WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO MARCH 1962
Find out what all happened January to March 1962

Flooding in the coastal areas of West Germany kills 315 and destroys the homes of about 60,000 people. (16. February 1962)

A Caledonian Airways Douglas DC-7 crashes shortly after takeoff from Cameroon, killing 111 - the worst crash of a DC-7. (4. March 1962)

Cold War: While tied to its pier in Polyarny, the Soviet submarine B-37 is destroyed when fire breaks out in its torpedo compartment. (11. January 1962)

Ranger program: Ranger 3 is launched to study the moon. The space probe later misses the moon by 22,000 miles (35,400 km). (26. January 1962)

In Burma, the army led by General Ne Win seizes power in a coup d'état. (2. March 1962)

Charonne massacre. Nine trade unionists are killed by French police at the instigation of Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, then chief of the Paris Prefecture of Police. (8. February 1962)

Arturo Frondizi, the president of Argentina, is overthrown in a military coup by Argentina's armed forces, ending an 11 and a half-day constitutional crisis. (29. March 1962)

Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth, making three orbits in 4 hours, 55 minutes. (20. February 1962)

Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by scoring 100 points. (2. March 1962)

Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa. (1. January 1962)

Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 begins on the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. (6. March 1962)

The Harmelen train disaster killed 93 people in the Netherlands. (8. January 1962)

Apollo program: NASA announces plans to build the C-5 rocket launch vehicle. It became better known as the Saturn V Moon rocket, which launched every Apollo Moon mission. (10. January 1962)

Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro. (3. January 1962)

Vietnam War: Operation Chopper, the first American combat mission in the war, takes place. (12. January 1962)

The Evian Accords ended the Algerian War of Independence, which had begun in 1954. (18. March 1962)

A Flying Tiger Line Super Constellation disappears in the western Pacific Ocean, with all 107 aboard missing and presumed dead. (16. March 1962)

The United States bans all Cuban imports and exports. (7. February 1962)

The Derveni papyrus, Europe's oldest surviving manuscript dating to 340 BC, is found in northern Greece. (15. January 1962)

United States Navy SEALs established. (1. January 1962)