WHAT ALL HAPPENED MAY TO AUGUST 1960
Find out what all happened May to August 1960

Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser (a ruby laser), at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California. (16. May 1960)

Echo 1A, NASA's first successful communications satellite, is launched. (12. August 1960)

The United States Food and Drug Administration declares Enovid to be the first officially approved combined oral contraceptive pill in the world. (23. June 1960)

Niger gains independence from France. (3. August 1960)

The Central African Republic declares independence from France. (13. August 1960)

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

The Nez Perce tribe is awarded $4 million for 7 million acres (28,000 km2) of land undervalued at 4 cents/acre in the 1863 treaty. (17. June 1960)

More than 20 million viewers watch the first televised royal wedding when Princess Margaret marries Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey. (6. May 1960)

Cuban Revolution: Cuba nationalizes American and foreign-owned property in the nation. (6. August 1960)

Cyprus gains its independence from the United Kingdom. (16. August 1960)

In Turkey, a military coup removes President Celal Bayar and the rest of the democratic government from office. (27. May 1960)

The nuclear submarine USS Triton completes Operation Sandblast, the first underwater circumnavigation of the earth. (10. May 1960)

Following the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the largest ever recorded earthquake, Cordón Caulle begins to erupt. (24. May 1960)

Islamabad is declared the federal capital of the Government of Pakistan. (1. August 1960)

Côte d'Ivoire becomes independent from France. (7. August 1960)

Formation of the western Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Also known as "Maharashtra Day" (1. May 1960)

An earthquake measuring 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale, now known as the Great Chilean Earthquake, hits southern Chile. It is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. (22. May 1960)

Congo Crisis: The State of Katanga breaks away from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (11. July 1960)

Cold War: in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to ten years imprisonment by the Soviet Union for espionage. (19. August 1960)

Decolonization: Gabon gains independence from France. (17. August 1960)