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February 1960

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February 8, 1960: The Hollywood Walk of Fame dedicated
February 3, 1960: France's President De Gaulle authorized to rule by decree
February 11, 1960: The crew of Lady Be Good located after 16 years

The following events occurred in February 1960:

February 1, 1960 (Monday)

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February 1, 1960: The Greensboro sit-ins began at this section of lunch counter from the Greensboro, North Carolina Woolworth's
  • In Greensboro, North Carolina, four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University began a sit-in at the Woolworth's department store, at a lunch counter that, like many in the South, would not serve African-American customers except for take-out orders. After their classes, the four young men (Joseph McNeil, David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Ezell Blair Jr.) entered Woolworth's, made some purchases, and at 4:30, took seats at the counter and politely placed orders for desserts and coffee. When the waitress told them they could not be served, they stayed until closing time. The next morning, at least 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.[1]
  • A study was completed for Project Mercury on the "External and Internal Noise of Space Capsules." This study covered the acoustic environments of missile and space vehicles including noise generated by the rocket engines, air-boundary layers, and on-board equipment. NASA officials thought that the internal noise level was too high for pilot comfort. Space Task Group felt that data were needed on noise transmission through an actual production-model spacecraft structure.[2]
  • Viscount Dunrossil (William Shepherd Morrison) became the 14th Governor-General of Australia, succeeding William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim, who had served two terms before retiring.[3]

February 2, 1960 (Tuesday)

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February 3, 1960 (Wednesday)

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  • Before a session of the Parliament of South Africa in Cape Town, Britain's Prime Minister Harold Macmillan made the "Wind of Change" 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."[5]
  • The Senate of France voted 226–39 to allow President Charles De Gaulle to rule by decree in order to dismantle the power of French settlers in Algeria. 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.[6]
  • U.S. President Eisenhower announced at a news conference that the United States should be able to make nuclear weapons available to its allies. 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.[7]
  • Born:
  • Died: Fred Buscaglione, 38, Italian singer and actor; in an auto accident

February 4, 1960 (Thursday)

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  • After a brief interview, France's President De Gaulle fired Jacques Soustelle 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.[8]
  • Jordan offered citizenship to any Palestinian (defined as a person who "used to have the Palestinian Nationality before May 1948, excluding Jews") living abroad.[9]
  • The Soviet Union's support of Cuba as a Communist ally was forged as Soviet Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan was welcomed in Havana by Fidel Castro.[10]

February 5, 1960 (Friday)

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  • Amon Ndoffou II, King of Sanwi, one of the leaders of the Anyi people of Côte d'Ivoire (Côte d'Ivoire), 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.[11]
  • A meeting was held to relay the decision that beryllium shingles would be used as the best heat protection material on the cylindrical section of the Mercury spacecraft.[2]
  • All 59 people on board a Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano DC-4 died when the plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Cochabamba, Bolivia.[12]
  • The CERN particle accelerator was inaugurated in Geneva, Switzerland.

February 6, 1960 (Saturday)

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  • In the first elections in Burma since a 1958 military coup, former Prime Minister U Nu's party captured 150 of the 250 contested seats. He took office on April 4.[13]
  • Died: Jesse Belvin, 27, African-American singer-songwriter was killed in an auto accident, four hours after performing a concert with Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson.

February 7, 1960 (Sunday)

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  • Laurence Slattery and Lesley Wasley, both volunteers, permitted a team of Australian doctors at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney 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.[14]
  • Frank Sinatra introduced Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy to Judith Campbell Exner.[15] JFK and Exner would have their first sexual encounter on March 7 at Room 1651 of the Plaza Hotel in New York.[16]
  • Twenty-five people were killed and 50 more injured in a railroad derailment near Sewell, Chile. The train was transporting employees of the Braden Copper Mining Company, and their families, on a Sunday outing.[17]
  • Born: James Spader, American TV actor; in Boston
  • Died:

February 8, 1960 (Monday)

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February 9, 1960 (Tuesday)

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February 10, 1960 (Wednesday)

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February 11, 1960 (Thursday)

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Gen. Trudeau
  • 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 flux. 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."[23]
  • Exploration worker James Backhaus located the bodies of five crewmembers of the B-24 Liberator Lady Be Good 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 (137 km) in hopes of finding help before running out of water.[24]
  • Jack Paar quit his job as host of The Tonight Show 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 Carson.[25]

February 12, 1960 (Friday)

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February 13, 1960 (Saturday)

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February 14, 1960 (Sunday)

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  • Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan of Pakistan was confirmed as its President 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.[30]
  • The United Kingdom signed a new treaty of protection with the Maldives, which had been a British protectorate since 1887. The Indian Ocean island group was granted independence in 1965.[31]
  • Born: Jim Kelly, American pro football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills and the USFL Houston Gamblers; in Pittsburgh

February 15, 1960 (Monday)

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  • War threatened to break out between Egypt (at that time partnered with Syria in the United Arab Republic) and Israel, 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.[32]
  • Mercury spacecraft battery qualification, landing system and post-landing equipment tests were completed.[2]
  • Died: Cho Pyong-ok, 65, the leading opposition candidate in South Korea's upcoming presidential election, died while receiving medical treatment in the United States. With no opponent, President Syngman Rhee was re-elected for a fourth term as South Korea's president.[33]

February 16, 1960 (Tuesday)

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  • The nuclear submarine USS Triton submerged upon departure from New London, Connecticut, and, with 184 people on board, began "Operation Sandblast", an underwater voyage around the world that would end 83 days later on May 10. Though forced to broach its sail above the surface on March 5 in order to transfer a seriously ill sailor to another ship, USS Triton would spend the rest of the circumnavigation entirely undersea.[34]

February 17, 1960 (Wednesday)

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February 18, 1960 (Thursday)

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February 19, 1960 (Friday)

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February 20, 1960 (Saturday)

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  • Following a month-long conference in Brussels, Belgium, the date of June 30 was set for granting independence to its African colony of the Belgian Congo. 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.[13]
  • Died: Leonard Woolley, 79, British archaeologist and excavator of Ur ruins

February 21, 1960 (Sunday)

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February 22, 1960 (Monday)

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  • An explosion at the Karl Marx coal mine in Zwickau, East Germany, killed 123 miners. On February 24, a Czechoslovakian mine rescue teams arrived in Zwickau to assist East German teams in the effort to find survivors. By February 27, further rescue attempts were halted and section 1 of the Karl-Marx-Werk mine was sealed off to stop further spread of the fire. Fifty-five miners were rescued or had been able to escape, and 51 bodies were recovered before the search ended, while another 72 remained entombed in the mine.[45]
  • "Theme from A Summer Place", by Percy Faith's orchestra, hit No. 1 and stayed there for nine weeks, making it the most popular song of 1960.

February 23, 1960 (Tuesday)

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  • Demolition began at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, 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 Syne. The wrecking ball, painted white and painted to resemble a giant baseball, began its work with the destruction of the visitors' dugout.[46]
  • Born: Naruhito, 126th Emperor of Japan since 2019; in Tokyo

February 24, 1960 (Wednesday)

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  • Argentina called off its search for an "unidentified submerged object" in Golfo Nuevo. 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.[47]
  • Four people were killed, and five others injured, by a pipeline worker turned sniper. Dan Raymond, who lived near Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania, shot two county workers who were spreading cinders, then fired from his home at other vehicles until police killed him nine hours later.[48][49]
  • The United States tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Launched from Cape Canaveral, the Titan missile traveled 5,000 miles (8,000 km) and ejected a data capsule before crashing into the South Atlantic.[13]
  • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the prescription use of the tranquilizer chlordiazepoxide, developed by Hoffmann-La Roche and marketed under the tradename Librium.[50][51]
  • Pakistan's President, Ayub Khan, gave final approval for the construction of a new capital city on the site of the villages of Saidpur and Nurpur. The new city would be called Islamabad.[52][53]

February 25, 1960 (Thursday)

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  • The mid-air collision of a U.S. Navy airplane and a Brazilian airline REAL Flight 751 over Rio de Janeiro killed 61 people on both airplanes.[54] At an altitude of 1,600 metres (5,200 ft), the American plane, a DC-6 transporting a U.S. Navy band performing for U.S. President Eisenhower's visit to Brazil, struck the right side of the Brazilian DC-3 airliner, which was bringing 22 passengers and a crew of 4 from Campos dos Goytacazes. All 26 people on the Brazilian plane died, and only three of the 38 on the U.S. Navy plane— all passengers— survived.[55]
  • After having fled to Syria, Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death in absentia by a court in Iraq, for his role in conspiring to kill Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qassim.[56] 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 Hellman's play Toys in the Attic began a 464-performance run on Broadway.[57]

February 26, 1960 (Friday)

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February 27, 1960 (Saturday)

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  • At the 1960 Winter Olympics, Hjallis Andersen's eight-year-old world record for the men's 10,000-meter speed skating event (16:32.6) was bested by five different skaters on the same day. Kjell Bäckman of Sweden set a new world's record of 16:14.2 and qualified for the bronze. Minutes later, Knut Johannesen of Norway broke Bäckman's record with a time of 15:46.6, more than 45 seconds faster than the 1952 mark, and won the gold medal. A few minutes after that, Viktor Kosichkin of the USSR finished at 15:49.2, within 2.7 seconds of beating Johannesen, winning the silver medal. The fourth and fifth-place finishers (Ivar Nilsson of Sweden at 16:26.0 and Terence Monaghan of the UK at 16:31.6) also beat Andersen's mark.[60][61]
  • Born: Andrés Gómez, Ecuadorian tennis player and winner of French Open in 1990; in Guayaquil
  • Died: Adriano Olivetti, 58, Italian entrepreneur who built the Olivetti company into a leading manufacturer of office machines; of sudden heart failure shortly after the train on which he was riding crossed from Italy into Switzerland.[62]

February 28, 1960 (Sunday)

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  • A tip from a Soviet player helped the United States ice hockey team win the gold medal in the 1960 Winter Olympics. Exhausted from a 3–2 victory over the Soviet Union's team the day before, the Americans were losing to Czechoslovakia, 4–3, with one period left. Nikolai Sologubov suggested whiffs of bottled oxygen for quick energy, and the U.S. responded with six goals, winning 9–4.[63]
  • Born: Dorothy Stratten, Canadian Playboy model who was murdered in 1980; in Vancouver
  • Died: Dr. Tom Douglas Spies, 57, American nutritionist who reduced cases of pellagra; of cancer

February 29, 1960 (Monday)

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References

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  1. ^ Bennett, Lerone Jr. (May 1980). "The Five-and-Ten Bastille". Ebony. pp. 111–122 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Grimwood, James M. "PART II (B) Research and Development Phase of Project Mercury January 1960 through May 5, 1961". Project Mercury - A Chronology. NASA Special Publication-4001. NASA. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  3. ^ Lentz, Harris M. (2014). "Australia". Heads of States and Governments Since 1945. Routledge. p. 47.
  4. ^ Norris McWhirter, Guinness Sports Record Book, 1978 (Bantam Books, 1979), p9
  5. ^ Elizabeth Hallam and Andrew Prescott, editors, The British Inheritance: A Treasury of Historic Documents (University of California Press, 1999), p140; text of speech Archived 2009-10-30 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "De Gaulle Gets Power to Rule by Decree", Oakland Tribune, February 3, 1960, p1
  7. ^ "Ike Blasts Generals on Defense Challenge", Oakland Tribune, February 3, 1960, p1
  8. ^ "De Gaulle Kicks Out Soustelle", Oakland Tribune, February 4, 1960, p1
  9. ^ Martin Sicker, The Middle East in the Twentieth Century (Praeger, 2001), p188
  10. ^ Thomas M. Leonard, Fidel Castro: A Biography (Greenwood Press, 2004), p55
  11. ^ Minahan, James (2002). "Anyi". Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups Around the World. Greenwood Press. pp. 149–150.
  12. ^ "Airliner Crashes in Bolivia – 59 Killed". Oakland Tribune. February 5, 1960. p. 1.
  13. ^ a b c d The World Almanac and book of facts 1961 (New York World-Telegram, 1960), pp157–161
  14. ^ "Medics 'Kill' 2 Men, Then Revive Them". Oakland Tribune. February 7, 1960. p. 1.
  15. ^ Sullivan, Michael John (1992). Presidential Passions: The Love Affairs of America's Presidents. Shapolsky Publishers.
  16. ^ Pietrusza, David (2008). 1960-- LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon: The Epic Campaign That Forged Three Presidencies. Sterling Publishing Company. p. 153.
  17. ^ "25 Killed When Train Jumps Rails". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. February 8, 1960. p. 1.
  18. ^ Cohen, Sandy (June 30, 2006). "Price of Fame in Hollywood? $15,000". The Arizona Republic. AP.
  19. ^ "Elizabeth Acts to Alter Family Name". Oakland Tribune. February 8, 1960. p. 1.
  20. ^ "Millionaire Brewer Feared Kidnaped", Oakland Tribune, February 10, 1960, p2
  21. ^ Douglas County (CO) History Archive Archived 2010-09-21 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ "Sultan Crowned", Oakland Tribune, February 10, 1960, p2
  23. ^ "A-Blast to 'Neutralize' H-Attack". Oakland Tribune. February 12, 1960. p. 1.
  24. ^ "Bodies of War Plane Crew Discovered in African Desert". Oakland Tribune. February 13, 1960. p. 1.
  25. ^ "Jack Paar Quits Show 'For Good' Over Censorship". Oakland Tribune. February 12, 1960. p. 1.
  26. ^ Mjagkij, Nina (2001). Organizing Black America: An Encyclopedia of African American Associations. Taylor and Francis. p. 160.
  27. ^ Vail, Mark (2002). The Hammond Organ: Beauty in the B. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 58.
  28. ^ "Russ, Cuba Sign Sugar, Loan Pact", Oakland Tribune, February 13, 1960, p1
  29. ^ "French Trigger A-Bomb; De Gaulle Hails Event", Tucson Daily Citizen, February 13, 1960, p1
  30. ^ Rafiq Dossani and Henry S. Rowen, Prospects for Peace in South Asia (Stanford University Press, 2005), p55
  31. ^ Jerry Dupont, The Common Law Abroad: Constitutional and Legal Legacy of the British Empire (F.B. Rothman Publications, 2001), pp659–660
  32. ^ Ben-Yehuda, Hemda; Sandler, Shmuel (2002). The Arab-Israeli Conflict Transformed: Fifty Years of Interstate and Ethnic Crises. State University of New York Press. p. 185.
  33. ^ Nahm, Andrew C.; Hoarein, James (2004). Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Korea. Scarecrow Press. pp. 21–22.
  34. ^ Norman Polmar and K.J. Moore, Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines (Brassey's, 2004) p68
  35. ^ "U.S., Britain Plan Super Radar Site", The Stars and Stripes, February 18, 1960, p1
  36. ^ "Pilot Dies But Keeps Plane From Crashing Into School". Oakland Tribune. February 18, 1960. p. 1.
  37. ^ "Snow Snarls Olympics Start, Stalls Nixon's Games Arrival". Oakland Tribune. February 18, 1960.
  38. ^ "Houston Holding Up New League". Oakland Tribune. February 19, 1960. p. 48.
  39. ^ "Launching success bases on previous trials". China Daily. October 16, 2003.
  40. ^ Johnson, Roberta Ann (2003). Whistleblowing: When it Works and Why. Rienner. pp. 79–80.
  41. ^ "The Republic of Sudan", in Middle East Record (1960) p419
  42. ^ Scopas S. Poggo, The First Sudanese Civil War: Africans, Arabs, and Israelis in the Southern Sudan, 1955-1972 (Springer, 2008) p96
  43. ^ Carnegie Hall website
  44. ^ Afrika Heute, (Deutsche Afrika-Gesellschaft, 1960), p94
  45. ^ "Vor 60 Jahren: Grubenunglück in der DDR fordert 123 Leben" [60 years ago: A mining disaster in the GDR claimed 123 lives]. Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Munich. February 8, 2020.
  46. ^ Michael D'Antonio, Forever Blue: The True Story of Walter O'Malley, Baseball's Most Controversial Owner, and the Dodgers of Brooklyn and Los Angeles (Riverhead Books, 2009), p285
  47. ^ "Argentina Ends Sub Hunt". San Antonio Light. February 25, 1960. p. 4.
  48. ^ "Why Sniper Killed 4 Is Mystery". Press-Telegram. Long Beach, California. February 25, 1960. p. 2.
  49. ^ "Crime: The Quiet One". Time. March 7, 1960. Archived from the original on 8 October 2010.
  50. ^ "Medicine: Tranquil But Alert". Time. March 7, 1960. Archived from the original on 8 October 2010.
  51. ^ Tone, Andrea (2009). The Age of Anxiety: A History of America's Turbulent Affair with Tranquilizers. Basic Books. pp. 133–134.
  52. ^ "Pakistan Capital Named Islamabad". Wilmington Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. February 25, 1960. p. 20.
  53. ^ Talbot, Ian (1998). Pakistan: A Modern History. St. Martin's Press. p. 163.
  54. ^ "Nearly 100 Die in 3 Plane Crashes". Oakland Tribune. February 26, 1960. p. 1.
  55. ^ Safety Network
  56. ^ Moore, Robin (2004). Hunting Down Saddam: The Inside Story of the Search and Capture. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 3–4. ISBN 0-312-32916-4.
  57. ^ Dick, Bernard F. (1982). Hellman in Hollywood. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. pp. 119–120.
  58. ^ "Accident Synopsis » 02261960". Accident Database. AirDisaster.Com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  59. ^ "Princess Meg Will Wed Photographer".
  60. ^ "Norwegian Smashes World Record For 10,000 Meters In Great Race— Johannesen And Four Others Shatter 8-Year-Old Record". Anderson Sunday Herald. Anderson, Indiana. UPI. February 28, 1960. p. 20.
  61. ^ Wallechinsky, David (1984). The Complete Book of the Olympics. Penguin Books. p. 595.
  62. ^ "Adriano Olivetti, Italian Typewriter Builder, Dies at 59", Boston Globe, February 29, 1960, p.17
  63. ^ "Tip From Russian Leads to American Victory: U.S. Hockey Team Takes Title", Charleston Gazette, February 29, 1960, p23
  64. ^ Toonopedia.com; a promotional ad from the syndicate noted "A New Comic Feature Begins Monday", e.g., The Charleston (WV) Gazette, February 28, 1960, p6
  65. ^ Charleston (WV) Gazette, February 29, 1960, p3
  66. ^ Humphrys, Darren (2008). Frommer's Morocco. Wiley. p. 360.
  67. ^ [https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-melvin-purvis/107585928/"Famed FBI Agent Purvis Kills Himself", Chicago Tribune, March 1, 1960, p.1-1
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