May 1962 in History

Events in History

May 1 1st French underground nuclear test in the Sahara at Ecker, Algeria

Event of Interest

May 1 JFK authorizes Area Redevelopment Act (ARA)

May 2 OAS strikes in Algeria
May 2 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island
May 3 Express train crashed into wreckage of a commuter train & a freight, killing 163, injuring 400 in Tokyo, Japan
May 4 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island
May 6 1st nuclear warhead fired from Polaris submarine (Ethan Allen)

Election of Interest

May 6 Antonio Segni elected President of Italy

May 6 Pathet Lao breaks cease fire and conquer Nam Tha Laos
May 6 US performs nuclear test at Pacific Ocean
May 7 Pulitzer prize awarded to Theodore H. White (Making of President 1960)
May 7 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island
May 8 1st Atlas Centaur Launch
May 8 London trolley buses (electrically powered buses using overhead supply) go out of service

Schindlers Honored in Jerusalem

May 8 Oskar Schindler and his wife Emilie Schindler are honored for saving 1200 Jews during WWII, in a ceremony on the Avenue of the Righteous, Jerusalem

May 9 Laser beam successfully bounced off Moon for 1st time
May 9 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island
May 11 Antonio Segni becomes President of Italy
May 11 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island
May 11 US sends troops to Thailand
May 12 Grevelingen dam closes in major project to protect the southwest of the Netherlands from flooding
May 12 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island

Event of Interest

May 14 Ex-president of Yugoslavia Milovan Djilas sentenced to 5 years in jail

May 14 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan elected second President of India
May 14 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island
May 15 US marines arrive in Laos
May 17 Marin County withdraws from BART district
May 19 Indonesian paratroopers land in New Guinea
May 19 US performs nuclear test at Christmas Island (atmospheric)
May 21 3 more Cleveland HR set AL record for most HR (26) over 8 games
May 22 Continental Airlines Flight 11 crashes after bombs explode on board
May 22 Major Robert A Rushworth, USAF, takes X-15 to 30,600m
May 22 Netherlands telephone network becomes completely automated
May 23 OAS leader general Raoul Salan sentenced to life

Event of Interest

May 24 US astronaut Scott Carpenter aboard Aurora 7 (Mercury-Atlas 7) orbits the Earth three times in a flight just under five hours [1]

Astronaut and Naval Aviator Scott Carpenter

May 25 US performs nuclear test at Christmas Island (atmospheric)
May 25 US unions AFL-CIO starts campaign for 35-hour work week
May 28 Suit alleging de facto school segregation filed in Rochester, NY
May 28 US stock market drops $20.8 B in 1 day
May 30 69 killed in bus crash in Ahmedabad, India
May 31 The West Indies Federation, made up of former British Caribbean territories, dissolves

Birthdays in History

May 3 Anders Graneheim, Swedish bodybuilder, born in Timrå, Sweden
May 7 Robbie Knievel, American motorcycle daredevil, son of Evel, born in Butte, Montana (d. 2023)
May 13 Kathleen Jamie, Scottish poet
May 17 Lise Lyng Falkenberg, Danish writer
May 20 Lydia Cheng, American Ms Big Apple bodybuilder (1982) (Pumping Iron 2), born in NYC, New York
May 27 Steven Brill, American film writer and director
May 30 Elizabeth Alexander, American poet (American Sublime) and academic (Andrew W. Mellon Foundation president), born in Harlem, New York
May 30 Kevin Eastman, American comic book creator (co-created Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), born in Portland, Maine
May 31 Børge Ousland, Norwegian polar explorer, 1st person to complete solo crossing of the Antarctic, born in Oslo, Norway
May 31 Dina Boluarte, Peruvian politician (1st Female President of Peru 2022-), born in Chalhuanca, Peru

Weddings in History

Juan Carlos I

May 14 Princess Sophia of Greece weds Don Juan Carlos of Spain

Deaths in History

May 11 Hans Luther, German politician (Chancellor, 1925-6), dies at 83
May 12 Dick Calkins, American comic strip artist and co-author of Buck Rogers), dies at 67
May 13 Franz Kline, American abstract expressionist painter, dies of heart failure at 51
May 13 H. Trendley Dean, American dental surgeon who introduced fluoridation into water, dies from complications of asthma and emphysema at 68
May 19 Gabriele Münter, German expressionist painter
May 26 Jules Van de Leene, Belgian painter, dies at 75
May 31 Henry F. Ashurst, American Democratic politician (U.S. Senator from Arizona), dies at 87