January 1963
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The following events occurred in January 1963:


January 1 January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the yea ...
, 1963 (Tuesday)

*
Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...
's ''Tetsuwan Atomu (
Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan by its original name , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 ''tankōbon'' vo ...
)'', Japan's first serialized animated series based on the popular
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
, was broadcast for the first time. It premiered on Japanese television station
Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network Sys ...
. *The U.S. city of
Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, it is the second-most populous independent city in Virginia, tenth-largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 90th ...
, was created from a merger of the city of
South Norfolk South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Long Stratton. The population of the Local Authority District was 124,012 as taken at the 2011 Census. History The district was formed on 1 April 197 ...
and the remainder of surrounding
Norfolk County, Virginia Norfolk County was a county of the South Hampton Roads in eastern Virginia in the United States that was created in 1691. After the American Civil War, for a period of about 100 years, portions of Norfolk County were lost and the territory of th ...
. *In the United States, the #1 ranked (and unofficial college football champion)
USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...
and the #2
Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...
met in the 1963 Rose Bowl before a crowd of 98,696 people. At the time, American college football's national championship was determined by the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
and
UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...
polls taken at the end of the regular season. The first and second ranked teams happened to be the respective champions of the
Big Six Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...
(now the
Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...
) and the
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
. USC won 42-37, holding off a fourth quarter, 23-point rally by Wisconsin. *Died: ** Dr. Gilbert Bogle, 38, research scientist with Australia's governmental scientific agency,
CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...
, found dead along with Margaret Chandler, the wife of a colleague. Both were apparently overcome by poisonous fumes in bushland near the
Lane Cove River The Lane Cove River, a northern tributary of the Parramatta River, is a tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary west of Sydney Harbour, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river is a tributary of the Parramatta River, winding throu ...
, Sydney. **
Robert S. Kerr Robert Samuel Kerr (September 11, 1896 – January 1, 1963) was an American businessman and politician from Oklahoma. Kerr formed a petroleum company before turning to politics. He served as the 12th governor of Oklahoma from 1943 to 1947 and ...
, 66, U.S. Senator for Oklahoma since 1948 and oil multi-millionaire, nicknamed "the uncrowned King of the Senate". Kerr, who had been in Doctors Hospital in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, for three weeks from a "virus ailment", suffered a fatal
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
"while sitting on a bed talking to his physician."


January 2 Events Pre-1600 * 69 – The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor. * 366 – The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empi ...
, 1963 (Wednesday)

*The
Battle of Ap Bac The Battle of Ấp Bắc was a major battle fought on 2 January 1963 during the Vietnam War, in Định Tường Province (now part of Tiền Giang Province), South Vietnam. On 28 December 1962, US intelligence detected the presence of a radio ...
in
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
began, and was the first time that
Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...
forces stood and fought against a major South Vietnamese attack. At the outset, Viet Cong ground fire shot down a
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
UH-1 The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helico ...
attack helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament they ...
and four U.S. Army
CH-21 The Piasecki H-21 Workhorse/Shawnee is an American helicopter, the fourth of a line of tandem rotor helicopters designed and built by Piasecki Helicopter (later Boeing Vertol). Commonly called "the flying banana", it was a multi-mission helicop ...
transport helicopters as they arrived at their
landing zone In military terminology a landing zone (LZ) is an area where aircraft can land. In the United States military, a landing zone is the actual point where aircraft, especially helicopters, land (equivalent to the commonwealth landing point.) In ...
.
Republic of Vietnam Air Force The South Vietnam Air Force, officially the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF; vi, Không lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa, KLVNCH; french: Force aérienne vietnamienne, FAVN) (sometimes referred to as the Vietnam Air Force or VNAF) was the aer ...
C-123 Provider The Fairchild C-123 Provider is an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and then built by Fairchild Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. In addition to its USAF service, which included later service with the Air Force Rese ...
transport planes dropped about 300 South Vietnamese
paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...
s later in the day. Despite outnumbering the Viet Cong 4 to 1, and having American armor, artillery and helicopters, "what should have been an ARVN victory turned into an exercise of everything that was wrong with the South Vietnamese army". *Seventeen people were killed in an explosion at the Home Packing Company in
Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...
. *Died: **
Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility, and successfully transformed into ...
, 58, American actor and singer (
lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...
). Powell's death from lymphatic cancer came a day after his pre-recorded introduction to the stories of his anthology series, ''The Dick Powell Show'' had been telecast. The show would continue for the rest of the season under the same name with various celebrities hosting, but without Powell's introductions. **
Jack Carson John Elmer Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963) was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including ''The Strawberry Blonde'' (1941) with James Cagney and ...
, 52, Canadian-American comedian and character actor, of stomach cancer


January 3 Events Pre-1600 *AD 69, 69 – The Roman legions on the Rhine refuse to declare their allegiance to Galba, instead proclaiming their legate, Aulus Vitellius, as emperor. * 250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (ex ...
, 1963 (Thursday)

*Contact with the American
Mariner 2 Mariner 2 (Mariner-Venus 1962), an American space probe to Venus, was the first robotic space probe to conduct a successful planetary encounter. The first successful spacecraft in the NASA Mariner program, it was a simplified version of the Bl ...
space probe was lost after 128 days of data transmitted from the planet
Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
and from the
Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
. Attempts from Earth on January 8 to restart transmission, failed, and the craft was not found during searches made on May 28 and August 16. *Thirty-two Soviet civilians from Siberia forced their way into the United States Embassy in Moscow, describing themselves as "persecuted Christians" and seeking political asylum. After embassy officials told the group that they could not stay, the people were placed on a bus and taken away by Moscow police. The 6 men, 12 women and 14 children were sent back to Chernogorsk that evening, after the U.S. Embassy received assurances that the group would get "good treatment". *The "
Big Freeze of 1963 Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * '' Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...
" in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
caused the cancellation of all but three of the scheduled third round matches of the
1962–63 FA Cup The 1962–63 FA Cup was the 82nd staging of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Manchester United won the competition for only the third time, beating Leicester City ...
. The blizzard was "the worst snow in Britain's 100 years of recorded weather history". *At a press conference in Ottawa, U.S. Army General
Lauris Norstad Lauris Norstad (March 24, 1907 – September 12, 1988) was an American general officer in the United States Army and United States Air Force. Early life and military career Lauris Norstad was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to a Norwegian immigr ...
's answer to a reporter's question set in motion a series of events that would bring the downfall of Canadian Prime Minister
John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...
. General Norstad had recently retired as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. Asked by Charles Lynch of the ''
Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...
'' whether he was saying that Canada's refusal to accept nuclear weapons for its airplanes meant "that she is not actually fulfilling her NATO commitments", General Norstad said, "I believe that is right." *
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
made tentative plans to extend the Mercury 9 flight from 18 to 22 orbits.


January 4 Events Pre-1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina. * 871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army. 1601–1900 *1649 – Engli ...
, 1963 (Friday)

*An express train crashed into the rear of a standing passenger train at
Meghnagar Meghnagar is a census town, near Jhabua town in Jhabua district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Demographics India census, Meghnagar had a population of 10,316. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Meghnagar has an ...
,
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
, India. Eight passenger cars were crushed or caught fire after an explosion. At least 38 people were confirmed dead and 90 injured. *The Soviet Union successfully launched Luna E-6 No.2, but a malfunction kept the craft from going beyond low Earth orbit. Seven days later, the decay of the orbit would cause the
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
to re-enter and burn in the atmosphere. *The
Manned Spacecraft Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U ...
(MSC) directed
McDonnell Aircraft Corporation The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 6, 1939, by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom II ...
to study requirements for
space rendezvous A space rendezvous () is a set of orbital maneuvers during which two spacecraft, one of which is often a space station, arrive at the same orbit and approach to a very close distance (e.g. within visual contact). Rendezvous requires a precise ma ...
experiments on the second and third
Project Gemini Project Gemini () was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual ...
flights. *Born:
Till Lindemann Till Lindemann (; born 4 January 1963) is a German singer, songwriter and poet. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein and solo project Lindemann. Rammstein has sold over 25 million records w ...
, German singer, songwriter and poet (
Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, ...
); in
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
, East Germany *Died: Yusuf Izzuddin Shah, 72,
Sultan of Perak The Sultan of Perak (سلطان ڤيراق) is one of the oldest hereditary seats among the Malay states. When the Sultanate of Malacca empire fell to Portugal in 1511, Sultan Mahmud Syah I retreated to Kampar, Sumatra, and died there in ...
since 1948. He received the posthumous title of "Marhum Ghafarullah".


January 5 Events Pre-1600 *1477 – Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is defeated and killed in a conflict with René II, Duke of Lorraine; Duchy of Burgundy, Burgundy subsequently becomes part of France. 1601–1900 *1675 – Battle of Turckh ...
, 1963 (Saturday)

*In New York City, the musical ''
Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...
'' closed after 873 performances and a Broadway run of more than two years. *The military government of
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
began a nationwide roundup of suspected Communists, arresting more than 300 people accused of plotting subversion. *Died: ** Stanisław Jaros, 28, Polish electrician and would-be political assassin, executed by hanging **
Erik Strandmark Erik Alfred Strandmark (14 September 1919 – 5 January 1963) was a Swedish film actor. He was born in Torsåker, Sweden and died in a plane crash in Trinidad and Tobago in 1963. Partial filmography * ''Live Dangerously'' (1944) - Corpora ...
, 43, Swedish film actor, killed in a plane crash **
Rogers Hornsby Rogers Hornsby Sr. (April 27, 1896 – January 5, 1963), nicknamed "The Rajah", was an American baseball infielder, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1915–1926, 1933 ...
, 66, American Baseball Hall of Famer player


January 6 Events Pre-1600 *1066 – Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will eve ...
, 1963 (Sunday)

*The Shah of Iran launched his six-point
White Revolution The White Revolution ( fa, انقلاب سفید ''Enqelāb-e Sefid'') or the Shah and People Revolution ( fa, انقلاب شاه و مردم ''Enqelāb-e Shāh o Mardom'') was a far-reaching series of reforms resulting in aggressive moderniz ...
for ending illiteracy, reforming agriculture and industry, advancing women's suffrage, and nationalization of forests. *Voters in Brazil overwhelmingly rejected a parliamentary form of government in a
plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
, and approved a strong executive system under President
João Goulart João Belchior Marques Goulart (1 March 1919 – 6 December 1976), commonly known as Jango, was a Brazilian politician who served as the 24th president of Brazil until a military coup d'état deposed him on 1 April 1964. He was considered the ...
. Only 2,073,582 were in favor of retaining the ministerial system, while 9,457,448 voted against it. *The British musical ''
Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before op ...
'', based on the
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
novel ''
Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with ...
'', made its debut on Broadway, at the Imperial Theatre, and ran for 774 performances. *Born: **
Tony Halme Tony Christian Halme (January 6, 1963 – January 8, 2010) was a Finnish politician, athlete, author, actor, and singer. He was a member of the Finnish Parliament from 2003 to 2007, representing the True Finns party as an independent politician ...
, Finnish professional wrestler who worked for WWF (now
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
) and
MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...
(died 2010) **
Paul Kipkoech Paul Kipkoech (January 6, 1963 – March 16, 1995) was a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialized in the 10,000 metres and cross-country running. He became world champion over 10,000 m in 1987. Kipkoech was born in Kapsabet. In 1986 he ran ...
, Kenyan long-distance runner, in
Kapsabet Kapsabet is a town in Kenya. It is the capital of Nandi County and is located 40 kilometres southwest of Eldoret on the way to Chavakali. The name Kapsabet comes from "Kap"- 'belong to/area of' and "sabit" or "sobet" – 'live' and has come to ...
(died 1995)


January 7 Events Pre-1600 *49 BC – The Senate of Rome says that Caesar will be declared a public enemy unless he disbands his army. This prompts the tribunes who support him to flee to Ravenna, where Caesar is waiting. * 1325 – Alfonso IV ...
, 1963 (Monday)

*The Soviet national airline
Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...
launched its service to Cuba from
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
to
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
, using Tu-114 turboprop airplanes. *The price of mailing a letter in the United States rose from four cents to five cents, with a 25% increase in the price of a first class stamp. The increase was the first since August 1, 1958, when the price had changed from three cents to four. *Final acceptance tests were conducted on the US
Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...
space flight Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either human spaceflight, with or uncrewed spaceflight, without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly w ...
simulator A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or process, whereas the s ...
at
Ellington Field Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is a joint installation shared by various active component and reserve component military units, as well as aircraft flight operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under the aegis ...
in
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. The equipment had been moved from Virginia's
Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perform ...
to
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. The MSC and the Farrand Optical Company conducted the acceptance tests.


January 8 Events Pre-1600 * 307 – Emperor Huai of Jin, Jin Huaidi becomes emperor of China in succession to his father, Emperor Hui of Jin, Jin Huidi, despite a challenge from his uncle, Sima Ying. * 871 – Æthelred I, King of Wessex, Æthel ...
, 1963 (Tuesday)

*
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
's ''
Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...
'' was exhibited in the United States for the first time, at the
National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...
in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, in an event attended by President Kennedy and 2,000 other guests of honor. The masterpiece was on view for 27 days in Washington, during which 674,000 visitors came to see it, then moved on to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
in New York from February 6 to March 4. *MSC outlined requirements for McDonnell to use for Gemini aborts in orbit. These included onboard controlled reentry for all aborts, except for guidance and control system failure; onboard selection emergency abort target areas; navigational accuracy to a radius error at the point of impact; and crew capability to eject from the
spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...
with the
paraglider Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'po ...
deployed.


January 9 Events Pre-1600 * 681 – Twelfth Council of Toledo: King Erwig of the Visigoths initiates a council in which he implements diverse measures against the Jews in Spain. *1127 – Jin–Song Wars: Invading Jurchen soldiers from the J ...
, 1963 (Wednesday)

*A relatively rare
total penumbral lunar eclipse A total penumbral lunar eclipse is a lunar eclipse that occurs when the Moon becomes completely immersed in the penumbral cone of the Earth without touching the umbra. The path for the Moon to pass within the penumbra and outside the umbra is ve ...
took place, with the Moon passing entirely within the penumbral shadow without entering the darker umbral shadow. *Flight Operations Division set requirements for the remote stations of the Gemini worldwide tracking network.


January 10 Events Pre-1600 *49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war. * 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the be ...
, 1963 (Thursday)

*The
Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
space program of selected its second
cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
group of 15 men to train for future Soyuz missions. The group included
Vladimir Shatalov Vladimir Aleksandrovich Shatalov (russian: Владимир Александрович Шаталов; December 8, 1927 – June 15, 2021) was a Soviet and Russian cosmonaut who flew three space missions of the Soyuz programme: Soyuz 4, Soyuz 8, a ...
(Soyuz 4, 8, and 10),
Anatoly Filipchenko Major General Anatoly Vasilyevich Filipchenko (26 February 1928 – 7 August 2022) was a Soviet cosmonaut of Ukrainian descent. He flew on the Soyuz 7 and Soyuz 16 missions. He was born in Davydovka, Voronezh Governorate, RSFSR. After leaving ...
(Soyuz 7 and 16),
Georgy Dobrovolsky Georgy Timofeyevich Dobrovolsky (russian: Гео́ргий Тимофе́евич Доброво́льский; 1 June 192829 June 1971) was a Soviet cosmonaut who commanded the three-man crew of the Soyuz 11 spacecraft. They became the world's ...
(Soyuz 11),
Yury Artyukhin Yuri Petrovich Artyukhin (russian: Ю́рий Петро́вич Артю́хин; 22 June 1930 – 4 August 1998) was a Soviet Russian cosmonaut and engineer who made a single flight into space. Artyukhin graduated from the Soviet Air Force Ins ...
(Soyuz 14),
Lev Dyomin Lev Stepanovich Dyomin (; 11 January 1926 – 18 December 1998) was a Soviet Union, Soviet Astronaut, cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 15 spaceflight in 1974. This spaceflight was intended to dock with the space station Salyut 3, but the docking fa ...
(Soyuz 15),
Aleksei Gubarev Aleksei Aleksandrovich Gubarev (russian: Алексе́й Алекса́ндрович Гу́барев; 29 March 1931 – 21 February 2015) was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on two space flights: Soyuz 17 and Soyuz 28. Biography Gubarev grad ...
(Soyuz 17 and 28) and
Vitaly Zholobov Vitaly Mikhaylovich Zholobov (russian: link=no, Виталий Михайлович Жолобов; born 18 June 1937) is a retired Soviet cosmonaut who flew on Soyuz 21 space flight as the flight engineer. Career Zholobov joined the space progr ...
(Soyuz 21). *
Duma Nokwe Philemon Pearce Dumasile Nokwe (13 May 1927, Evaton – 12 January 1978), known as Duma Nokwe, was a South African political activist and legislator, and served as the Secretary-General of the African National Congress from 1958 to 1969. Educa ...
, the Secretary-General of the
African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...
, fled from South Africa before he could be arrested under the nation's Sabotage Act. *The American film '' Cape Fear'', directed by
J. Lee Thompson John Lee Thompson (1 August 1914 – 30 August 2002) was a British film director, active in London and Hollywood, best known for award-winning films such as ''Woman in a Dressing Gown'', ''Ice Cold in Alex'' and ''The Guns of Navarone (film), Th ...
, was finally released in the United Kingdom, but only after Thompson agreed to 161 cuts of dialogue ordered by the censors of the
British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...
in order to avoid an "X" rating. *Representatives of MSC, McDonnell, and the Eagle-Picher Company reviewed plans for developing the
silver-zinc batteries A silver zinc battery is a secondary cell that utilizes silver(I,III) oxide and zinc. Overview Silver zinc cells share most of the characteristics of the silver-oxide battery, and in addition, is able to deliver one of the highest specific ener ...
for the
Gemini spacecraft Project Gemini () was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual ...
. McDonnell concluded that a four-battery installation, if closely monitored, would be adequate. *
Titan II The Titan II was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company from the earlier Titan I missile. Titan II was originally designed and used as an ICBM, but was later adapted as a medium-lift space l ...
flight N-15 was launched from
Cape Canaveral , image = cape canaveral.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991 , map = Florida#USA , map_width = 300 , type =Cape , map_caption = Location in Florida , location ...
. It was the second to achieve significantly reduced levels of longitudinal oscillations by means of propellant tank pressurization. *
Emmett Hall Emmett Matthew Hall (November 29, 1898 – November 12, 1995) was a Canadian lawyer, civil liberties advocate, Supreme Court of Canada judge and public policy advocate. He is considered one of the fathers of the Canadian system of Medicare, a ...
, the Chief Justice of the Saskatchewan Supreme Court, was sworn in as a justice of the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
. *Died: Tadeusz Szeligowski, 66, Polish composer, educator, lawyer and music organizer


January 11 Events Pre-1600 * 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence. * 630 – Conquest of Mecca: The prophet Muhamma ...
, 1963 (Friday)

*Two people in China, an 18-year-old fisherman and his seven-year-old younger brother, were fatally injured after the man took home a piece of radioactive
cobalt-60 Cobalt-60 (60Co) is a synthetic radioactive isotope of cobalt with a half-life of 5.2713 years. It is produced artificially in nuclear reactors. Deliberate industrial production depends on neutron activation of bulk samples of the monoisoto ...
that had been dropped on farmland owned by the Anhui Agricultural University in
Hefei Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...
. The cobalt-60 radiation was 43 petabecquerel; over a period of almost nine days before the sample was recovered, the man was exposed to 806 grays of radiation and died on January 23; his brother died two days later from exposure to 40 grays. *
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
released "
Please Please Me ''Please Please Me'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Produced by George Martin, it was released on EMI's Parlophone label on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom, following the success of the band's first two sin ...
" in the United Kingdom, with "
Ask Me Why "Ask Me Why" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles originally released in the United Kingdom as the B-side of their single " Please Please Me". It was also included on their 1963 debut album '' Please Please Me''. It was written primari ...
" as the
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
. The group would perform the song on TV two days later on the ITV program ''Thank Your Lucky Stars''. "Please Please Me" would become the first Beatles' single to reach #1 in the UK. *The Project Engineering Field Office (located at Cape Canaveral) of the Mercury Project Office outlined 17 specific changes to Mercury spacecraft 20 (MA-9) after its receipt at Cape Canaveral from McDonnell Aircraft.


January 12 Events Pre-1600 * 475 – Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire. *1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned King of Sweden, having already reigned s ...
, 1963 (Saturday)

*At the Australian National Athletics Championships in her home town of Perth, Western Australia,
Margaret Burvill Margaret Ann Burvill (2 October 1941 – 28 February 2009) was an athlete who twice set world 220 yard (201.17 m) running records, both at Perry Lakes Stadium in her home town of Perth, Western Australia. The first was at the Australian Nationa ...
set a new world record of 23.2 seconds in the women's 220 yard dash. *Born: Nando Reis, Brazilian musician and producer, in São Paulo


January 13, 1963 (Sunday)

*Sylvanus Olympio, the 60-year-old President of Togo, was assassinated. Olympio apparently was seeking refuge at the United States Embassy in Lomé, next to the presidential palace. U.S. Ambassador Leon B. Poullada said that "the body, riddled by several bullets, was found crumpled only three feet from the embassy's gate". The President's killer, Colonel Gnassingbé Eyadéma, Étienne Eyadéma, would assume the presidency in 1967 and hold the office until his death in 2005.


January 14, 1963 (Monday)

*A fire killed 105 of the 250 people on the Indonesian tourist ferryboat ''Djandji Raja'' as it was traversing the Toba Lake in North Sumatra. The broke out in the engine room of the ferryboat, then caused a fuel tank to explode. Word of the accident did not reach Jakarta until five days later. *France's President Charles de Gaulle indicated in a press conference that he would veto the application of the United Kingdom to join the Common Market. *The Rolling Stones, with Mick Jagger, guitarists Keith Richards and Brian Jones, pianist Ian Stewart (musician), Ian Stewart, bass guitarist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts first played together as a group, with a performance at The Flamingo Club in the West End of London. *A month before she would commit suicide, Sylvia Plath was able to realize the publication of her first and only novel, ''The Bell Jar'', by the Heinemann (publisher), Heinemann company. *The locomotive ''LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman, Flying Scotsman'' (British Railways No. 60103) made its last scheduled run, before going into the hands of Alan Pegler for preservation. *George C. Wallace was sworn in as Governor of Alabama. In his inaugural speech, he defiantly proclaimed "In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say 'segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever.' Let us send this message back to Washington, that from this day we are standing up, and the heel of tyranny does not fit the neck of an upright man." *The Manned Spacecraft Center presented the proposal to NASA Headquarters that the ground light visibility experiment of Wally Schirra's Mercury-Atlas 8, Mercury 8 mission be repeated for Mercury 9, with the short-range objective of determining the capability of an astronaut to visually evaluate a ground light of known intensity while in orbit, as seen from the spacecraft at varying distances from the light source. A long-range goal was for lights from Earth to be used as a signal to provide advanced spacecraft with an Earth reference point. *MSC assumed complete responsibility for the Agena target vehicle, Gemini target vehicle program from Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). All other NASA Atlas-Agena programs were transferred to Lewis Research Center in order to allow MSFC to concentrate on developing the Saturn (rocket family), Saturn rocket to consolidate Atlas (rocket family), Atlas rocket technology at Lewis.


January 15, 1963 (Tuesday)

*In his State of the Union address at a joint session of the U.S. Congress, President Kennedy called on Congress to pass legislation to lower income taxes as a means of stimulating the economy. Kennedy called for individual tax rates, ranging from 20% to as much as 91% for the highest brackets, to be cut to a range of 14% to 65%, and for the corporate rate to be cut from 52% to 47%. The bill would not become law until after Kennedy's death, signed by his successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson on February 26, 1964. *The Katanga Crisis came to an end as Moise Tshombe declared the end of his attempt to secede from the Congo, and ordered a surrender to the United Nations forces. *Forty-seven workmen in India were killed, and another 62 injured, while working underground at Cuttack, Naraj, in the Orissa, India, Orissa state. *Born: Erling Kagge, Norwegian polar explorer


January 16, 1963 (Wednesday)

*Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom resumed diplomatic relations, more than six years after the two nations had closed their embassies during the 1956 Suez Crisis. *Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev visited the Berlin Wall from the East Berlin side, then delivered an address to the Communist leadership of East Germany at the SED Party Congress. Khrushchev stated bluntly that the Wall had accomplished its purpose of stemming the exodus of citizens from the nation and stabilized the East German economy, and added that further Soviet economic assistance would not be forthcoming. "Neither God nor the devil will give you bread or butter if you do not manage it with your own hands," Khrushchev said, adding that East Germany "must not expect alms from some rich uncle". *The 1963 NBA All-Star Game was played at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. The Eastern Conference team beat the Western Conference, 115-108. *Born: James May, British television presenter; in Bristol *Died: **Cesare Fantoni, 57, Italian film actor **Ike Quebec, 44, American jazz saxophonist **Gilardo Gilardi, 73, Argentine composer, pianist, and conductor


January 17, 1963 (Thursday)

*The Short SC.7 Skyvan, Skyvan passenger and cargo carrying aircraft, designed in Northern Ireland by the Short Brothers aerospace company, made its first flight, taking off from its Sydenham, Belfast airfield. *U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy made "his first, and last, appearance as a lawyer in a courtroom", participating in the oral argument before the United States Supreme Court in ''Gray v. Sanders'', regarding whether the county-unit system of voting that had been used in the U.S. State of Georgia was unconstitutional. *NASA Administrator James E. Webb and United States Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara signed a new agreement on the division of United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense (DOD) and NASA management responsibilities in Cape Canaveral area. The U.S. Air Force would continue as single manager of the Atlantic Missile Range and NASA's Launch Operations Center would manage the Merritt Island Launch Area, north and west of existing DOD installations. *Died: **Johannes Sejersted Bødtker, 83, Norwegian banker and patron of the arts **Arthur Edward Moore, 86, Australian politician, Premier of Queensland 1929-1932


January 18, 1963 (Friday)

*The French automobile manufacturer Simca was taken over by the American automaker Chrysler, which purchased a controlling interest of the 18,000 employee company in order to increase its presence in Europe. *Severe winter conditions in the Netherlands eliminated 9,225 of the 9,294 ice skating participants in the nation's annual "eleven city tour", the ''elfstedentocht''. Only 69 people finished the round trip that starts and ends at Leeuwarden by way of Sneek, IJlst, Sloten, Friesland, Sloten, Stavoren, Hindeloopen, Workum, Bolsward, Harlingen, Netherlands, Harlingen, Franeker, and Dokkum *Died: **Hugh Gaitskell, 56, the leader of Britain's Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, died of kidney failure caused by lupus erythematosus. **Edward Titchmarsh, 63, British mathematician who contributed the Titchmarsh convolution theorem, the Hilbert transform#Titchmarsh's theorem, Titchmarsh theorem on Hilbert transform, the Titchmarsh–Kodaira formula on differential equations, and the Brun–Titchmarsh theorem **Johnny Moyes, 70, Australian cricketer and radio commentator


January 19, 1963 (Saturday)

*Hermine Braunsteiner, formerly a supervising warden at the Ravensbrück concentration camp, and known as "The Stomping Mare" because of her use of steel-studded jackboots to kick inmates, became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Acting on a tip from Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, ''The New York Times'' would expose her past in 1964. Her citizenship would be revoked in 1971, and in 1973 she would be extradited to West Germany for trial as a war criminal. In 1981, she would be sentenced to life imprisonment. Released after 15 years for health reasons (including, ironically, the amputation of her leg), she would die in 1999. *Born: Caron Wheeler, British soul singer; in London


January 20, 1963 (Sunday)

*The "Konfrontasi", literally a confrontation between Indonesia and the proposed union of the former British colonies of Federation of Malaya, Malaya, Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore as the Federation of Malaysia, was declared in a speech by the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Subandrio. Indonesia shared a border with Sarawak and Sabah on the island of Borneo, and opposed their incorporation into a larger nation. Although avoiding a direct war with the United Kingdom, which maintained bases on Borneo, Indonesia engaged in skirmishes along the Sarawak border, and 37 bombings at various locations in Singapore. The war would come to an end with the signing of a treaty on August 1966, August 11, 1966, after the overthrow of Indonesia's President Sukarno by General Suharto. *Father Vincent Pallotti (1796-1850), founder in 1835 of the Roman Catholic organization called the Pallottines, was elevated to sainthood by Pope John XXIII. *Born: Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė, Lithuanian actress; in Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, Soviet Union *Died: National Conservatoire (Greece), Avra Theodoropoulou, 72, Greek women's rights activist


January 21, 1963 (Monday)

*MediaCorp, Television Singapura started television test transmissions in Singapore. *NASA Administrator James E. Webb and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara established a joint NASA-DOD Gemini Program Planning Board. *Born: Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian-American NBA player and Basketball Hall of Famer;


January 22, 1963 (Tuesday)

*In Paris, President Charles de Gaulle of France and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer of West Germany signed the Elysée Treaty, the first bilateral pact between the French and German nations. "In the century prior to the treaty", it would be observed later, "France and Germany had been on opposite sides in three wars: the Franco-Prussian War, World War I and World War II." The treaty provided for the nations' leaders to meet at least twice a year, and the foreign and defense ministers to meet four times a year. *
McDonnell Aircraft Corporation The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 6, 1939, by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom II ...
reported to the MSC on its "white paint patch experiments" and their effect on temperature of the Mercury spacecraft. The recorded temperatures during the flights were cooler at points directly beneath the patch and on a corresponding point inside the spacecraft. McDonnell calculated that white painted spacecraft were advantageous for extended-range missions. *Addressing an Institute of Aerospace Science meeting in New York, George von Tiesenhausen, Chief of Future Studies at NASA's Launch Operations Center, stated that by 1970 the United States would need an orbiting space station to launch and repair spacecraft. The station could also serve as a crewed scientific laboratory. In describing the long, diameter structure, von Tiesenhausen said that the station could be launched in two sections using Saturn C-5 vehicles. The sections would be joined once in orbit. *Died: Ralph Hudson, 42, American murderer, became the last person to be executed by the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hudson had stabbed his wife to death after getting an early release for Christmas.


January 23, 1963 (Wednesday)

*British MI5 agent Kim Philby, who was secretly working for the Soviet Union as a double agent for the NKVD, disappeared after having a drink with a colleague at a hotel in Beirut. Five months later, on July 1963, July 30, the Soviet Union would announce that he had been given asylum there and would confirm his identity as a Soviet spy. *Three months after the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. almost went to war during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Turkish government announced the deactivation and removal of its arsenal of American-supplied PGM-19 Jupiter, Jupiter missiles from Turkey, six days after Italy had announced their phaseout of the Jupiters. The missiles in Turkey, armed with nuclear warheads and within striking distance of cities in the Soviet Union, had been one of the reasons for the Soviet placement of missiles in Cuba. *The Sino-Indian War formally came to an end after India's Parliament, the Lok Sabha, voted to approve the terms for peace with China, concluding the war between the world's two most populous nations. China had withdrawn its troops the previous month. *The first democratic elections in the history of Kuwait took place, although limited to men only. There were 205 candidates for the 50 available seats in the National Assembly. *A strike began at the Florida East Coast Railway and would become the longest in railroad history, not ending until nine years later on February 1, 1972. Strike activity would not completely end until April 9, 1976. *The ''Pascagoula (MS) Chronicle'', whose publisher, Ira B. Harkey Jr., was alone among white newspaper owners in Mississippi in taking a stand against racial segregation, was saved from financial ruin when a newsman for the New York City radio station WBBR, WNEW urged his listeners to subscribe to the paper. Dee Finch called attention to Harkey's courageous stand and loss of revenue, said that he was going to buy a subscription to the ''Chronicle'', and invited others to do likewise. In the first day, 750 New Yorkers pledged to subscribe, and advertising agencies announced plans to encourage their clients to buy ad space in the newspaper. *Born: Su Tong (pseudonym for Tong Zhonggui), Chinese author; in Suzhou *Died: **Gustave Garrigou, 78, French racing cyclist, 1911 Tour de France winner **Muhammad Ali Bogra, 53, Foreign Minister of Pakistan and former Prime Minister


January 24, 1963 (Thursday)

*A B-52C bomber, carrying two nuclear weapons and on airborne alert for the U.S. Air Force, lost its vertical stabilizer in turbulence, broke up in midair and 1963 Elephant Mountain B-52 crash, crashed into Elephant Mountain in Piscataquis County, Maine. Seven of the nine-man crew were killed, and one of the unarmed nuclear bombs fell from the plane and broke apart on impact on a farm. A part of that bomb, containing enriched uranium, was never located, "even though the waterlogged farmland in the vicinity was excavated to a depth of 50 feet". *Died: Otto Harbach, 89, American lyricist and librettist


January 25, 1963 (Friday)

*Speaking to the Canadian House of Commons on whether Canada would or would not accept nuclear weapons for its combat aircraft, Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker made a speech that subsequent historians would describe as "most baffling",Patricia I. McMahon, ''Essence of Indecision: Diefenbaker's Nuclear Policy, 1957-1963'' (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009) p64 "next to incomprehensible"Patrick Lennox, ''At Home and Abroad: The Canada-US Relationship and Canada's Place in the World'' (University of British Columbia Press, 1999) p64 and full of "long, evasive, rambling... incoherent statements". "However," the Canadian Press (CP) would write, "at no point in his two-hour speech did Mr. Diefenbaker say definitely whether Canada has rejected or accepted a nuclear role for Canadian forces." *A Solar eclipse of January 25, 1963, large annular solar eclipse covered over 99% of the Sun, creating a dramatic spectacle for observers in a narrow path at most wide; it lasted just 25.24 seconds at the point of maximum eclipse. *The lowest ever temperature in Kosovo (at the time part of Yugoslavia) was recorded in the city of Gjilan, −32.5 °C (−26.5 °F). *Died: Sir Isaac Shoenberg, 78, Russian-born British inventor who pioneered the development of the all electronic form of television.


January 26, 1963 (Saturday)

*The Shah of Iran's
White Revolution The White Revolution ( fa, انقلاب سفید ''Enqelāb-e Sefid'') or the Shah and People Revolution ( fa, انقلاب شاه و مردم ''Enqelāb-e Shāh o Mardom'') was a far-reaching series of reforms resulting in aggressive moderniz ...
of six reforms, including the right of women to vote, was overwhelmingly approved in a nationwide referendum by the six million male voters; the election was believed by observers to have been fraudulent. *On Australia Day in Perth, Australia, two people were shot dead, and others injured, by multiple murderer Eric Edgar Cooke. *The Football pool#Scoring, "British Pools Panel" was first used to address instances, in the betting on Britain's soccer football matches, where a scheduled match was postponed. On the first weekend, when 55 games were called off because of freezing temperatures, the panel of former players and referees "predicted" what the results would have been had the match not been postponed, essentially making up results that would be accepted for determining whether a betting line had been picked successfully. Originally, the five-member Panel only intervened if 30 or more matches were called off; later, the panel would convene if any match were postponed. *The Rules Committee for American organized baseball voted unanimously (9-0) to increase the size of the strike zone beginning with the 1963 season. The new rule specified that a pitched ball was a strike if it traveled in the "space above home plate which is between the top of the batter's shoulders and his knees when he assumes his natural position". The prior rule in 1950 measured the zone from a player's armpits to the top of the knees. Although the number of walks decreased, so did the number of home runs, particularly in the American League, where attendance declined. *Specialty assignments were announced by the Manned Spacecraft Center for its astronaut team: L. Gordon Cooper, Alan B. Shepard, pilot phases of
Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...
; Virgil I. Grissom,
Project Gemini Project Gemini () was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual ...
; John H. Glenn, Project Apollo; M. Scott Carpenter, lunar excursion training; Walter M. Schirra, Gemini and Apollo operations and training; and Donald K. Slayton, continuing as Coordinator of Astronaut Activities. Assignments of the nine new flight-crew members selected on September 17, 1962, were as follows: Neil A. Armstrong, trainers and simulators; Frank Borman, boosters; Charles Conrad, Jr., cockpit layout and systems integration; James A. Lovell, Jr., recovery systems; James A. McDivitt, guidance and navigation; Elliot M. See, Jr., electrical, sequential, and mission planning; Thomas P. Stafford, communications, instrumentation, and range integration; Edward H. White II, flight control systems; and John Young (astronaut), John W. Young, environmental control systems, personal and survival equipment. *Born: José Mourinho, Portuguese-born soccer football team manager who has won league titles in four countries, for F.C. Porto in Portugal (2003, 2004); Chelsea F.C. in England (2005, 2006); Inter Milan in Italy (2009, 2010); and Real Madrid C.F. in Spain (2012), as well as two UEFA championships (2004, 2010); in Setúbal *Died: **Sir Maurice Hankey, 85, the first person to hold the post of Cabinet Secretary (United Kingdom), Cabinet Secretary in the United Kingdom when it was created in 1916. **Ole Olsen (comedian), Ole Olsen, 70, American vaudeville comedian, and half of the Olsen and Johnson comedy team. In 1938, Olsen and Chic Johnson had created the musical, and later the 1941 film, ''Hellzapoppin (musical), Hellzapoppin'''


January 27, 1963 (Sunday)

*The IAI Westwind, Aero Commander 1121 business jet made its first test flight, at Norman, Oklahoma. In 1968, the manufacturing rights would be sold to Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI), now Israel Aerospace Industries, which manufactured the jets under the name ''Westwind''. *Lee Harvey Oswald used the alias "A. J. Hidell" for the first time, ordering a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver through the mail from Seaport Traders, Inc., of Los Angeles. He would use the Hidell name in ordering other weapons, including the Mannlicher–Carcano rifle that would be used in November to kill U.S. President Kennedy. *Born: Søren Gade, former Danish Defence Minister; in Holstebro *Died: Princess Adisaya Suriyabha, 73, member of the Thai royal family (a daughter of Chulalongkorn, King Rama V of Siam)


January 28, 1963 (Monday)

*African American student Harvey Gantt entered Clemson University in South Carolina, the last U.S. state to hold out against racial integration. "South Carolina is the only state," the Associated Press reported, "which, to this day, had preserved segregation in public schools at all levels." Gantt's entry into the university was described as peaceful, and it was reported that "On the surface, Gantt was being treated by students and college officials alike as just another newcomer." Most South Carolina public schools did not integrate until the 1970s. *The fourth, and final, book by author J. D. Salinger was published. ''Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction'' were two novellas put together in one novel, which had both previously appeared in print in the magazine ''The New Yorker''. *The city of Vista, California, was incorporated. *Died: John Farrow, 58, Australian born American film director and winner of 1957 Academy Award for his screenplay in ''Around the World in Eighty Days''.


January 29, 1963 (Tuesday)

*France vetoed the United Kingdom's application for entry into the Western Europe's European Economic Community (EEC), known as the "Common Market". The move had been hinted at earlier by President Charles de Gaulle earlier. Since admission to the Common Market would have required a unanimous vote of the member nations, Foreign Minister Maurice Couve de Murville moved to adjourn negotiations indefinitely. The U.K. would be admitted to the Common Market on January 1, 1973, almost ten years later. *The first inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame at Canton, Ohio, were announced. *At a launch guidance and control coordination meeting on January 29 and 30, The Aerospace Corporation described three Titan II development flight failures that had been caused by problems in the General Electrical Mod III airborne radio guidance system. Although these failures did not appear to be the result of inherent design faults that might react on the Gemini program, Aerospace felt that a tighter quality assurance program was needed: "GE has a poor MOD III (G) quality control program, basically poor workmanship." *Born: Octave Octavian Teodorescu, Octavian Teodorescu, Romanian rock musician and composer who performs under the stage name "Octave"; in Bucharest *Died: **Robert Frost, 88, popular American poet and four-time Pulitzer Prize winner **Lee Meadows, Lee "Specs" Meadows, 68, American MLB baseball pitcher who led the National League in wins in 1926 and who was one of the first players to wear glasses while playing


January 30, 1963 (Wednesday)

*The U.S. State Department took the unusual step of issuing a press release critical of one of America's closest allies, in rebuttal to the speech by Canadian Prime Minister Diefenbaker about his nation's Canadian nuclear policy. Responding to Diefenbaker's January 25 statement that the two nations had been negotiating for "two to three months or more", the U.S. statement said that "the Canadian Government has not as yet proposed any arrangement sufficiently practical to contribute effectively to North American defense". Diefenbaker accused the U.S. of interfering with Canada's domestic affairs and temporarily recalled the Canadian ambassador from Washington. U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk would issue an apology two days later for the tone of the comments, which ''The New York Times'' described as "ill-considered and unusually blunt". *Gemini Project Office asked NASA Headquarters for authorization to use preflight automatic checkout equipment for Project Gemini. The Mercury Program had been successful in everything except meeting schedules, in which lengthy checkout time was a major obstacle. Automatic checkout equipment cut down the time required to test components in Gemini. MSC flight mission director George M. Low asked that four automatic checkout stations be provided for Project Gemini as quickly as possible. Initially approved, the use of automatic checkout equipment in the Gemini program would subsequently be dropped as an economy measure. *Died: **Edward A. Carter, Jr., 46, African-American U.S. Army sergeant who would be posthumously given the Medal of Honor for his heroism shown on March 23, 1945. Carter, unfairly accused of being a Communist, was shunned by the Army after World War II, and the medal would not be voted for him by Congress until 34 years after his death. **Francis Poulenc, 64, French composer **Sir Pelham Warner, 89, English cricketer known as "The Grand Old Man of English Cricket"; English National team captain in 1903-04 and 1905–06; President of MCC; author and founder of ''The Cricketer'' magazine


January 31, 1963 (Thursday)

*Major General H. W. G. Wijeyekoon resigned as Commander of the Army (Sri Lanka), Commander of the Ceylon Army. Soldier, lawyer and diplomat
. ''Daily News'', Retrieved on 21 July 2011.


References


External links

{{Events by month links January, 1963 1963, *1963-01 Months in the 1960s, *1963-01