes available for sale in U.S. department stores
American ad man
Martin K. Speckter invents the interrobang, a new English-language punctuation mark.
Year in topic:
1962 in
film:
Lawrence of Arabia.
The Longest Day.
To Kill a Mockingbird, starring Gregory Peck.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance starring Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne.
How the West Was Won, starring Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck, John Wayne,
George Peppard, Debbie Reynolds.
Hatari! starring John Wayne.
1962 in
literature:
Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor.
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.
1962 in
music:
Release of first Beatles recording: the single "Love Me Do"/"P.S. I Love You" on
October 5 (in the United Kingdom only).
1962 in
television:
March 16 - Walter Cronkite succeeds Douglas Edwards as anchorman of
the CBS Evening News.
Les Crane and Regis Philbin host The Tonight Show for a short time, until Johnny
Carson took over later in the year.
Births:
January 17 -
Jim Carrey, actor, comedian.
January 21 -
Marie Trintignant, French actress (d. 2003).
February 4 -
Clint Black, country musician.
February 5 -
Jennifer Jason Leigh, actress.
February 6 -
Axl Rose, singer ("Guns N'Roses").
February 7 -
Garth Brooks, country music musician.
February 7 -
Eddie Izzard, British actor and comedian.
February 10 -
Bobby Czyz, boxer.
February 10 -
Cliff Burton, bassist for Metallica (d. 1986).
February 11 -
Sheryl Crow, American singer.
February 11 -
Scott Kolden, actor.
February 12 -
Rita Dommerholt.
February 17 -
Lou Diamond Phillips, actor.
February 21 -
Vanessa Feltz, British TV presenter.
February 21 -
Chuck Palahniuk, author.
February 21 -
David Foster Wallace, American writer.
February 22 -
Steve Irwin, Australian herpetologist and TV personality (The
Crocodile Hunter).
February 24 -
Michelle Shocked, musician.
March 2 -
Jon Bon Jovi, singer, songwriter, and actor.
March 3 -
Jackie Joyner-Kersee, athlete.
March 12 -
Darryl Strawberry, baseball player.
March 15 -
Terence Trent D'Arby, singer.
March 17 -
Clare Grogan, Scottish actress and singer.
March 20 -
Stephen Sommers, film director.
March 21 -
Matthew Broderick, actor (WarGames, Ferris Bueller's Day Off).
March 21 -
Rosie O'Donnell, comedian, actress, talk show host, publisher (A League
of Their Own, Harriet the Spy).
March 23 -
Steve Redgrave, five times Olympic gold-medallist.
March 26 -
John Stockton, former basketball player, all-time NBA leader in
assists and steals.
March 30 -
MC Hammer, rapper.
April 2 -
Mark Shulman, children's author.
April 7 -
Alain Robert, world famous builderer.
April 11 -
Vincent Gallo, actor.
April 15 -
Nawal El Moutawakel, Moroccan hurdler.
April 16 -
Ian MacKaye, musician.
April 19 -
Al Unser, Jr., automobile racer, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.
April 23 -
John Hannah, Scottish actor.
May 3 -
Anders Graneheim, Swedish bodybuilder.
May 9 -
David Gahan, singer in Depeche Mode.
May 10 -
David Fincher, film director.
May 12 -
Emilio Estevez, actor.
May 19 -
Joppa van den Houten.
May 24 -
Gene Anthony Ray, actor (d. 2003).
May 26 -
Bobcat Goldthwait, actor, comedian.
May 27 -
Ravi Shastri, Indian cricketer.
June 2 -
Clyde Drexler, basketball player.
June 10 -
Gina Gershon, actress.
June 13 -
Ally Sheedy, actress.
June 19 -
Paula Abdul, dancer, choreographer and singer; American Idol judge.
June 29 -
Amanda Donohoe, actress.
June 30 -
Tony Fernandez, baseball player.
July 3 -
Tom Cruise, actor.
July 8 -
Rob Burnett, former head writer for David Letterman.
July 14 -
David van Houten.
July 19 -
Anthony Edwards, actor.
July 31 -
Wesley Snipes, actor.
August 2 -
Heleen Geerhold.
August 4 -
Roger Clemens, baseball pitcher, six-time Cy Young Award winner.
August 5 -
Patrick Ewing, former NBA star.
August 6 -
Michelle Yeoh, actress.
August 20 -
Arend Boudewijn Dammers.
August 24 -
Craig Kilborn, talk show host.
August 29 -
Rebecca De Mornay, actress.
September 1 -
Ruud Gullit, Dutch footballer.
September 11 -
Elizabeth Daily, actress.
September 17 -
Baz Luhrmann, film director.
September 24 -
Jack Dee, comedian.
September 25 -
Louise Ardina Willemina Roorda.
September 25 -
Aida Turturro, actress.
September 26 -
Melissa Sue Anderson, actress.
September 26 -
Tracey Thorn, singer.
September 28 -
Grant Fuhr, hockey goalie.
October 1 -
Esai Morales, actor.
October 11 -
Joan Cusack, actress and comedienne.
October 13 -
Kelly Preston, actress.
October 13 -
Jerry Rice, NFL star, holds most league receiving records.
October 16 -
Flea, bassist for Red Hot Chili Peppers and actor.
October 19 -
Evander Holyfield, heavyweight boxer.
October 23 -
Doug Flutie, American and Canadian Football star.
October 25 -
Nick Hancock, British actor and television presenter.
October 26 -
Cary Elwes, British actor (The Princess Bride).
October 30 -
Courtney Walsh, cricketer.
November 11 -
Demi Moore, actress.
November 19 -
Jodie Foster, actress and director.
November 21 -
Steven Curtis Chapman, contemporary Christian music star.
November 27 -
Samantha Bond, British actress.
November 28 -
Jon Stewart, actor, comedian.
November 29 -
Andrew McCarthy, actor.
November 30 -
Bo Jackson, American football and baseball star.
November 30 -
Daniel Keys Moran, science fiction writer.
December 11 -
Nicolaas (Niek) van den Houten.
December 12 -
Tracy Austin, tennis champion.
December 22 -
Ralph Fiennes, actor.
December 28 -
Michel Petrucciani, French jazzman (d. 1999).
December 30 -
Alessandra Mussolini, Italian politician.
Deaths:
January 13 -
Ernie Kovacs, comedian (b. 1919).
January 20 -
Robinson Jeffers, poet (b. 1887).
January 24 -
André Lhote, French painter (b. 1885).
January 26 -
Lucky Luciano, American mobster (b. 1897).
January 29 -
Fritz Kreisler, Austrian violinist (b. 1875).
February 10 -
Eduard von Steiger, former president of Switzerland (b. 1881).
February 17 -
Bruno Walter, conductor (b. 1876).
February 19 -
Georgios Papanikolaou, inventor of the Pap smear (b. 1883).
March 24 -
Jean Goldkette, jazz musician (b. 1899).
March 24 -
Auguste Piccard, physicist and explorer (b. 1884).
April 10 -
Michael Curtiz, film director (b. 1886).
May 27 -
Egon Petri, classical pianist (b. 1881).
May 31 -
Adolf Eichmann, Nazi official (executed) (b. 1906).
June 2 -
Vita Sackville-West, landscape gardener (b. 1892).
June 4 -
Charles William Beebe, American oceanic pioneer (b. 1877).
June 6 -
Yves Klein, French painter (b. 1928).
June 12 -
John Ireland, English composer (b. 1879).
June 13 -
Eugène Aynsley Goossens, English composer (b. 1893).
June 15 -
Alfred Cortot, French pianist (b. 1877).
June 28 -
Mickey Cochrane, Baseball Hall of Famer (b. 1903).
July 6 -
William Faulkner, American novelist (b. 1897).
July 9 -
Georges Bataille, French writer (b. 1897).
July 12 -
Roger Wolfe Kahn, band leader (b. 1907).
July 20 -
George Macaulay Trevelyan, English historian (b. 1876).
August 5 -
Marilyn Monroe, American actress (b. 1926).
August 9 -
Hermann Hesse, author (b. 1877).
August 13 -
Leendert Stoutjesdijk.
August 15 -
Lei Feng, eminent PLA soldier (b. 1940).
August 25 -
Aart van den Houten.
September 3 -
E. E. Cummings, poet (b. 1894).
September 6 -
Hanns Eisler, composer (b. 1898).
September 7 -
Isak Dinesen, Danish writer (b. 1885).
October 6 -
Tod Browning, director of Freaks (b. 1882).
October 9 -
Milan Vidmar, Slovene electrical engineer and chess player (b. 1885).
October 13 -
Berendina Hendrika van den Houten.
October 27 -
Enrico Mattei, Italian politician (b. 1906).
November 7 -
Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady (b. 1884).
November 18 -
Niels Bohr, Danish physicist (b. 1885).
November 28 -
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (b. 1880).
November 29 -
Erik Scavenius, Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1877).
December 15 -
Charles Laughton, actor and director (b. 1899).
December 20 -
Emil Artin, mathematician (b. 1898).
December 24 -
Wilhelm Ackermann, mathematician (b. 1896).
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