- January 20
- Inauguration ceremony for John Kennedy as President of the United States. [1] [468.31]
- January 21
- C. Douglas Dillon takes office as US Treasury Secretary. [685.24]
- January 23
- US Supreme Court rules cities and states have right to censor films. [1]
- January 25
- First live, nationally televised US Presidential news conference (John Kennedy). [1]
- Buena Vista premieres Disney's animated feature film One Hundred and One Dalmatians in selected theaters in the USA. The film is based on the book The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith. [6]
- January 30
- US President John Kennedy asks for an Alliance for Progress and Peace Corps. [1]
- January 31
- "Ham" is first primate in space (158 miles) aboard Mercury/Redstone 2. [1]
- US Air Force launches Samos spy satellite to replace U-2 flights. [1]
- February 1
- First full-scale test of US Minuteman ICBM is successful. [1]
- February 10
- Niagara Falls hydroelectric project begins producing power. [1]
- February 14
- Element 103, Lawrencium, first produced in Berkeley, California, USA. [1]
- February 15
- Entire US figure skating team of 18 dies in Belgian Sabena 707 crash. [1]
- February 16
- First all-solid-propellant rocket put in orbit, Wallops Island, Virginia, USA. [1]
- US satellite Explorer 9 is launched. [1]
- February 21
- Mercury-Atlas 2 reentry test reaches 172 km. [1]
- February 24
- Explorer 10 fails to reach Earth orbit. [1]
- February 28
- US President John Kennedy names Henry Kissinger special advisor. [1]
- March 1
- US President John Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps. [1]
- March 8
- US nuclear submarine Patrick Henry arrives at Scottish naval base of Holy Loch from South Carolina in a record underseas journey of 66 days 22 hours. [1]
- March 13
- Elizabeth Gurley Finn (70) becomes president of US Communist Party. [1]
- US President John Kennedy sets up the Alliance for Progress. [1]
- March 17
- New York district attorney arrests professional gamblers who implicate Seton Hall players. [1]
- March 25
- Explorer 10 is launched into elongated Earth orbit (177/181,000 km). [1]
- March 29
- 23rd Amendment to US Constitution is ratified, allows Washington, DC residents to vote for President. [1]
- March 30
- NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 169,600 feet (51,690 metres). [1]
- April 12
- Third Grammy Awards: "Theme From a Summer Place" wins, Ray Charles wins four awards. [1]
- April 14
- Cuban-American invasion army departs Nicaragua. [1]
- US element 103 (Lawrencium) discovered. [1]
- April 15
- Music Man closes at Majestic Theater in New York City after 1375 performances. [1]
- April 16
- 15th Tony Awards: Becket and Bye Bye Birdie win. [1]
- April 17
- 1,400 Cuban exiles land in Bay of Pigs and attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro. [1]
- 33rd Academy Awards - Apartment, Burt Lancaster and Elizabeth Taylor win. [1]
- April 19
- Disneyland in Anaheim, California, welcomes its 25-millionth guest. [6]
- April 20
- American Harold Graham makes first rocket belt flight. [1]
- April 24
- US President John Kennedy accepts "sole responsibility" following Bay of Pigs aborted invasion of Cuba. [1]
- April 25
- Mercury/Atlas rocket lifts off with an electronic mannequin. [1]
- Robert Noyce is granted a patent for an integrated circuit. [1] [5]
- April 27
- NASA launches Explorer 11 into Earth orbit to study gamma rays. [1]
- April 30
- First shuttle flights between Washington DC, Boston Massachusetts and New York City, New York begin (Eastern Airlines). [1]
- May 4
- Thirteen Freedom riders begin bus trip through South US. [1]
- May 5
- Alan Shepard becomes first American in space (aboard Freedom 7). [1] [627.60]
- May 8
- First practical sea water conversion plant-Freeport, Texas, USA. [1]
- Alan Shepard receives NASA Distinguished Service Medal, Washington. [1]
- May 9
- US Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton N Minow criticizes TV as a "vast wasteland". [1]
- May 14
- Bus with first group of Freedom Riders bombed and burned in Alabama, USA. [1]
- May 16
- In Hollywood, California, the 13th Annual Emmy Awards are presented, hosted by Dick Powell and Joey Bishop.
- Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction and Scenic Design: John J. Lloyd for Checkmate
- Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for Television: The Twilight Zone
- Outstanding Achievement in Electronic Camerawork: Red-EO-Tape Mobile Unit for The Bell Telephone Hour
- Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing for Television: Harry Coswick, Aaron Nibley, and Milton Shifman for Naked City
- Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Children's Programming: Young People's Concerts: Aaron Copland Birthday Party
- Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Music for Television: Leonard Bernstein for Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic
- Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy: Sheldon Leonard for Make Room for Daddy
- Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama: George Schaefer for Macbeth
- Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Series (Lead): Raymond Burr for Perry Mason
- Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Series (Lead): Barbara Stanwyck for The Barbara Stanwyck Show
- Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actor or Actress in a Series: Don Knotts for The Andy Griffith Show
- Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actor or Actress in a Single Program: Roddy McDowall for Sunday Showcase
- Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Musical Program or Series: Dinah Shore for The Dinah Shore Show
- Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Drama: Macbeth
- Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Humor: The Jack Benny Program
- Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of News: The Huntley-Brinkley Report
- Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Public Service: The Twentieth Century
- Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Variety: Astaire Time
- Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Maurice Evans for Macbeth
- Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Judith Anderson for Macbeth
- Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy: Sherwood Schwartz, Dave O'Brien, Al Schwartz, Martin Ragaway, and Red Skelton for The Red Skelton Show
- Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama: Rod Serling for The Twilight Zone
- Outstanding Writing Achievement in the Documentary Field: Victor Wolfson for Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years
- The Program of the Year: Macbeth
[1] [176]
- May 17
- Fidel Castro offers to exchange Bay of Pigs prisoners for 500 bulldozers. [1]
- May 20
- White mob attacks "Freedom Riders" in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. [1]
- May 21
- Governor Patterson declares martial law in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. [1]
- May 22
- First revolving restaurant (top of the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington) opens. [1]
- May 24
- 27 Freedom Riders arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, USA. [1]
- Explorer 12 fails to reach Earth orbit. [1]
- May 25
- US President John Kennedy appeals to Congress that the nation should commit to "landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth" by the end of the decade. [1] [5] [129] [452.94]
- May 26
- Freedom Ride Coordinating Committee establishes in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. [1]
- US Air Force bomber flies the Atlantic in a record of just over three hours. [1]
- May 29
- The US Department of Agriculture officially begins its Food Stamp program. [496.32]
- May 31
- Chuck Berry's amusement park Berryland opens in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA. [1]
- Judge Irving Kaufman orders Board of Education of New Rochelle to integrate. [1]
- June 14
- 106 degrees F, hottest temperature in San Francisco, California. [1]
- June 19
- US Supreme Court strikes down a provision in Maryland's constitution. [1]
- June 29
- Launch of Transit 4a, with first nuclear power supply (SNAP-3). [1]
- June 30
- Explorer 12 fails to reach Earth orbit. [1]
- July 1
- Haleakala National Park established in Hawaii, USA. [1]
- July 19
- First in-flight movie shown (TWA). [1]
- July 21
- Launch of Mercury 4 (Liberty Bell) with Grissom. [1]
- July 24
- Beginning of a trend, a US commercial plane is hijacked to Cuba. [1]
- August 1
- Whitney Young Jr named executive director of American National Urban League. [1]
- August 5
- 118 degrees F (48 degrees C), Ice Harbor Dam, Washington (state record). [1]
- August 17
- US Government establishes Alliance for Progress. [1]
- August 23
- US lunar probe Ranger 1 reaches 190 km from Earth, falls back. [1]
- September 4
- US authorizes Agency for International Development. [1]
- September 6
- In Bells, Texas, USA a meteorite strikes the roof of a house. [521]
- September 13
- Unmanned Mercury-Atlas 4 launched into Earth orbit. [1]
- September 15
- Hurricane Carla strikes Texas with winds of 175 mph. [1]
- September 23
- The US Senate confirms Eva B. Adams as director of the Mint. [503.40] [550.56] [698.42]
- October 9
- US Treasury department creates the Office of Domestic Gold and Silver Operations to license gold coins entering the US, and preventing importation of counterfeits. [401.14]
- October 11
- US Air Force Major Robert M White takes X-15 to 66,100m. [1]
- October 27
- First Saturn launch vehicle makes an unmanned flight test. [1]
- November
- US President John Kennedy issues an executive order to suspend further sales of silver from the US Treasury, and retire $5 and $10 silver certificates. [388.188]
- November 18
- US Ranger 2 launched to Moon; failed. [1]
- November 29
- Freedom Riders attacked by white mob at bus station in Mississippi, USA. [1]
- Mercury-Atlas 5 carries a chimp (Enos) to orbit. [1]
- December 3
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- December 10
- US performs nuclear test at Carlsbad, New Mexico (underground). [1]
- December 11
- US President John Kennedy provides American military helicopters and crews to South Vietnam. [1]
- December 12
- Ham radio satellite Oscar 1 launched with military Discoverer 36. [1]
- Martin Luther King Jr and 700 demonstrators arrested in Albany, Georgia, USA. [1]
- December 15
- Equal access rule in US, political parties get TV broadcasting time. [1]
- December 22
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- December 23
- Fidel Castro announces Cuba will release 1,113 prisoners from failed 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion for US$62 million worth of food and medical supplies. [1]
- December 31
- US post-war Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than US$12 billion. [1]
- Year
- Total New York state bets on all forms of animal racing: over US$1 billion. [80.205]
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