Information for the Year 1960

Click Here to Return to the Home Page

  • American U-2 spy plane, piloted by Francis Gary Powers, shot down over Russia (May 1).
  • Khrushchev cancels Paris summit conference because of U-2 (May 16).
  • Communist China and Soviet Union split in conflict over Communist ideology.
  • There are 900 US military advisers in South Vietnam.
  • Population:  3.039 billion
  • Nobel Peace Prize:  Albert John Luthuli (South Africa)
  • John F. Kennedy defeats Richard Nixon in a closely-fought presidential race.
  • Black sit-in at Greensboro, N.C., diner receives national attention.
  • President:  Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • Vice President:   Richard M. Nixon
  • Population:  180,671,158
  • Life expectancy:  69.7 years
  • US GDP (1998 dollars):  $526.6 billion
  • Federal spending:   $92.19 billion
  • Federal debt:  $290.5 billion
  • Median Household Income(current dollars):  $5,620
  • Consumer Price Index:  29.6
  • Unemployment:   5.5%
  • Cost of a first-class stamp:  $0.04
  • Super Bowl  The first Super Bowl was not played until the year 1967.
  • World Series of Baseball  Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the New York Yankees
  • National Basketball Association Championship  Boston defeated St. Louis Hawks
  • National Hockey League Stanley Cup  Montreal Canadians defeated Toronto Maple Leafs
  • Women Wimbledon Tennis  Maria Bueno defeated S. Reynolds (8-6 6-0)
  • Men Wimbledon Tennis  Neale Fraser defeated R. Laver(6-4 3-6 9-7 7-5)
  • Kentucky Derby Horse Race Champion   Venetian Way
  • National College Athletic Association Basketball Championship  Ohio State defeated California (SCORE 75-55)
  • National College Athletic Association Football Champions  Minnesota (RECORD 8-2-0) AND Mississippi (RECORD 10-0-1)
  • 1960 Summer Olympics held in Rome, Italy
  • 1960 Winter Olympics held in Squaw Valley, California (The first Winter Olympics held in the United States)
  • Seventy million people watch the presidential debate between Sen. John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard Nixon.
  • John Coltrane forms his own quartet and becomes the voice of jazz's New Wave movement.
  • Ninety percent of U.S. homes have a television set.
  • Academy Award, Best Picture:  Ben-Hur
  • Grammy Award - Record of the Year  Mack the Knife by Bobby Darin
  • Emmy Award - Best Television Comedy  Art Carney Special - NBC
  • Miss America:  Lynda Lee Mead (Mississippi)
  • The first working laser is built by T. H. Maiman (US).
  • Echo I, the first communications satellite, is launched.
  • NASA launches Tiros I, the first weather satellite.

 

All of the Information on this site is from Fact Monster