What happened in 1962
89 entries recorded for 1962, listed by date. That was 64 years ago.
1962 at a glance
- Years ago
- 64 (as of 2026)
- Century
- 20th century
- Decade
- 1960s
- Generation born
- Baby Boomers
- Entries here
- 89
- Breakdown
- 89 historical events
January
- January 3
Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.
- January 9
Apollo program
Apollo program: NASA announces plans to build the C-5 rocket launch vehicle, then known as the "Advanced Saturn", to carry human beings to the Moon.
- January 11
Huascarán
An avalanche on Huascarán in Peru causes around 4,000 deaths.
- January 11
Cold War
Cold War: While tied to its pier in Polyarny, the Soviet submarine B-37 is destroyed when fire breaks out in its torpedo compartment.
- January 15
Derveni papyrus
The Derveni papyrus (fragment pictured), the oldest surviving manuscript in Europe, was discovered in Macedonia in northern Greece.
- January 26
Ranger 3
Ranger 3 is launched to study the Moon. The space probe later misses the Moon by 22,000 miles (35,400 km).
February
- February 5
President of France
French President Charles de Gaulle calls for Algeria to be granted independence.
- February 8
Charonne subway massacre
Nine protestors are killed at Charonne station, Paris, by French police under the command of ex-Vichy official and Parisian Prefect of Police Maurice Papon.
- February 10
Cold War
Cold War: Captured American U2 spy-plane pilot Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.
- February 10
Roy Lichtenstein
The first solo exhibition by Roy Lichtenstein (pictured) opened, including the painting Look Mickey, which featured his first use of Ben Day dots, speech balloons, and comic imagery sourcing.
- February 10
Rudolf Abel
Rudolf Abel, a Soviet spy arrested by the FBI, was exchanged for Francis Gary Powers, the pilot of the CIA spy plane that had been shot down over Soviet airspace two years earlier.
- February 16
Great Sheffield Gale
The Great Sheffield Gale impacts the United Kingdom, killing nine people; the city of Sheffield is devastated, with 150,000 homes damaged.
- February 16
North Sea flood of 1962
Flooding in the coastal areas of West Germany kills 315 and destroys the homes of about 60,000 people.
- February 20
Project Mercury
The Project Mercury stamp, designed by Charles R. Chickering, was released to commemorate the successful space flight of Colonel John Glenn.
- February 27
South Vietnam Air Force
Two dissident Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots bombed the Independence Palace in Saigon in a failed attempt to assassinate President Ngo Dinh Diem.
- February 27
Vietnam War
Vietnam War: Two dissident Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots bomb the Independence Palace in Saigon in a failed attempt to assassinate South Vietnam President Ngô Đình Diệm.
March
- March 2
Ne Win
Led by General Ne Win, the Burmese military seized power in a coup d'état.
- March 2
Golden State Warriors
Playing for the Philadelphia Warriors, American basketball player Wilt Chamberlain (pictured) scored 100 points in a game against the New York Knicks, which remains an NBA record.
- March 8
Turkish Airlines
A Turkish Airlines Fokker F27 Friendship crashes into Mount Medetsiz in the Taurus Mountains of Turkey, killing all 11 people on board.
- March 16
Flying Tiger Line Flight 739
Flying Tiger Line Flight 739, a charter flight carrying U.S. and South Vietnamese soldiers, disappeared without a trace, prompting one of the largest searches in the history of the Pacific.
- March 17
A Clockwork Orange (novel)
A Clockwork Orange, a British dystopian novel by Anthony Burgess, is published.
- March 18
Évian Accords
The Évian Accords end the Algerian War of Independence, which had begun in 1954.
- March 19
Algerian War
The Algerian War of Independence ends.
- March 19
Bob Dylan
Influential American musician Bob Dylan released his eponymous debut album, mainly comprising traditional folk, blues and gospel songs.
April
- April 21
Century 21 Exposition
The Century 21 Exposition, the first world's fair in the United States since World War II, opened in Seattle.
- April 26
NASA
NASA's Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon.
May
- May 10
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics publishes the first issue of The Incredible Hulk.
- May 19
Marilyn Monroe
Actress Marilyn Monroe performed a sultry rendition of "Happy Birthday to You" during a televised celebration for U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
- May 19
John F. Kennedy
A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe's rendition of "Happy Birthday".
- May 24
Project Mercury
Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbited the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
- May 25
Baltimore Steam Packet Company
The Baltimore Steam Packet Company, the last overnight steamboat service in the United States, went out of business.
- May 27
Landfill
A fire at a landfill in Centralia, Pennsylvania, spread to an abandoned coal mine, where it continues burning today.
June
- June 2
1962 FIFA World Cup
During the FIFA World Cup, police intervene multiple times in fights between Chilean and Italian players in one of the most violent games in football history.
- June 2
Association football
One of the most violent football matches took place at the World Cup as Chile defeated Italy in a group match.
- June 3
Orly Airport
At Paris Orly Airport, Air France Flight 007 overruns the runway and explodes when the crew attempts to abort takeoff, killing 130.
- June 7
Organisation armée secrète
The Organisation Armée Secrète (OAS) sets fire to the University of Algiers library building, destroying about 500,000 books.
- June 14
European Space Research Organisation
The European Space Research Organisation is established in Paris – later becoming the European Space Agency.
- June 22
Air France Flight 117
Air France Flight 117 crashes on approach to Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport in Guadeloupe, killing 112 people.
July
- July 6
The Late Late Show (Irish talk show)
The Late Late Show, the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster, airs on RTÉ One for the first time.
- July 6
Project Plowshare
As a part of Operation Plowshare, the Sedan nuclear test takes place.
- July 8
1962 Rangoon University protests
Following student protests at Rangoon University, Burmese general Ne Win ordered the demolition of the historic students' union building.
- July 8
Ne Win
Ne Win besieges and blows up the Rangoon University Student Union building to crush the Student Movement.
- July 9
Pop art
In a seminal moment for pop art, Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans exhibition opened at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles.
- July 9
Starfish Prime
The United States conducted the Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test, the largest nuclear explosion in outer space.
- July 11
Apollo program
Project Apollo: At a press conference, NASA announces lunar orbit rendezvous as the means to land astronauts on the Moon, and return them to Earth.
- July 11
Satellite television
First transatlantic satellite television transmission.
- July 12
The Rolling Stones
The English rock band the Rolling Stones (pictured) played their first concert at the Marquee Club in London.
- July 13
Harold Macmillan
In an unprecedented action, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan dismisses seven members of his Cabinet, marking the effective end of the National Liberals as a distinct force within British politics.
- July 13
Cabinet reshuffle
In an unprecedented reshuffle, British prime minister Harold Macmillan (pictured) dismissed seven members of his cabinet.
- July 17
Nuclear weapons testing
Nuclear weapons testing: The "Small Boy" test shot Little Feller I becomes the last atmospheric test detonation at the Nevada National Security Site.
- July 22
Mariner program
Mariner program: Mariner 1 spacecraft flies erratically several minutes after launch and has to be destroyed.
- July 28
8th World Festival of Youth and Students
Beginning of the 8th World Festival of Youth and Students.
August
- August 5
Marilyn Monroe
American actress and model Marilyn Monroe was found dead of a barbiturate overdose in her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles.
- August 6
Jamaica
Jamaica becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
- August 16
The Beatles
The English rock band the Beatles fired their drummer Pete Best, replacing him with Ringo Starr (pictured).
- August 17
Killing of Peter Fechter
Peter Fechter is shot and bleeds to death while trying to cross the new Berlin Wall.
- August 22
Petit-Clamart attack
An assassination attempt orchestrated by the OAS takes place against Charles de Gaulle, although he is uninjured.
- August 27
Mariner 2
The Mariner 2 unmanned space mission is launched to Venus by NASA.
- August 30
NAMC YS-11
Japan conducts a test of the NAMC YS-11, its first aircraft since World War II and its only successful commercial aircraft from before or after the war.
September
- September 9
Charles de Gaulle
French president Charles de Gaulle delivered his "speech to the German youth" to 20,000 people in the courtyard of Ludwigsburg Palace (pictured).
- September 12
We choose to go to the Moon
In a speech at Rice Stadium in Houston, U.S. president John F. Kennedy reiterated an aspiration to land a man on the Moon before 1970 (video featured).
- September 13
James Meredith
An appeals court orders the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith, the first African-American student admitted to the segregated university.
- September 15
Soviet Union
The Soviet ship Poltava heads toward Cuba, one of the events that sets into motion the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- September 17
NASA
NASA announced the Next Nine astronauts selected for the purpose of landing on the moon.
- September 18
Aeroflot Flight 213
Aeroflot Flight 213 crashed into a mountain near Chersky Airport, killing 32 people.
- September 23
Flying Tiger Line Flight 923
Flying Tiger Line Flight 923, a Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellation registered as N6923C, ditches into the Atlantic Ocean killing 28 out the 76 occupants onboard. The remaining 48 were rescued six hours later.
- September 25
Algeria
The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria is formally proclaimed. Ferhat Abbas is elected President of the provisional government.
- September 25
North Yemen civil war
The North Yemen Civil War began when Abdullah al-Sallal dethroned the newly crowned Imam al-Badr and declared Yemen to be a republic under his presidency.
- September 27
Yemen Arab Republic
The Yemen Arab Republic is established.
October
- October 3
Mercury-Atlas 8
Mercury-Atlas 8, the fifth United States crewed space mission, was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying astronaut Wally Schirra (pictured).
- October 3
Project Mercury
Project Mercury: US astronaut Wally Schirra, in Sigma 7, is launched from Cape Canaveral for a six-orbit flight.
- October 5
Dr. No (film)
Dr. No, the first James Bond film, was released.
- October 5
James Bond
The first of the James Bond film series, based on the novels by Ian Fleming, Dr. No, is released in Britain.
- October 5
Love Me Do
"Love Me Do", the first single by the Beatles, was released in the United Kingdom.
- October 5
The Beatles
The first Beatles single "Love Me Do" is released in Britain.
- October 8
Spiegel affair
Der Spiegel publishes an article disclosing the sorry state of the Bundeswehr, leading to accusations of treason.
- October 9
Nick Holonyak
Nick Holonyak, an engineer for General Electric, gave the first public demonstration of a light-emitting diode.
- October 11
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council becomes the first ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years.
- October 13
Columbus Day storm of 1962
The Pacific Northwest experiences a cyclone the equal of a Category 3 hurricane, with winds above 150 mph. Forty-six people die.
- October 20
China
China launches simultaneous offensives in Ladakh and across the McMahon Line, igniting the Sino-Indian War.
- October 22
Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis: President Kennedy, after internal counsel from Dwight D. Eisenhower, announces that American reconnaissance planes have discovered Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba, and that he has ordered a naval "quarantine" of the Communist nation.
- October 25
Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis: Adlai Stevenson shows the United Nations Security Council reconnaissance photographs of Soviet ballistic missiles in Cuba.
- October 27
Vasily Arkhipov
By refusing to agree to the firing of a nuclear torpedo at a US warship, Vasily Arkhipov averts nuclear war.
- October 27
Rudolf Anderson
Major Rudolf Anderson of the United States Air Force becomes the only direct human casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis when his U-2 reconnaissance airplane is shot down over Cuba by a Soviet-supplied surface-to-air missile.
- October 28
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis ends and Premier Nikita Khrushchev orders the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba.
November
- November 4
Operation Fishbowl
The United States concludes Operation Fishbowl, its final above-ground nuclear weapons testing series, in anticipation of the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
December
- December 2
Mike Mansfield
Returning from a fact-finding mission, U.S. senator Mike Mansfield became the first American official to comment adversely on the progress of the Vietnam War.
- December 13
NASA
NASA launches Relay 1, the first active repeater communications satellite in orbit.
- December 14
NASA
NASA's Mariner 2 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus.
Questions about 1962
What happened in 1962?
This site records 89 entries for 1962, including Pope John XXIII on January 3. They are listed below by date.
How long ago was 1962?
64 years ago, counting from 2026. Anyone born in 1962 turns 64 this year.
Which century is 1962 in?
1962 falls in the 20th century, in the 1960s.
Which generation was born in 1962?
Baby Boomers (1946–1964). Born in the post-war birth surge.
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