What Happened in 1963?

1963 MAJOR EVENTS:

• President Kennedy assassinated in Dallas, Texas; Vice President Lyndon Johnson becomes President. The accused assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, is shot and killed a short time later.
• Civil rights protests continue throughout the South, during which nonviolent activists are frequently met with beatings and arrests
• 200,000 people march on Washington in support of civil rights; Dr. Martin Luther King delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech
• U.S., Soviet Union and Britain sign a nuclear test ban treaty
• Scandals in British Parliament leads to resignations of key officials
• "Great train robbery" in Britain yields £2.5 million for thieves
• Kenya gains independence
• Pope John XXIII dies; Cardinal Montini elected Pope, takes name of Paul VI
• Washington-Moscow "hot line" established
• Congress expands its investigation of organized crime

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

• Unemployment reaches 6.1 percent

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY:

• Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space
• Dr. Michael DeBakey pioneers use of artificial heart for use during heart surgery
• Quasars discovered
• First successful liver transplant

SPORTS:

• World Series: Los Angeles over New York Yankees, 4-0
• Jack Nicklaus wins his first Masters golf tournament; with over $125,000 in winnings, Arnold Palmer becomes golf’s all-time top money winner

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT:

• Movies: Dr. Strangelove, The Birds, Tom Jones
• Songs: Go Away Little Girl, He’s So Fine, It’s My Party, Blue Velvet, My Boyfriend’s Back, Call Me Irresponsible
• TV Shows: My Favorite Martian, 77 Sunset Strip, McHale’s Navy, The Fugitive, Petticoat Junction
• Books: In the Clearing, Robert Frost; The Guns of August, Barbara Tuchman; The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, John Le Carré; The American Way of Death, Jessica Mitford
• "Pop" artists Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns gain national notoriety, as does the entire genre of Pop Art

EVERYDAY LIFE:

• Journalists and political commentators begin taking note of U.S. government’s "credibility gap" in foreign affairs
• Audio cassettes introduced
• The sedative Valium is made available

FUN FACTS:

• Brad Pitt, Whitney Houston, Michael Jordan, Johnny Depp born
• LA night club and music venue The Whiskey A-Go-Go opens
• Zip codes implemented in US