WHAT ALL HAPPENED AUGUST TO OCTOBER 1960
Find out what all happened August to October 1960

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

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

Nedelin catastrophe: An R-16 ballistic missile explodes on the launch pad at the Soviet Union's Baikonur Cosmodrome space facility, killing over 100. Among the dead is Field Marshal Mitrofan Nedelin, whose death is reported to have occurred in a plane crash (24. October 1960)

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

Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at 102,800 feet (31,300 m), setting three records that held until 2012: High-altitude jump, free fall, and highest speed by a human without an aircraft. (16. August 1960)

The poet Léopold Sédar Senghor is elected as the first President of Senegal. (5. September 1960)

Nikita Khrushchev, leader of Soviet Union, disrupts a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly with a number of angry outbursts. (29. September 1960)

Nigeria gains independence from the United Kingdom. (1. October 1960)

In Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Clay (who later takes the name Muhammad Ali) wins his first professional fight. (29. October 1960)

At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Abebe Bikila becomes the first sub-Saharan African to win a gold medal, winning the marathon in bare feet. (10. September 1960)

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is founded. (14. September 1960)

The first election of the Parliament of the Central Tibetan Administration, in history of Tibet. The Tibetan community observes this date as the Democracy Day. (2. September 1960)

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

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

Eastern Air Lines Flight 375, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, crashes after a bird strike on takeoff from Boston's Logan International Airport, killing 62 of 72 on board. (4. October 1960)

Nigeria joins the United Nations. (7. October 1960)

The boxer Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) is awarded the gold medal for his first place in the light heavyweight boxing competition at the Olympic Games in Rome. (5. September 1960)

Burkina Faso, then known as Upper Volta, becomes independent from France. (5. August 1960)

Congo Crisis: With CIA help, Mobutu Sese Seko seizes power in a military coup, suspending parliament and the constitution. (14. September 1960)

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