February 1960
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The following events occurred in February 1960.
January 1960
January – February – March. – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in January 1960-January 1, 1960 :...
– February – March
March 1960
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November - DecemberThe following events occurred in March 1960.-March 1, 1960 :...
. – April
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...
– August
August 1960
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in August 1960.-August 1, 1960 :...
– September
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 February 1960.
February 1, 1960 (Monday)
- In Greensboro, North CarolinaGreensboro, North CarolinaGreensboro 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...
, four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State UniversityNorth Carolina Agricultural and Technical State UniversityNorth Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is a land-grant university located in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest publicly funded historically black college in the state of North Carolina.NC A&T is a constituent institution of the University of North...
began a sit-in at the Woolworth's department store, at a lunch counterLunch counterA lunch counter is a small restaurant, much like a diner, where the patron sits on a stool on one side of the counter and the server or person preparing the food serves from the other side of the counter, where the kitchen or limited food preparation area is. As the name suggests, they were most...
that, like many in the South, would not serve Negro customers except for take-out orders. After their classes, the four young men (Joseph McNeil, David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Ezell Blair) entered Woolworth's, made some purchases, and at 4:30, took seats at the counter and politely placed orders for cherry pie à la mode and coffee. When the waitress told them they couldn't be served, they stayed until closing time. The next morning, 20 students came to Woolworth's and began taking up seats as they became available. By Wednesday, the sit-ins were national news, and the next week, spread to other cities. By summer, most chain stores ended their whites-only policy.
February 2, 1960 (Tuesday)
- At an exhibition at the Logan Billiard Academy in BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, Mike Eufemia set a record that has remained for half a century, for the longest "run", sinking 625 consecutive billiard balls without a miss. - Born: Jari PorttilaJari PorttilaJari Porttila is a Finnish sports journalist, columnist and reporter who works for television channel MTV3. He has also done commentating and sportsreading jobs...
, Finnish sports journalist, in HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
; Fred D'AguiarFred D'AguiarFred D'Aguiar is an author of poetry, novels, and drama.D'Aguiar was born in London. His parents were Guyanese. He spent his childhood, from the age of two to twelve, in Guyana. His work has received much, and growing, acclaim. His Bill of Rights, about the Jonestown Massacre of 1978, was a...
, British-Guyanan author, in London - Died:Jagadguru Swami Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji MaharajaJagadguru Swami Sri Bharati Krishna Tirthaji MaharajaJagadguru Swami Sri Bhārati Kṛṣṇa Tīrthaji Mahāraja was the Jagadguru of the Govardhana matha of Puri during 1925–1960. He was one of the most significant spiritual figures in Hinduism during the 20th century...
, 75, Hindu teacher
February 3, 1960 (Wednesday)
- Before a session of the Parliament of South AfricaParliament of South AfricaThe Parliament of South Africa is South Africa's legislature and under the country's current Constitution is composed of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces....
in Cape TownCape TownCape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, Britain's Prime Minister Harold MacmillanHarold MacmillanMaurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
made the "Wind of Change"Wind of Change (speech)The Wind of Change speech was a historically important address made by British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan to the Parliament of South Africa, on 3 February 1960 in Cape Town. He had spent a month in Africa visiting a number of British colonies, as they were at the time...
speech, telling the all-White assembly that "The wind of change is blowing through this continent, and whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact. We must all accept it as a fact, and our national policies must take account of it." - The Senate of France voted 226–39 to allow President Charles De GaulleCharles de GaulleCharles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
to rule by decree in order to dismantle the power of French settlers in AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. The National Assembly had approved the measure the day before, 441–75. "We almost saw a collapse of the state last week", Prime Minister Michel Debre told the Senators, in urging passage of the measure. - The United States should be able to make nuclear weapons available to its allies, President Eisenhower said at a news conference. Eisenhower urged that the Atomic Energy Act be amended in order to permit the U.S. to transfer weapons to the arsenals of other nations.
- Born: Joachim Löw, coach of German National Team in soccer football, in Schönau im SchwarzwaldSchönau im SchwarzwaldSchönau im Schwarzwald is a town in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Black Forest, on the river Wiese, northeast of Basel, Switzerland, and south of Freiburg. Schwarzwald transliterally is defined as "Black Forest" in German....
; and Kerry Von ErichKerry Von ErichKerry Gene Adkisson was an American professional wrestler under the ring names Kerry Von Erich, The Modern Day Warrior, and The Texas Tornado and was part of the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers...
, American professional wrestler, in Niagara Falls, New YorkNiagara Falls, New YorkNiagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 50,193, down from the 55,593 recorded in the 2000 census. It is across the Niagara River from Niagara Falls, Ontario , both named after the famed Niagara Falls which they...
(d. 1993) - Died: Fred BuscaglioneFred BuscaglioneFerdinando "Fred" Buscaglione was an Italian singer and actor who became very popular in the late 1950s. His public persona – the character he played both in his songs and his movies – was of a humorous mobster with a penchant for whisky and women.-Biography:Ferdinando Buscaglione was born in...
, 38 Italian singer and actor, in an auto accident
February 4, 1960 (Thursday)
- After a brief interview, France's President De Gaulle fired Jacques SoustelleJacques SoustelleJacques Soustelle was an important and early figure of the Free French Forces and an anthropologist specializing in pre-Columbian civilizations. He became vice-director of the Musée de l'Homme in Paris in 1938. He was elected to the Académie française in 1983.- Biography :Jacques Soustelle was...
from the post of Deputy Prime Minister for Algeria. Soustelle, the highest ranking French government official in the overseas Department, was the first of the European Algerians to be dismissed as part of De Gaulle's rule by decree. - The Soviet Union's support of CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
as a Communist ally was forged as Soviet Deputy Premier Anastas MikoyanAnastas MikoyanAnastas Ivanovich Mikoyan was an Armenian Old Bolshevik and Soviet statesman during the rules of Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, and Leonid Brezhnev....
was welcomed in Havana by Fidel CastroFidel CastroFidel 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...
. - JordanJordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
offered citizenship to any Palestinian (defined as a person who "used to have the Palestinian Nationality before May 1948, excluding Jews") living abroad.
February 5, 1960 (Friday)
- All 59 persons on board a Lloyd Aéreo Bolviano DC-4 were killed when the plane crashed shortly after takeoff from CochabambaCochabambaCochabamba is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and is the fourth largest city in Bolivia with an urban population of 608,276 and a metropolitan population of more than 1,000,000 people...
, BoliviaBoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. - Amon Ndoffou II, King of Sanwi, one of the leaders of the Anyi peopleAnyi peopleThe Anyi people are an ethnic group in southeast Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana.. They are an Akan people who speak the Anyi language.-History:...
of the Ivory Coast (Côte d'IvoireCôte d'IvoireThe 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...
), declared an independent kingdom, six months before the colony was scheduled to become independent from France. Ivorian troops arrested the King and his Prime Minister, Ehoumou Bile, and ended the secession attempt without bloodshed. - The CERNCERNThe European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
particle acceleratorParticle acceleratorA particle accelerator is a device that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams. An ordinary CRT television set is a simple form of accelerator. There are two basic types: electrostatic and oscillating field accelerators.In...
was inaugurated in GenevaGenevaGeneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Switzerland.
February 6, 1960 (Saturday)
- In the first elections in Burma (now MyanmarMyanmarBurma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
) since a 1958 military coup, former Prime Minister U NuU NuFor other people with the Burmese name Nu, see Nu .U Nu was a leading Burmese nationalist and political figure of the 20th century...
's party captured 150 of the 250 contested seats. He took office on April 4. - Died: Jesse BelvinJesse BelvinJesse Lorenzo Belvin was an American R&B singer, pianist and songwriter popular in the 1950s, whose success was cut short by his death in a car crash aged 27.-Career:...
, 27, African-American singer/songwriter, in an auto accident, four hours after performing a concert with Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson.
February 7, 1960 (Sunday)
- Democratic presidential candidate John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn 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....
was introduced by Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
to Judith Campbell Exner. JFK and Exner had their first sexual encounter on March 7 at Room 1651 of the Plaza Hotel in New York. - Twenty-five people were killed and 50 more injured in a railroad derailment near Sewell, ChileSewell, ChileSewell is an uninhabited Chilean mining town located in the commune of Machalí in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region, on the slopes of the Andes, at an altitude between 2,000 and 2,250 metres. The town was founded in 1904 by the Braden Copper Co. to extract the copper in the El Teniente mine,...
. The train was transporting employees of the Braden Copper Mining Company, and their families, on a Sunday outing. - Laurence Slattery and Lesley Wasley, both volunteers, permitted a team of Australian doctors at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
to administer curare to stop their breathing, in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of various forms of artificial respiration. Among the findings were that a drowning victim's head should be placed upright, rather than to the side, to aid breathing. - Born: James SpaderJames SpaderJames Todd Spader is an American actor best known for his eccentric roles in movies such as Pretty in Pink, Less Than Zero, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Crash, Stargate, and Secretary...
, American TV actor, in BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. - Died: Igor KurchatovIgor KurchatovIgor Vasilyevich Kurchatov , was a Soviet nuclear physicist who is widely known as the director of the Soviet atomic bomb project. Along with Georgy Flyorov and Andrei Sakharov, Kurchatov is widely remembered and dubbed as the "father of the Soviet atomic bomb" for his directorial role in the...
, 57, Soviet nuclear physicist; and Gilbert VernamGilbert VernamGilbert Sandford Vernam was an AT&T Bell Labs engineer who, in 1917, invented the stream cipher and later co-invented the one-time pad cipher. Vernam proposed a teleprinter cipher in which a previously-prepared key, kept on paper tape, is combined character by character with the plaintext message...
, 69, American cryptographer
February 8, 1960 (Monday)
- The Hollywood Walk of FameHollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
was dedicated, starting with 1,558 names placed on terrazzo stars along Hollywood BoulevardHollywood Boulevard-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
in Hollywood, California, as an urban renewal program. - Queen Elizabeth II announced that her future descendants would bear her husband's name as well as her own, creating the surname Mountbatten-WindsorMountbatten-WindsorMountbatten-Windsor is the personal surname of some of the descendants of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh under an ambiguously-worded Order in Council issued in 1960, and as such a cadet branch of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg , which in turn is a branch of...
.
February 9, 1960 (Tuesday)
- Adolph Coors IIIAdolph Coors IIIAdolph Coors III was the grandson of Adolph Coors and heir to the Coors beer empire.-Biography:He was born on January 12, 1916 and attended Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire...
, chairman of the Coors Brewing CompanyCoors Brewing CompanyThe Coors Brewing Company is a regional division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Canadian Molson Coors Brewing Company and is the third-largest brewer in the United States...
, disappeared in ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
shortly after leaving his house near MorrisonMorrison, ColoradoThe historic Town of Morrison is a Home Rule Municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The population was 430 at the 2000 census...
for a meeting with brewery executives at GoldenGolden, ColoradoThe City of Golden is a home rule municipality that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the edge of the foothills of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Founded during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush on 16 June 1859, the mining camp was...
. His truck was found later that morning, and his glasses were nearby. A demand for $500,000 was found the next day, but the kidnapper did not follow up. Coors's body was found on September 12. Joseph Corbett, Jr.Joseph Corbett, Jr.Joseph Corbett, Jr. a former Fulbright scholar, became the 127th fugitive named on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, placed there March 30, 1960 for the kidnap and subsequent murder of Adolph Coors III, heir to the Coors Beer fortune.Corbett was convicted of shooting a man in the back of the head in...
was later convicted of the kidnapping and murder. Corbett was paroled in 1978 and died in 2009. - Died:Jaroslav Joseph PolivkaJaroslav Joseph PolivkaJaroslav Joseph Polivka , Czech structural engineer who collaborated with Frank Lloyd Wright between 1946 and 1959....
, 73, Czech structural engineer; and Ernő DohnányiErno DohnányiErnő Dohnányi was a Hungarian conductor, composer, and pianist. He used the German form of his name Ernst von Dohnányi for most of his published compositions....
, 82, Hungarian conductor
February 10, 1960 (Wednesday)
- Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev began a 24-day tour of South Asia, traveling to India, Burma, IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, and AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. While Khrushchev was abroad, U.S. President Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight D. EisenhowerDwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
set off on February 22 for a 14-day tour of Latin America, going to BrazilBrazilBrazil , 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...
, ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and UruguayUruguayUruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. Both men returned to their home nations in March. - At Johore Baru, in MalayaFederation of MalayaThe Federation of Malaya is the name given to a federation of 11 states that existed from 31 January 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957...
, the new Sultan of Johore was crowned. - Died: Alojzije Stepinac, 61, Archbishop of Zagreb and Roman Catholic Cardinal; detained in Yugoslavia for his opposition to Tito regime.
February 11, 1960 (Thursday)
- The bodies of five crewmembers of the B-24 LiberatorB-24 LiberatorThe Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
Lady Be GoodLady be Good (aircraft)Lady Be Good was an American B-24D Liberator, AAF serial number 41-24301, which flew for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Based at Soluch Field in Soluch as part of the 514th Bomb Squadron, 376th Bomb Group, it failed to return from an April 4, 1943 bombing raid on Naples,...
were located by exploration worker James Backhaus, in the Libyan desert, 16 years after the airplane had vanished on April 4, 1943, during the Second World War. The men had walked 85 miles in hopes of finding help, before running out of water. - Jack PaarJack PaarJack Harold Paar was an author, American radio and television comedian and talk show host, best known for his stint as host of The Tonight Show from 1957 to 1962...
quit his job as host of The Tonight ShowThe Tonight ShowThe Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
on NBC, a day after the network had censored a joke in his monologue. Paar later returned, but in 1962, the show was turned over to Johnny CarsonJohnny CarsonJohn William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
. - Lt.Gen. Arthur G. Trudeau, Chief of Research for the United States Army, inadvertently revealed classified information during a press conference, when he disclosed that an atomic explosion could neutralize a hydrogen bomb through the principle of neutron fluxNeutron fluxThe neutron flux is a quantity used in reactor physics corresponding to the total length travelled by all neutrons per unit time and volume . The neutron fluence is defined as the neutron flux integrated over a certain time period....
. General Trudeau said that it would be better to have "a small explosion a hundred miles over Hartford, Connecticut, than a large explosion in New York City."
February 12, 1960 (Friday)
- Eleven days after the first "sit-in" took place in Greensboro, North CarolinaGreensboro, North CarolinaGreensboro 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...
, the Congress of Racial EqualityCongress of Racial EqualityThe Congress of Racial Equality or CORE was a U.S. civil rights organization that originally played a pivotal role for African-Americans in the Civil Rights Movement...
(CORE) implemented a plan for its members to participate in sit-ins across the South. - Laurens HammondLaurens HammondLaurens Hammond , was an American engineer and inventor. His inventions include, most famously, the Hammond organ, the Hammond Clock, and the world's first polyphonic musical synthesizer, the Novachord.- Youth :...
, who had created the first electric organElectric organIn biology, the electric organ is an organ common to all electric fish used for the purposes of creating an electric field. The electric organ is derived from modified nerve or muscle tissue...
and a synchronous motor for the first accurate electric clock, retired from inventing.
February 13, 1960 (Saturday)
- At 0604 GMT, France became the world's fourth nuclear power, when it successfully exploded an atomic bomb near RegganeRegganeReggane from berber argan is a town in the Adrar Province of central Algeria, in the Sahara Desert. It is the southernmost town of the Tuat....
, at AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
in the Sahara Desert. The test was codenamed Gerboise BleueGerboise BleueGerboise Bleue was the name of the first French nuclear test. It was an atomic bomb detonated in the middle of the Algerian Sahara desert on 13 February 1960, during the Algerian War...
. - Deputy Premier Anastas MikoyanAnastas MikoyanAnastas Ivanovich Mikoyan was an Armenian Old Bolshevik and Soviet statesman during the rules of Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, and Leonid Brezhnev....
of the Soviet Union and CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
's Premier Fidel CastroFidel CastroFidel 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...
signed an agreement that guaranteed the Castro government a $100,000,000 line of credit until 1972, and provided that the Soviets would buy one million tons of Cuban sugar per year for five years. - Born: Pierluigi CollinaPierluigi CollinaPierluigi Collina is a former Italian football referee. He is still involved in football as non-paid consultant to the Italian Football Referees Association , and is a member of the UEFA Referees Committee...
, Italian FIFA (soccer football) referee, in BolognaBolognaBologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
; and Gary PattersonGary PattersonGary Patterson is the head coach of the TCU Horned Frogs college football team. He grew up in Rozel, Kansas and played football at Dodge City Community College and Kansas State University. Patterson is married to Kelsey Patterson . He has three sons: Josh, Cade and Blake...
, American college football coach, in Larned, KansasLarned, KansasLarned is a city in and the county seat of Pawnee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,054.-History:...
February 14, 1960 (Sunday)
- Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan of Pakistan was confirmed as its PresidentPresident of PakistanThe President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...
through a limited referendum that he had called as a test of his theory of "basic democracy". The 80,000 village councilmen who had been elected locally were called upon to vote "yes" or "no" on Ayub's continuance in office, and 75,283 of them voted in the affirmative. - The United Kingdom signed a new treaty of protection with the Maldives, which had been a British protectorateProtectorateIn history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
since 1887. The Indian Ocean island group was granted independence in 1965. - Born: Jim KellyJim KellyJames Edward Kelly is a former American football quarterback in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills and the USFL's Houston Gamblers....
, American pro quarterback (Buffalo Bills, Houston Gamblers), in Pittsburgh
February 15, 1960 (Monday)
- War threatened to break out between IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
(at that time partners with SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
in the United Arab RepublicUnited Arab RepublicThe United Arab Republic , often abbreviated as the U.A.R., was a sovereign union between Egypt and Syria. The union began in 1958 and existed until 1961, when Syria seceded from the union. Egypt continued to be known officially as the "United Arab Republic" until 1971. The President was Gamal...
), after the UAR's President Nasser received inaccurate information that Israeli troops were massing at Israel's border with Syria. Nasser then sent a major portion of the Egyptian army to Israel's border with Egypt, and Israel then began Operation Rottem. The two sides halted war preparations after discovering the misunderstanding, and both sides stood down on March 1. - Died: Cho Pyong-ok, 65, the leading opposition candidate in South KoreaSouth KoreaThe 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...
's upcoming presidential election, died while receiving medical treatment in the United States. With no opponent, President Syngman RheeSyngman RheeSyngman Rhee or Yi Seungman was the first president of South Korea. His presidency, from August 1948 to April 1960, remains controversial, affected by Cold War tensions on the Korean peninsula and elsewhere. Rhee was regarded as an anti-Communist and a strongman, and he led South Korea through the...
was re-elected for a fourth term as South Korea's president.
February 16, 1960 (Tuesday)
- The nuclear submarine submerged upon departure from New LondonNew London, ConnecticutNew London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
, ConnecticutConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, and, with 184 people on board, began an underwater trip around the world that ended 83 days later on May 10. The Triton was forced to broach its sail above the surface on March 5 in order to transfer a seriously ill sailor to another ship, then spent the rest of the circumnavigation entirely undersea.
February 17, 1960 (Wednesday)
- The United Kingdom and the United States jointly announced that a missile warning system would be constructed at the North York MoorsNorth York MoorsThe North York Moors is a national park in North Yorkshire, England. The moors are one of the largest expanses of heather moorland in the United Kingdom. It covers an area of , and it has a population of about 25,000...
in YorkshireYorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. Britain's RAF FylingdalesRAF FylingdalesRAF Fylingdales is a Royal Air Force station on Snod Hill in the North York Moors, England. Its motto is "Vigilamus" . It is a radar base and part of the United States-controlled Ballistic Missile Early Warning System...
would join stations at Thule AFB in GreenlandGreenlandGreenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, and Clear AFS in AlaskaAlaskaAlaska 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...
as the third and final station in BMEWS, the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System.
February 18, 1960 (Thursday)
- The 1960 Winter Olympics1960 Winter OlympicsThe 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held between February 18 and 28, 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, United States. In 1955 at the 50th IOC meeting, the organizing committee made the surprise choice to award Squaw Valley as...
were opened in Squaw ValleySquaw Valley, California (Ski Area Valley)Olympic Valley in the U.S. state of California is an unincorporated community located in Placer County northwest of Tahoe City along Highway 89 on the banks of the Truckee River near Lake Tahoe. It is the home of the Squaw Valley Ski Resort, the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, by U.S. Vice-President Richard M. Nixon, despite severe winter weather that kept away most of the spectators. The Games attracted 740 athletes from 30 nations. - Pilot Charles Hayes and two passengers were killed when their twin engine plane crashed near the St. Gertrude School in the Indian Hill, OhioIndian Hill, OhioThe Village of Indian Hill is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and an affluent suburb of the Greater Cincinnati area. The population was 5,907 at the 2000 census. Prior to 1970, Indian Hill was incorporated as a village, but under Ohio law became designated as a city once its...
, a suburb of Cincinnati. Hayes was credited posthumously with applying a final thrust to the engines to avoid crashing into the school.
February 19, 1960 (Friday)
- The Chinese space programChinese space programThe space program of the People's Republic of China is directed by the China National Space Administration . Its technological roots can be traced back to the late 1950s, when the People's Republic began a rudimentary ballistic missile program in response to perceived American threats...
began its first step "in a long march toward outer space", with the launch of the liquid-propelled T-7 rocketT-7 (rocket)T-7 is the name of China's first sounding rocket. The T-7 which was first launch on 13 September 1960 can carry a payload of 25 kg in a height of 58 kilometres. The T-7 has a length of 8 metres, a launch weight of 1138 kg and a diameter of 45 centimetres....
. The missile, made entirely within the People's Republic, only reached an altitude of five miles, but was a successful sub-orbital flight. China first put a satellite into space in 1970, and put a man into orbit in 2003. - Physician Barbara Moulton resigned in protest from the U.S. Food and Drug Administrtion, writing a letter to Commissioner George P. Larrick that included the accusation that the FDA had "failed uttly in its solemn task of enforcing those sections of the law dealing with the safety and misbranding of drugs"
- The proposed eight team Continental LeagueContinental LeagueThe Continental League was a proposed third major league for baseball, announced in 1959 and scheduled to begin play in the 1961 season...
announced a definite opening day to begin play as baseball's third major league. CL founder Branch RickeyBranch RickeyWesley Branch Rickey was an innovative Major League Baseball executive elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967...
and Toronto owner Jack Kent CookeJack Kent CookeJack Kent Cooke was a Canadian entrepreneur and former owner of the Washington Redskins , the Los Angeles Lakers , and the Los Angeles Kings , and built The Forum in Inglewood, California and FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.-Early career:Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Cooke moved with his family to...
said that on April 18, 1961, the teams in Denver, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Atlanta would host the teams from Minneapolis-St. Paul, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and BuffaloBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. - Born: Prince Andrew, Duke of YorkPrince Andrew, Duke of YorkPrince Andrew, Duke of York KG GCVO , is the second son, and third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
, third child of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. - Died: Hans Christian Hansen, 53, Prime Minister of Denmark since 1955,
February 20, 1960 (Saturday)
- Following a month long conference in BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium, the date of June 30 was set for granting independence to its African colony of the Belgian CongoBelgian CongoThe Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
. Under an agreement between the Belgian government and Congolese leaders, elections would be held on May 16 for provincial legislatures and a 137 member national Chamber of Representatives, and the provinces would then select a Senate. - Died:Leonard WoolleyLeonard WoolleySir Charles Leonard Woolley was a British archaeologist best known for his excavations at Ur in Mesopotamia...
, 79, British archaeologist and excavator of UrUrUr was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...
ruins
February 21, 1960 (Sunday)
- André PrevinAndré PrevinAndré George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
made the first of 51 appearances at Carnegie HallCarnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, playing George GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
's Piano Concerto in FConcerto in F (Gershwin)Concerto in F is a composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and orchestra which is closer in form to a traditional concerto than the earlier jazz-influenced Rhapsody in Blue...
. - Voters in a referendum in CameroonCameroonCameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
approved a constitution by a vote of 797,498 to 531,075. - Died:Jacques BeckerJacques BeckerJacques Becker was a French screenwriter and film director.Becker was born in Paris, in an upper class background. During the 1930s he worked as an assistant to director Jean Renoir during his peak period, which produced such cinematic masterpieces as Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game...
, 54, French director, and Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of BurmaEdwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of BurmaEdwina Cynthia Annette Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma,, GBE, DCVO, CI, DStJ was an English heiress, socialite, relief-worker, wife of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and last Vicereine of India.- Lineage and wealth :Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma...
, 58, wife of last Vicereine of British India
February 22, 1960 (Monday)
- An explosion at the Karl Marx coal mine in ZwickauZwickauZwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
, East Germany, killed 49 miners. - Theme From A Summer PlaceTheme from A Summer PlaceThe "Theme from A Summer Place" is a song with lyrics by Mack Discant and music by Max Steiner, written for the 1959 film, A Summer Place, which starred Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue. It was recorded for the film by Hugo Winterhalter...
, by Percy FaithPercy FaithPercy Faith was a Canadian-born American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with creating the "easy listening" or "mood music" format which became staples of American popular music in the 1950s and...
's orchestra, hit No. 1 and stayed there for nine weeks, making it the most popular song of 1960. - In Richard CondonRichard CondonRichard Thomas Condon was a prolific and popular American political novelist whose satiric works were generally presented in the form of thrillers or semi-thrillers...
's 1974 bestselling mystery, Winter KillsWinter KillsWinter Kills is a black comic novel exploring the assassination of a U.S. President. The novel parallels the real life assassination of John F. Kennedy and the various conspiracy theories that surround the event.-Plot summary:...
, February 22, 1960, is the date of the assassination of fictional U.S. President "Tim Kegan" in a Philadelphia motorcade, in a novel based loosely upon John F. Kennedy's 1963 murder.
February 23, 1960 (Tuesday)
- Born: In Tokyo, the Emperor Hirohito became a grandfather for the first time, and a son was born to Crown Prince AkihitoAkihitois the current , the 125th emperor of his line according to Japan's traditional order of succession. He acceded to the throne in 1989.-Name:In Japan, the emperor is never referred to by his given name, but rather is referred to as "His Imperial Majesty the Emperor" which may be shortened to . In...
and Princess Machiko. Crown PrinceCrown PrinceA crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
of Japan since 1989, in Tokyo, Naruhito is in line to become the 126th Emperor of JapanEmperor of JapanThe Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...
. - Demolition began at BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
's Ebbets FieldEbbets FieldEbbets Field was a Major League Baseball park located in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York, USA, on a city block which is now considered to be part of the Crown Heights neighborhood. It was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. It was also a venue for professional football...
, home of baseball's Dodgers until their move to Los Angeles in 1958. A crowd of 200 fans and former Brooklyn players watched as Lucy Monroe sang the National Anthem at Ebbets for the last time, and a band played Auld Lang SyneAuld Lang Syne"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song . It is well known in many countries, especially in the English-speaking world; its traditional use being to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight...
. The wrecking ball, painted white and painted to resemble a giant baseball, began its work with the destruction of the visitors' dugout.
February 24, 1960 (Wednesday)
- The first American intercontinental ballistic missileIntercontinental ballistic missileAn intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
(ICBM) was given its first test. Launched from Cape CanaveralCape CanaveralCape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a headland in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River.It is part of a region known as the...
, the Titan missile traveled 5,000 miles and ejected a data capsule before crashing into the South Atlantic. - Final approval was given by Pakistan's President Ayub Khan for the construction of a new capital city on the site of the villages of SaidpurSaidpur, Islamabad-External Links:*...
and NurpurNurpur NoonNurpur Noon is a village in Sargodha District, Punjab, Pakistan. It was settled in the nineteenth century ,Nurpur Noon is inhabited by over 8,000 people.Noon is subcaste of Jatts.Nurpur Noon is home to two very successful studfarms. Noon stud farm...
. The new city would be called IslamabadIslamabadIslamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
. - The U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationFood and Drug AdministrationThe Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
approved the prescription use of the tranquilizer chlordiazepoxideChlordiazepoxideChlordiazepoxide, is a sedative/hypnotic drug and benzodiazepine. It is marketed under the trade names Angirex, Klopoxid, Librax , Libritabs, Librium, Mesural, Multum, Novapam, Risolid, Silibrin, Sonimen and Tropium.Chlordiazepoxide was the first benzodiazepine to be synthesised and...
, developed by Hoffmann-La RocheHoffmann-La RocheF. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. is a Swiss global health-care company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange....
and marketed under the tradename Librium. - ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
called off its search for an "unidentified submerged object" in Golfo NuevoGolfo NuevoGolfo Nuevo is a body of water formed by the Península Valdés and Punta Ninfas in the province of Chubut in the Argentine Patagonia. It is located 650 miles southwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Puerto Madryn is its major seaport. From May to December, the Southern right whales migrate to Golfo...
. Since January 30, when a sonar picked up evidence of a trapped foreign submarine, the Argentine Navy had been searching the gulf. At one point, it appeared that there were two subs below the surface, but after more than three weeks, the Buenos Aires government concluded that if there had been a foreign sub, it had escaped. - Four people were killed and five others injured by a pipeline worker turned sniper. Dan Raymond, who lived near Ohiopyle, PennsylvaniaOhiopyle, PennsylvaniaOhiopyle is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 77 at the 2000 census. While Ohiopyle has a tiny year-round population, it is often filled with tourists on the weekend, who come take advantage of outdoor recreation...
, shot two county workers who were spreading cinders, then fired from his home at other vehicles until police killed him nine hours later. - Born: Alex MasterleyAlex (comic strip)Alex is a British cartoon strip by Charles Peattie and Russell Taylor. It first appeared in the short-lived London Daily News in 1987. It moved to The Independent later that year and then to the Daily Telegraph in 1992....
, fictional protagonist of the British comic strip Alex.
February 25, 1960 (Thursday)
- After having fled to SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Saddam HusseinSaddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
was sentenced to death in absentiaIn absentiaIn absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
by a court in IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, for his role in conspiring to kill Prime Minister Abdul Karim QassimAbdul Karim QassimAbd al-Karim Qasim , was a nationalist Iraqi Army general who seized power in a 1958 coup d'état, wherein the Iraqi monarchy was eliminated. He ruled the country as Prime Minister of Iraq until his downfall and death in 1963....
. Saddam returned to Iraq after Qassim's assassination in 1963, and did not face a death sentence again until his execution on December 30, 2006. - Lillian HellmanLillian HellmanLillian Florence "Lily" Hellman was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes...
's play Toys in the AtticToys in the Attic (play)-Plot:Set in New Orleans following the Great Depression, it focuses on the Berniers sisters, two middle-aged spinsters who have sacrificed their own ambitions to look after their ne'er-do-well younger brother Julian, whose grandiose dreams repeatedly lead to financial disasters...
began a 464 performance run on Broadway. - In Rio de JaneiroRio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, a U.S. Navy R6D collided with a Brazilian Real Aéreas airliner, killing 61 people on both airplanes. There were only 3 survivors, all on the American plane, which had been transporting a U.S. Navy band to perform during President Eisenhower's visit to Brazil.
February 26, 1960 (Friday)
- A New York bound Alitalia airliner crashed into a cemetery at Shannon, Ireland, shortly after takeoff, killing 34 of the 52 persons on board.
- Britain's Princess Margaret, younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, made the surprise announcement of her engagement to a commoner, photographer Antony Armstrong Jones.
February 27, 1960 (Saturday)
- 1960 Winter Olympics1960 Winter OlympicsThe 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held between February 18 and 28, 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, United States. In 1955 at the 50th IOC meeting, the organizing committee made the surprise choice to award Squaw Valley as...
: Hjallis Andersen's world record for the men's 10,000 meter speed skating event (16:32.6) had stood since 1952, and was bested by five different skaters on the same day. Kjell BäckmanKjell BäckmanKjell Hilding Bäckman is a Swedish speed skater who competed in the 1960 Winter Olympics.He was born in Göteborg.Bäckman won the bronze medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics in speed skating.-Personal records:-Olympic results:...
of Sweden set a new world's record of 16:14.2. Minutes later, Knut JohannesenKnut JohannesenKnut Johannesen is a former speed skater from Norway.-Biography:Born in Oslo and representing the skating club ASK there, Johannesen won the World Allround Championships in 1957 and 1964, the European Allround Championships in 1959 and 1960, and won the Norwegian...
of Norway broke Bäckman's record with a time of 15:46.6, more than 45 seconds faster than the 1952 mark. A few minutes after that, Viktor Kosichikin of the USSR came within 2.7 seconds of beating Johannesen, winning the silver medal. - Born: Andrés GómezAndrés GómezAndrés Gómez Santos is a former professional tennis player from Ecuador. He is best remembered for winning the men's singles title at the French Open in 1990.-Career:...
, Ecuadorian tennis player, winner, French Open, 1990; in GuayaquilGuayaquilGuayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port... - Died: Adriano OlivettiAdriano OlivettiAdriano Olivetti was an Italian entrepreneur, the son of the founder of Olivetti, Camillo Olivetti....
, 58, Italian entrepreneur who built the OlivettiOlivettiOlivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, printers and other business machines.- Founding :The company was founded as a typewriter manufacturer in 1908 in Ivrea, near Turin, by Camillo Olivetti. The firm was mainly developed by his son Adriano Olivetti...
company into a leading manufacturer of office machines
February 28, 1960 (Sunday)
- 1960 Winter Olympics1960 Winter OlympicsThe 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held between February 18 and 28, 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, United States. In 1955 at the 50th IOC meeting, the organizing committee made the surprise choice to award Squaw Valley as...
: A tip from a Soviet player helped the United States ice hockey team win the gold medal. Exhausted from a 3–2 victory over the Soviet Union's team the day before, the Americans were losing to CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, 4–3, with one period left. Nikolai SologubovNikolai SologubovNikolai Mikhailovich Sologubov was an ice hockey defenceman in the Soviet Union.-German-Soviet War:Sologubov took part in the German-Soviet War. Serving in the naval infantry he was wounded to leg in a battle near Shlisselburg in 1943. After a month and a half rehabilitation at a hospital he...
suggested whiffs of bottled oxygen for quick energy, and the U.S. responded with six goals, winning 9–4. - Born: Dorothy StrattenDorothy StrattenDorothy Stratten was a Canadian model and actress. Stratten was the Playboy Playmate of the Month for August 1979, Playmate of the Year in 1980 and was the second Playmate born in the 1960s. Stratten appeared in three comedy films and at least two episodes of shows broadcast on US network...
, Canadian Playboy magazine model who was murdered in 1980; in VancouverVancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,... - Died: Dr. Tom Douglas Spies, 57, nutritionist who reduced cases of pellagraPellagraPellagra is a vitamin deficiency disease most commonly caused by a chronic lack of niacin in the diet. It can be caused by decreased intake of niacin or tryptophan, and possibly by excessive intake of leucine. It may also result from alterations in protein metabolism in disorders such as carcinoid...
February 29, 1960 (Monday)
- At 11:47 p.m., the city of AgadirAgadirAgadir is a major city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Agadir province and the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region .-Etymology:...
in MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
was shaken for 15 seconds by an earthquake1960 Agadir earthquakeThe 1960 Agadir earthquake took place on Monday, February 29, 1960, at 23:47 local time. It was the most destructive and deadliest earthquake in Moroccan history with a magnitude of 5.7 Mw, killing around 15,000 people and injuring another 12,000. At least 35,000 people were left homeless...
measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale, followed by another tremor an hour later. At least 12,000 people were killed in the collapse of unreinforced stone buildings. - The Family CircusThe Family CircusThe Family Circus is a syndicated comic strip created by cartoonist Bil Keane and currently written, inked, and colored by his son, Jeff Keane. The strip generally uses a single captioned panel with a round border, hence the original name of the series, which was changed following objections from...
made its debut. Initially syndicated by the Des Moines Register and Tribune, the comic panel was created by Bil KeaneBil KeaneWilliam Aloysius Keane , better known as Bil Keane, was an American cartoonist. He is most notable for his work on the long-running newspaper comic The Family Circus, which began its run in 1960 and continues in syndication, drawn by his son Jeff Keane.-Biography:Born in Philadelphia,...
, whose TV-themed Channel ChucklesChannel ChucklesChannel Chuckles was a television-themed comic panel created by Bil Keane which appeared in newspapers from 1954 through 1976. Keane received the National Cartoonists Society's 1976 Special Features Award for his work on the strip....
was already a newspaper feature. On the first day's strip, the three children had placed a sled on top of their sleeping father, and "Billy"'s line was "Guess what it's doing out." - Born: Richard RamirezRichard RamirezRicardo "Richard" Muñoz Ramírez is a convicted serial killer awaiting execution on California's death row at San Quentin State Prison...
, American serial killer known as "The Night Stalker", in El PasoEl PasoEl Paso, a city in the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Mexico.El Paso may also refer to:-Geography:Colombia:* El Paso, CesarSpain:*El Paso, Santa Cruz de TenerifeUnited States:...
; and Cheb Khaled, Algerian musician nicknamed "King of RaïRaïRaï is a form of folk music that originated in Oran, Algeria from Bedouin shepherds, mixed with Spanish, French, African and Arabic musical forms, which dates back to the 1930s....
", in OranOranOran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest... - Died: Melvin PurvisMelvin PurvisMelvin Horace Purvis, Jr. was an American law enforcement official and Federal Bureau of Investigation agent. He was given the nickname "Little Mel" because of his short stature...
, 56, former FBI agent who had killed John DillingerJohn DillingerJohn Herbert Dillinger, Jr. was an American bank robber in Depression-era United States. He was charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer during a shoot-out. This was his only alleged homicide. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations...
; by self-inflicted gunshot wound; and Walter YustWalter YustWalter M. Yust was an American journalist and writer. Yust was also the American editor-in-chief of the Encyclopædia Britannica from 1938 to 1960. He was the father of filmmaker Larry Yust and Jane Yust Rivera....
, 65, editor-in-chief of Encyclopædia Britannica since 1938