August 1960
Encyclopedia
January
January 1960
January – February – March.  – April – May – June – July – August – September  – October  – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in January 1960-January 1, 1960 :...

 – February
February 1960
January – February – March.  – April – May – June – July – August – September  – October  – November-DecemberThe following events occurred in February 1960.-February 1, 1960 :...

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March 1960
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September  – October  – November - DecemberThe following events occurred in March 1960.-March 1, 1960 :...

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April 1960
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September  – October  – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in April, 1960.-April 1, 1960 :...

 – May
May 1960
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in May 1960.-May 1, 1960 :...

 – June
June 1960
January – February – March – April – May  – June  – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in June, 1960.-June 1, 1960 :...

 – July
July 1960
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in July 1960.-July 1, 1960 :*Ghana became a republic, with Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah as its first President...

 – AugustSeptember
September 1960
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in September 1960.-September 1, 1960 :...

  – October
October 1960
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in October 1960:-October 1, 1960 :...

  – November
November 1960
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in November 1960.-November 1, 1960 :...

 – December
December 1960
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in December 1960:-December 1, 1960 :...



The following events occurred in August 1960.

August 1, 1960 (Monday)

  • The Republic of Dahomey
    Republic of Dahomey
    The Republic of Dahomey was established on December 11, 1958, as a self-governing colony within the French Community. Prior to attaining autonomy it had been French Dahomey, part of the French Union...

    , formerly part of French West Africa
    French West Africa
    French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Dahomey and Niger...

    , became independent, with Hubert Maga
    Hubert Maga
    Coutoucou Hubert Maga was a politician from Dahomey .Dahomey was renamed Benin in 1975. See . He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region in Dahomey they lived...

     as its first President.

In 1975, it would change its name to the Republic of Benin
Republic of Benin
The short-lived Republic of Benin, in Nigeria's coastal Bight of Benin, was named after its capital Benin City. It was known as Mid-Western state in Nigeria until August 1967 when it was occupied by Biafra as its forces advanced towards Lagos...

.
  • At a dinner at the Swiss Embassy in Beijing
    Beijing
    Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

    , Communist Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai
    Zhou Enlai
    Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...

     proposed negotiating a peace treaty with the United States, to create "a non-nuclear zone in Asia and the Western Pacific" region. A press officer for the U.S. State Department rejected the idea as "another meaningless propaganda gesture".
  • Typhoon Shirley struck Taiwan
    Taiwan
    Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

    , killing 126 people.
  • Died: Eldon Edwards
    Eldon Edwards
    Eldon Lee Edwards was a U.S. Ku Klux Klan leader.Edwards was an automobile paint sprayer from Georgia, and rebuilt the Klan beginning in 1953. In his book "The Informant: The FBI, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Murder of Viola Liuzzo", Gary May notes that Edwards became prominent at a time when the...

    , 51, Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan
    Ku Klux Klan
    Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...


August 2, 1960 (Tuesday)

  • The Continental League
    Continental League
    The Continental League was a proposed third major league for baseball, announced in 1959 and scheduled to begin play in the 1961 season...

    , proposed as a third major league for baseball, came to an end after CL President Branch Rickey
    Branch Rickey
    Wesley Branch Rickey was an innovative Major League Baseball executive elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967...

     and co-founder William Shea
    William Shea
    William Alfred "Bill" Shea was an American lawyer and a name partner of the prominent law firm of Shea & Gould...

     concluded a meeting in Chicago with representatives of the National League
    National League
    The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

     and American League
    American League
    The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

    . The NL and AL, each with eight teams, had been confronted with the proposed eight team CL. By agreement, each established league would place franchises in proposed CL cities. Buffalo, New York, was the only site that never received a major league team.

August 3, 1960 (Wednesday)

  • The Republic of Niger, formerly part of French West Africa
    French West Africa
    French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Dahomey and Niger...

    , became independent, with Hamani Diori
    Hamani Diori
    Hamani Diori was the first President of the Republic of Niger. He was appointed to that office in 1960, when Niger gained independence.- Youth :...

     as its first President.
  • Hector Trujillo
    Héctor Trujillo
    Hector Bienvenido Trujillo Molina , general, and political figure; president of Dominican Republic 1952-1960; brother of Rafael Trujillo.-Biography:...

     resigned abruptly as President of the Dominican Republic. The brother of de facto leader Rafael Trujillo had served as a figurehead, and was succeeded by Joaquín Balaguer
    Joaquín Balaguer
    Joaquín Antonio Balaguer Ricardo was the President of the Dominican Republic from 1960 to 1962, from 1966 to 1978, and again from 1986 to 1996.-Early life and introduction to politics:...

    .
  • A fire, at the Soviet research center at Mirny Station
    Mirny Station
    Mirny is a Russian science station in Antarctica, located on the Antarctic coast of the Davis Sea in the Australian Antarctic Territory. Named after support vessel of the Bellingshausen's expedition....

     in Antarctica, fed by gale force winds and hampered by a lack of equipment, killed eight meteorologists.

August 4, 1960 (Thursday)

  • NASA test pilot Joseph A. Walker
    Joseph A. Walker
    Joseph Albert "Joe" Walker was an American NASA test pilot, and member of the U.S. Air Force Man In Space Soonest program. In 1963, he made two X-15 Experimental rocket aircraft flights beyond the altitude of 100 kilometers - at the edge of outer space...

     became the fastest man in history as he flew an X-15 at a speed of 2,196 miles per hour, breaking a record set in 1956 by Milburn Apt, who had been killed while flying an X-2.
  • Born: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
    José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
    José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party . He was elected for two terms as Prime Minister of Spain, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. On 2 April 2011 he announced he will not stand for re-election in 2012...

    , Prime Minister of Spain
    Prime Minister of Spain
    The President of the Government of Spain , sometimes known in English as the Prime Minister of Spain, is the head of Government of Spain. The current office is established under the Constitution of 1978...

     since 2004, in Valladolid
    Valladolid
    Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...

    ; and Dean Malenko
    Dean Malenko
    Dean Simon is a retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Dean Malenko. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He is best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling , New Japan Pro Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling...

    , American professional wrestler, in Irvington, New Jersey
    Irvington, New Jersey
    Irvington is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a total population of 53,926, a decline of 11.2% from the 60,695 residents enumerated in the 2000 Census.-Geography:...


August 5, 1960 (Friday)

  • The Republic of Upper Volta
    Republic of Upper Volta
    The Republic of Upper Volta was established on December 11, 1958, as a self-governing colony within the French Community. Before attaining autonomy it had been French Upper Volta and part of the French Union. On August 5, 1960 it attained full independence from France.Thomas Sankara came to power...

    , formerly part of French West Africa
    French West Africa
    French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Dahomey and Niger...

    , became independent, with Maurice Yaméogo
    Maurice Yaméogo
    Maurice Yaméogo was the first President of the Republic of Upper Volta, now called Burkina Faso. He proclaimed the independence of the country on August 5, 1960 and also tried to create a union between Cote d'Ivoire and Upper-Volta...

     as its first President. In 1984, the nation changed its name to the Burkina Faso
    Burkina Faso
    Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...

    .

August 6, 1960 (Saturday)

  • In response to a United States embargo against Cuba
    United States embargo against Cuba
    The United States embargo against Cuba is a commercial, economic, and financial embargo partially imposed on Cuba in October 1960...

    , Fidel Castro
    Fidel Castro
    Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...

     nationalized American and foreign-owned property in the nation. "Castro Regime Grabs Rest of U.S. Property", Oakland Tribune, August 7, 1960, p1
  • Born: Vishal Bhardwaj
    Vishal Bhardwaj
    Vishal Bhardwaj is an Indian film director, writer, screenwriter, music composer and playback singer.-Early life:Bhardwaj was born in Bijnor but raised in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh to Satya Bhardwaj, a homemaker, and Ram Bhardwaj, a popular poet and lyricist. His father was a government employee and...

    , Indian film director, in Bijnor
    Bijnor
    Bijnor variously spelt as Bijnaur and Bijnour, is a city and a municipal board in Bijnor district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India...

    , Uttar Pradesh
    Uttar Pradesh
    Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

    .

August 7, 1960 (Sunday)

  • Côte d'Ivoire
    Côte d'Ivoire
    The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...

     (also referred to as the Ivory Coast), formerly part of French West Africa
    French West Africa
    French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Dahomey and Niger...

    , became independent of France, with Félix Houphouët-Boigny
    Félix Houphouët-Boigny
    Félix Houphouët-Boigny , affectionately called Papa Houphouët or Le Vieux, was the first President of Côte d'Ivoire. Originally a village chief, he worked as a doctor, an administrator of a plantation, and a union leader, before being elected to the French Parliament and serving in a number of...

     as its first President.
  • The Bluebell Railway
    Bluebell Railway
    The Bluebell Railway is a heritage line running for nine miles along the border between East and West Sussex, England. Steam trains are operated between and , with an intermediate station at .The railway is managed and run largely by volunteers...

    , in Sussex
    Sussex
    Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

    , England, began regular operation as the first standard gauge
    Standard gauge
    The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

     steam-operated passenger preserved railway
    Heritage railway
    thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...

     in the world.

August 8, 1960 (Monday)

  • The Mining State of South Kasai
    South Kasai
    South Kasai was a secessionist region in the area of south central Republic of the Congo during the early 1960s. The region sought independence in similar circumstances to neighboring State of Katanga during the political turmoil arising from the decolonization of Belgian Congo...

    , with its capital at Bakwanga (now Mbuji-Mayi
    Mbuji-Mayi
    Mbuji-Mayi serves as the capital of Kasai-Oriental Province in the south-central Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the third largest city in the country, following the capital Kinshasa and second largest city Lubumbashi but ahead of Kisangani and Kananga. The city is the DRC's third-largest,...

    ), seceded from the rest of the Republic of the Congo
    Republic of the Congo
    The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...

    , by declaration of Chief Albert Kalonji
    Albert Kalonji
    Albert Kalonji is a Congolese politician best known for leading the short-lived secessionist state of South Kasai during the Congo Crisis...

    . Congolese troops recaptured Bakwanga two weeks later on August 24.

August 9, 1960 (Tuesday)

  • The government of Laos
    Laos
    Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...

     was overthrown in a coup led by Captain Kong Le, and supported by rebellious units within the Laotian Army. Prime Minister Samsonith was in Luang Prabang
    Luang Prabang
    Luang Prabang, or Louangphrabang , is a city located in north central Laos, where the Nam Khan river meets the Mekong River about north of Vientiane. It is the capital of Luang Prabang Province...

    , making preparations for the funeral of the late King of Laos, when the army units struck in Vientiane
    Vientiane
    -Geography:Vientiane is situated on a bend of the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point.-Climate:Vientiane features a tropical wet and dry climate with a distinct monsoon season and a dry season. Vientiane’s dry season spans from November through March. April marks the...

    . Former Premier Souvanna Phouma formed a new cabinet on August 15, and civil war was averted after the new King asked, on August 29, that a new ministry be created, and to include members of the old regime. The legislature approved the new ministry on August 31.
  • Voters in a referendum in Alaska
    Alaska
    Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

     elected (by a margin of about 19,000 to 17,000) against moving the state capital from Juneau to a new site to be constructed between the Cook Inlet and Fairbanks.

August 10, 1960 (Wednesday)

  • The Canadian Bill of Rights
    Canadian Bill of Rights
    The Canadian Bill of Rights is a federal statute and bill of rights enacted by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's government on August 10, 1960. It provides Canadians with certain quasi-constitutional rights in relation to other federal statutes...

     became effective.
  • U.S. Navy frogmen successfully recovered the satellite Discoverer 13, marking the first retrieval of a satellite after twelve previous attempts had failed. Although plans to make the first mid-air capture failed, the recovery opened the era of the spy satellite
    Spy satellite
    A spy satellite is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications....

    .
  • The Institute of Heraldry was created under United States Army General Order Number 29.

August 11, 1960 (Thursday)

  • The Republic of Chad, formerly part of French Equatorial Africa
    French Equatorial Africa
    French Equatorial Africa or the AEF was the federation of French colonial possessions in Middle Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River to the Sahara Desert.-History:...

     became independent, with François Tombalbaye
    François Tombalbaye
    François Tombalbaye, also called Ngarta Tombalbaye , was a teacher and a trade union activist who served as the first president of Chad. He was born in the southern region of the country in the Moyen-Chari Prefecture near the city of Koumara and was of the Sara ethnic group, the prominent ethnicity...

     as its first President.

August 12, 1960 (Friday)

  • Echo 1
    Echo satellite
    Project Echo was the first passive communications satellite experiment. Each of the two American spacecraft was a metalized balloon satellite acting as a passive reflector of microwave signals. Communication signals were bounced off of them from one point on Earth to another.-Echo 1:NASA's Echo 1...

    , the first communications satellite, was successfully launched by NASA. Weighing 137 pounds, Echo was a 100 feet (30.5 m) Mylar balloon, inflated after it reached orbit when the Sun's heat converted powders inside the balloon into gas. A pre-recorded message from U.S. President Eisenhower was transmitted from Goldstone, California, bounced off of Echo, and received at a station in Holmdel, New Jersey. The largest satellite launched up to that time, Echo was big enough that it could be seen from the Earth as it orbited at an average altitude of 1,000 miles.
  • USAF Major Robert M. White
    Robert M. White
    Major General Robert Michael "Bob" White was a military aircraft test pilot and a major general in the United States Air Force...

     set a record by flying an X-15 rocket plane to an altitude of 136,500 feet (26.85 miles or 41.6 kilometers), besting the mark of 126,200 feet set by Iven C. Kincheloe in an X-2 in 1956.

August 13, 1960 (Saturday)

  • The Central African Republic
    Central African Republic
    The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...

    , formerly Ubangi-Shari in the colony of French Equatorial Africa
    French Equatorial Africa
    French Equatorial Africa or the AEF was the federation of French colonial possessions in Middle Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River to the Sahara Desert.-History:...

    , became independent, with David Dacko
    David Dacko
    David Dacko was the first President of the Central African Republic , from August 14, 1960 to January 1, 1966, and the third president of the CAR from September 21, 1979 to September 1, 1981...

     as its President.
  • Typhoon Wendy killed at least 18 people in central Japan.

August 14, 1960 (Sunday)

  • North Korea
    North Korea
    The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

    's President Kim Il-sung
    Kim Il-sung
    Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...

     made his first proposal for the reunification of his nation and South Korea
    South Korea
    The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

     under a "North–South Confederation" or "Confederal Republic of Koryo". The plan, proposed again in 1971, 1980 and 1991, envisioned both nations initially keeping their political systems, with a "Supreme National Committee" to guide cultural and economic development.
  • Born: Sarah Brightman
    Sarah Brightman
    Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...

    , English singer, in Berkhamsted
    Berkhamsted
    -Climate:Berkhamsted experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Castle:...

    , Hertfordshire
    Hertfordshire
    Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

    .

August 15, 1960 (Monday)

  • The Republic of the Congo, an autonomous colony of France since 1958, formerly known as the French Congo
    French Congo
    The French Congo was a French colony which at one time comprised the present-day area of the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and the Central African Republic...

     or a part of French Equatorial Africa
    French Equatorial Africa
    French Equatorial Africa or the AEF was the federation of French colonial possessions in Middle Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River to the Sahara Desert.-History:...

    , attained independence under that name, becoming the second nation to use that name. In that the Belgian Congo was also referred to as the Republic of the Congo
    Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)
    The Republic of the Congo was an independent republic established following the independence granted to the former colony of the Belgian Congo in 1960...

    , reference to the nation's capital was made as Congo (Brazzaville), to distinguish it from Congo (Léopoldville) (later Zaire
    Zaire
    The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...

    ), and now the Democratic Republic of the Congo
    Democratic Republic of the Congo
    The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

    . Former Roman Catholic priest Fulbert Youlou
    Fulbert Youlou
    Abbé Fulbert Youlou was a Brazzaville-Congolese Roman Catholic priest, nationalist leader and politician.-Early life:...

     became the nation's first President.

August 16, 1960 (Tuesday)

  • Joseph Kittinger
    Joseph Kittinger
    Joseph William Kittinger II is a former Command Pilot and career military officer in the United States Air Force. He is most famous for his participation in Project Manhigh and Project Excelsior, holding the records for having the highest, fastest and longest skydive, from a height greater than...

     parachuted from a balloon over New Mexico
    New Mexico
    New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

     at 102,800 feet (. He set records, which still stand, for highest altitude jump; longest free-fall
    Free-fall
    Free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it, at least initially. These conditions produce an inertial trajectory so long as gravity remains the only force. Since this definition does not specify velocity, it also applies to objects initially moving upward...

     by falling 16 miles (25.7 km) over a period of 4 minutes and 38 seconds before opening his parachute
    Parachute
    A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...

    ; and fastest speed by a human without motorized assistance (320 mph).
  • After 82 years as a British colony, the Mediterranean island of Cyprus
    Cyprus
    Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

     was proclaimed independent by its last British Governor, Sir Hugh Foot. The new state, populated by Greek and Turkish people, had Archbishop Makarios III of Greece as its President, and Fazil Kutchuk of Turkey as its Vice-President.

August 17, 1960 (Wednesday)

  • While campaigning for the presidency in Greensboro, North Carolina
    Greensboro, North Carolina
    Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...

    , Richard Nixon
    Richard Nixon
    Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

     bumped his left knee with a car door. What seemed, at first, to be a minor injury, led to an infection and Nixon's hospitalization on August 29. Nixon's illness was cited by some political observers as a factor in his unsuccessful campaign against John F. Kennedy for the Presidency.
  • Gabon
    Gabon
    Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...

    , formerly part of French Equatorial Africa
    French Equatorial Africa
    French Equatorial Africa or the AEF was the federation of French colonial possessions in Middle Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River to the Sahara Desert.-History:...

    , gained independence.
  • An Aeroflot
    Aeroflot
    OJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines , commonly known as Aeroflot , is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation, based on passengers carried per year...

     Il-18 airliner caught fire and crashed near Kiev
    Kiev
    Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

    , killing all 27 persons on board.

August 18, 1960 (Thursday)

  • The first photograph ever from a spy satellite
    Spy satellite
    A spy satellite is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications....

     was taken, after the launch of the American Discoverer 14
    Discoverer 14
    Discoverer 14 was a spy satellite used in the Corona program managed by DARPA and the United States Air Force. On 19 August 1960, usable photographic film images taken by the satellite were recovered by a C-119 recovery aircraft...

     at PDT, and showed a Soviet airfield at Mys Shmidta. With 3,000 feet of film, the satellite took more pictures than all 24 of the U-2 spy plane flights put together, and revealed the existence, not previously known to the U.S., of 64 airfields and 26 missile bases.
  • At a meeting of the U.S. National Security Council, President Eisenhower told CIA Director Allen Dulles that Congolese Premier Patrice Lumumba
    Patrice Lumumba
    Patrice Émery Lumumba was a Congolese independence leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo after he helped win its independence from Belgium in June 1960. Only ten weeks later, Lumumba's government was deposed in a coup during the Congo Crisis...

     needed to be "eliminated" in order to keep the Congo from becoming "another Cuba". Robert Johnson, who took notes of the meeting, revealed the information at a Senate hearing years later.
  • A French Navy bomber exploded over Morocco, killing all 27 persons on board.

August 19, 1960 (Friday)

  • The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 5
    Sputnik 5
    Korabl-Sputnik 2 , also known as Sputnik 5 in the West, was a Soviet artificial satellite, and the third test flight of the Vostok spacecraft. It was the first spaceflight to send animals into orbit and return them safely back to Earth...

     into orbit, with the dogs Belka and Strelka (Russian
    Russian language
    Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

     for "Squirrel" and "Little Arrow"), 40 mice
    Mouse
    A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...

    , 2 rat
    Rat
    Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...

    s and a variety of plants. Recovered the next day after 18 orbits, the menagerie became the first living animals to return safely to Earth after being placed into orbit.
  • A capsule from the Discoverer 14
    Discoverer 14
    Discoverer 14 was a spy satellite used in the Corona program managed by DARPA and the United States Air Force. On 19 August 1960, usable photographic film images taken by the satellite were recovered by a C-119 recovery aircraft...

     satellite became the first object to be recovered in mid-air while returning from space. A C-119 Flying Boxcar
    C-119 Flying Boxcar
    The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechanized equipment, and to drop cargo and troops by parachute...

    , one of ten in the recovery area, snagged the object with "trapeze-like hooks" at an altitude of 8,500 feet.
  • A French Navy bomber exploded over Morocco, killing all 27 persons on board.
  • In Moscow, downed American U-2
    Lockheed U-2
    The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...

     pilot Francis Gary Powers was convicted of espionage against the Soviet Union, and sentenced to ten years imprisonment. Powers would be released two years later in exchange for the spy Rudolf Abel.

August 20, 1960 (Saturday)

  • Senegal
    Senegal
    Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

     seceded from the Mali Federation
    Mali Federation
    The Mali Federation was a country in West Africa. It was formed by a union between Senegal and the Sudanese Republic...

    , following a dispute, between Defense Minister Mamadou Dia
    Mamadou Dia
    Mamadou Dia was a Senegalese politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Senegal from 1957 until 1962, when he was forced to resign and was subsequently imprisoned amidst allegations that he was planning to stage a military coup to overthrow President Léopold Sédar Senghor.- Biography...

     and Federation Premier Modibo Keita
    Modibo Keïta
    Modibo Keita ; was the first President of Mali and the Prime Minister of the Mali Federation. He espoused a form of African socialism.-Youth:...

    , over whether the Federation's first President would be a figurehead or a strongman. Keita fired Dia, and Dia had Keita arrested. Keita and non-Senegalese members of his cabinet were sent back to Mali the next day, and Dia became the first Prime Minister of Senegal. The Federation had been created by a union of the colonies of Senegal and the French Sudan prior to independence, and the former French Sudan retained the name Republic of Mali.

August 21, 1960 (Sunday)

  • The completed the first undersea crossing of the Northwest Passage
    Northwest Passage
    The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...

    , and then turned toward the North Pole.
  • Died: David B. Steinman
    David B. Steinman
    David Bernard Steinman was an American structural engineer. He was the designer of the Mackinac Bridge and many other notable bridges, and a published author. He grew up in New York City's lower Manhattan, and lived with the ambition of making his mark on the Brooklyn Bridge that he lived under...

    , 74, American bridge engineer

August 22, 1960 (Monday)

  • Leaders of the Tunisian-based Algerian Provisional Government asked the United Nations to hold a referendum in French Algeria
    French Algeria
    French Algeria lasted from 1830 to 1962, under a variety of governmental systems. From 1848 until independence, the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria was administered as an integral part of France, much like Corsica and Réunion are to this day. The vast arid interior of Algeria, like the rest...

     on the question of independence from France.
  • Discussions in Geneva, between the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom on a nuclear test-ban treaty, adjourned indefinitely.

August 23, 1960 (Tuesday)

  • Hans Peter Luhn
    Hans Peter Luhn
    Hans Peter Luhn was a computer scientist for IBM, and creator of the Luhn algorithm and KWIC indexing. He was awarded over 80 patents....

     received U.S. Patent No 2,950,048 for "computer for verifying numbers", the Luhn algorithm
    Luhn algorithm
    The Luhn algorithm or Luhn formula, also known as the "modulus 10" or "mod 10" algorithm,is a simple checksum formula used to validate a variety of identification numbers, such as credit card numbers, IMEI numbers, National Provider Identifier numbers in US and Canadian Social Insurance Numbers...

    . United States Patent Office. Assigned to the IBM Corporation, the checksum
    Checksum
    A checksum or hash sum is a fixed-size datum computed from an arbitrary block of digital data for the purpose of detecting accidental errors that may have been introduced during its transmission or storage. The integrity of the data can be checked at any later time by recomputing the checksum and...

     formula provides a method for validating credit card numbers.
  • Died: Oscar Hammerstein II, 65, American lyricist. A week later, the lights of Times Square
    Times Square
    Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...

     were turned off for one minute, and London's West End
    West End of London
    The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...

    lights were dimmed in recognition of his contribution to the musical.

August 24, 1960 (Wednesday)

  • In Washington, reporters asked President Eisenhower about Vice-President (and Republican presidential candidate) Richard Nixon's experience. Charles Mohr of TIME Magazine asked Ike "if you could give us an example of a major idea of his that you had adopted ..." and the President replied "If you give me a week, I might think of one."
  • The Sabin polio vaccine, designed by Dr. Albert Sabin to be taken orally rather than the polio shots developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, was announced as "suitable for use in the United States" by Surgeon General Leroy E. Burney.
  • The "coldest temperature recorded on Earth" was measured at the −88.3 °C (−126.9 °F) at the Soviet Vostok Station
    Vostok Station
    Vostok Station was a Russian Antarctic research station. It was at the southern Pole of Cold, with the lowest reliably measured natural temperature on Earth of −89.2 °C . Research includes ice core drilling and magnetometry...

    . The current record low is −89.2 °C (−129 °F), recorded at the same station on July 21, 1983.
  • Sixty people were killed in Brazil
    Brazil
    Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

     when a bus fell from a bridge into a river near São José do Rio Preto
    São José do Rio Preto
    São José do Rio Preto is a city and municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Is located at the north/northwest portion of the state, 450 km from the city of São Paulo and 700 km from Brasília....

    .
  • Born: Takashi Miike
    Takashi Miike
    is a highly prolific and controversial Japanese filmmaker. He has directed over seventy theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. In the years 2001 and 2002 alone, Miike is credited with directing fifteen productions...

    , Japanese filmmaker, in Yao, Osaka
    Yao, Osaka
    is a city in Osaka, Japan.As of 2009, the city has an estimated population of 271,454 and the density of 6,510 persons per km². The total area is 41.71 km².Yao is home to a general aviation airport, Yao Airport.The city was founded on April 1, 1948....

    , and Steven W. Lindsey
    Steven W. Lindsey
    Steven Wayne Lindsey is an American Air Force officer and a NASA astronaut. Lindsey served as Chief of the NASA Astronaut Office from September 2006 until October 2009....

    , American astronaut, in Arcadia, California
    Arcadia, California
    Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and located approximately northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....


August 25, 1960 (Thursday)

  • The 1960 Summer Olympics
    1960 Summer Olympics
    The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...

     opened in Rome, with a record 5,348 athletes from 83 nations competing. Giancarlo Peris lit the Olympic flame after Italy's President Giovanni Gronchi declared the Games of the 17th Olympiad open. Competition continued until September 11.
  • The submarine surfaced at the North Pole
    North Pole
    The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...

    , where the crew played softball in the northernmost athletic competition ever staged. http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/0858412.jpg

August 26, 1960 (Friday)

  • CIA Director Allen Dulles cabled instructions to station chief Larry Devlin, authorizing wider authority for the "removal" of Congolese Premier Patrice Lumumba, including assassination.
  • Summer Olympics: John Devitt
    John Devitt
    John Thomas Devitt was an Australian sprint freestyle swimmer of the 1960s, who won a gold medal in the 100 m freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He won in controversial circumstances, being awarded the gold medal despite the timekeepers recording a slower time than the silver medallist...

     of Australia was declared the winner over Lance Larson
    Lance Larson
    Lance Larson is an American swimmer and Olympic champion. He competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, where he received a gold medal in the 4 × 100 meter medley relay. He received a silver medal in the 100 meter freestyle....

     of the United States in a controversial judgment in the men's 100 meter freestyle
    Swimming at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre freestyle
    The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1960 Olympic Games took place between August 26 and 27. This swimming event used freestyle swimming, which means that the method of the stroke is not regulated . Nearly all swimmers use the front crawl or a variant of that stroke...

    .
  • Born: Branford Marsalis
    Branford Marsalis
    Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque.-Biography:Marsalis was born...

    , American jazz musician, in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana
    Breaux Bridge, Louisiana
    Breaux Bridge is a city in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population is 8,139 as of the 2010 census. It is part of the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area....

  • Died: Knud Enemark Jensen
    Knud Enemark Jensen
    Knud Enemark Jensen was a Danish cyclist who died while participating in the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome, Italy. He is notable for having been involved in an early doping scandal....

    , 23, Danish cyclist, in a hospital in Rome after fracturing his skull in a fall during his Olympic cycling event
    Cycling at the 1960 Summer Olympics
    The cycling competition at the 1960 Summer Olympics consisted of two road cycling events and four track cycling events, all for men only.-Medal table:-Medal summary:-References:*...

    . A post-mortem examination revealed that he was under the influence of performance-enhancing drugs.

August 27, 1960 (Saturday)

  • "Axe Handle Saturday": Racial tensions in Jacksonville, Florida
    Jacksonville, Florida
    Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...

    , came to a head as 200 white men armed with baseball bats and axe handles attacked protesters conducting sit-ins at Hemming Park.
  • Final performance of the original Louisiana Hayride
    Louisiana Hayride
    Louisiana Hayride was a radio and later television country music show broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 helped to launch the careers of some of the greatest names in American music...

    series.
  • 1960 Summer Olympics
    1960 Summer Olympics
    The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...

    : In the final of the Women's 200 metre breaststroke, British swimmer Anita Lonsbrough broke the world record with a time of 2:49.5, a ½ second ahead of Germany's Wiltrud Urselmann.

August 28, 1960 (Sunday)

  • The Declaration of San José, resulting from a meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs at San José, Costa Rica
    San José, Costa Rica
    San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...

    , condemned any interference by extra-continental powers in the affairs of the American republics. The declaration was approved unanimously (19–0).
  • The United Nations announced that it had sufficient peacekeeping troops in the Congo to preserve order, and demanded that the last of Belgium's forces there be withdrawn.

August 29, 1960 (Monday)

  • Hazza Majali
    Hazza Majali
    Hazza' Barakat al-Majali was two time Prime Minister of Jordan. His first term lasted one week in 1955, his second term lasted from mid-1959 until his assassination on August 29, 1960.-Education:...

    , the Prime Minister of Jordan, was assassinated in the explosion of a time bomb that had been placed in one of the drawers of his desk, at his office in Amman
    Amman
    Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...

    . Eleven other people were killed as well, and 65 were injured.
  • An Air France
    Air France
    Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...

     airliner crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while attempting to land during a torrential rain at Dakar
    Dakar
    Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...

    , Senegal
    Senegal
    Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

    , killing all 63 persons on board.
  • A 300 foot in diameter weather balloon
    Weather balloon
    A weather or sounding balloon is a balloon which carries instruments aloft to send back information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind speed by means of a small, expendable measuring device called a radiosonde...

    , described by the U.S. Air Force as "the largest ever launched", crashed into a home in Stockton, California
    Stockton, California
    Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...

    , an hour after being sent up from Vernalis Air Force Base. Mrs. Ben Petero evacuated her six children from the frame house after realizing that the balloon was descending on the family home.
  • Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser
    Dawn Fraser
    Dawn Fraser AO, MBE is an Australian champion swimmer. She is one of only two swimmers to win the same Olympic event three times – in her case the 100 meters freestyle....

     won the Women's 100 metres freestyle for the second time. The next day, Fraser clashed with her teammates, who shunned her for the remainder of the Games in the tradition of "sending one to Coventry".

August 30, 1960 (Tuesday)

  • John F. Kennedy
    John F. Kennedy
    John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

     appointed four "Cold War
    Cold War
    The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

    " aides in anticipation of his victory in the US presidential election.

August 31, 1960 (Wednesday)

  • South Africa lifted the state of emergency that had been in effect since the Sharpesville massacre in March
    March 1960
    January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September  – October  – November - DecemberThe following events occurred in March 1960.-March 1, 1960 :...

    .
  • Born: Hassan Nasrallah
    Hassan Nasrallah
    Hasan Nasrallah, became the third Secretary General of the Lebanese political and paramilitary organization Hezbollah after Israel assassinated the previous leader, Abbas al-Musawi, in 1992. Hezbollah in its entirety is considered a terrorist organization by The United States, the Netherlands,...

    , General Secretary of Hezbollah, in Bourj Hammoud
    Bourj Hammoud
    Bourj Hammoud is a suburb in North-East Beirut, Lebanon in the Metn district. The suburb is heavily populated by Armenians as it is where most survivors of the Armenian Genocide settled...

    , Lebanon
    Lebanon
    Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

  • Died: Abe Martin, 62, comic strip artist (Boots and Her Buddies
    Boots and Her Buddies
    Boots and Her Buddies is an American comic strip by Edgar Everett Martin. Syndicated by the Newspaper Enterprise Association, it ran from 1924 to 1969. Some newspapers ran the strip under the shortened title Boots...

    )
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