WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO APRIL 1963
Find out what all happened January to April 1963

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pens his Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation. (16. April 1963)

The European Court of Justice's ruling in Van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen establishes the principle of direct effect, one of the most important, if not the most important, decisions in the development of European Union law. (5. February 1963)

The First full Color Television program in the World, publicly advertised, is broadcast in Mexico City by XHGC-TV, Channel 5, due to technical breakthrough advances made by Mexican Engineer Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena. (8. February 1963)

Alcatraz, a federal penitentiary on an island in San Francisco Bay, closes. (21. March 1963)

Marriage of HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent to the Hon Angus Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey in London. (24. April 1963)

Mount Agung erupted on Bali killing more than 1,100 people. (17. March 1963)

The Elysée treaty of cooperation between France and Germany is signed by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer. (22. January 1963)

Beeching Axe: Dr. Richard Beeching issues a report calling for huge cuts to the United Kingdom's rail network. (27. March 1963)

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. (26. April 1963)

The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence officially begins when PAIGC guerrilla fighters attack the Portuguese army stationed in Tite. (23. January 1963)

Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration. (8. February 1963)

129 American sailors die when the submarine USS Thresher sinks at sea. (10. April 1963)

The Beatles' first album, Please Please Me, is released in the United Kingdom. (22. March 1963)

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. (19. February 1963)

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. (8. March 1963)

Construction begins on the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. (12. February 1963)

The Dominican Republic receives its first democratically elected president, Juan Bosch, since the end of the dictatorship led by Rafael Trujillo. (27. February 1963)

The Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-33 collides with the Finnish merchant vessel M/S Finnclipper in the Danish straits. (12. April 1963)

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. (8. January 1963)

Vietnam War: The Viet Cong wins its first major victory in the Battle of Ap Bac. (2. January 1963)