Contemporary
Year of Africa 1960: Seventeen Nations Win Their Independence
Seventeen African countries became independent in a single year, transforming the map of the continent and the membership of the United Nations.
Era · 1945 – present
Contemporary
From the Cold War and the Space Race to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the world we live in today.
Contemporary
FDA Approval of the Pill (1960): Enovid and the Contraceptive Era
Enovid became the first drug approved for contraception, and within five years millions of American women were using the pill.
Contemporary
Greensboro Sit-ins (1960): Four Students at a Woolworth's Counter
The Greensboro Woolworth's desegregated its lunch counter on 25 July 1960, and the sit-in movement spread across the South and led to the founding of SNCC.
Contemporary
Invention of the Laser (1960): Theodore Maiman's Ruby Laser
Maiman's ruby laser produced the first coherent light beam, launching laser science and technology.
Contemporary
1960 Valdivia Earthquake: The Strongest Earthquake Ever Recorded
An estimated 1,000-6,000 deaths in Chile, about 2 million people left homeless, and a tsunami that killed people in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.
Contemporary
Secret War in Laos (1961-1975): The CIA and the Hmong
The communist Pathet Lao took power in 1975; tens of thousands of Hmong fled abroad, and millions of unexploded bombs remained in the Laotian countryside.
Contemporary
Checkpoint Charlie Standoff (1961): US and Soviet Tanks Face Off
Both sides withdrew their tanks on 28 October after a quiet agreement between Washington and Moscow; the division of Berlin was left unchanged.
Contemporary
Tsar Bomba (1961): The Largest Nuclear Weapon Ever Detonated
A thermonuclear device with an estimated yield of 50 to 58 megatons was detonated, the largest man-made explosion in history.
Contemporary
Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961): The CIA's Failed Landing in Cuba
Cuban government victory; Brigade 2506 surrendered within three days and Castro's position was strengthened.
Contemporary
Construction of the Berlin Wall (1961): A City Divided Overnight
East Germany closed the border around West Berlin, stopping mass emigration and dividing the city for 28 years until November 1989.
Contemporary
Annexation of Goa 1961: India Ends Portuguese Rule in Goa
Portuguese forces surrendered on 19 December 1961 and Goa, Daman and Diu became part of India; Portugal recognised Indian sovereignty in 1974.
Contemporary
Freedom Rides (1961): Challenging Segregated Interstate Buses
Hundreds of riders were attacked or jailed, but the campaign led the Interstate Commerce Commission to ban segregation in interstate bus travel from 1 November 1961.