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1960 The cold war continued to become colder as the two sides distrusted the other more and tried to influence other parts of the world. John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson won the Presidency with one of the smallest margins in history ( 113,000 votes ) out of 68.3 million. The sexual revolution of the 60's had begun with the use of birth control pills and Hugh Hefner opening the first of his Playboy clubs in Chicago. The "Flintstones" is shown on television for the first time and movies this year include "The Magnificent Seven" and "Psycho" . Notable technical achievements include the invention of the Laser and a Heart Pacemaker. France tests its first atomic bomb and joins those countries with nuclear bomb technology. Notable names that appear in the limelight that year include "Cassius Clay" and "Sir Francis Chichester" . The US sends the first troops to Vietnam to support the French in the fight against communist North Vietnam.

Cost of Living 1960

How Much things cost in 1960
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 1.46%
Yearly Inflation Rate UK 1.1%
Average Cost of new house $12,700.00
Average Monthly Rent $98.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 25 cents
Average Cost of a new car $2,600.00
Can of Beef Ravioli 30 cents
Loaf of Bread 20 cents
Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Stirling

Average House Price 2,530

What Events Happened in 1960

  • Tidal Wave at Agadir in Morocco kills 12,000


  • OPEC ( Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries ) is formed


  • Fifteen African countries gain independence and South Africa leaves the commonwealth


  • John F Kennedy wins presidential Election


  • The Irish Republican Army ( IRA ) starts it's fight against the British


  • The United States announces that 3,500 American soldiers are going to be sent to Vietnam


  • American Heart Association Links smoking to heart disease and death in middle aged men


  • Soviet missile shoots down the US U2 spy plane


  • Afrikaner police open fire with sub machine guns on demonstrators in the black township of Sharpeville, South African


  • Chile subduction fault ruptures from Talcahuano to Peninsula de Taitao, loosing a tsunami and one of the greatest earthquakes on record


  • Sir Francis Chichester arrives in New York aboard Gypysy Moth 11 - he has made a record solo Atlantic crossing in 40 days


  • Hurricane Donna kills 50 in Florida-New England area


  • Princess Margaret marries Antony Armstrong Jones


  • In Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Clay (who later took the name Muhammad Ali) wins his first professional fight after having won the Gold Medal in Rome in the Olympic games


  • The Summer Olympics are held in Rome, Italy


  • The Winter Olympic Games are held in Squaw Valley, California, United States


  • Togo Gains Independence From France


  • 100,000 Join "Ban The Bomb" Rally in London


  • Central African Republic Gains Independence From France


  • Cote D'Ivore Gains Independence From France


  • Benin Gains Independence From France


  • Chad Gains Independence From France


  • Senegal Gains Independence From France


  • Mauritania Gains Independence From France


Popular Culture

  • Lady Chatterley's Lover goes on sale in England 32 years after it was banned
  • Coronation Street Soap premieres on ITV in the UK,
  • The Flintstones premiers
  • Rawhide
  • Chubby Chequer and The twist start a new dance craze

Popular Films

  • Ben-Hur
  • Can Can
  • Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho
  • Operation Petticoat
  • Only The Lonely by Roy Orbison

Technology 1960

  • Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh in the bathyscaph USS Trieste break a depth record when they descend to the bottom of Challenger Deep 35,820 feet (10,750 meters) below sea level in the Pacific Ocean


  • France tests its first atomic bomb in Sahara and joins US, UK and USSR as Nuclear Power


  • Over one hundred million television sets in use worldwide.


  • Aluminum Cans used for the first time


  • The MOT Test is introduced in Britain


  • US Experimental rocket powered airplane travels at 2,200 MPH


  • Xerox introduces the first Commercial Document reproduction Machine


  • The United States launches the first weather satellite, TIROS-1.


  • Dr Kazuo Hashimoto Invents the Ansafone sold in the USA as a
    Automatic Telephone Answering Machine





Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country ( or attributed to First Use )
Laser USA by Theodore Maiman
Heart Pacemaker USA by Wilson Greatbatch
Weather Satellite USA Tiros I

Vertical Take off Jet UK