1960 in the United States

1960 in the United States
Years:	1957 1958 1959 – 1960 – 1961 1962 1963
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50 stars (1960–present)
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Events from the year 1960 in the United States.

Incumbents

Federal Government

• President: Dwight D. Eisenhower (R-Kansas/New York)
• Vice President: Richard Nixon (R-California)
• Chief Justice: Earl Warren (California)
• 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, D.C.
• 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, D.C., 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 61 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 U-2 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

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 13 - The Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the New York Yankees in the seventh game of the World Series on Bill Mazeroski's walk-off home run.
• 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 4 – Art Paul Schlosser, singer-songwriter
• January 28 – Robert von Dassanowsky, academic, writer, poet, film and cultural historian and producer
• January 29 – Steve Sax, baseball player and sportscaster
• February 7 – Robert Smigel, actor, comedian and puppeteer
• February 22 – Charles Cullen, serial killer
• April 13 – Bob Casey, Jr., U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania since 2007
• April 18 – J. Christopher Stevens, diplomat, U.S. Ambassador to Libya (d. 2012 in Libya)
• 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 since 2011
• May 21 – John O'Brien, novelist (d. 1994)
• May 25 – Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Senator from Minnesota since 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
  • John F. Kennedy Jr., (d. 1999) son of President John F. Kennedy
• 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 21
  • Tim Rucks, American football player and coach (d. 2015)
  • Andy Van Slyke, baseball player and coach
• 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)

See also

• List of American films of 1960

References

External links

• Media related to 1960 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons