Home About us Products Services Contact us Bookmark
:: wikimiki.org ::
Godfrey Lowell Cabot

Godfrey Lowell Cabot

Godfrey Lowell Cabot (February 26, 1861 - November 2, 1962), was born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, the son of Samuel Cabot, a physician, and Hannah Lowell Jackson. He became a leading American industrialist and philanthropist. His firm, Godfrey L. Cabot, Inc. (and its successor, the Cabot Corporation), was an industrial empire which included carbon black plants and tens of thousands of acres of land rich in gas, oil, and other minerals; 1,000 miles of pipeline; seven corporations with worldwide operations; three facilities for converting natural gas into gasoline; and a number of research laboratories. By 1890, Cabot's company had become America's fourth largest producer of carbon black, which was used in products such as ink, shoe polish and paint. But with the subsequent advent and popularity of cars, carbon black became in much greater demand as six pounds of it was required in the production of a single tire, and Cabot's incomes soared. He gave $647,700 to MIT in 1930 to support solar research, resulting in important discoveries in photochemistry and thermal electricity and in the construction of experimental solar houses. Other Cabot philanthropies included $615,773 to Harvard to establish the Maria Moors Cabot Foundation for Botanical Research, and funding for the annual Maria Moors Cabot prizes awarded by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, as well as an endowed professorship at that institution. He devoted much of his money and efforts to the suppression of vice and corruption in Boston. He joined the Watch and Ward Society, and under his direction of the organization in the 1920s and 1930s, it used economic, social, and legal pressures and even harassment techniques to block the sale and distribution of books which they disapproved of for moral reasons. Among the writers to which they objected were Conrad Aiken, Sherwood Anderson, John Dos Passos, Theodore Dreiser, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Aldous Huxley, James Joyce, Sinclair Lewis, Bertrand Russell, Upton Sinclair, and H. G. Wells. The Godfrey Lowell Cabot Science Library at Harvard University's Science Center is named after him.

Further reading


- Leon Harris, Only to God: The Extraordinary Life of Godfrey Lowell Cabot (1967). Cabot, Godfrey Lowell Cabot, Godfrey Lowell Cabot, Godfrey Lowell Cabot, Godfrey Lowell

February 26

February 26 is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 308 days remaining, 309 in leap years.

Events


- 747 BC - Epoch (origin) of Ptolemy's Nabonassar Era.
- 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor.
- 1266 - Battle of Benevento: An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou, defeats a combined German and Sicilian force led by King Manfred of Sicily. Manfred is killed in the battle and Pope Clement IV invests Charles as king of Sicily and Naples.
- 1794 - Christiansborg Castle, Copenhagen burns down.
- 1797 - The Bank of England issues the first one-pound note.
- 1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba.
- 1848 - The second French Republic is proclaimed.
- 1863 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the National Currency Act into law.
- 1870 - In New York City, the first pneumatic-subway opens.
- 1887 - At the SCG, George Lohmann becomes the first bowler to take eight wickets in a Test innings.
- 1919 - An act of the U.S. Congress establishes most of the Grand Canyon as a United States National Park (see Grand Canyon National Park).
- 1929 - The Grand Teton National Park is created.
- 1935 - The Luftwaffe is reformed.
- 1935 - Robert Watson-Watt carried out a demonstration which led directly to the development of RADAR in Britain.
- 1936 - In the February 26 Incident, young Japanese military officers attempt to stage a coup against the government.
- 1944 - Shooting begins of the Nazi propaganda film, "The Fuhrer Gives a Village to the Jews" in Theresienstadt.
- 1952 - United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill announces that his nation has an atomic bomb.
- 1966 - Apollo Program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket
- 1970 - National Public Radio incorporates as a non-profit corporation.
- 1971 - Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.
- 1972 - Buffalo Creek Flood caused by a burst dam kills 125 in West Virginia.
- 1986 - Robert Penn Warren is named poet laureate of the United States.
- 1987 - Iran-Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes American President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
- 1990 - The Sandinistas are defeated in Nicaraguan elections.
- 1991 - Tim Berners-Lee introduces WorldWideWeb, the first web browser.
- 1991 - Gulf War: On Baghdad Radio Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein announces the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait.
- 1992 - Xocali slaughter. More than 600 people of the town of Xocali, Azerbaijan, are killed by Armenian forces during war in Karabakh.
- 1993 - World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center goes off, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand. The buildings would be destroyed in a subsequent attack on September 11, 2001.
- 1995 - The United Kingdom's oldest investment banking firm, Barings Bank collapses after a securities broker, Nick Leeson, loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange using futures contracts.
- 2001 - The Taliban destroy two giant Buddha statues in Bamiyan, Afghanistan.
- 2004 - The United States lifts a ban on travel to Libya, ending travel restrictions to the nation that had lasted for 23 years.
- 2004 - Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski is killed in a plane crash near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- 2005 - Hosni Mubarak the president of Egypt orders the constitution changed to allow multi-candidate presidential elections before September 2005 by asking Egyptian parliament to amend Article 76 of the constitution.

Births


- 1361 - Wenceslaus, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia (d. 1419)
- 1564 - Christopher Marlowe, English dramatist (d. 1593)
- 1587 - Stefano Landi, Italian composer (d. 1639)
- 1671 - Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician and philosopher (d. 1713)
- 1672 - Antoine Augustine Calmet, French theologian (d. 1757)
- 1714 - James Hervey, English clergyman and writer (d. 1758)
- 1715 - Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher (d. 1771)
- 1720 - Gian Francesco Albani, Italian Catholic cardinal (d. 1803)
- 1786 - François Arago, French mathematician
- 1802 - Victor Hugo, French writer (d. 1885)
- 1808 - Honoré Daumier, French painter, illustrator, and sculptor (d. 1879)
- 1829 - Levi Strauss, German-born clothing designer (d. 1902)
- 1846 - Buffalo Bill, American pioneer, officer, and hunter (d. 1917)
- 1857 - Émile Coué, French psychologist (d. 1926)
- 1861 - King Ferdinand of Bulgaria (d. 1948)
- 1879 - Frank Bridge, English composer (d. 1941)
- 1882 - Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (d. 1968)
- 1885 - Aleksandras Stulginskis, President of Lithuania (d. 1969)
- 1887 - Grover Cleveland Alexander, baseball player (d. 1950)
- 1887 - William Frawley, American actor (d. 1966)
- 1893 - I. A. Richards, English literary critic (d. 1979)
- 1902 - Albert Anastasia, Italian-born gangster (d. 1957)
- 1903 - Giulio Natta, Italian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
- 1907 - Dub Taylor, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1908 - Tex Avery, American cartoonist (d. 1980)
- 1908 - Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (d. 1949)
- 1909 - King Talal of Jordan (d. 1972)
- 1914 - Robert Alda, American actor (d. 1986)
- 1916 - Jackie Gleason, American actor, writer, composer, and comedian (d. 1987)
- 1918 - Theodore Sturgeon, American writer (d. 1985)
- 1919 - Mason Adams, American actor
- 1919 - Rie Mastenbroek, Dutch swimmer (d. 2003)
- 1920 - Tony Randall, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1921 - Betty Hutton, American actress
- 1927 - Tom Kennedy, American game show host
- 1928 - Fats Domino, American musician
- 1928 - Anatoli Filipchenko, cosmonaut
- 1930 - Lazar Berman, Russian pianist (d. 2005)
- 1932 - Johnny Cash, American singer (d. 2003)
- 1934 - Robert Novak, American political columnist
- 1941 - Tony Ray-Jones, British photographer (d. 1972)
- 1943 - Bill Duke, American actor and director
- 1945 - Marta Kristen, Norwegian actress
- 1946 - Ahmed H. Zewail, Egyptian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1947 - Sandie Shaw, British singer
- 1950 - Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand
- 1951 - Lee Atwater, American political operative (d. 1991)
- 1954 - Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey
- 1954 - Michael Bolton, American singer
- 1956 - Keisuke Kuwata, Japanese singer
- 1956 - Michel Houellebecq, French novelist
- 1959 - Rolando Blackman, Panamanian basketball player
- 1962 - Greg Germann, American actor
- 1971 - Erykah Badu, American singer
- 1973 - Marshall Faulk, American football star
- 1973 - Jenny Thompson, American swimmer
- 1973 - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Norwegian footballer
- 1974 - Sébastien Loeb, French race car driver
- 1984 - Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican singer

Deaths


- 1154 - King Roger II of Sicily (b. 1093)
- 1266 - King Manfred of Sicily
- 1360 - Roger de Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, English military leader (b. 1328)
- 1525 - Cuauhtémoc, Aztec ruler
- 1552 - Heinrich Faber, German composer
- 1561 - Jorge de Montemayor, Spanish writer
- 1577 - King Eric XIV of Sweden (b. 1533)
- 1608 - John Still, English bishop
- 1630 - William Brade, English composer (b. 1560)
- 1638 - Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac, French mathematician (b. 1681)
- 1723 - Thomas d'Urfey, English writer (b. 1653)
- 1726 - Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1662)
- 1770 - Giuseppe Tartini, Italian composer (b. 1692)
- 1802 - Esek Hopkins, American Revolutionary War admiral (b. 1718)
- 1813 - Robert Livingston, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1746)
- 1815 - Prince Josias of Coburg, Austrian general (b. 1737)
- 1903 - Richard Jordan Gatling, American inventor (b. 1818)
- 1913 - Felix Draeseke, German composer (b. 1835)
- 1921 - Carl Menger, Austrian economist (b. 1840)
- 1931 - Otto Wallach, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1847)
- 1961 - King Mohammed V of Morocco (b. 1909)
- 1966 - Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian freedom fighter and writer (b. 1883)
- 1969 - Levi Eshkol, Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1895)
- 1969 - Karl Jaspers, German psychiatrist (b. 1883)
- 1971 - Fernandel, French actor (b. 1903)
- 1981 - Howard Hanson, American composer (b. 1896)
- 1985 - Tjalling Koopmans, Dutch economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
- 1993 - Constance Ford, American actress (b. 1923)
- 1994 - Bill Hicks, American comedian (b. 1961)
- 1997 - David Doyle, American actor (b. 1929)
- 1998 - Theodore Schultz, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
- 2002 - Lawrence Tierney, American actor (b. 1919)
- 2004 - Shankarrao Chavan, Indian politician (b. 1920)
- 2004 - Adolf Ehrnrooth, Finnish general (b. 1905)
- 2004 - Boris Trajkovski, President of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1956)
- 2005 - Jef Raskin, American computer scientist (b. 1943)

Holidays and observances


- Bahá'í Faith - Day 1 of Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days) - days in the Bahá'í calendar devoted to service and gift giving.
- Nation of Islam - Saviour's Day - commemoration of the birthdate of Wallace Fard Muhammad, believed to be Allah in human form, the saviour of the black race.
- Liberation Day in Kuwait (1991)

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/26 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050226.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- February 25 - February 27 - January 26 - March 26 -- listing of all days ko:2월 26일 ms:26 Februari ja:2月26日 simple:February 26 th:26 กุมภาพันธ์

1861

1861 is a common year starting on Tuesday.

Events

January


- January 1 - Benito Juárez captures Mexico City
- January 2 - Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia dies and is succeeded by Wilhelm I
- January 3 - American Civil War: Delaware votes not to secede from the United States
- January 9 - Mississippi becomes the second state to secede from the Union, preceding the American Civil War.
- January 10 - American Civil War: Florida secedes from the United States
- January 11 - American Civil War: Alabama secedes from the United States
- January 18 - American Civil War: Georgia joins the Confederacy
- January 21 - American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate
- January 26 - American Civil War: Louisiana secedes from the Union.
- January 29 - Kansas is admitted as the 34th U.S. state.

February


- February 1 - American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States.
- February 4 - American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama the Confederate States of America is formed by delegates from six break-away United States.
- February 8 - American Civil War: The Confederate States of America are formed.
- February 9 - American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is elected the Provisional President of the Confederate States of America by the Confederate convention at Montgomery, Alabama.
- February 11 - American Civil War: US House unanimously passes resolution guaranteeing non-interference with slavery in any state.
- February 13 - Capture of Gaeta, last stronghold of the Neapolitan King Francis II, by Piedmontese forces. Francis goes into exile.
- February 18 - American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the provisional president of the Confederate States of America.
- February 18 - Victor Emmanuel of Savoy becomes King of Italy. See: Kingdom of Italy
- February 19 - Serfdom is abolished in Russia.
- February 23 - President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, DC after an assassination attempt in Baltimore, Maryland.
- February 27 - A crowd in Warsaw protesting Russian rule over Poland is fired upon by Russian troops killing five protesters.
- February 28 - Colorado is organized as a United States territory.

March-April


- March 2 - Nevada is organized as a United States territory.
- March 3 - Formal emancipation of the serfs in Imperial Russia
- March 4 - End of term for President of the United States James Buchanan. He is succeeded by Abraham Lincoln.
- March 4 - American Civil War: The "Stars and Bars" is adopted as the flag of the Confederate States of America.
- March 11 - American Civil War: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted.
- March 17 - Proclamation of the kingdom of Italy with Victor Emanuel II as its king
- March 19 - First Taranaki War ends in New Zealand
- March 30 - Sir William Crookes announces his discovery of Thallium (see Discovery of the chemical elements)
- April 12 - American Civil War begins at Fort Sumter, South Carolina
- April 27 - American Civil War: President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in the United States.
- April 27 - American Civil War: West Virginia secedes from Virginia.

May-June


- May 6 - American Civil War: Arkansas secedes from the Union.
- May 7 - American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union.
- May 8 - American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is named the capital of the Confederate States of America.
- May 13 - American Civil War: Victoria of the United Kingdom issues a "proclamation of neutrality" which recognizes the breakaway states as having belligerent rights.
- May 13 - Comet C/1861 J1 (the "Great Comet of 1861") discovered in Australia.
- May 14 - The Canellas meteorite, an 859 gram chondrite type meteorite struck earth near Barcelona, Spain.
- May 20 - American Civil War: Kentucky proclaims its neutrality which will last until September 3 when Confederate forces enter the state. North Carolina secedes from the United States
- June 8 - American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union.
- June 9 - Lebanon separated from Syrian administration and reunited under Ottoman governor with the approval of European powers
- June 15 - Benito Juárez formally elected president of Mexico; he temporarily stops the payments of foreign debt
- June 25 - Abd-ul-Mejid, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1839-1861) dies and is succeeded by Abd-ul-Aziz (1861-1876).

July-August


- July 1 - First issue of Vatican's newspaper L'Osservatore Romano was published.
- July 2 - Ioan Kasatkin lands on Hakodate and introduces the Eastern Orthodox church into Japan.
- July 21 - American Civil War: First Battle of Bull Run - At Manassas Junction, Virginia, the first major battle of the war begins (Confederate victory).
- July 25 - American Civil War: The Crittenden-Johnson Resolution is passed by the U.S. Congress stating that the war is being fought to preserve the Union and not to end slavery.
- July 26 - American Civil War: George McClellan assumes command of the Army of the Potomac following a disastrous Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run.
- August 5 - American Civil War: In order to help pay for the war effort, the United States government issues the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800; rescinded in 1872).
- August 5 - US Army abolishes flogging
- August 27 - Last execution in Britain for attempted murder - Martin Doyle in Chester

September-October


- September 3 - American Civil War: Confederate General Leonidas Polk invades neutral Kentucky, prompting the state legislature to ask for Union assistance.
- September 6 - American Civil War: Forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant bloodlessly capture Paducah, Kentucky, which gives the Union control the mouth of the Tennessee River.
- October 21 - American Civil War: Battle of Ball's Bluff - Union forces under Colonel Edward Baker are defeated by Confederate troops in the second major battle of the war. Baker, a close friend of Abraham Lincoln, is killed in the fighting.
- October 24 - The HMS Warrior, the world's first ocean-going (all) iron-hulled armoured battleship was completed and commisioned.
- October 31 - American Civil War: Citing failing health, Union General Winfield Scott resigns as Commander of the United States Army.

November


- November 1 - American Civil War: US President Abraham Lincoln appoints George McClellan as commander of the Union Army, replacing the aged General Winfield Scott.
- November 2 - American Civil War: Western Department Union General John C. Fremont is relieved of command and replaced by David Hunter.
- November 6 - American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is elected president of the Confederate States of America.
- November 7 - American Civil War: Battle of Belmont - In Belmont, Missouri, Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant overrun a Confederate camp but are forced to retreat when Confederate reinforcements arrive.
- November 8 - American Civil War: The "Trent Affair" - The USS San Jacinto stops the United Kingdom mail ship Trent and arrests two Confederate envoys, James Mason and John Slidell, sparking a diplomatic crisis between the UK and US.
- November 21 - American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis appoints Judah Benjamin secretary of war.
- November 25 - Tenement collapses in the Old Town of Edinburgh and buries 50 - rescues find 15 of them alive

Unknown dates


- News of Henri Mouhot's discovery of Angkor Wat published.
- In Britain, the death penalty is limited to murder, embezzlement, piracy and to acts of arson perpetrated upon docks or ammunition depots.
- British Empire establishes bases in Lagos to stop the slave trade.

Births


- January 14 - Mehmed VI, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1926)
- January 30 - Charles Martin Loeffler, American composer (d. 1935)
- February 12 - Lou Andreas-Salome, Russian-born author (d. 1937)
- February 15 - Charles Edouard Guillaume, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1938)
- February 26 - King Ferdinand of Bulgaria (d. 1948)
- February 27 - Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher (d. 1925)
- April 8 - Son, Byong-Hi, Korean nationalist (d. 1922)
- April 15 - Bliss Carman, Canadian poet (d. 1929)
- May 7 - Rabindranath Tagore, Indian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
- June 12 - William Attewell, English cricketer (d. 1927)
- June 19 - Doctor Jose Rizal, Philippine national hero (d. 1896)
- June 20, Frederick Hopkins, English biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (d. 1947)
- October 16 - J. B. Bury, British historian (d. 1927)
- October 30 - Antoine Bourdelle, French sculptor (d. 1929)
- December 4 - Lillian Russell, American singer and vaudeville star (d. 1922)
- November 6 - James Naismith, Canadian inventor of basketball (d. 1939)
- December 8 - Georges Méliès, French film director (d. 1938)
- December 15 - Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, Prime Minister and President of Finland (d. 1944)
- December 16 - Antonio de La Gandara, French painter (d. 1917)
- December 10 - Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian explorer, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize d. 1930)
- December 20 - Ivana Kobilca, Slovenian painter (d. 1926)
- William H. Stayton, American founder of the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment

Deaths


- January 2 - Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King of Prussia (b. 1795)
- January 17 - Lola Montez, Irish-born Spanish dancer and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria (b. 1821)
- May 29 - Joachim Lelewel, Polish nationalist historian (b. 1786)
- June 3 - Stephen A. Douglas, U.S. Senator from Illinois and Presidential candidate (b. 1813)
- June 25 - Abd-ul-Mejid, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1823)
- June 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English poet (b. 1806)
- July 25 - Jonas Furrer, member of the Swiss Federal Council (b. 1805)
- August 24 - Pierre Berthier, French geologist (b. 1782)
- October 5 - Antoni Melchior Fijałkowski, Polish bishop (b. 1778)
- December 14 - Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, husband of Queen Victoria (b. 1819) Category:1861 ko:1861년 ms:1861 simple:1861 th:พ.ศ. 2404

1962

1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). In Chinese Zodiac, the "year" of the Ox ended on February 4, 1962 and the "year" of the Tiger began on February 5, 1962.

Events

January


- January 1 - Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand
- January 3 - Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro
- January 4 - New York City introduces a train that operates without a crew on-board
- January 5 - The first record by The Beatles is released by Deutsche Grammophon
- January 8 - Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is exhibited in the United States for the first time (National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC)
- January 9 - Trade pact between Cuba and the Soviet Union
- January 10 - Avalanche on Nevado Huascarán in Peru; 4000 deaths
- January 11 - Volcano erupts in the Peruvian Andes and causes an avalanche that buries 3000
- January 12 - Indonesian army confirms that it has began operations in West Irian
- January 13 - Albania allies itself with the People's Republic of China
- January 16 - Military coup in the Dominican Republic
- January 19 - Counter-coup in the Dominican Republic - old government returns except for the new president Rafael Bonnely
- January 22 - The Organization of American States (OAS) suspends Cuba's membership
- January 24 - East German goverment readopts conscription
- January 24 - OAS bomb in French foreign ministry
- January 26 - Mafioso Lucky Luciano dies at the Naples Airport
- January 26 - Ranger 3 is launched to study the moon. The space probe later missed the moon by 22,000 miles
- January 27 - Soviet government changes all place names honoring Molotov, Kaganovich and Georgi Malenkov
- January 30 - Two of the high-wire "Flying Wallendas" are killed when their famous seven-person pyramid collapsed during a performance in Detroit, Michigan

February


- February 2 - For the first time in 400 years Neptune and Pluto align
- February 3 - US announces its trade embargo with Cuba
- February 4 - The Sunday Times becomes the first paper to print a colour supplement
- February 4 - Latin American Gnostic master Samael Aun Weor declares the advent of the New Age of Aquarius
- February 5 - French President Charles De Gaulle calls for allowing Algeria to be an independent nation
- February 7 - The United States Government bans all US-related Cuban imports and exports
- February 9 - Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation opens
- February 10 - February 10 - Captured American spy pilot Francis Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel in Berlin
- February 12 - Six members of the Committee of 100 of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament are found guilty of a breach of the Official Secrets Act
- February 14 - First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy takes television viewers on a tour of the White House
- February 15 - Urho Kekkonen re-elected president of Finland
- February 16/February 17 - Heavy storm flood on Germany's North Sea coast, mainly around Hamburg, more than 300 people die, thousands losing their homes
- February 17 - Flooding in North Sea coasts
- February 20 - Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn orbits the Earth three times in 4 hours, 55 minutes becoming the first American to orbit the Earth
- February 23 - 12 European countries form European Space Agency

March-April


- March 1 - An American Airlines Boeing 707 crashes on takeoff at New York International Airport after its rudder separates from the tail, with loss of all life on board
- March 2 - Military coup in Burma
- March 8-12 - In Geneva, France and Algerian FLN begin negotiations
- March 15 - Katangan prime minister Moise Tshombe begins negotiations to rejoin Congo
- March 19 - Armistice begins in Algeria
- March 18 - France and Algeria sign an agreement in Evian ending the Algerian War. See Évian Accords.
- March 19 - Armistice in Algeria - however, Organisation de l'armée secrète continues its terrorist attacks against Algerians
- March 23 - Scandinavian States of Nordic Council sign Helsinki Convention on Nordic Co-operation
- March 24 - OAS leader Edmond Jouahud arrested in Oran
- March 26 - France shortens the term for military service from 26 months to 18
- April 3 - Nehru elected de facto prime minister of India
- April 4 - James Hanratty is hanged in Bedford Gaol for A6 murder - many believe he was innocent
- April 6 - Belgium reforms diplomatic relations with Congo
- April 7 - Author Milovan Djilas arrested in Yugoslavia
- April 8 - In France, the Évian Accords are adopted in a referendum with a majority of 90%.
- April 10 - In Los Angeles, the first game is played at Dodger Stadium.
- April 13 - OAS leader Edmond Jouhaud sentenced to death in France
- April 14 - Cuban military tribunal convicts 1179 Bay of Pigs attackers
- April 18 - Commonweath Immigration Bill in the United Kingdom removes free immigration from the citizens of member states of the British Commonwealth
- April 20 - OAS leader Raoul Salan arrested in Algiers
- April 26 - The Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon

May-June


- May 2 - OAS bomb explodes in Algeria - this and other attacks kill 110 and injure 147
- May 31 - Adolf Eichmann hanged in Israel
- May 5 - 12 East Germans escape via a tunnel under the Berlin Wall
- May 14 - Juan Carlos marries the Greek Princess Sophia in Athens
- May 14 - Milovan Djilas, former vice-president of Yugoslavia, is given further sentence for publishing Conversations with Stalin
- May 23 - Drilling for new Montreal, Quebec subway commences
- May 23 - Founder of the French terrorist Organisation de l'armée secrète, Raoul Salan, is sentenced to life imprisonment in France
- May 24 - In Olima, Peru, unpopular referee ruling in a Peru-Argentina soccer match leads to riot and panic - 300 dead, over 500 injured
- May 24 - Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule
- May 25 - Consecration of the new Coventry cathedral
- May 29 - Negotiations between OAS ja FLA lead to real armistice
- May 31 - Adolf Eichmann hanged in Israel
- June 3 - An air crash at Orly Airport in Paris - 130 dead, two stewardesses survive
- June 11 - President John F. Kennedy, gives commencement address at Yale University.
- June 11 - Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin become the only prisoners to apparently successfully escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island. There is no conclusive evidence that they survived the attempt.
- June 15 - Students for a Democratic Society complete the Port Huron Statement
- June 17 – OAS signs a truce with FLN in Algeria but a day later announces that it will continue the fight for French Algeria
- June 17 - Brazil beat Czechoslovakia 3-1 to win the 1962 World Cup
- June 25 - The United States Supreme Court rules in Engel v. Vitale that prayers in public schools are unconstitutional
- June 26 - Two-day steel strike begins in Italy in support of increased wages and 5-day working week
- June 30 - Last soldiers of the French Foreign Legion leave Algeria

July


- July 1 - Independence of Rwanda and Burundi
- July 1 – Supporters of Algerian independence win 99% majority in referendum
- July 1 - Another heavy smog over London
- July 2 - Charles De Gaulle accepts Algerian independence - France recognizes it the next day
- July 5 - Algeria becomes independent from France.
- July 6 - Irish broadcaster, Gay Byrne, presents his first edition of The Late Late Show. Byrne would go on to present the show for 37 years making it the longest running talk show in the world
- July 10 - AT&T's Telstar, the world's first commercial communications satellite, is launched into orbit - it is activated the next day
- July 12 - The Rolling Stones make their debut at London's Marquee Club, number 165 Oxford Street, opening for Long John Baldry
- July 13 - in what the press dubs "the Night of the Long Knives" United Kingdom Prime Minister Harold Macmillan dismisses one-third of his Cabinet
- July 17 - Nuclear testing: The "Small Boy" test shot Little Feller I becomes the last atmospheric test detonation at the Nevada Test Site
- July 20 - French and Tunisia reform diplomatic relations
- July 22 - Mariner program: Mariner 1 spacecraft flies erratically several minutes after launch and has to be destroyed
- July 23 - Telstar relays the first live trans-Atlantic television signal
- July 28 - Locust swarm threatens Delhi
- July 31 - Algeria proclaims independence; Ahmed Ben Bella is the first President
- July 31 - Crowd assaults the rally of the right-wing Union Movement of Sir Oswald Mosley in London

August-September


- August 5 - Film actress and sex icon, Marilyn Monroe is found dead in her Los Angeles, California home after apparently overdosing on sleeping pills
- August 6 - Jamaica becomes independent
- August 5 - South African government arrests Nelson Mandela in Howick and charges him with incinement to rebellion
- August 15 - Netherlands recognizes that Irian Java is part of Indonesia
- August 16 - Algeria joins the Arab League
- August 17 - East German border guards kill 18-year-old Peter Fechter as he attempts to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berlin
- August 22 - Failed assassination attempt against Charles De Gaulle
- August 23 - John Lennon secretly marries Cynthia Powell
- August 24 - Group of armed Cuban refugee fire at hotel in Havana from a speedboat
- August 27 - NASA launches the Mariner 2 space probe
- August 31 - Trinidad and Tobago become independent
- September 1 - Referendum in Singapore supports Malayan Federation
- September 1 - Typhoon Wanda strikes Hong Kong, at least 130 died and more than 600 were wounded.
- September 2 - Soviet Union agrees to send arms to Cuba
- September 8 - Newly independent Algeria, by referendum, adopts a Constitution.
- September 12 - President John F. Kennedy declares the USA will get a man on the moon by the end of the decade
- September 16 - Malaysia formed with Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, and North Borneo
- September 21 - Border conflict between China and India erupts into fighting
- September 21 - New Musical Express, a British music magazine, publishes a story about two 13 year old schoolgirls, Sue and Mary, releasing a disc on Decca, adding, “A Liverpool group, The Beatles, have recorded 'Love Me Do' for Parlophone, set for October 5 release.”
- September 26 - Civil war erupts in Yemen
- September 27 - Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring released, giving rise to the modern environmentalist movement
- September 28 - Prime minister Ahmed Ben Bella founds the first government in Algeria
- September 29 - The Canadian Alouette 1, the first satellite built outside the United States and Soviet Union, is launched from Vandenberg AFB in California

October

Vandenberg AFB
- October 1 - The first black student James Meredith registers in University of Mississippi escorted by Federal marshals
- October 5 - French National Assembly censures the proposed referendum to sanction presidential elections by popular mandate; prime minister Georges Pompidou resigns, but President de Gaulle asks him to stay in office
- October 8 - German Der Spiegel magazine publishes an article about Bundeswehr's bad preparedness - Spiegel scandal erupts
- October 8 - Algeria is accepted into United Nations
- October 9 - Uganda becomes independent within the British Commonwealth
- October 10 - Der Spiegel publishes an article on a NATO exercise criticizing the weakness of the West German army (the offices of the paper are occupied by the police on the 16th)
- October 11 - Second Vatican Council: Pope John XXIII convenes the first ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years
- October 12 - Infamous Columbus Day Storm strikes the U. S. Pacific Northwest with wind gusts up to 170 mph (270 km/h); 46 dead, 11 billion board feet (26 million m³) of timber blown down, $230 million U.S. in damages
- October 13 - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opens on Broadway.
- October 14 - Cuban Missile Crisis begins: A U-2 flight over Cuba takes photos of Soviet nuclear weapons being installed. A stand-off then ensues the next day between the United States and the Soviet Union, putting the entire world under threat of a nuclear war
- October 26 - Spiegel scandal - German police occupies Der Spiegel offices in Hamburg
- October 28 - Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that he had ordered the removal of Soviet missile bases in Cuba
- October 28 - a referendum in France favours the election of the president by universal suffrage
- October 31 - the UN General Assembly requests the United Kingdom to suspend enforcement of the new constitution in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), but the constitution comes into effect on November 1

November


- November 1 – Soviets begins dismantling their missiles in Cuba
- November 5 - Franz Josef Strauß, the West German defence minister, is relieved of his duties over the Spiegel affair because it is alleged that he was involved in police action against the magazine
- November 5 - Saudi Arabia breaks off diplomatic relations with Egypt following a period of unrest partly caused by the defection of several Saudi princes to Egypt
- November 5 - A coal mining disaster in Ny-Ålesund kills 21 people. The Norwegian government is forced to resign in the aftermath of this accident in August, 1963
- November 6 - Apartheid: The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution condemning South Africa's racist apartheid policies and calls for all UN member states to cease military and economic relations with the nation
- November 7 - Richard M. Nixon loses the California governor's race. In his concession speech, he states that this is his "last press conference" and that "you won't have Dick Nixon to kick around any more"
- November 17 - In Washington, DC, US President John F. Kennedy dedicates Dulles International Airport
- November 20 - Cuban Missile Crisis ends: In response to the Soviet Union agreeing to remove its missiles from Cuba, US President John F. Kennedy ends the quarantine of the Caribbean nation.
- November 26 - Spiegel scandal - German police ends its occupation of Der Spiegel offices
- November 27 - Charles De Gaulle tells Georges Pompidou to form a government
- November 29 - An agreement is signed between Britain and France to develop the Concorde supersonic airliner
- November 30 - The United Nations General Assembly elects U Thant of Burma as the new UN Secretary-General

December


- December 2 - Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of US President John F. Kennedy, US Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first American official to not make an optimistic public comment on the war's progress
- December 7 - Prince Rainier III of Monaco revises the principality's constitution, devolving some of his formerly autocratic power to several advisory and legislative councils.
- December 8 - Closing of first period of Second Vatican Council
- December 8 - In Brunei sheik Azaharin rebels - it lasts only one day
- December 8 - North Kalimantan National Army revolts in Brunei – first stirrings of Indonesian Confrontation
- December 9 - Tanganyika (now Tanzania) becomes a republic within the Commonwealth, with Julius Nyerere as president
- December 11 - Formation in West Germany of coalition government of Christian Democrats, Christian Socialists, and Free Democrats
- December 14 - US spacecraft Mariner 2 flies by Venus, becoming the first probe to successfully transmit data from another planet
- December 19 - Britain acknowledges the right of Nyasaland (now Malawi) to secede from the Central African Federation
- December 19 - The last foreign-occupied territory of India, Daman and Diu integrated into India
- December 22 - "Big Freeze" in Britain - no frost-free nights until March 5 1963
- December 24 - Cuba releases last of the 1113 participants of the Bay of Pigs Invasion to USA in exchange of food worth $53 million
- December 30 - United Nations troops occupy the last rebel positions in Katanga; Moise Tshombe moves to South Rhodesia

Unknown dates


- Pantyhose becomes available for sale in U.S. department stores
- American ad man Martin K. Speckter invents the interrobang, a new English-language punctuation mark
- Sino-Indian War border dispute involving two of the world's largest nations (between India and the People's Republic of China)
- University of Szeged assumed the name of the great Hungarian poet, Attila József, who was a student here in the 1920s.

Births

January-February


- January 5 - Joe Monzo, American composer
- January 14 - Michael McCaul, American politician
- January 17 - Jim Carrey, Canadian actor and comedian
- January 18 - Jeff Yagher, American actor
- January 21 - Marie Trintignant, French actress (d. 2003)
- February 1 - Tomoyasu Hotei, Japanese guitarist
- February 4 - Clint Black, American musician
- February 5 - Jennifer Jason Leigh, American actress
- February 6 - Axl Rose, American singer (Guns N'Roses)
- February 7 - Garth Brooks, American musician
- February 7 - Eddie Izzard, British actor and comedian
- February 8 - Malorie Blackman, Chilldrens' author
- February 10 - Bobby Czyz, American boxer
- February 10 - Cliff Burton, American bassist (Metallica) (d. 1986)
- February 11 - Sheryl Crow, American singer
- February 11 - Scott Kolden, actor
- February 12 - Jimmy Kirkwood, Irish-born field hockey player
- February 12 - Nana Ioseliani, Georgian chess player
- February 13 - Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, American politician
- February 17 - Lou Diamond Phillips, American actor
- February 21 - Vanessa Feltz, British television presenter
- February 21 - Chuck Palahniuk, American author
- February 21 - David Foster Wallace, American writer
- February 22 - Steve Irwin, Australian herpetologist and television personality
- February 24 - Michelle Shocked, American musician

March


- March 2 - Jon Bon Jovi, American singer, songwriter, and actor
- March 3 - Jackie Joyner-Kersee, American athlete
- March 3 - Herschel Walker, American football player
- March 8 - Michael Graham, American singer, entertainer
- March 7 - Taylor Dayne, American singer
- March 12 - Darryl Strawberry, baseball player
- March 15 - Terence Trent D'Arby, American-born singer
- March 17 - Clare Grogan, Scottish actress and singer
- March 18 - Thomas Ian Griffith, American actor
- March 19 - Ivan Calderón, Puerto Rican Major League Baseball player (d. 2003)
- March 20 - Stephen Sommers, American film director
- March 21 - Matthew Broderick, American actor
- March 21 - Rosie O'Donnell, American comedian, actress, talk show host, and publisher
- March 23 - Steve Redgrave, English rower
- March 26 - John Stockton, American basketball player
- March 30 - MC Hammer, American rapper

April-May


- April 2 - Mark Shulman, American children's author
- April 9 - Imran Sherwani, British field hockey player
- April 10 - Steve Tasker, American football player
- April 11 - Vincent Gallo, American actor
- April 12 - Art Alexakis, American singer and musician (Everclear)
- April 15 - Nawal El Moutawakel, Moroccan hurdler
- April 16 - Ian MacKaye, American musician
- April 19 - Al Unser, Jr., American race car driver
- April 23 - John Hannah, Scottish actor
- May 3 - Anders Graneheim, Swedish bodybuilder
- May 9 - David Gahan, English singer (Depeche Mode)
- May 10 - David Fincher, American film director
- May 12 - Emilio Estevez, American actor
- May 13 - Eduardo Palomo, Mexican actor (d. 2003)
- May 17 - Lise Lyng Falkenberg, Danish writer
- May 20 - Mike Jeffries, American soccer coach
- May 24 - Gene Anthony Ray, American actor (d. 2003)
- May 26 - Bobcat Goldthwait, American actor and comedian
- May 27 - Ravi Shastri, Indian cricketer

June-August


- June 2 - Clyde Drexler, American basketball player
- June 5 - Jeff Garlin, American comedian
- June 8 - Nick Rhodes, English musician (Duran Duran)
- June 10 - Gina Gershon, American actress
- June 13 - Ally Sheedy, American actress
- June 19 - Paula Abdul, American dancer, choreographer, and singer
- June 29 - Amanda Donohoe, English actress
- June 30 - Tony Fernandez, baseball player
- July 3 - Tom Cruise, American actor
- July 5 - Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, Indonesian terrorist
- July 19 - Anthony Edwards, American actor
- July 31 - Wesley Snipes, American actor
- August 1 - Robert Clift, British field hockey player
- August 4 - Roger Clemens, baseball player
- August 5 - Patrick Ewing, Jamaican-born basketball player
- August 6 - Michelle Yeoh, Hong Kong actress
- August 9 - Kevin Mack, American football player
- August 20 - Sophie Aldred, British actress and television presenter
- August 24 - Craig Kilborn, American talk show host
- August 25 - David Packer, American actor
- August 29 - Rebecca De Mornay, American actress

September-October


- September 1 - Ruud Gullit, Dutch footballer
- September 5 - Peter Wingfield, Welsh actor
- September 11 - Elizabeth Daily, American actress
- September 15 - Earnest Byner, American football player
- September 17 - Baz Luhrmann, Australian film director
- September 24 - Jack Dee, British comedian
- September 25 - Aida Turturro, American actress
- September 26 - Melissa Sue Anderson, American actress
- September 26 - Tracey Thorn, British singer
- September 28 - Grant Fuhr, Canadian hockey player
- September 30 - Frank Rijkaard, Dutch football player and manager
- October 1 - Esai Morales, American actor
- October 11 - Joan Cusack, American actress and comedienne
- October 11 - Nicola Bryant, British actress
- October 13 - T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh, American actress and comedian
- October 13 - Kelly Preston, American actress
- October 13 - Jerry Rice, American football player
- October 16 - Flea, Australian actor and bassist (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
-