| 1963-11-23
The BBC broadcasts the first ever episode of Doctor Who (starring William Hartnell) which is the world's longest running science fiction drama.
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| 1963-06-11
Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc burns himself with gasoline in a busy Saigon intersection to protest the lack of religious freedom in South Vietnam.
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| 1963-10-09
In northeast Italy, over 2,000 people are killed when a large landslide behind the Vajont Dam causes a giant wave of water to overtop it.
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| 1963-04-10
129 people die when the submarine USS Thresher sinks at sea.
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| 1963-09-02
CBS Evening News becomes U.S. network television's first half-hour weeknight news broadcast, when the show is lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes.
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| 1963-07-26
Syncom 2, the world's first geosynchronous satellite, is launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta B booster.
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| 1963-08-18
American civil rights movement: James Meredith becomes the first black person to graduate from the University of Mississippi.
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| 1963-04-26
In Libya, amendments to the constitution transform Libya (United Kingdom of Libya) into one national unity (Kingdom of Libya) and allows for female participation in elections.
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| 1963-06-20
The so-called "red telephone" is established between the Soviet Union and the United States following the Cuban Missile Crisis.
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| 1963-06-12
Civil rights leader Medgar Evers is murdered in front of his home in Jackson, Mississippi by Ku Klux Klan member Byron De La Beckwith.
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| 1963-06-30
Ciaculli massacre: a car bomb, intended for Mafia boss Salvatore Greco, kills seven between police officers and military personnel near Palermo.
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| 1963-08-22
Joe Walker in an X-15 test plane reaches an altitude of 106 km (66 mi).
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| 1963-07-26
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development votes to admit Japan.
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| 1963-05-02
Berthold Seliger launches a rocket with three stages and a maximum flight altitude of more than 100 kilometres near Cuxhaven. It is the only sounding rocket developed in Germany.
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| 1963-12-07
Instant replay is used for the first time in a Army-Navy game.
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| 1963-03-27
Beeching axe: Dr. Richard Beeching issues a report calling for huge cuts to the United Kingdom's rail network.
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| 1963-11-09
At Miike coal mine, Miike, Japan, an explosion kills 458, and hospitalises 839 with carbon monoxide poisoning. Also, in Japan, a three-train disaster occurs in Yokohama, kills more than 160 people.
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| 1963-05-08
South Vietnamese soldiers of Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem open fire on Buddhists defying a ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Vesak, killing nine.
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| 1963-09-15
The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing: Four children killed at an African-American church in Birmingham, Alabama, United States
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| 1963-09-16
Malaysia is formed from Malaya, Singapore, British North Borneo (Sabah) and Sarawak.
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| 1963-04-07
Yugoslavia is proclaimed to be a Socialist republic and Josip Broz Tito is named President for life.
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| 1963-06-24
The United Kingdom grants Zanzibar internal self-government.
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| 1963-12-22
The cruise ship Lakonia burns 180 miles north of Madeira with the loss of 128 lives.
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| 1963-04-16
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pens his Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation.
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| 1963-10-22
A BAC One-Eleven prototype airliner crashes in UK with the loss of all on board.
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| 1963-05-25
In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Organisation of African Unity is established.
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| 1963-05-14
Kuwait joins the United Nations.
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| 1963-01-08
Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is exhibited in the United States for the first time, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
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| 1963-11-07
Wunder von Lengede: In Germany, eleven miners are rescued from a collapsed mine after 14 days.
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| 1963-01-29
The first inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame are announced.
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| 1963-07-26
Earthquake in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia (republic of southern Yugoslavia) – 1100 dead
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| 1963-08-21
Xa Loi Pagoda raids: the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces loyal to Ngo Dinh Nhu, brother of President Ngo Dinh Diem, vandalises Buddhist pagodas across the country, arresting thousands and leaving an estimated hundreds dead.
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| 1963-08-08
Great Train Robbery: in England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal 2.6 million pounds in bank notes.
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| 1963-08-30
Hotline between U.S. and Soviet leaders goes into operation.
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| 1963-10-31
An explosion at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum (now Pepsi Coliseum) in Indianapolis kills 74 people during an ice skating show. The explosion also injures 400. A faulty propane tank connection in a concession stand is blamed.
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| 1963-09-19
Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. is founded at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.
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| 1963-02-19
The publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique reawakens the Feminist Movement in the United States as women's organizations and consciousness-raising groups spread.
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| 1963-09-29
The second period of the Second Vatican Council opens.
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| 1963-07-19
Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 metres (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km, this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention.
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| 1963-12-08
Pan Am Flight 214, a Boeing 707, is struck by positive lightning and crashes near Elkton, Maryland, United States, killing all 81 people on board.
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| 1963-11-29
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson establishes the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
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| 1963-01-23
Guinea-Bissau War of Independence offially begins when PAIGC guerrilla fighters attacked the Portuguese army stationed in Tite.
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| 1963-04-12
The Soviet nuclear powered submarine K-33 collides with the Finnish merchant vessel M/S Finnclipper in the Danish straits.
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| 1963-08-15
President Fulbert Youlou is overthrown in the Republic of Congo, after a three-day uprising in the capital.
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| 1963-05-15
Project Mercury: The launch of the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 with astronaut L. Gordon Cooper on board. He becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space.
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| 1963-06-03
A Northwest Airlines DC-7 crashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of British Columbia, killing 101.
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| 1963-06-16
Soviet Space Program: Vostok 6 Mission – Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space.
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| 1963-04-24
Marriage of Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Kent to Angus Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey in London.
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| 1963-06-05
British Secretary of State for War John Profumo resigns in a sex scandal known as the Profumo Affair.
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| 1963-12-31
The Central African Federation officially collapses and splits into Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia.
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| 1963-07-01
ZIP Codes are introduced for United States mail.
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| 1963-09-04
Swissair Flight 306 crashes near Dürrenäsch, Switzerland, killing all 80 people on board.
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| 1963-09-29
The University of East Anglia is established in Norwich, England.
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| 1963-11-22
In Dallas, Texas, US President John F. Kennedy is killed and Texas Governor John B. Connally is seriously wounded by Lee Harvey Oswald, who is later captured and charged with the murder of police officer J. D. Tippit. That same day, US Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as the 36th President of the United States.
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| 1963-05-22
Assassination attempt of Greek left-wing politician Gregoris Lambrakis, who will die five days afterwards.
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| 1963-05-03
The police force in Birmingham, Alabama switches tactics and responds with violent force to stop the "Birmingham campaign" protesters. Images of the violent suppression are transmitted worldwide, bringing newfound attention to the African-American Civil Rights Movement.
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| 1963-08-28
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr. gives his I Have a Dream speech; Emily Hoffert and Janice Wylie are murdered in their Manhattan flat, prompting the events that would lead to the passing of the Miranda Rights.
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| 1963-07-01
The British Government admits that former diplomat Kim Philby had worked as a Soviet agent.
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| 1963-11-24
Lee Harvey Oswald is murdered by Jack Ruby in the basement of Dallas police department headquarters. The shooting is broadcast live on television.
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| 1963-03-21
Alcatraz, a federal penitentiary on an island in San Francisco Bay, closes.
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| 1963-08-15
Execution of Henry John Burnett, the last man to be hanged in Scotland.
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| 1963-02-27
The Dominican Republic receives its first democratically elected president, Juan Bosch, since the end of the dictatorship led by Rafael Trujillo.
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| 1963-03-16
Mount Agung erupts on Bali killing 11,000.
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| 1963-06-03
The Buddhist crisis: Soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam attack protesting Buddhists in Huế, South Vietnam, with liquid chemicals from tear gas grenades, causing 67 people to be hospitalised for blistering of the skin and respiratory ailments.
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| 1963-06-17
The United States Supreme Court rules 8 to 1 in Abington School District v. Schempp against allowing the reciting of Bible verses and the Lord's Prayer in public schools.
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| 1963-12-14
Baldwin Hills Reservoir wall bursts, killing five people and damaging hundreds of homes in Los Angeles.
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| 1963-11-27
The Convention on the Unification of Certain Points of Substantive Law on Patents for Invention is signed at Strasbourg.
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| 1963-04-13
At the Academy Awards, Sidney Poitier becomes the first African-American male to win the Best Actor award for Lilies of the Field.
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| 1963-12-12
Kenya gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
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| 1963-06-11
American Civil Rights Movement: Alabama Governor George Wallace stands at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in an attempt to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending that school. Later in the day, accompanied by federalized National Guard troops, they are able to register.
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| 1963-11-06
Vietnam War: Following the November 1 coup and execution of President Ngo Dinh Diem, coup leader General Duong Van Minh takes over leadership of South Vietnam.
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| 1963-11-24
Vietnam War: Newly sworn-in US President Lyndon B. Johnson confirms that the United States intends to continue supporting South Vietnam both militarily and economically.
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| 1963-11-29
Trans-Canada Airlines Flight 831: A Douglas DC-8 carrying 118, crashes after taking-off from Dorval Airport near Montreal.
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| 1963-06-05
Movement of 15 Khordad: Protest against arrest of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini by Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In several cities, masses of angry demonstrators are confronted by tanks and paratroopers.
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| 1963-06-17
A day after South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem announced the Joint Communique to end the Buddhist crisis, a riot involving around 2,000 people breaks out, killing one.
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| 1963-08-24
The 200-metre freestyle is swum in less than 2 minutes for the first time by Don Schollander (1:58).
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| 1963-10-07
John F. Kennedy signs ratification for Partial Test Ban Treaty.
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| 1963-06-01
Kenya gains internal self-rule (Madaraka Day).
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| 1963-01-22
The Elysée treaty of cooperation between France and Germany is signed by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer.
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| 1963-08-05
The United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty.
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| 1963-11-02
South Vietnamese President Ngô Ðình Diệm is assassinated following a military coup.
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| 1963-09-07
The Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in Canton, Ohio with 17 charter members.
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| 1963-09-06
The Centre for International Industrial Property Studies (CEIPI) is founded.
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| 1963-09-10
20 African-American students enter public schools in Alabama.
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| 1963-11-01
The Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, with the largest radio telescope ever constructed, officially opens.
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| 1963-11-18
The first push-button telephone goes into service.
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| 1963-12-01
Nagaland becomes the 16th state of India.
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| 1963-02-08
Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration.
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| 1963-10-10
France cedes control of the Bizerte naval base to Tunisia.
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| 1963-03-08
The Ba'ath Party comes to power in Syria in a Coup d'état by a clique of quasi-leftist Syrian Army officers calling themselves the National Council of the Revolutionary Command.
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| 1963-05-30
A protest against pro-Catholic discrimination during the Buddhist crisis is held outside South Vietnam's National Assembly, the first open demonstration during the eight-year rule of Ngo Dinh Diem.
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| 1963-11-25
President John F. Kennedy is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
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| 1963-12-25
Turkish Cypriot Bayrak Radio begins transmitting in Cyprus after Turkish Cypriots are forcibly excluded from Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation.
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| 1963-04-21
The Universal House of Justice of the Bahá'í Faith is elected for the first time.
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