Important Events
- Mar 15 Five research groups announce the discovery of anti-matter
- Oct 11 Second Vatican Council (21st ecumenical) convened by Pope John XXIII
- Oct 16 Cuban Missile Crisis begins as JFK is shown photos confirming the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba
- Oct 18 James Watson (US), Francis Crick (UK) and Maurice Wilkins (UK) win the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their work in determining the structure of DNA
- Oct 22 Cuban Missile Crisis: US President John F. Kennedy addresses TV about Russian missile bases in Cuba and imposes a naval blockade on Cuba, beginning the missile crisis
- Oct 24 Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviet ships approach but stop short of the US blockade of Cuba
- Oct 25 US Ambassador to the UN Adlai Stevenson demands USSR UN rep Zorin answer regarding Cuban missile bases saying "I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over"
- Oct 27 Black Saturday during the Cuban Missile Crisis: An American spy plane is shot down over Cuba and the navy drops warning depth charges on Soviet submarines
More Historical Events
1962 in Film & TV
- Apr 24 Massachusetts Institute of Technology sends TV signal by satellite for 1st time: California to Massachusetts
- Sep 23 ABC's 1st color TV series - The Jetsons by Hanna-Barbera first broadcast
- Oct 5 "Dr. No", 1st James Bond film based on the novel by Ian Fleming and starring Sean Connery and Ursula Andress, premieres in London
- Oct 24 "The Manchurian Candidate", directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Frank Sinatra and Laurence Harvey, is released
1962 in Music
- May 9 The Beatles sign their 1st contract with EMI Parlophone
- Jun 2 Ray Charles' cover "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" from his influential crossover album "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" hits #1 on Billboard
- Jul 12 Rolling Stones 1st performance (Marquee Club, London)
- Oct 5 The Beatles release their first record, "Love Me Do"
1962 in Sport
- Mar 2 Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points, most ever by an NBA player in a single game, during Warriors' 169-147 win over NY Knicks in Hershey; 36-of-63 from field, 28-of-32 from free-throw line
- Apr 13 Stan Musial scores his 1,869th run, a new NL record
- Jun 17 US Open Men's Golf, Oakmont CC: Jack Nicklaus wins his first major title by 3 strokes in an 18-hole playoff with Arnold Palmer
Did You Know?
Brothers John and Clarence Anglin and fellow inmate Frank Morris escape from Alcatraz Island prison, the only ones to do so
On June 11, 1962
Darryl Strawberry
Evander Holyfield
Garth Brooks
Roger Clemens
Steve Irwin
Tom CruiseWorld Leaders in 1962
John F. Kennedy
35th US President- Mao Zedong
Chinese Revolutionary and Chairman of the Communist Party - Nikita Khrushchev
Soviet First Secretary
John F. Kennedy
Mao Zedong
Nikita KhrushchevFamous People in 1962
- Gregory Peck
Oscar for Best Actor - John XXIII
Time Person
of the Year - Judy Garland
Grammy for Album of the Year
Gregory Peck
John XXIII
Judy GarlandWould You Believe?
The first official Panda crossing is opened outside Waterloo station, London.
On April 2, 1962
Famous Weddings
- Mar 21 Academy award-winning actor Rex Harrison (54) weds actress and third wife Rachel Roberts (34) in Genoa, Italy
- May 4 Actor Christopher Plummer (32) weds columnist Patricia Lewis at the Marylebone Registry office in London
- May 14 Princess Sophia of Greece weds Don Juan Carlos of Spain
Famous Divorces
- Sep 14 Actress Janet Leigh (35) divorces actor Tony Curtis (37) after 10 years of marriage
More Weddings & Divorces
A. E. Douglass
Adolf Eichmann
Charles "Lucky" Luciano
Marilyn Monroe
Niels Bohr
William FaulknerArticles and Photos
The Beatles? 'They have no future in show business'
In 1962, an unknown group called the Beatles travelled to London for a recording contract audition with one of the major record labels. They were rejected.
January 1, 1962Agent Orange in Vietnam
An American aircraft sprays Agent Orange over the forest during the Vietnam War
January 12, 1962John Glenn Orbits Earth
John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, getting into his spacecraft Freedom 7 in 1962
February 20, 1962The 100-year Football Curse that Appears to be Working
S.L. Benfica has failed to win a European Championship since 1962, when former coach Béla Guttmann placed a 100 year curse on the club. Is the curse working?
May 2, 1962'The Banality of Evil'
Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann sits in the dock at his 1961 trial in Jerusalem
June 1, 1962Cuban Missile Crisis
Reconnaissance photo of Soviet missiles in Cuba shown to John F. Kennedy on October 16, 1962
October 16, 1962The Man Who Saved The World
Many people think John F. Kennedy saved the world with his handling of the Cuban missile crisis. But an unknown Russian sailor also played a dramatic role.
October 27, 1962
