May 1960
Encyclopedia
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The following events occurred in May
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
February 1960
January – February – March. – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November-DecemberThe following events occurred in February 1960.-February 1, 1960 :...
– 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 – 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 May
May
May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days.May is a month of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere and spring in the Northern Hemisphere...
1960.
May 1, 1960 (Sunday)
- U-2 Incident: An American U-2 spy plane, piloted by Francis Gary Powers, entered Soviet airspace ten minutes after takeoff from a U.S. base in PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, at PeshawarPeshawarPeshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
. At (0653 GMT), his plane was struck by shrapnel from an exploding Soviet SA-2 missile while he was at 70,500 feet. Powers parachuted and chose not to commit suicide, and landed near Sverdlovsk, where he was captured alive. - Gujarat and MaharashtraMaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
were formed as separate States of India, when the Bombay StateBombay StateThe Bombay State was a state of India, dissolved with the formation of Maharashtra and Gujarat states on May 1, 1960.-History:During British rule, portions of the western coast of India under direct British rule were part of the Bombay Presidency...
was split along linguistic lines.
May 2, 1960 (Monday)
- Died: Caryl ChessmanCaryl ChessmanCaryl Whittier Chessman was a convicted robber and rapist who gained fame as a death row inmate in California. Chessman's case attracted worldwide attention, and as a result he became a cause célèbre for the movement to ban capital punishment.-Crime and conviction:Born in St...
, 38, American criminal, was executed at in the gas chamber at California's San Quentin Prison after ten years on Death Row. In San Francisco, defense attorneys had asked to present an argument, and U.S. Judge Louis E. Goodman had decided to issue a stay of execution as Chessman was being strapped into his chair, and instructed his secretary to call the prison, but the secretary had copied only four of the five digits of the telephone number, after which the call took a full minute to go through. Goodman blamed the defense attorneys for waiting until the last minute to seek a stay, commenting that "One of them, at least, should have been here earlier." Chessman, an accomplished author on death row for rape rather murder, had won eight prior stays of execution, and his death was protested worldwide. - WLS-AM of ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
became the first large radio station in the Midwest to switch over to a rock 'n roll format. Ray B. Browne and Pat Browne, eds. The Guide to United States Popular Culture (Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 2001), p93
May 3, 1960 (Tuesday)
- At 2:00 pm EDT, all regular television and radio broadcasting in the United States halted as the airwaves were taken over by CONELRAD (later the Emergency Broadcasting System), and sirens sounded across the nation, and all people outside were directed to go to the nearest fallout shelter. It was all part of "Operation Alert 1960" and regular programming was restored after 30 minutes. At New York's City Hall Park, a crowd of 500 demonstrators refused police orders to seek shelter, in protest over the nuclear arms raceNuclear arms raceThe nuclear arms race was a competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War...
. - The European Free Trade AssociationEuropean Free Trade AssociationThe European Free Trade Association or EFTA is a free trade organisation between four European countries that operates parallel to, and is linked to, the European Union . EFTA was established on 3 May 1960 as a trade bloc-alternative for European states who were either unable to, or chose not to,...
, founded by Britain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria and Portugal came into being, five months after the Stockholm treaty signed on January 4January 1960January – February – March. – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in January 1960-January 1, 1960 :...
. - The FantasticksThe FantasticksThe Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. It was produced by Lore Noto. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play "The Romancers" by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt, into...
, the most popular musical of all time, was staged for the first time. The opening night, at the (off-BroadwayOff-BroadwayOff-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
) Sullivan Street Playhouse in New York, was the first of a record 17,162 for the show. The last performance there was on January 13, 2002January 2002January 2002: ← – January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December- January 1, 2002:...
. - Outfielder Jim LemonJim LemonJames Robert Lemon was an American right and left fielder, manager and coach in Major League Baseball. A powerful, right-handed hitting and throwing outfielder, Lemon teamed with first baseman Roy Sievers to form the most formidable home run-hitting tandem in the 60-year history of the...
of the Washington SenatorsMinnesota TwinsThe Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
became the first Major League Baseball player to wear a batting helmet with earflaps. Helmets had been required in both leagues since 1958.
May 4, 1960 (Wednesday)
- The United States signed an agreement to sell 17,000,000 metric tons of surplus grain to India over a four year period, in exchange for $1,276,000,000.
- Lucille BallLucille BallLucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
was granted a divorce from Desi ArnazDesi ArnazDesi Arnaz was a Cuban-born American musician, actor and television producer. While he gained international renown for leading a Latin music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, he is probably best known for his role as Ricky Ricardo on the American TV series I Love Lucy, starring with Lucille Ball, to...
by a court in Santa Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
. - Born: Werner FaymannWerner FaymannWerner Faymann is Chancellor of Austria and chairman of the Social Democratic Party SPÖ .-Background and earlier career:Born in Vienna, Austria, he studied law at the University of Vienna for two years but did not graduate....
, Chancellor of Austria, in Vienna
May 5, 1960 (Thursday)
- Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev announced to that nation's parliament that an American military plane had been downed in Soviet territory on May 1. State Department spokesman Lincoln White offered the official claim that the U-2 was on "weather research" and that the civilian pilot "reported difficulty with his oxygen equipment" and that it was "entirely possible" that the pilot had lost consciousness and had "accidentally violated Soviet air space".
May 6, 1960 (Friday)
- Ramon MercaderRamón MercaderJaime Ramón Mercader del Río Hernández was a Spanish communist who became famous as the murderer of Russian Communist ideologist Leon Trotsky in 1940, in Mexico...
, a/k/a Jacques Monard, the man who had killed Leon TrotskyLeon TrotskyLeon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
with an axe on August 20, 1940, was released from the penitentiary in JuarezCiudad JuárezCiudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
, MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, after which he emigrated to the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. - President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1960Civil Rights Act of 1960The Civil Rights Act of 1960 was a United States federal law that established federal inspection of local voter registration rolls and introduced penalties for anyone who obstructed someone's attempt to register to vote or to vote...
into law. The bill had passed the House 288–95, after being amended and passed by the Senate 71–18. - The town of Wilburton, OklahomaWilburton, OklahomaWilburton is a city in Latimer County, Oklahoma, United States. The city has a population of 2,972 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Latimer County.-Geography:Wilburton is located at ....
, was destroyed by tornadoes that swept through Oklahoma and Arkansas, killing 27 people and hurting 250. - Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom, the sister of Queen Elizabeth II, married Antony Armstrong-Jones in a royal wedding at Westminster AbbeyWestminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
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May 7, 1960 (Saturday)
- Leonid BrezhnevLeonid BrezhnevLeonid Ilyich Brezhnev – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in...
took on the ceremonial job of President of the Presidium of the Soviet Union, as Kliment VoroshilovKliment VoroshilovKliment Yefremovich Voroshilov , popularly known as Klim Voroshilov was a Soviet military officer, politician, and statesman...
's request for retirement was granted. Nikita KhrushchevNikita KhrushchevNikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
continued as General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and as Prime Minister, positions that would be taken by Brezhnev in 1964. - Khrushchev surprised the world by announcing that U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, of Pound, VirginiaPound, VirginiaPound is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,089 as recorded in the 2000 census.-Geography:Pound is located at ....
, had been captured "alive and well" near Sverdlovsk, along with film taken of military bases, and Soviet currency. U.S. officials expressed "amazement" at charges that Powers had been on a spy mission. - In the 1960 FA Cup Final at Wembley StadiumWembley StadiumThe original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
, Wolverhampton Wanderers defeated Blackburn Rovers 3–0 - The World Chess Championship 1960World Chess Championship 1960The 1960 World Chess Championship was played between Mikhail Botvinnik and Mikhail Tal in Moscow from March 15 to May 7, 1960. Tal won.- 1958 Interzonal Tournament:An interzonal chess tournament was held in Portorož in 1958.-1959 Candidates Tournament:...
ended in victory for Mikhail TalMikhail TalMikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
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May 8, 1960 (Sunday)
- A Nationalist Chinese Sabrejet crashed into a village in Taiwan, killing the pilot and 10 people on the ground.
- 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...
and the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
formally re-established diplomatic relations, which had been ended in 1952. The United States severed its diplomatic ties with Cuba five months later, on January 3, 1961. - Born: Franco BaresiFranco BaresiFranco Baresi is an Italian football youth team coach and former player. He played as a sweeper and spent his entire career with Serie A club AC Milan, acknowledged as one of the greatest defenders ever to play the game. Baresi was nicknamed "Piscinin", Milanese for "Little one"...
, Italian football defender, in Travagliato - Died: J. H. C. WhiteheadJ. H. C. WhiteheadJohn Henry Constantine Whitehead FRS , known as Henry, was a British mathematician and was one of the founders of homotopy theory. He was born in Chennai , in India, and died in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1960....
, 55, British mathematician, in Princeton, New Jersey
May 9, 1960 (Monday)
- 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 a birth controlBirth controlBirth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion...
pill for the first time, as it cleared the prescirption of Enovid, manufactured by G. D. Searle & CompanyG. D. Searle & CompanyG.D. Searle & Company or just Searle was a company focusing on life sciences, specifically pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and animal health. It is now part of Pfizer.- History :...
, for use as an oral contraceptiveOral contraceptiveThe combined oral contraceptive pill , often referred to as the birth-control pill or colloquially as "the Pill", is a birth control method that includes a combination of an estrogen and a progestin . When taken by mouth every day, these pills inhibit female fertility...
. - U.S. Attorney General William P. RogersWilliam P. RogersWilliam Pierce Rogers was an American politician, who served as a Cabinet officer in the administrations of two U.S. Presidents in the third quarter of the 20th century.-Early Life :...
invoked the new Civil Rights Act of 1960 to force the turnover of voters' registration records in four Southern "cipher counties", so called because there were no African-American registered voters, despite a large population. The counties affected were Wilcox County, AlabamaWilcox County, AlabamaWilcox County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of Lieutenant J. M. Wilcox, who fought in the wars against the Creek tribe. As of 2010, the population was 11,670...
, Webster County, GeorgiaWebster County, GeorgiaWebster County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The 2000 Census reflected a population of 2,390. The 2009 Census Estimate shows a population of 2,192. The county seat is Preston.-History:...
, McCormick County, South Carolina and East Carroll Parish, LouisianaEast Carroll Parish, LouisianaEast Carroll Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Lake Providence and as of 2010, the population was 7,759.-Law and government:In the 2004 presidential race, East Carroll gave the George W. Bush - Richard B... - Born: Tony GwynnTony GwynnAnthony Keith "Tony" Gwynn, Sr. , nicknamed Mr. Padre and Captain Video, is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is statistically one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history. He played his entire 20-year baseball career for the San Diego Padres...
, MLB star outfielder, in Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
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May 10, 1960 (Tuesday)
- The submarine U.S.S. Triton completed its circumnavigation of the globe, after an 84-day voyage that followed the route of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition of 1519–1522.
- 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....
defeated Hubert HumphreyHubert HumphreyHubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
in the West VirginiaWest VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
primary election, winning the predominantly Protestant state and dispelling doubts about whether Americans would support a Roman Catholic nominee. The win was Senator Kennedy's seventh in the primaries. At the next day, Humphrey conceded defeat, and then said "I am no longer a candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination," leaving Senator Kennedy unopposed. - Nashville became the first major city in the United States to desegregate its lunch counters.
- Born: BonoBonoPaul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
, Irish rock singer, in Dublin, as Paul David Hewson; and Merlene OtteyMerlene OtteyMerlene Joyce Ottey , is a Jamaican-born Slovenian track athlete. Ottey began her career representing Jamaica, but since 2002, has represented Slovenia, where she now resides...
, Jamaican women's champion, in Hanover, Jamaica - Died: Yury OleshaYury OleshaYury Karlovich Olesha was a Russian and Soviet novelist. He is considered to have been one of the greatest Russian novelists of the 20th-century, one of the few to have succeeded in writing works of lasting artistic value despite the stifling censorship of the era...
, 61, Russian novelist
May 11, 1960 (Wednesday)
- In Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, four MossadMossadThe Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
agents abducted fugitive NaziNazismNazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
Adolf EichmannAdolf EichmannAdolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
a/k/a "Ricardo Klement", shortly after he got off of a bus near his home at Eichmann, mastermind of the Jewish Holocaust in Germany, would be held captive for ten days until he could be flown to Israel. - At a press conference, President Eisenhower of the United States accepted full responsibility for the U-2 incident, and said that spying on the Soviet Union was justified. "No one wants another Pearl Harbor," he said, adding "In most of the world, no large-scale attack could be prepared in secret, but in the Soviet Union there is a fetish of secrecy, and concealment."
- The passenger liner SS FranceSS France (1961)SS France was a Compagnie Générale Transatlantique ocean liner, constructed by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard at Saint-Nazaire, France, and put into service in February 1962...
was launched at Saint-Nazaire by Madame Yvonne de GaulleYvonne de GaulleYvonne de Gaulle , born as Yvonne Charlotte Anne Marie Vendroux, was the wife of Charles de Gaulle. They were married on April 7, 1921. She was sometimes known as "Tante Yvonne"...
, wife of the French president. - Died: John D. Rockefeller, Jr.John D. Rockefeller, Jr.John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of businessman and Standard Oil industrialist John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
, 86, American philanthropist who gave away $475,000,000 of his inheritance during his lifetime.
May 12, 1960 (Thursday)
- Soviet Premier Khrushchev said in a statement that if the United States made further overflights of the U.S.S.R., "this might lead to war" and then added that further aggression would be met "with atom bombs in the first few minutes".
- By order of U.S. Defense Secretary Thomas S. Gates, the Defense Communications Agency was established.
- The capsizing of a boat, on the Krishna RiverKrishna RiverThe Krishna River , is one of the longest rivers in central-southern India, about . It is also referred to as Krishnaveni in its original nomenclature...
in India's Andhara Pradesh state, drowned at least 60 people. - Died: Prince Aly KhanPrince Aly KhanPrince Ali Solomone Aga Khan , known as Aly Khan was a son of Aga Khan III, the head of the Ismaili Muslims, and the father of Aga Khan IV. A socialite, racehorse owner and jockey, he was the third husband of actress Rita Hayworth...
, 48, Pakistan's "playboy turned diplomat", died of massive head injuries after his Lancia sports car collided with a sedan in the Parisian suburb of SuresnesSuresnesSuresnes is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The nearest communes are Neuilly-sur-Seine, Puteaux, Rueil-Malmaison, Saint-Cloud and Boulogne-Billancourt...
, France. The other driver, Herve Bichaton, was reportedly on the wrong side of the road.
May 13, 1960 (Friday)
- Black Friday (1960) – A group of 200 students, mostly white, assembled inside the San Francisco City HallSan Francisco City HallSan Francisco City Hall, re-opened in 1915, in its open space area in the city's Civic Center, is a Beaux-Arts monument to the City Beautiful movement that epitomized the high-minded American Renaissance of the 1880s to 1917. The structure's dome is the fifth largest in the world...
to protest against the House Un-American Activities CommitteeHouse Un-American Activities CommitteeThe House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
. Taking a cue from African-American protesters, they staged a sit-in. The city police dispersed the crowd with fire hoses and clubs, but the students' defiance was dramatic. Between 1,500 and 2,000 persons picketed the last session of the Committee's hearings, and another 3,500 predominantly anti-Committee spectators massed outside the building. As one author notes, "No one had previously dared confront HUAC so brazenly; most Americans were terrified of even coming into contact with the committee." - A six member team of Swiss, Austrian and Bhutanese climbers, were the first to reach the top of DhaulagiriDhaulagiriDhaulagiri is Earth's seventh highest mountain at ; one of fourteen over eight thousand metres. Dhaulagiri was first climbed May 13, 1960 by a Swiss/Austrian expedition....
, at , the world's seventh highest mountain. - The first launch of the 91 feet (27.7 m) Delta rocket failed, when the third stage did not ignite, but was followed by 15 consecutive successful launches.
May 14, 1960 (Saturday)
- U.S. President Eisenhower flew to Paris for the scheduled Four Power Summit, after President DeGaulle of France verified that Soviet Premier Khrushchev still wanted to convene the meeting. The talks broke off shortly after DeGaulle called them to order two days later.
May 15, 1960 (Sunday)
- The Soviet Union launched Sputnik IV, a five ton mockup of a manned spaceship, as a prelude to putting human beings into outer space. The satellite was "manned" by a heavy life-size dummy, luckily; the retrorockets fired in the wrong direction, sending the ship into a higher orbit rather than returning it to Earth. The satellite re-entered Earth's atmosphere on September 6, 1962, and a 20 pound fragment of it landed at the intersection of North 8th Street and Park Street in Manitowoc, WisconsinManitowoc, WisconsinManitowoc is a city in and the county seat of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The city is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2000 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,053, with over 50,000 residents in the surrounding communities...
. - The new Convair 880Convair 880The Convair 880 was a narrow-body jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics. It was designed to compete with the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 by being smaller and faster, a niche that failed to create demand...
made its first passenger flight, for Delta Air LinesDelta Air LinesDelta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
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May 16, 1960 (Monday)
- At Hughes Research Laboratory in Malibu, California, physicist Theodore Maiman focused a high-powered flash lamp on a silver-coated ruby rod, and created the first working laserLaserA laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
. - Shortly after the Four Power Summit in Paris was opened by France's President DeGaulle at , Soviet Premier Nikita KhrushchevNikita KhrushchevNikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
demanded the right to speak, and then delivered an angry tirade, which ended with a cancellation of the invitation for President Eisenhower to visit the U.S.S.R. beginning June 10. The summit ended at , and Khrushchev did not show up for further meetings. Eisenhower, Khrushchev and Britain's Prime Minister Macmillan left France three days later.
May 17, 1960 (Tuesday)
- "Radio Swan", secretly funded and operated by the American CIA, began broadcasting anti-Communist propaganda to 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...
, from a transmitter on Swan IslandSwan Islands, HondurasThe Swan Islands, or Islas Santanilla, are a chain of three islands located in the northwestern Caribbean Sea, approximately ninety miles off the coastline of Honduras, with a land area of .-Detailed location and features:...
off of the coast of the HondurasHondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
. - Died: Joseph Taborsky, 36, who had robbed and murdered six people over six week period, was executed in 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...
in the electric chairElectric chairExecution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
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May 18, 1960 (Wednesday)
- The 132nd and last original broadcast of the landmark American TV series Playhouse 90, was shown on CBS, with the telecast of "In the Presence of Mine Enemies".
- Born: Jari KurriJari KurriJari Pekka Kurri is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey right winger and a five-time Stanley Cup champion. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001. He is currently the general manager of Team Finland....
, Finnish ice hockey player, in Helsinki; Yannick NoahYannick NoahYannick Noah is a former professional tennis player from France. He is best remembered for being the last French man to win the French Open in 1983, and as a highly-successful captain of France's Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams...
, French tennis player, in Sedan
May 19, 1960 (Thursday)
- The largest anti-nuclear rally held in the United States, up to that time, took place at Madison Square GardenMadison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York, as 17,000 people attended to hear speeches by Eleanor RooseveltEleanor RooseveltAnna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
, Norman ThomasNorman ThomasNorman Mattoon Thomas was a leading American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America.-Early years:...
, Alf LandonAlf LandonAlfred Mossman "Alf" Landon was an American Republican politician, who served as the 26th Governor of Kansas from 1933–1937. He was best known for being the Republican Party's nominee for President of the United States, defeated in a landslide by Franklin D...
, Walter ReutherWalter ReutherWalter Philip Reuther was an American labor union leader, who made the United Automobile Workers a major force not only in the auto industry but also in the Democratic Party in the mid 20th century...
and others demanding worldwide disarmament. - The first polling organization in the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the "Public Opinion Institute", was announced by the Party newspaper Komsomolskaya PravdaKomsomolskaya PravdaKomsomolskaya Pravda is a daily Russian tabloid newspaper, founded on March 13th, 1925. It is published by "Izdatelsky Dom Komsomolskaya Pravda" .- History :...
. From 1960 to 1967, Komsomol took surveys on such topics as "How has your standard of living changed?"
May 20, 1960 (Friday)
- In Japan, the lower house of the Diet of JapanDiet of JapanThe is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...
voted at to ratify the new security treaty with the United States, but only after police removed Socialist members who had blockaded Speaker Ichiro Kiyosein in his office. Petitions against the unpopular treaty had gathered 1,900,000 names
May 21, 1960 (Saturday)
- PFC Buzo Minagawa of Japan, was captured in a jungle at GuamGuamGuam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, where he had been sent in 1944 as part of the 3219th artillery during World War II. Through interpreters, Minagawa said that he still couldn't believe that Japan had lost the war. His companion, Masashi Ito, was found two days later on May 23, and both men were welcomed home on May 28. - An El AlEl AlEl Al Israel Airlines Ltd , trading as El Al , is the flag carrier of Israel. It operates scheduled domestic and international services and cargo flights to Europe, North America, Africa and the Far East from its main base in Ben Gurion International Airport...
flight took off from Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
at , with kidnapped Nazi fugitive Adolf EichmannAdolf EichmannAdolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
safely onboard, to face trial for the Holocaust in IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. - Born: Jeffrey DahmerJeffrey DahmerJeffrey Lionel Dahmer was an American serial killer and sex offender. Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991, with the majority of the murders occurring between 1987 and 1991. His murders involved rape, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism...
, American serial killer, in Milwaukee (d. 1994)
May 22, 1960 (Sunday)
- Great Chilean EarthquakeGreat Chilean EarthquakeThe 1960 Valdivia earthquake or Great Chilean Earthquake of Sunday, 22 May 1960 is to date the most powerful earthquake ever recorded on Earth, rating 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale...
: At local time (1911 GMT) the largest earthquake of the 20th century struck near Valdivia. Based on seismographic data, the tremor was later calculated to be at 9.5 on the on the Richter scale. The quake killed 1,655 people immediately in 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 its aftershocks killed another 4,000 people. Two million were left homeless, and the shock sent tsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
s that killed people as far away as Japan. - Adolf EichmannAdolf EichmannAdolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
arrived in Israel at , roughly 24 hours after he had been spirited out of 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...
. - Born: Hideaki AnnoHideaki Annois a Japanese animation and film director. Anno is best known for his work on the popular anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. His style has come to be defined by the touches of postmodernism that he injects into his work, as well as the thorough portrayal of characters' thoughts and emotions,...
, Japanese film director, in UbeUbe, Yamaguchiis a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan on the Seto Inland Sea.As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 179,000 and the density of 622 persons per km². The total area is 287.69 km².The city was founded on November 1, 1921....
May 23, 1960 (Monday)
- Prime Minister David Ben-GurionDavid Ben-Gurion' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
of IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
surprised the KnessetKnessetThe Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
at , with the announcement that, "Israeli Security Services captured one of the greatest Nazi criminals, Adolf EichmannAdolf EichmannAdolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
... Eichmann is already in detention in Israel, and will soon be put on trial here." - At 1:05 a.m., a tsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
from the Chilean earthquake rolled into the bay of Hilo, HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, killing 61 people and injuring 282 more. - A merger of the Unitarian and Universalist churches was endorsed at meetings held 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...
by delegates from the American Unitarian AssociationAmerican Unitarian AssociationThe American Unitarian Association was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it merged with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.According to Mortimer Rowe, the Secretary...
(725 to 143) and the Universalist Church of America (365 to 65), to created the Unitarian Universalist AssociationUnitarian Universalist AssociationUnitarian Universalist Association , in full the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations in North America, is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations formed by the consolidation in 1961 of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of...
May 24, 1960 (Tuesday)
- TsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
s from the Chilean earthquake, 8,000 miles away, struck the coast of Japan at HokkaidoHokkaido, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, Sanriku and KiiKii- Geography :* Kii Channel, a separating Honshū and Shikoku islands of Japan.* Kii Mountains, a mountain range in the Kansai region of Japan.* Kii Province, a former province of Japan.* Kii Peninsula, a peninsula in the Kansai region of Japan....
, killing 119 people and washing away 2,800 homes. - The United States launched the Midas II satellite, the first designed to detect missile launches. "Midas" was an acronym for MIssile Defense Alarm System.
- Thirty-eight hours after the 1960 Valdivia earthquake in Chile, the volcano Cordón Caulle began a rhyodacitic fissure eruption. (May 23?)
- Born: Kristin Scott ThomasKristin Scott ThomasKristin A. Scott Thomas, OBE is an English actress who has also acquired French nationality. She gained international recognition in the 1990s for her roles in Bitter Moon, Four Weddings and a Funeral and The English Patient....
, English actress, in Redruth
May 25, 1960 (Wednesday)
- Four new earthquakes struck 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...
, killing an additional 5,000 people. - Fifteen days of voting, for a 137 member Chamber of Deputies, concluded in 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...
, as the nation prepared for independence. Patrice LumumbaPatrice LumumbaPatrice 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...
's National Congolese Movement won a plurality of seats, with 36.
May 26, 1960 (Thursday)
- At the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in New York, U.S. Ambassador Henry Cabot LodgeHenry Cabot LodgeHenry Cabot "Slim" Lodge was an American Republican Senator and historian from Massachusetts. He had the role of Senate Majority leader. He is best known for his positions on Meek policy, especially his battle with President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 over the Treaty of Versailles...
displayed a hand-carved replica of the Great Seal of the United StatesGreat Seal of the United StatesThe Great Seal of the United States is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the United States federal government. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself , and more generally for the design impressed upon it...
that had been presented by the Soviets as a gift to the American ambassador in Moscow, and the listening device that had been discovered inside "right under the beak of the eagle".
May 27, 1960 (Friday)
- In TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, the army staged a coup d'étatCoup d'étatA coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
, led by General Cemal GürselCemal GürselCemal Gürsel , was a Turkish army officer, and the fourth President of Turkey.- Early life :He was born in the city of Erzurum to the Turkish parents as the son of an Ottoman Army officer, Abidin Bey, the grandson of Ibrahim and the great-grandson of Haci Ahmad...
, and arrested President Celal BayarCelal BayarCelâl Bayar was a Turkish politician, statesman and the third President of Turkey. At the time of his death, he was the longest lived former head of state, living over 103 years .-Early years:He was born in 1883 at Umurbey, a village of Gemlik, Bursa as the son of a religious leader and teacher...
and Prime Minister Adnan Mederes. General Gürsel assumed both offices and replaced the legislature with 37 officers who formed the Milli Birlik Komitesi (Committee of National Unity). Menderes, Foreign Minister Fatin Rustu Zorlu and Finance Minister Hasan Polatkan were later hanged, while Bayar was released after three years imprisonment. - Ireland's Grand Canal, connecting Dublin to Limerick, was closed after 156 years.
- Dayton J. Lalonde completed a solo voyage from Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to 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...
after having been at sea on his sailboat, the Craig. - Morocco's King Hassan dismissed Prime Minister Abdallah Ibrahim and Ibrahim's ministers, and took on the additional job of Prime Minister of Morocco
May 28, 1960 (Saturday)
- The American Society for Cell Biology was organized.
- The musical GreenwillowGreenwillowGreenwillow is a musical with a book by Lesser Samuels and Frank Loesser and music and lyrics by Loesser.Based on the novel by B. J. Chute, the fantasy is set in the magical town of Greenwillow, where the eldest in each generation of Briggs men must obey the "call to wander," while the women they...
closed at the Alvin Theater in New York City after only 95 performances. - The town of Ventura, IowaVentura, IowaVentura is a city in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 670 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Ventura is located at ....
, was incorporated.
May 29, 1960 (Sunday)
- 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...
, formerly the President of South Korea, departed that nation for exile in Honolulu, where he would die five years later. - The interrogation of Adolf EichmannAdolf EichmannAdolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
began. - The Monaco Grand PrixMonaco Grand PrixThe Monaco Grand Prix is a Formula One race held each year on the Circuit de Monaco. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the world, alongside the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans...
was won by Stirling MossStirling MossSir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...
.
May 30, 1960 (Monday)
- The Indianapolis 500Indianapolis 500The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
was won by Jim RathmannJim RathmannJim Rathmann was an American race car driver who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1960....
. Prior to the race, temporary seating collapsed, killing two people and injuring 70. - Died: Boris PasternakBoris PasternakBoris Leonidovich Pasternak was a Russian language poet, novelist, and literary translator. In his native Russia, Pasternak's anthology My Sister Life, is one of the most influential collections ever published in the Russian language...
, 70, Russian author
May 31, 1960 (Tuesday)
- Jane GoodallJane GoodallDame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE , is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National...
began her study of chimpanzees in the wild, arriving at Lolui Island in KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
after her original plans, to go to the Gombe Reserve, were thwarted by a political dispute. - The President's Joint Commission on Mental Illness and Health in the US reported that 25% of Americans suffer from mental illness at some point in their lives.
- The Malayan Banking Berhad was incorporated.
- Born: Hervé GaymardHervé GaymardHervé Gaymard is a French politician and a member of UMP conservative party. He served as the country's Minister of Finances from 30 November 2004 until his resignation on 25 February 2005....
, French politician - Died: Walther FunkWalther FunkWalther Funk was a prominent Nazi official. He served as Reich Minister for Economic Affairs in Nazi Germany from 1937 to 1945, tried as a major war criminal by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg.-Early life:...
, 70, former Nazi official