From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar.
In Chinese Zodiac, the "year" of the Ox ended on February 4, 1962 and the "year" of the Tiger began on February 5, 1962.
[edit] Events of 1962
[edit] January
[edit] February
- February 3 - The U.S. announces its trade embargo against Cuba.
- February 4 - The Sunday Times becomes the first paper to print a colour supplement.
- February 4-February 5 - During a new moon and solar eclipse, an extremely rare grand conjunction of the classical planets occurs (it includes all 5 of the naked-eye planets plus the Sun and Moon), all of them within 16° of one another on the ecliptic. At the precise moment of the new moon/solar eclipse, 5 celestial bodies (the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter) are clustered within 3° of each other, with the Earth in close conjunction with them. Taken in totality, this grand conjunction includes the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, with the Earth also in alignment with the Sun and Moon at the exact moment of the new moon/solar eclipse (8 celestial bodies in total).
- February 5 - French President Charles de Gaulle calls for Algeria to be granted independence.
- February 6 - Negotiations between U.S. Steel and the U.S. Department of Commerce begin.
- June 1 - Adolf Eichmann is hanged in Israel.
- June 3 - Air France charter flight Chateau de Sully, a Boeing 707, over-runs the runway at Orly Airport in Paris; 130 of 132 passengers are killed, two flight attendants survive. Most victims are cultural and civic leaders of Atlanta, Georgia.
- June 6 - President John F. Kennedy gives the commencement address at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
- June 11 - President John F. Kennedy gives the commencement address at Yale University.
- June 11 - Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin become the only apparently successful escapees from the Alcatraz Island prison. There is no conclusive evidence that they survived the attempt.
- June 15 - Students for a Democratic Society complete the Port Huron Statement.
- June 17 - The OAS signs a truce with the FLN in Algeria, but a day later announces that it will continue the fight on behalf of French Algerians.
- June 17 - Brazil beats Czechoslovakia 3-1 to win the 1962 FIFA World Cup.
- June 22 - An Air France Boeing 707 jet crashes into terrain during bad weather in Guadeloupe, West Indies, killing all 113 on board. It is the airline's second fatal accident in just 3 weeks.
- June 25 - Engel v. Vitale: The United States Supreme Court rules that mandatory prayers in public schools are unconstitutional.
- June 25 - MANual Enterprises v. Day: The United States Supreme Court rules that photographs of nude men are not obscene, decriminalizing nude male pornographic magazines.
- June 26 - A two-day steel strike begins in Italy, in support of increased wages and five-day working week.
- June 30 - The last soldiers of the French Foreign Legion leave Algeria.
[edit] August
[edit] September
- September 1 - A referendum in Singapore supports the Malayan Federation.
- September 1 - Typhoon Wanda strikes Hong Kong, killing at least 130 and wounding more than 600.
- September 2 - The Soviet Union agrees to send arms to Cuba.
- September 8 - Newly independent Algeria, by referendum, adopts a constitution.
- September 12 - President John F. Kennedy, at a speech at Rice University, reaffirms that the U.S. will put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
- September 15 - The Beatles are signed by Parlophone Records.
- September 21 - A border conflict between China and India erupts into fighting.
- September 21 - New Musical Express, a British music magazine, publishes a story about two 13-year-old schoolgirls, Sue and Mary, releasing a disc on Decca and adds "A Liverpool group, The Beatles have recorded 'Love Me Do' for Parlophone Records, set for October 5 release."
- September 26 - Civil war erupts in Yemen.
- September 27 - A flash flood in Barcelona, Spain, kills more than 440.
- September 27 - Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring is released, giving rise to the modern environmentalist movement.
- September 28 - Prime Minister Ahmed Ben Bella founds the first government in Algeria.
- September 29 - The Canadian Alouette 1, the first satellite built outside the United States and the Soviet Union, is launched from Vandenberg AFB in California.
- September 30 - CBS broadcasts the final episodes of Suspense and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar marking the end of the Golden Age of Radio.
[edit] October
- October 1 - The first black student, James Meredith, registers at the University of Mississippi, escorted by Federal Marshals.
- October 5 - The 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 5 - Dr. No, the first James Bond film, premieres in UK theaters.
- October 5 - The Beatles release their first single Love Me Do
- October 8 - The German magazine Der Spiegel publishes an article about the Bundeswehr's poor preparedness; the Spiegel scandal erupts.
- October 8 - Algeria is accepted into the United Nations.
- October 9 - Uganda becomes independent within the Commonwealth of Nations.
- October 10 - Beginning of the Sino-Indian War, a border dispute involving two of the world's largest nations (between India and the People's Republic of China).
- October 10 - Der Spiegel publishes an article on a NATO exercise criticizing the weakness of the West German army.
- October 11 - Second Vatican Council: Pope John XXIII convenes the first ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years.
- October 12 - The infamous Columbus Day Storm strikes the U. S. Pacific Northwest with wind gusts up to 170 mph (270 km/h); 46 dead, 11 billion board feet (26 million m³) of timber is blown down, with $230 million U.S. in damages.
- October 12 - Jazz bassist/composer Charles Mingus presents a disastrous concert at Town Hall in New York City. It will gain a reputation as the worst moment of his career.
- 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, threatening the world with nuclear war.
- October 22 - In a televised address, U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces to the nation the existence of Soviet missiles in Cuba.
- October 26 - Spiegel scandal: German police occupy Der Spiegel offices in Hamburg.
- October 27 - Italian industry tycoon Enrico Mattei dies as his plane crashes in mysterious circumstances.
- October 28 - Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that he has 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 asks the United Kingdom to suspend enforcement of the new constitution in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), but the constitution comes into effect on November 1.
[edit] November
- November 1 - The Soviets begin dismantling their missiles in Cuba.
- November 1 - The first issue of Diabolik is published in Italy.
- November 3 - The term "Personal computer" is first mentioned by the media.
- November 5 - Franz Josef Strauß, the West German defence minister, is relieved of his duties over the Spiegel scandal, due to his alleged involvement 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.
- November 5 - A coal mining disaster 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, U.S. President John F. Kennedy dedicates Dulles International Airport.
- November 20 - The Cuban Missile Crisis ends: In response to the Soviet Union agreeing to remove its missiles from Cuba, U.S. President John F. Kennedy ends the quarantine of the Caribbean nation.
- November 23 - United Airlines Flight 297 crashes, killing all 17 on board.
- November 26 - Spiegel scandal: German police end their occupation of Der Spiegel offices.
- November 27 - French President Charles De Gaulle orders Georges Pompidou to form a government.
- 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.
[edit] December
- December 2 - Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first American official not to make an optimistic public comment on the war's progress.
- December 7 - Prince Rainier III of Monaco revises the principality's constitution, devolving some of his formerly autocratic power to several advisory and legislative councils.
- December 8 - The first period of the Second Vatican Council closes.
- December 8 - The North Kalimantan National Army revolts in Brunei (first stirrings of the Indonesian Confrontation).
- December 9 - Tanganyika (now Tanzania) becomes a republic within the Commonwealth, with Julius Nyerere as president.
- December 11 - In West Germany, a coalition government of Christian Democrats, Christian Socialists, and Free Democrats is formed.
- December 14 - U.S. spacecraft Mariner 2 flies by Venus, becoming the first probe to successfully transmit data from another planet.
- December 19 - Britain acknowledges the right of Nyasaland (now Malawi) to secede from the Central African Federation.
- December 19 - The last foreign-occupied territory of India, Daman and Diu, is integrated into India.
- December 22 - "Big Freeze" in Britain: no frost-free nights until March 5, 1963.
- December 24 - Cuba releases last 1,113 participants in the Bay of Pigs Invasion to the U.S., in exchange for food worth $53 million.
- December 30 - United Nations troops occupy the last rebel positions in Katanga; Moise Tshombe moves to South Rhodesia.
[edit] Undated
[edit] Ongoing
[edit] Births
[edit] January-February
- January 3 - Guy Pratt, English bassist, songwriter, actor & comedian (worked for Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Coverdale-Page)
- January 4 - Natalya Bochina, Russian athlete
- January 8 - Chris Marion, American musician (Little River Band)
- January 11 - Kim Coles, American actress and comedian
- January 13 - Trace Adkins, American country music singer-songwriter
- January 13 - Kevin Mitchell, American baseball player
- January 14 - Michael McCaul, American politician
- January 17 - Jim Carrey, Canadian actor and comedian
- January 21 - Tyler Cowen, American economist
- January 21 - Marie Trintignant, French actress (d. 2003)
- January 22 - Lyudmila Dzhigalova, Russian athlete
- January 25 - Chris Chelios, American ice hockey player
- January 30 - King Abdullah II of Jordan
- January 31- Sophie Muller, Music video director
- February 2 - Andy Fordham, English darts player
- February 3 - Michele Greene, American actress
- February 4 - Clint Black, American musician
- February 5 - Jennifer Jason Leigh, American actress
- February 6 - Axl Rose, American singer (Guns N' Roses)
- February 7 - Garth Brooks, American musician
- February 7 - Eddie Izzard, British actor and comedian
- February 8 - Malorie Blackman, British-born author
- February 10 - Cliff Burton, American bassist (Metallica) (d. 1986)
- February 10 - Bobby Czyz, American boxer
- February 11 - Sheryl Crow, American singer
- February 12 - Nana Ioseliani, Georgian chess player
- February 12 -
