February 1964

The following events occurred in February 1964:

February 1, 1964 (Saturday)

• Altamirano rail disaster: A diesel-hauled twelve-carriage holiday excursion train left the Argentine seaside resort of Mar Del Plata on its 230-mile journey north to the capital, Buenos Aires, carrying 1040 passengers.^[1] At Altamirano, 65 miles south of the capital, the Firefly Express as it was called, travelling at 100 km/h, crashed head-on with a steam-hauled freight train, 250m from the station at Altamarino. Both locomotives exploded, spreading burning diesel fuel over a wide area. A police doctor, giving an estimate of 34 deaths, conceded that "There is no telling how many bodies burned up in the fire".
• The Beatles vaulted to the #1 spot on the U.S. singles charts for the first time, with "I Want to Hold Your Hand", starting the British Invasion of the United States.

February 2, 1964 (Sunday)

• Born:
  • Ramesh Kumar Nibhoria, Punjabi engineer and inventor, in Firozpur;
  • Goodluck Nanah Opiah, Nigerian politician, in Abacheke Egbema

February 3, 1964 (Monday)

• A Turkish Airlines Douglas C-47A-5-DK Skytrain on a cargo flight crashed in Ankara Province, Turkey, while on approach to Esenboğa Airport in Ankara, killing the entire crew of three.
• The North Vietnamese Air Force established its first jet fighter unit, Fighter Regiment No. 921, equipped with MiG-17s. North Vietnamese jet fighter units would be based in the People's Republic of China until August while their pilots underwent training.
• Protesting against alleged de facto school racial segregation, Black and Puerto Rican groups in New York City boycotted public schools.

February 4, 1964 (Tuesday)

• The federal government of the United States authorized the Twenty-fourth Amendment, outlawing the poll tax.
• General Motors introduced the Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser and the Buick Sport Wagon.

February 5, 1964 (Wednesday)

• Kashmir Day: India backed out of its promise to hold a plebiscite in the disputed territory of Kashmir. In 1948, India had taken the issue of Kashmir to the United Nations Security Council and offered to hold a plebiscite in the held Kashmir under UN supervision. In March 1965, the Indian Parliament would pass a bill declaring Kashmir a province of India.
• Born: Laura Linney, American actress, in New York City.

February 6, 1964 (Thursday)

• Cuba cut off the normal water supply to the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, in reprisal for the U.S. seizure the previous Sunday of four Cuban fishing boats off the coast of Florida.
• Died: Emilio Aguinaldo, 94, Filipino politician and first President of the Philippines

February 7, 1964 (Friday)

The Beatles arrive at John F. Kennedy International Airport, 7 February 1964

• A Jackson, Mississippi jury, trying Byron De La Beckwith for the murder of Medgar Evers in June 1963, reported that it could not reach a verdict, and a mistrial was declared.
• The Beatles arrived from England at New York City's JFK International Airport, receiving a tumultuous reception from a throng of screaming fans, marking the first occurrence of "Beatlemania" in the United States.
• Canada's Golden Hawks aerobatic team was disbanded.

February 8, 1964 (Saturday)

• Born: German Gref, Russian economist and politician, in Panfilovo, Kazakh SSR (now Kazakhstan)
• Died: Boshirō Hosogaya, 75, Japanese admiral; Ernst Kretschmer, 75, German psychiatrist

February 9, 1964 (Sunday)

• The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, marking their first live performance on American television. Seen by an estimated 73 million viewers, the appearance became the catalyst for the mid-1960s "British Invasion" of American popular music.
• The 1964 Winter Olympics came to a close in Innsbruck, Austria.
• The 1964 Australian Grand Prix was won by Jack Brabham.

February 10, 1964 (Monday)

• Born: Francesca Neri, Italian actress, in Trento.^[2]
• Died: Eugen Sänger, 58, Austrian aerospace engineer

February 11, 1964 (Tuesday)

• Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot residents begin fighting in Limassol, Cyprus.
• The Republic of China (Taiwan) broke off diplomatic relations with France because of French recognition of the People's Republic of China.
• Born: Sarah Palin, American politician, in Sandpoint, Idaho (as Sarah Louise Heath)

February 12, 1964 (Wednesday)

• Died: Willy Schmidt-Gentner, 69, German film score composer

February 13, 1964 (Thursday)

• Five days before his trial as a war criminal was due to begin, German psychiatrist Werner Heyde hanged himself in prison at Butzbach.^[3]
• Died: Arthur Upfield, 73, Australian crime novelist

February 14, 1964 (Friday)

• In the United Kingdom, the Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Order was issued, proposing to create a new county by merging the areas of the administrative counties of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely (with minor boundary changes). The Order was subsequently approved by Parliament.^[4] The Huntingdon and Peterborough Order was created to fulfill a comparable function for neighbouring counties. Both orders were passed despite considerable local opposition.

February 15, 1964 (Saturday)

• The North Vietnamese Air Force scored its first aerial victory against an American aircraft when a North Vietnamese T-28 Trojan armed trainer shot down a C-123 Provider transport plane.
• The Denison by-election to the Australian House of Representatives, triggered by the death of incumbent Liberal MP Athol Townley, resulted in victory for Adrian Gibson.

February 16, 1964 (Sunday)

• Parliamentary elections in Greece.^[5] resulted in a clear victory for Georgios Papandreou and his Center Union party.
• Born:
  • Bebeto, Brazilian footballer, in Salvador (as José Roberto Gama de Oliveira);
  • Christopher Eccleston, English actor, in Salford, Lancashire

February 17, 1964 (Monday)

• 'In the case of Wesberry v. Sanders (376 US 1 1964), the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that congressional districts had to be approximately equal in population.
• Gabonese president Leon M'ba was toppled by a military coup and his archrival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, was installed in his place. However, French intervention quickly restored M'ba's government.
• Gaibnasar Pallayev became Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of Tajikistan.

February 18, 1964 (Tuesday)

• The first 50 French soldiers landed at the Libreville International Airport to intervene in the political coup in Gabon.^[6] The rebels responded by closing the airport but failed to establish obstacles.
• Born: Matt Dillon, American actor, in New Rochelle, New York
• Died: Joseph-Armand Bombardier, 56 Canadian inventor best known for the snowmobile

February 19, 1964 (Wednesday)

• Further French troops were airlifted to Gabon to put down the recent army coup. French Air Force planes strafed the rebels at Baraka, while the French Army attacked the insurgents with machine gun fire and mortars. The rebels at the military base surrendered once their ammunition supply ran out, and their commander, Lieutenant Ndo Edou, was executed. Recently deposed President Leon M'ba was rescued unharmed.

February 20, 1964 (Thursday)

• Died: Verena Holmes, 74, English mechanical engineer and inventor, the first woman member elected to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (1924)

February 21, 1964 (Friday)

• Died: Luis Martín-Santos, 39, Spanish psychiatrist and writer, was killed in a car accident.^[7]

February 22, 1964 (Saturday)

• Born: William Tanui, Kenyan athlete, in Terik

February 23, 1964 (Sunday)

• Chrysler's Second Generation HEMI racing engine (426 Cubic Inches with Hemispherical Head design) made its first appearance at the Daytona 500 motor race. The HEMI powered Plymouth of Richard Petty (#43) won. HEMI powered Plymouths finished 1-2-3.

February 24, 1964 (Monday)

• David A. Burchinal became Director of the Joint Staff of the United States Armed Forces.
• Born: Todd Field, American actor and film director, in Pomona, California

February 25, 1964 (Tuesday)

• Muhammad Ali defeated Sonny Liston in Miami Beach, Florida, to become the heavyweight boxing champion of the world.
• Born: Lee Evans, British comedian and actor, in Avonmouth, Bristol
• Died: Grace Metalious, 39, American novelist, of liver disease

February 26, 1964 (Wednesday)

• Eastern Air Lines Flight 304, a Douglas DC-8, crashed into Lake Pontchartrain 20 miles (32 km) northeast of New Orleans, nine minutes after taking off from New Orleans International Airport, killing all 58 people on board. Among the dead was the American opera singer and actor Kenneth Lee Spencer.
• Former American astronaut John Glenn slipped on a bathroom rug in his Columbus, Ohio, apartment and hit his head on the bathtub, injuring his left inner ear. Later that week, he would withdraw from his campaign for the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. Senator for Ohio.

February 27, 1964 (Thursday)

• The government of Italy asked for international assistance to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.
• Died: Orry-Kelly, 66, Australian costume designer in Hollywood

February 28, 1964 (Friday)

• Born: Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Uzbekistani cyclist, in Tashkent
• Died: Timmy Mayer, 26, American racing driver, was killed in a practice session at Longford, Tasmania, when he lost control of his custom-built Cooper T70 at over 100 mph and hit a tree next to the course.

February 29, 1964 (Saturday)

• U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announced that the United States had developed a jet airplane (the A-11), capable of sustained flight at more than 2,000 miles per hour (3,200 km/h) and of altitudes of more than 70,000 feet (21,000 m).
• Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq became Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.^[8]

References