Explore 1640 historical events from 1960–1969.
Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into E…
Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule
The Centralia mine fire is a coal-seam fire that has been burning in the labyrinth of abandoned coal mines underneath the borough of Centralia, Pennsylvania, United States, since a…
The Centralia mine fire is ignited in the town's landfill above a coal mine
The Yi–Ta incident was a mass exodus of people from China to the Soviet Union in early 1962. At least 60,000 Chinese citizens migrated to the Soviet Union by crossing the border be…
Chinese police open fire on protesters in Yining, Xinjiang, killing at least five people and wounding a dozen others
Jeffrey Douglas Dunham is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including Late Show with David Letterman, Comed…
Jeff Dunham, American ventriloquist and comedian
Sanjaasürengiin Zorig was a Mongolian politician who played a prominent role in leading the country's 1990 democratic revolution. His supporters called him the "Golden Swallow of D…
Sanjaasürengiin Zorig, Mongolian Politician, (died 1998)
Danièle Sauvageau is a Canadian ice hockey executive and former coach. Sauvageau was the head coach of the Canadian national women's hockey team that won the gold medal in ice hock…
Danièle Sauvageau, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
The West Indies Federation, also known as the West Indies, the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation, was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 Ja…
The West Indies Federation dissolves
Otto Adolf Eichmann was a German-Austrian official of the Nazi Party, an officer of the Schutzstaffel (SS), a convicted war criminal, and one of the major organizers of the Holocau…
Adolf Eichmann, former SS officer in Nazi Germany, is hanged in Israel for having committed crimes against humanity, war
The 1962 FIFA World Cup was the seventh edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held from 30 May …
During the FIFA World Cup, police had to intervene multiple times in fights between Chilean and Italian players in one o
Paris Orly Airport is one of two international airports serving Paris, France, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly and partially in…
At Paris Orly Airport, Air France Flight 007 overruns the runway and explodes when the crew attempts to abort takeoff, k
John Hannah is a Scottish actor and narrator. He came to prominence in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), for which he was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Suppor…
John Hannah, Scottish actor and producer
Shaun Mark Spiers is the Executive Director of the environmental think-tank, Green Alliance and a former Member of the European Parliament.
Shaun Spiers, English businessman and politician
Clemens Binninger is a German politician of the CDU. Binninger was a member of the Bundestag from 2002 until 2017.
Clemens Binninger, German politician
Stuart Pearce is an English professional football manager and former player, who was most recently a first-team coach for Premier League club West Ham United. He was nicknamed "Psy…
Stuart Pearce, English footballer, coach, and manager
Stephen David Roach, nicknamed Blocker or Blocker Roach, is an Australian former professional rugby league who played as a prop forward in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Steve Roach, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
The Organisation armée secrète was a far-right dissident French paramilitary organisation during the Algerian War, founded in 1961 by Raoul Salan, Pierre Lagaillarde and Jean-Jacqu…
The Organisation Armée Secrète (OAS) sets fire to the University of Algiers library building, destroying about 500,000 b
On the night of June 11, 1962, inmates Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin escaped from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, the maximum-security prison on Alcatraz Island…
Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin allegedly become the only prisoners to escape from the prison on Alcatraz
The European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) was an international organisation founded by 10 European nations with the intention of jointly pursuing scientific research in space…
The European Space Research Organisation is established in Paris – later becoming the European Space Agency
Jeff Minter is an English video game designer and programmer who often goes by the nickname Yak. He co-founded independent video game developer Llamasoft in 1982 and was the sole g…
Jeff Minter, British video game designer and programmer
Foeke Booy is a Dutch former professional footballer player and manager who is the head of scouting for Eerste Divisie club Almere City. A forward during a sixteen-year playing car…
Foeke Booy, Dutch footballer and manager
Colin Anderson is an English former professional footballer, predominantly playing on left side of defence or midfield.
Colin Anderson, English footballer
Ángel David Comizzo Leiva is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a goalkeeper.
Ángel Comizzo, Argentinian footballer and manager
Seppo Henrik Räty is a retired Finnish track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He was a World Champion, having won gold in 1987. He was also an Olympic medalist.…
Seppo Räty, Finnish javelin thrower and coach
Im Sang-soo is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He has twice been invited to compete for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival: first for The Housemaid in 2010, …
Im Sang-soo, South Korean director and screenwriter