Events 1 - 200 of 666
The Beatles? 'They have no future in show business'
Jan 1 Beatles' Decca Records audition is unsuccessful - they are told “guitar groups are on the way out..."
- Jan 1 Rwanda granted internal self-government by Belgium
- Jan 1 United States Navy SEALs established.
- Jan 1 Western Samoa gains independence from New Zealand Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II becomes co-chief of Western Samoa
- Jan 2 Nighttime version of "Password" with Allen Ludden premieres on CBS
- Jan 3 Ground is broken for the Houston Astrodome, a multi-purpose domed stadium, in Houston, Texas
Castro Excommunicated
Jan 3 Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro
- Jan 4 1st automated (unmanned) subway train in New York City
Sukarno Attempt Fails
Jan 7 Assassination attempt fails on Indonesian President Sukarno
- Jan 7 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to John Hall Wheelock [1]
Nicklaus Turns Professional
Jan 8 21-year-old future Hall of Fame golfer Jack Nicklaus makes his first professional appearance; tied 50th in Los Angeles Open
- Jan 8 Dutch express train crashes into a slow commuter train, killing 93 people
- Jan 9 Mister M (Dr X) beats Verne Gagne in Minneapolis, to become NWA champ
- Jan 9 NFL prohibits grabbing of face masks
- Jan 9 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Jan 10 Eruptions on Mount Huascaran in Peru destroy 7 villages & kill 3,500
- Jan 11 Landslide at dormant volcano Huascaran in Peru kills an estimated 4,000
- Jan 12 Operation Chopper begins, America's first combat mission in the Vietnam War
Agent Orange in Vietnam
Jan 12 Operation Ranch Hand begins, a US Air Force operation to spray South Vietnamese forests with defoliants such as Agent Orange
"The Twist"
Jan 13 Chubby Checker's song "The Twist", credited with starting the Twist dance craze, goes to #1 in the charts two years after first reaching number one spot
Chamberlain Scores 73 Points
Jan 13 Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain scores 73 points in Warriors' 135-117 win over Chicago Packers; at the time, most points scored in NBA regulation game, and remains tied for 3rd-highest total
- Jan 15 Battle of Arafura Sea: Dutch destroyers intercept and destroy three Indonesian torpedo boats attempting to land marines on the territory of Netherlands New Guinea as part of the Soviet-Indonesian Operation Trikora
Coco The Clown
Jan 15 Coco the Clown [Nicolai Poliakoff] is the subject of the BBC TV programme "This is Your Life"
Armstrong Pilots X-15
Jan 17 NASA civilian pilot Neil Armstrong takes hypersonic research plane X-15 to 40,690m
- Jan 17 Roy Harris' 8th Symphony, premieres in San Francisco
- Jan 18 Southern University, Baton Rouge, closed due to demonstrations
- Jan 18 US begins spraying foliage in Vietnam to reveal Viet Cong guerrillas
- Jan 18 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Jan 21 Snow falls in San Francisco
JFK Visit
Jan 21 US President John F. Kennedy arrives in Uruguay
- Jan 22 The Organization of American States suspends Cuba's membership.
Philby Defects
Jan 23 British intelligence officer Kim Philby defects to USSR
- Jan 23 Film "Jules et Jim", based on the novel by Henri-Pierre Roché, directed by François Truffaut and starring Jeanne Moreau is released
- Jan 23 Libya, Morocco, Algeria. and Tunisia plan to form United Arab Maghreb; planning continues until an agreement is reached in 1989
- Jan 24 28 refugees escape from East to West Germany
Epstein Signs with Beatles
Jan 24 Brian Epstein signs management contract with the Beatles
First African American Inductee
Jan 24 Jackie Robinson is 1st African American elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame; Bob Feller is also elected
Catholic Bishop Bans "The Twist"
Jan 26 Bishop Burke of Buffalo Catholic dioceses declares Chubby Checker's "The Twist" to be impure and bans it from all Catholic schools
- Jan 26 Canadian Marine Service renamed Coast Guard
- Jan 26 David Diamond's 7th Symphony premieres with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy
- Jan 26 US launches Ranger 3, misses Moon by 22,000-mi (37,000-km)
- Jan 28 Johanne Relleke gets stung by bees 2,443 times in Rhodesia & survives
- Jan 30 2 members of Flying Wallendas' high-wire act killed when their 7-person pyramid collapsed during a performance in Detroit
- Jan 30 Laughter epidemic begins at a girls' mission school in Kashasha, Tanganyika, goes on to affect 14 schools and over 1000 people
Portugal Censured Over Angola
Jan 30 UN General Assembly censures Portugal over Angola
- Jan 30 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Jan 31 Samuel Gravely assumes command of destroyer escort "USS Falgout", first African American to command a combat ship
- Jan 31 USAF General Charles P. Cabell ends term as deputy director of CIA
- Feb 1 "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", the debut novel by Ken Kesey is published by Viking Press
- Feb 1 MLB's National League releases its first 162-game schedule due to expansion (18 games between opponents)
- Feb 2 1st pole vault over 16' (4.88m) (John Uelses-16', Melrose Games)
- Feb 2 8 of 9 planets align for 1st time in 400 years
- Feb 2 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
- Feb 3 John Uelses pole vaults record 489 cm
- Feb 3 US President John F. Kennedy bans all trade with Cuba except for food & drugs
- Feb 4 Russian newspaper Izvestia reports baseball is an old Russian game
- Feb 5 Black and White parents stage an overnight sit-in after school board denies transfer requests of nine Black families for their children to be transferred to newer school facility in Englewood, New Jersey
Event of Interest
Feb 5 French President Charles de Gaulle calls for Algeria's independence
- Feb 5 Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn all within 16 degrees
- Feb 6 Schoolman Athletic Field in the Bronx named
- Feb 7 Gas explosion in Luisanthal coal mine Voelklingen Germany kills 298
- Feb 7 US President JFK begins blockade of Cuba by banning all Cuban imports and exports.
- Feb 8 In Paris, 8 people killed at a protest against independence for the French colony Algeria
- Feb 8 KACB TV channel 3 in San Angelo, TX (NBC) begins broadcasting
- Feb 8 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Feb 9 Jamaica signs agreement to become independent
- Feb 9 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Feb 10 Jim Beatty sets American indoor mile record (3:58.9) in LA
- Feb 10 USSR swaps spy Francis Gary Power to US for Rudolph Abel
- Feb 12 Bus boycott starts in Macon, Georgia
Film and TV History
Feb 14 US 1st lady Jacqueline Kennedy conducts White House tour on TV
- Feb 15 Lawsuit is filed on behalf of nine families whose requests for children to be transferred to newer school facility in Englewood, New Jersey; parents charge denial was "racial segregation"
- Feb 15 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Feb 16 "La Jetée", French film directed by Chris Marker, starring Hélène Chatelain, Davos Hanich and Jacques Ledoux, is released
Music Premiere
Feb 16 Darius Milhaud's 12th Symphony premieres
John Glenn Orbits Earth
Feb 20 John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, aboard Friendship 7
- Feb 21 Minister De Pous confirms natural gas reserves in Groningen, Netherlands
- Feb 22 Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain sets NBA record with 34 free-throw attempts (converts 19) in Warriors 139-121 win over St. Louis Hawks at Philadelphia Civic Center
- Feb 23 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Feb 24 General mobilization in Indonesia over New Guinea
- Feb 24 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Feb 25 India Congress Party wins elections
- Feb 25 Mike O'Hara completes record 97th marathon
- Feb 25 Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain scores 67 points against NY Knicks at Philadelphia Civic Center for the second successive year; Warriors lose 149-135
Event of Interest
Feb 25 Robert F. Kennedy visits Netherlands
Oh Dad, Poor Dad
Feb 26 Arthur Kopit's play "Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad" premieres in NYC
- Feb 26 US Supreme court disallows race separation on public transportation
Assassination Attempt
Feb 27 South Vietnam President Ngô Đình Diệm's palace bombed by dissident air pilots in a failed assassination attempt
- Mar 2 Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points, most ever by an NBA player in a single game, in Warriors' 169-147 win over NY Knicks in Hershey; 36-of-63 from field, 28-of-32 from free-throw line
- Mar 2 President John F. Kennedy announces US will resume above ground nuclear testing
- Mar 3 British Antarctic Territory forms
- Mar 4 AEC announces 1st atomic power plant in Antarctica in operation
- Mar 5 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Mar 6 St Louis vote to build a new downtown stadium for the Cardinals
- Mar 6 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Mar 6 US promise Thailand assistance against communist aggression
- Mar 7 Ground-breaking report "Smoking and Health" published by the British Royal College of Physicians, first major report to warn of the dangers of smoking
- Mar 7 Launch of OSO 1, 1st astronomy satellite (solar flare data)
- Mar 7 The Beatles made their broadcasting debut on BBC radio
Radio Premiere
Mar 8 The Beatles (with Pete Best) BBC radio debut - a cover of Roy Orbison's "Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)", recorded the previous evening on stage at the Playhouse Theatre in Manchester
- Mar 8 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Event of Interest
Mar 9 Egyptian President Nasser declares Gaza belongs to Palestinians
- Mar 9 US advisors in South-Vietnam join the fight
- Mar 10 Due to its no black policy, Phillies leave Jack Tar Harrison Hotel & move to Rocky Point Motel, 20 miles outside Clearwater, Florida
- Mar 10 Gala preview dinner held atop the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington, prior to opening of the Century 21 Exposition (World's Fair)
- Mar 12 Dutch Premier De Quay announces secret talks with Indonesia
- Mar 13 Yugoslavia grants 1,000 prisoners amnesty
- Mar 14 Disarmament conference opens in Geneva without France
NHL Record
Mar 14 Red Wings' forward Gordie Howe becomes second player in NHL history to score 500 career goals in Detroit's 3-2 loss to NY Rangers
- Mar 15 Donald Jackson of Canada is 1st to land a triple lutz ice skate jump
- Mar 15 Five research groups announce the discovery of anti-matter
- Mar 15 KATU TV channel 2 in Portland, OR (ABC) begins broadcasting
- Mar 15 Wilt Chamberlain is 1st to score 4,000 pts in an NBA season
- Mar 16 1st launching of Titan 2-rocket
- Mar 16 US Super-Constellation disappears above Pacific Ocean, kills 167
- Mar 18 Algerian War of Independence ends in a ceasefire after 7½ yrs and 250,000 dead, Ahmed Ben Bella flees
Music History
Mar 18 Dmitri Shostakovich becomes member of Supreme Soviet of USSR
- Mar 19 Archbishop Suenens of Mechelen-Brussels appointed cardinal
- Mar 20 Sjoukje Dijkstra becomes world champion figure skater
- Mar 21 Dutch RC bishop Beckers declares himself in favor of birth control
- Mar 21 Philadelphia Phillies retire pitcher Robin Roberts' # 36
- Mar 21 Yogi the bear becomes the 1st creature to be ejected at supersonic speeds by the US military testing ejection seats
- Mar 23 JFK visits San Francisco
- Mar 23 Nawab of Pataudi captains India cricket v WI age 21 years 77 days
- Mar 23 Wake Forest coach "Bones" McKinney becomes 2nd person to play and coach
- Mar 23 William DeWitt buys Cincinnati Reds for $4,625,000
Boxing Title Fight
Mar 24 Emile Griffith beats Benny " Kid" Paret by TKO in 12th round in welterweight boxing title fight at MSG, NYC; Paret dies 10 days later; first use of television slow motion replay
Music History
Mar 24 Mick Jagger & Keith Richards perform as Little Boy Blue & Blue Boys
NHL Record
Mar 27 NHL Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jacques Plante ties record winning 6th NHL Vezina trophy
- Mar 28 Devastating 8 for 6 spell by West Indian spin bowler Lance Gibbs gives home side innings & 30 run 3rd Test win over India in Bridgetown
- Mar 28 Military coup in Syria, President Nazim al-Kudsi flees
- Mar 29 Argentine President Arturo Frondizi flees from the army
Sports History
Apr 3 American jockey Eddie Arcaro retires after 31 years (24,092 races)
- Apr 3 Lt General Marshall S Carter, USA, becomes deputy director of CIA
- Apr 5 Herb Gardner's "Thousand Clowns" premieres in NYC
- Apr 5 Mgr J Daems appointed bishop of Antwerp
- Apr 5 NASA's Neil Armstrong pilots the X-15 to a height of 54,600 meters
- Apr 5 St Bernard Tunnel finished-Swiss/Italians workers shake hands
- Apr 7 Indian cricketer Polly Umrigar slams 172 not out vs West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 248 minutes
Event of Interest
Apr 7 Yugoslav ex-president Milovan Djilas returns to jail
- Apr 8 Accords of Evian (Algeria) accepted by referendum in France
Academy Awards
Apr 9 34th Academy Awards: "West Side Story" (Best Picture, Director, and 8 more), Sophia Loren (Two Women) & Maximilian Schell (Judgement At Nuremberg) win
- Apr 9 US President JohnF. Kennedy throws out 1st ball at Washington's new DC Stadium
- Apr 10 52,564 fans attend first MLB game at LA's Dodger Stadium at Chavez Ravine, a 6-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds
- Apr 10 Houston Colt .45s make their MLB debut with an 11-2 win over the Chicago Cubs at Colt Stadium; outfielder Román Mejías hits a pair of 3-run homers
- Apr 11 New York Mets make a losing debut
- Apr 12 San Mateo County withdraws from BART (San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit) district
Baseball Record
Apr 13 Stan Musial scores his 1,869th run, a new NL record
- Apr 13 US steel industry forced to give up price increases
- Apr 14 Demonstration for sovereign status of New Guinea in Amsterdam
Election of Interest
Apr 14 Georges Pompidou becomes Prime Minister of France after the resignation of Michel Debré
Film & TV History
Apr 16 Walter Cronkite begins anchoring CBS Evening News
Event of Interest
Apr 19 NASA civilian pilot Joseph A. Walker takes X-15 to 46,900m
- Apr 20 NASA civilian pilot Neil Armstrong takes X-15 to 63,250 m
- Apr 20 New Orleans Citizens Co gives free 1-way ride to blacks to move North
- Apr 20 OAS-leader ex-general Salan arrested in Algiers
- Apr 21 Century 21 Exposition opens in Seattle, Washington
- Apr 22 NY Mets tiea NL record by losing 9 straight to start season
- Apr 22 Pirates tie then record of 10 straight wins to start season
- Apr 22 Stanley Cup Final, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL: Dick Duff scores the winner as Toronto Maple Leafs beat Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1 for a 4-2 series victory
- Apr 23 NY Mets win their 1st game ever, after going 0-9, beat Pirates 9-1
- Apr 23 Ranger 4, 1st US satellite to reach Moon launched from Cape Canaveral
- Apr 24 1st Lockheed A-12 is taxi tested
Baseball Record
Apr 24 LA Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax's 2nd career 18-strikeout, in a 10-2 win over Cubs in Chicago
- Apr 24 Massachusetts Institute of Technology sends TV signal by satellite for 1st time: California to Massachusetts
- Apr 25 Cleve sends Harry Chiti to Mets for a player to be named later, on June 15 the Mets send Chiti back to Cleveland
- Apr 25 Lion & Tiger Veldt at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is dedicated (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Apr 25 US Ranger spacecraft crash lands on Moon
- Apr 25 US resumes above ground nuclear testing, at Christmas Island
- Apr 26 1st Lockheed A-12 flies
- Apr 26 Ariel 1 Launch (1st UK Satellite)
- Apr 26 Ranger 4 crash lands on (backside of) Moon
- Apr 26 US and UK launch Ariel; 1st international payload
- Apr 27 Arnold Wesker's "Chips with Everything" premieres in London
- Apr 27 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island
- Apr 29 16th Tony Awards: "A Man For All Seasons" (play) & "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" (musical) win
- Apr 30 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Mickey Wright wins her 8th major title in a playoff with Ruth Jessen
- Apr 30 NASA civilian pilot Joseph A. Walker takes X-15 to 75,190 m
- May 1 1st French underground nuclear test in the Sahara at Ecker, Algeria
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