WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO OCTOBER 1960
Find out what all happened January to October 1960

Little Joe 1B, a Mercury spacecraft, lifts off from Wallops Island, Virginia with Miss Sam, a female rhesus monkey on board. (21. January 1960)

Dahomey (later renamed Benin) declares independence from France. (1. August 1960)

Danny Heater sets a worldwide high school basketball scoring record when he records 135 points for Burnsville High School (West Virginia) (26. January 1960)

With the success of a nuclear test codenamed "Gerboise Bleue", France becomes the fourth country to possess nuclear weapons. (13. February 1960)

Senegal breaks from the Mali Federation, declaring its independence. (20. August 1960)

New Zealand's first official television broadcast commences at 7.30 pm from Auckland. (1. June 1960)

Cold War: U-2 incident – Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, is shot down over the Soviet Union, sparking a diplomatic crisis. (1. May 1960)

Togo gains independence from French-administered UN trusteeship. (27. April 1960)

The United States launches Transit 1-B, the world's first satellite navigation system. (13. April 1960)

The former British Protectorate of British Somaliland gains its independence as Somaliland. (26. June 1960)

Hundreds of University of California, Berkeley students congregate for the first day of protest against a visit by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Thirty-one students are arrested, and the Free Speech Movement is born. (13. May 1960)

Francis Gary Powers is charged with espionage resulting from his flight over the Soviet Union. (8. July 1960)

Fidel Castro announces Cuba's support for the U.S.S.R. (26. September 1960)

The Food and Drug Administration announces it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle's Enovid, making Enovid the world's first approved oral contraceptive pill. (9. May 1960)

Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom. (1. January 1960)

The French freighter La Coubre explodes in Havana, Cuba killing 100. (4. March 1960)

Students in South Korea hold a nationwide pro-democracy protest against president Syngman Rhee, eventually forcing him to resign. (19. April 1960)

Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) becomes independent from France. (15. August 1960)

Chad declares independence. (11. August 1960)

Forced out by the April Revolution, President of South Korea Syngman Rhee resigns after twelve years of dictatorial rule. (26. April 1960)