The cold war continued to worsen with the USSR exploding some very large bombs during testing and then masterminding the building of the Berlin Wall, separating East from West Berlin. America sent a battle group to Germany, and Americans and Russians glared at each other across the border — due to this uncertainty, many Americans built backyard fallout shelters in case of nuclear war. To make matters worse, the Americans financed anti-Castro Cubans for an invasion at the Bay of Pigs, which was an unmitigated disaster. The Soviets put the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, on April 12, followed by the U.S. in May, with Alan Shepard. Popular music included Chubby Checker’s “Pony Time” and the Shirelles’ “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, and top movies included West Side Story and The Parent Trap.
• John F. Kennedy is sworn in by Chief Justice Earl Warren as the 35th President of the United States, in January.
• Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space.
• The Peace Corps is established by President John F. Kennedy.
• Cuban exiles and the CIA mount an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro.
• The USSR tests the “Tsar Bomba,” the largest nuclear bomb ever.
• East German authorities close the border between East and West Berlin, and construction of the Berlin Wall begins.
• NASA launches the Mercury-Atlas 5 (MA-5) mission during November.
• Disney releases their first live-action musical film, Babes in Toyland.
• The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is created.
• The Soviet Union launches the Venera 1 space probe.
• Britain applies for membership of the European Economic Community.
• Segregation on railways in Southern U.S. ends.
• The Xingu National Park is created in Brazil.
• Somalia suffers a widespread flooding after the two main rivers overflowed their banks and merged in a vast flood plain, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.
• Texas sales tax introduced.
• General Assembly of the United Nations condemns apartheid.
• President John F. Kennedy advises American families to build bomb shelters.
• South Africa becomes an independent republic.
• Last journey of the Orient Express.
• First direct U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.
• The Six Flags Over Texas opens in Arlington, Texas.
• Amnesty International starts in the United Kingdom.
• The Antarctic Treaty System comes into force on June 23 to regulate international relations, ensuring that Antarctica shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes.
• Pampers, the first disposable diaper, is introduced.
• Members of the Portuguese leftist movement hijack the luxury cruise liner Santa Maria.
• Members of the UK Portland Spy Ring are found guilty of selling plans of the HMS Dreadnought, Britain’s first nuclear submarine, to the Russians.
• Estimate of the world’s population reaches 4 billion.
• The 23rd Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, which permits electors in the district of Columbia to choose electors for President and Vice President.
• During the Italian Grand Prix race, Wolfgang von Trip’s Ferrari crashes off the track onto the embankment filled with spectators, killing 14 plus the driver.
• “Freedom Riders” test the United States Supreme Court decision (Boynton v. Virginia) by riding racially integrated interstate buses into the South. Some are attacked and beaten by white supremacist supporters of racial segregation.
• The farthing coin, used since the 13th century, ceases to be legal tender in the United Kingdom.
• British satirical magazine Private Eye is published for the first time.
• “The Pony” becomes a popular dance.
Top 10 highest-grossing films in the U.S.
1. West Side Story (dir. Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins)
2. The Guns of Navarone (dir. J. Lee Thompson)
3. El Cid (dir. Anthony Mann)
4. The Absent-Minded Professor (dir. Robert Stevenson)
5. The Parent Trap (dir. David Swift)
6. La Dolce Vita (dir. Federico Fellini)
7. Lover Come Back (dir. Delbert Mann)
8. King of Kings (dir. Nicholas Ray)
9. One Hundred and One Dalmatians (dir. Wolfgang Reitherman, Hamilton Luske and Clyde Geronimi)
10. Splendor in the Grass (dir. Elia Kazan)
Billboard’s number-one music albums (in chronological order)
1. “G.I. Blues” by Elvis Presley
2. “Nice ‘N’ Easy” by Frank Sinatra
3. “The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!” by Bob Newhart
4. “Wonderland by Night” by Bert Kaempfert
5. “Exodus” by Ernest Gold
6. “Calcutta!” by Lawrence Welk
7. “Camelot” by Camelot Original Broadway Cast
8. “Carnival!” by Carnival! Original Broadway Cast
9. “Stars for a Summer Night” by various artists
10. “Something for Everybody” by Elvis Presley
11. “Judy at Carnegie Hall” by Judy Garland
12. “Blue Hawaii” by Elvis Presley
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