What Happened in October 1960

Historical Events

  • Oct 1 14th NHL All-Star Game, Montreal Forum, Montreal, QC: All-Stars beat Montreal Canadiens, 2-1
  • Oct 1 KCBY TV channel 11 in Coos Bay, OR (CBS) begins broadcasting
  • Oct 1 Nigeria gains independence from the United Kingdom (National Day) and becomes the 99th member of the United Nations

A Dance of the Forests

Oct 1 Wole Soyinka's play "A Dance of the Forests" is first performed as part of Nigerian Independence celebrations

Golf Tournament

Oct 2 Mickey Wright becomes first player in LPGA Tour history to average fewer than 74 strokes per round to win the Vare Trophy after a season average of 73.25; first of 5 consecutive Vare Trophies for Wright

Flair Premieres

Oct 3 "Flair!", a daily radio program premieres on ABC radio network with Dick Van Dyke as host

  • Oct 3 Janio Quadros elected president of Brazil
  • Oct 3 New York Yankees beat rival Boston Red Sox, 8-7 at Yankee Stadium, ending season on 15 game winning streak & MLB record 193 HRs
  • Oct 3 San Francisco's White House department store is the 1st to accept BankAmericard
  • Oct 3 US sitcom "The Andy Griffith Show" premieres in CBS (runs till 1968)
  • Oct 4 Courier 1B Launched; 1st active repeater satellite in orbit
  • Oct 5 British Labour party demands unilateral nuclear disarmament
  • Oct 5 Eastern AL Electra turbo-prop crashed in Boston Harbor (61 die)
  • Oct 5 KEYC TV channel 12 in Mankato, MN (CBS) begins broadcasting
  • Oct 7 TV series "Route 66" premieres on CBS
  • Oct 8 3rd Rugby League World Cup: Great Britain beats Australia 10-3
  • Oct 9 Cowboy QB Eddie LeBaron throws shortest touchdown pass (2")
  • Oct 10 "Laughs & Other Events" opens at Barrymore Theater NYC for 8 performances
  • Oct 10 16 California Poly football team members die in plane crash in Toledo
  • Oct 10 Cyclone hits coast of Gulf of Bengal; about 4000 die
  • Oct 10 Ron Stewart of Ottawa rushes for CFL-record 287 yards
  • Oct 10 WGTE TV channel 30 in Toledo, OH (PBS) begins broadcasting
  • Oct 11 Hurricane ravages East-Pakistan (6,000 die)
  • Oct 11 Radio/TV executive John Fetzer buys a controlling interest of Detroit Tigers
  • Oct 12 Japanese politician Inejiro Asanuma is assassinated with a sword during a televised debate live on TV by 17-year old nationalist Otoya Yamaguchi
  • Oct 12 JFK and Richard Nixon's third presidential debate

United Nations Speech

Oct 12 Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe on his desk at UN General Assembly session

  • Oct 13 Baseball World Series: Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski's bottom of 9th lead off HR beats NY Yankees, 10-9 at Forbes Field in series deciding Game 7; MVP: Yankees 2B Bobby Richardson

Cuban History

Oct 13 Opponents of Fidel Castro executed in Cuba

  • Oct 13 Third presidential debate with Nixon in Hollywood & Kennedy in NY
  • Oct 14 Belgian senator Victor Leemans reveals huge gas field in Groningen
  • Oct 14 Peace Corps 1st suggested by John F. Kennedy in a speech at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor
  • Oct 15 "Laughs & Other Events" closes at Barrymore Theater, NYC, after 8 performances
  • Oct 16 NL votes to admit Houston & NY to league
  • Oct 17 "Tenderloin" opens at 46th St Theater, NYC; runs for 216 performances
  • Oct 17 US & Britain sign an accord granting US access to the British nuclear submarine base in Holy Loch, Scotland

Sports History

Oct 18 Casey Stengel retired by NY Yankees (won 10 pennants in 12 years)

  • Oct 18 In Britain, News Chronicle & Daily Mail merge and London Evening Star merges with Evening News
  • Oct 19 France grants Mauritania independence
  • Oct 19 KWCS (now KOOG) TV channel 30 in Ogden, UT (IND) begins broadcasting
  • Oct 19 US imposes embargo on exports to Cuba
  • Oct 20 1st fully mechanized post office opened, Providence, Rhode Island
  • Oct 20 Ralph Houk, 41, replaces Casey Stengel as Yankee manager
  • Oct 21 1st British nuclear sub HMS Dreadnought launched
  • Oct 21 JFK & Nixon clashed in 4th & final presidential debate (NYC)
  • Oct 24 Catastrophe at Baikonur Cosmodrome: Prototype missile explodes on launch pad, killing Chief Marshal of Artillery Mitrofan Nedelin and over 100 personnel killed; USSR claims victims died in plane crash, suppressing true details until 1989
  • Oct 25 1st electronic wrist watch placed on sale, NYC
  • Oct 25 Cuba nationalizes all remaining US businesses
  • Oct 26 MLB: American League approves existing Washington Senators move to become Minnesota Twins, and two new expansion franchises - Los Angeles Angels & Washington (D.C.) Senators; 1961 season schedule grows from 154 to 162 games
  • Oct 27 AL admits LA & Washington to the league
  • Oct 27 American pop and soul singer Ben E. King records "Spanish Harlem" & "Stand By Me" in NYC

Sports History

Oct 29 Cassius Clay's [Muhammad Ali] 1st professional fight; beats Tunney Hunsaker on points in 6 rounds in Louisville, Kentucky

  • Oct 29 Chartered C46 carrying Cal State's football team crashes, kills 16
  • Oct 30 12th NASCAR Sprint Cup: Rex White wins
  • Oct 30 Guatemala's "La Hora" reports plan for invasion on Cuba
  • Oct 30 Michael Woodruff performs the first successful kidney transplant in the United Kingdom at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
  • Oct 31 Cyclone hits coast of Gulf of Bengal; about 10,000 die
1960 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Oct 1 Elizabeth Dennehy, American actress (Guiding Light), born in Jacksonville, North Carolina
  • Oct 2 Al Connelly, Canadian guitarist and singer-songwriter (Glass Tiger), born in Montreal, Quebec
  • Oct 2 Django Bates, British jazz musician, composer and educator, born in Beckenham, Kent
  • Oct 2 Glenn Anderson, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame right wing (6 Stanley Cup wins; Edmonton Oilers [5]), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Oct 3 Cinzia De Ponti [Fiordeponti], Pescara Italy (Miss Italy 1979)
  • Oct 4 Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard, American country singer (Betty's Bein' Bad), born in Apopka, Florida
  • Oct 4 Jennifer Anglin, Adrian Mich, actress (Cheryl-General Hospital)
  • Oct 4 Malcolm Burn, Canadian musician and record producer (Emmylou Harris - Red Dirt Girl), born in Cornwall, Ontario
  • Oct 5 Careca, Brazilian footballer
  • Oct 5 Daniel Baldwin, American actor
  • Oct 6 Albert Lewis, American NFL cornerback (Pro Bowl 1987-90; KC Chiefs, Oakland Raiders), born in Mansfield, Louisiana
  • Oct 6 Jeffrey Trachta, actor (Thorne-Bold & Beautiful), born in Staten Island, New York
  • Oct 6 Richard Jobson, Scottish filmmaker (New Town Killers), art-punk rock singer-songwriter (Skids - "Scared to Dance"), and TV presenter, born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland
  • Oct 7 Kyosuke Himuro, Japanese rock singer-songwriter, born in Takasaki, Japan
  • Oct 7 Viktor Lazlo [Sonia Dronier], French-Belgian pop singer ("Breathless"), born in Lorient, France
  • Oct 8 François Pérusse, Quebec humorist 9Les 2 minutes du peuple), born in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
  • Oct 8 Lorenzo Milá, Spanish newscaster, born in Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona
  • Oct 8 Reed Hastings, American businessman, entrepreneur and co-founder of Netflix, born in Boston, Massachusetts
  • Oct 10 Eric Martin, American rocker (Mr Big), born in Long Island, New York
  • Oct 10 John Beasley, American jazz pianist, bandleader, and Grammy Award-winning arranger, born in Shreveport, Louisiana
  • Oct 10 Simon Townshend, British guitarist and songwriter, born in Chiswick, London
  • Oct 11 Curt Ford, American baseball player, born in Jackson, Mississippi
  • Oct 11 Joe Nash, American NFL defensive tackle (Pro Bowl, First Team All Pro 1984; Seattle Seahawks), born in Boston, Massachusetts
  • Oct 12 Steve Lowery, American golfer (PGA C'ship 2001 3rd), born in Birmingham, Alabama
  • Oct 13 Ari Fleischer, American media consultant and 21st White House Press Secretary, born in Pound Ridge, New York
  • Oct 13 Joey Belladonna [Bellardini], American heavy metal vocalist (Anthrax, 1984-92 - "I Am The Law"), born in Oswego, New York
  • Oct 13 Peter Keisler, American lawyer and acting Attorney General of the United States (2007), born in Hempstead, New York
  • Oct 13 Tim Brewster, American football coach, born in Phillipsburg, New Jersey
  • Oct 14 John Aalberg, US cross country skier (Olympics 1994), born in Orland, Norway
  • Oct 14 Steve Cram, English runner (world record mile/2 km)
  • Oct 16 Bob Mould, American rock guitarist, songwriter and vocalist (Hüsker Dü; Sugar), born in Malone, New York
  • Oct 16 Val Skinner, American golfer (6 LPGA Tour wins), born in Hamilton, Montana
  • Oct 17 Guy Henry, British actor (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), born in London, England
  • Oct 17 Mandy Yachad, cricketer (South African ODI opening batsman 1991)
  • Oct 17 Rob Marshall, American choreographer, stage and film director (Chicago; Mary Poppins Returns), born in Madison, Wisconsin
  • Oct 18 Doug Lidster, Kamloops, NHL defenseman (NY Rangers)
  • Oct 18 Erin Moran, American actress (Happy Days, Joanie Loves Chachi), born in Burbank, California (d. 2017)

Jean-Claude Van Damme (63 years old)

Oct 18 Belgian actor (Double Impact, Kickboxer, No Retreat), born in Brussels, Belgium

  • Oct 19 Dan "Woody" Woodgate, British rock drummer (Madness - "Our House"; Voice of Beehive), born in Kensington, West London, England
  • Oct 19 Dawn Coe-Jones, Canadian golfer (3 LPGA titles), born in Campbell River, British Columbia (d. 2016)
  • Oct 19 Jennifer Holliday, American Grammy and Tony Award-winning stage actress, and pop, R&B, and gospel singer (Dream Girls), born in Houston, Texas
  • Oct 19 Jonathan FeBland, English musician and artist, born in London
  • Oct 20 Brian Hansen, American NFL punter (Pro Bowl 1984; NO Saints, Cleveland Browns, NY Jets), born in Hawarden, Iowa
  • Oct 20 Konstantin Aseev, Russian chess player (d. 2004)
  • Oct 20 Lepa Brena 'Yugoslavia’s Madonna', Yugoslav singer, born in Tuzla, Yugoslavia
  • Oct 22 Cris Kirkwood, American cow-punk bassist, singer, and songwriter (Meat Puppets - "Backwater"), born in Phoenix, Arizona
  • Oct 22 Darryl Jenifer, American punk rock and hip-hop bassist (Bad Brains; The White Mandingos), born in Washington, D.C.
  • Oct 23 Randy Pausch, American computer science professor, author
  • Oct 23 Wayne Rainey, American motorcycle racer (500cc World Champion 1990, 91, 92; runner-up 1989, 93), born in Downey, California
  • Oct 24 B.D. Wong, American actor (M. Butterfly), born in San Francisco, California
  • Oct 24 Carolien de Windt, Surinamese-Dutch singer (Mai Tai), born in Suriname
  • Oct 24 Ian Baker-Finch, Australian golfer (British Open 1991) and broadcaster (ESPN, ABC, CBS), born in Nambour, Australia
  • Oct 24 Jaime Garzón, Colombian journalist and comedian, born in Bogotá, Colombia (d. 1999)
  • Oct 24 Joachim Winkelhock, German race car driver, born in Waiblingen, West Germany
  • Oct 24 Wolfgang Güllich, German rock climber, born in Ludwigshafen, West Germany (d. 1992)
  • Oct 25 Hong Sang-soo, South Korean filmmaker (Right Now, Wrong Then), born in Seoul
  • Oct 25 June Brigman, American comic book artist, born in Atlantta, Georgia
  • Oct 25 Scott Anthony Haneline, murderer (FBI Most Wanted List), born in Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Oct 25 Tom Eplin, American actor (Jake McKinnon-Another World), born in Hayward, California
  • Oct 27 Oleg Bryjak, Kazakhstani-German bass-baritone opera singer (Deutsche Oper am Rhein), born in Jezkazgan, Kazakhstan, USSR (d. 2015)
  • Oct 28 Landon Curt Noll, Astronomer, Cryptographer and Mathematician: youngest to hold the world record for the largest known prime 3 times
  • Oct 28 Mark Derwin, Park Forest Ill, actor (AC Mallet-Guiding Light)
  • Oct 29 Michael Carter, American football nose tackle (Super Bowl 1984, 88, 89; Pro Bowl 1985, 87, 88; First-team All-Pro 1986, 87, 88; SF 49ers) and athlete (Olympic silver shot put 1984), born in Dallas, Texas
  • Oct 30 David Valle, American baseball catcher (Texas Rangers), born in Bayside, New York

Diego Maradona (1960-2020)

Oct 30 Argentine soccer forward (91 caps; World Cup 1986 [captain]; FIFA Player of the 20th Century; Argentinos Juniors, Napoli), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina

  • Oct 30 Joe Daley, American golfer (Senior Players C'ship 2012), born in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania
  • Oct 30 Kim Thompson, English actress (Stealing Heaven), born in Bath, Somerset, England
  • Oct 31 Arnaud Desplechin, French film director and screenwriter, born in Roubaix, France
  • Oct 31 Janice Harrer, American WPVA volleyballer (US Open-1989, Olympics 1996), born in Torrance, California
  • Oct 31 Luis Fortuño, Puerto Rican delegate to Congress, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Reza Pahlavi (63 years old)

Oct 31 Crown Prince of Iran, born in Tehran, Iran


Born in 1960

Famous Deaths

  • Oct 2 Claro Mayo Recto, Filipino politician, nationalist (opponent of US colonialism) and poet, dies at 70
  • Oct 2 Jaroslav Doubrava, Czech composer, dies at 51
  • Oct 5 Alfred L. Kroeber, American anthropologist and author (Anthropologist looks at History), dies at 84
  • Oct 6 Douglas Spencer, American actor (The Thing from Another World, This Island Earth, River of No Return), dies from diabetes at 50
  • Oct 9 Howard Glenn, NY Titan, dies of injuries sustain in this day's game
  • Oct 11 Richard Cromwell [LeRoy Melvin Radabaugh], American actor (Jezebel, Riot Squad), dies of cancer at 50
  • Oct 12 Inejiro Asanuma, Leader of the Japanese Socialist Party, murdered at 61
  • Oct 14 Abram F. Joffe, Russian physicist (crystal), dies at 79
  • Oct 15 Clara Kimball Young, American actress (Return of Chandu), dies of stroke at 70
  • Oct 15 Henny Porten, German silent screen actress (Mother Love), dies at 70
  • Oct 15 Maude Eburne, Canadian actress (Ladies They Talk About, Guardsman), dies at 84
  • Oct 19 Günter Raphael, German composer (Busskantate), dies at 57
  • Oct 22 Edgar Scauflaire, Belgian painter and decorator, dies at 67

Harry Ferguson (1884-1960)

Oct 25 Irish aviator, engineer and inventor of the modern tractor, dies of a barbiturate overdose at 75 [1]

  • Oct 25 José Padilla, Spanish composer and pianist (La Violetera - City Lights; Ça c'est Paris - Moulin Rouge), dies at 71
  • Oct 26 (Francis Drake) "Pat" Ballard, American songwriter ("Mr. Sandman", "Love Is Mine"), lyricist, script writer, and columnist, dies of a heart attack at 61
  • Oct 30 Alfred Hill, Australian-New Zealand composer and conductor (Hinemoa), dies at 90
  • Oct 31 H L Davis, American writer (Honey in the Horn, Pulitzer prize), dies at 64