The events of 1960
- 10 January 1960
Prime Minister Harold Macmillan gives his Wind of Change during his tour of Africa.
- 18 February 1960
Olympics – the 1960 Winter Olympics open in Squaw Valley, California.
- 03 March 1960
Elvis Presley returns to the US after a 2 years stint in the army in Germany.
- 06 March 1960
Vietnam War – The US announces that around 3,500 soldiers are going to be sent to Vietnam.
- 22 March 1960
The first laser is patented by Arthur Leonard Schawlow & Charles Hard Townes.
- 01 April 1960
The first Weather Satellite is launched and produces first TV picture from Space.
- 18 April 1960
Thousands of ‘ban the bomb’ protestors march on London.
- 01 May 1960
An American Spy Plane is shot down by the Soviet Union, the pilot Francis Gary Powers is captured.
- 06 May 1960
Princess Margaret marries Anthony Armstrong Jones.
- 11 July 1960
U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy is nominated to run U.S. President at the by the Democrat Party.
- 21 July 1960
Francis Chichester, arrives in New York aboard Gypsy Moth II after making his record-breaking solo Atlantic crossing in 40 days.
- 16 August 1960
Cyprus gains its independence from the UK.
- 19 August 1960
Cold War – The captured American Spy Plane pilot Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in the Soviet Union .
- 25 August 1960
Olympics – The 1960 Summer Olympics open in Rome.
- 01 September 1960
The Government gives the go ahead for Betting Shops.
- 05 September 1960
Victory for Cassius Clay as he wins the gold medal in boxing at the Olympic Games in Rome.
- 14 September 1960
OPEC – Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela form OPEC.
- 08 November 1960
John F. Kennedy wins the US presidential election, narrowly beating Richard M. Nixon.
- 10 November 1960
DH Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover goes on Sale and Sells out – 200, 000 copies on the first day.
- 13 November 1960
Celebrity Wedding – Sammy Davis, Jr. marries Swedish actress May Britt – Interracial marriage is still illegal in 31 US states.
- 27 December 1960
French Nuclear Bomb tests – a third bomb is exploded.
