1960 The cold war continued to become colder
as the two sides distrusted the other more and tried to influence other
parts of the world. John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson won the Presidency
with one of the smallest margins in history (113,000 votes) out of 68.3
million. The sexual revolution of the 60s had begun with the use of birth
control pills and Hugh Hefner opening the first of his Playboy Clubs in
Chicago. The "Flintstones" is shown on television for the first
time and movies this year include "The Magnificent Seven" and
"Psycho". Notable technical achievements include the invention
of the Laser and a Heart Pacemaker. France tests its first atomic bomb
and joins those countries with nuclear bomb technology. Notable names
that appear in the limelight that year include "Cassius Clay"
and "Sir Francis Chichester". The US sends the first troops
to Vietnam to support the French in the fight against communist North
Vietnam.
Cost of Living 1960
How much things cost in 1960
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 1.46%
Average Cost of new house $12,700.00
Average Monthly Rent $98.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 25 cents
Average Cost of a new car $2,600.00
Can of Beef Ravioli 30 cents
Loaf of Bread 20 cents
What Events Happened in 1960
Tidal Wave at Agadir in Morocco kills 12,000
OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries) is formed
Fifteen African countries gain independence and South
Africa leaves the Commonwealth
John F. Kennedy wins presidential Election
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) starts its
fight against the British
The United States announces that 3,500 American soldiers
are going to be sent to Vietnam
American Heart Association links smoking to heart
disease and death in middle-aged men
Soviet missile shoots down the US U2 spy plane
Afrikaner police open fire with sub-machine guns
on demonstrators in the black township of Sharpeville, South Africa
Chile subduction fault ruptures from Talcahuano
to Peninsula de Taitao, loosing a tsunami and one of the greatest earthquakes
on record
Sir Francis Chichester arrives in New York
aboard Gypsy Moth 11 - he has made a record solo Atlantic crossing in
40 days
Hurricane Donna kills 50 in Florida-New England
area
Princess Margaret marries Antony Armstrong
Jones
In Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Clay (who
later took the name Muhammad Ali) wins his first professional fight
after having won the Gold Medal in Rome in the Olympic games
The Summer Olympics are held in Rome, Italy
The Winter Olympic Games are held in Squaw
Valley, California, United States
Togo gains independence from France
100,000 join "Ban The Bomb" rally in London
Central African Republic Gains Independence
From France
Cote D'Ivore Gains Independence From France
Benin gains independence from France
Chad gains independence from France
Senegal gains undependence from France
Mauritania gains independence from France
Popular Culture 1960
The Flintstones premiers
Rawhide
Chubby Checker and The Twist start a new dance
craze
Operation Petticoat
Only The Lonely by Roy Orbison
Popular Films
Ben-Hur
Can Can
Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho
Technology 1960
Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh in the bathyscaph
USS Trieste break a depth record when they descend to the bottom of
Challenger Deep 35,820 feet (10,750 meters) below sea level in the Pacific
Ocean
France tests its first atomic bomb in Sahara
and joins US, UK and USSR as nuclear power.
Over one hundred million television sets in
use worldwide.
Aluminum cans used for the first time
US experimental rocket powered airplane travels
at 2,200 MPH
Xerox introduces the first commercial document
reproduction machine
The United States launches the first weather
satellite, TIROS-1.
Dr. Kazuo Hashimoto invents the Ansafone sold
in the USA as an automatic telephone answering machine
Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country
(or attributed to First Use)
