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1963 The biggest news from 1963 was the assassination of the US President Kennedy which thrust Lyndon Johnson into the role of president and the murder two days later of Lee Harvey Oswold by nightclub owner Jack Ruby. This was a difficult time to become president with the mounting troubles in Vietnam where the Viet Cong Guerrillas had now killed 80 American Advisors and the continued campaign for civil rights by the black community caused violent reactions from whites including Mississippi, Virginia and Alabama where the black civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr was arrested. Films included "The Birds" and "The Great Escape" and popular TV programmes "The Virginian" and "Lassie". ladies fashion clothes and hairstyles included fir boots and towering hair do's for evening wear. In music the beginning of Beatlemania after they release "I Want To Hold Your Hand/I Saw Her Standing There" and "Meet the Beatles".

Cost of Living 1963

How Much things cost in 1963
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 1.24%
Yearly Inflation Rate UK 1.8%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 762
Average Cost of new house $12,650.00
Average Income per year $5,807.00
Gas per Gallon 29 cents
Average Cost of a new car $3,233.00
Loaf of bread 22 cents
Bedroom Air Conditioner $149.95
Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Stirling

Average House Price 3,160
New Ford Cortina 675

What Events Happened in 1963

  • World Religions status: 890 million Christians, 200 million Buddhists, 365 Hindus, 13 million Jews


  • A hurricane and resulting Tsunami cause Flooding in East Pakistan Bangladesh kills 22,000


  • President John F Kennedy assassinated in the United States


  • Korea returns to Civilian Rule


  • Lyndon Johnson Becomes President


  • An earthquake in Libya destroys the village of Barce - 500 dead


  • Typhoon Olive with 110MPH Winds destroyed most of the homes on the Island of Saipan


  • The Profumo Crisis in the UK causing resignations from the cabinet caused by war minister John Profumo having an affair with Christina Wheeler who was also involved with a Soviet Navy officer


  • Alcatraz federal penitentiary known as "The Rock" closes


  • Berlin Wall Opened For 1 Day Passes


  • 1st Beeching Report suggests closing 25% of British Rail


  • The Sabin oral Polio Vaccine which is taken with a lump of sugar is given nationwide in US and UK


  • Kenya Gains Independence from Britain


  • Nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Thresher sinks in the Atlantic Ocean


  • Pope John XXIII dies


  • Pope Paul VI is elected by College of Cardinals.


  • The Great Train Robbery takes place in Buckinghamshire, England


  • First US State Lottery in New Hampshire


  • Yugoslavia declares President Tito President for Life


  • Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his "I have a dream" speech


  • Jack Ruby murders John F. Kennedy's suspected assassin Lee Harvey Oswald live on television.




Technology

  • AT&T introduces touch tone phones


  • Flymo Sells first Hover Mower


  • Zip codes implemented in US


  • Lava Lamp or The Astro Lamp Launched by Edward Craven Walker




    • Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country ( or attributed to First Use )
    Tape Cassette Netherlands ( Philips ) used to record and play audio
    Pull Tab Can As Used For Soda U.S.A. Alcoa Company

    Popular Culture 1963

    This was the year an Insurance firm State Mutual Life Insurance invented the Smiley Face found on anything and everything around the world including T Shirts , it's popularity was at it's peak in the 1960's
    • The Beatles release their first album Please Please Me.


    • The first episode of the BBC television series Doctor Who is broadcast


    • Bob Dylan walks off the Ed Sullivan show


    • Beatles Release I Want To Hold Your Hand/I Saw Her Standing There and Meet the Beatles which is the beginning of Beatlemania.


    Popular Films

    • Cleopatra
    • The Longest Day
    • Lawrence of Arabia
    • Mutiny on the Bounty
    • To Kill a Mockingbird

    What do you remember ? Did you go to a Concert that year ?
    Please take the time to post your memory on this Page

    Popular Musicians

    • The Beatles
    • Roy Orbison
    • Buddy Holly
    • The Drifters
    • Jim Reeves

    Popular TV Programmes

    • Coronation Street
    • The Andy Griffith Show
    • The Flintstones
    • Mister Ed
    • The Avengers
    • The Dick Van Dyke Show