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1963
• On 29 January, President Charles de Gaulle vetoes Britain's attempt to join the European Economic Community. • On 5 June, John Profumo, British secretary of state for war, resigns from the government, admitting that he had misled the House of Commons by denying (on 22 March) his affair with Christine Keeler, who had also been the lover of Captain Ivanov, an attaché at the Soviet embassy. • On 26 June on a visit to West Berlin, President John F Kennedy tells a crowd of 150,000: 'Today in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is: Ich bien ein Berliner.' (The German actually translates as 'I am a doughnut.') • On 28 August, Dr Martin Luther King leads the 200,000 people on the 'March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom', at which he gives his famous 'I have a dream' speech. • In October, the trial of Nelson Mandela – charged with sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government, under the Suppression of Communism Act – begins in South Africa (ends 1964). • On 18 October, following the Profumo scandal, but officially because of ill health, British prime minister Harold Macmillan resigns. He is succeeded by the 14th earl of Home, who disclaims the peerage and becomes Sir Alec Douglas-Home. • On 22 November, President John F Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas. He is succeeded by vice president Lyndon B Johnson. Lee Harvey Oswald, arrested for the killing, is himself gunned down by night-club owner Jack Ruby two days later. • On 12 December, Kenya becomes independent from Britain. • The Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova is the first woman in space. • Betty Friedan publishes The Feminine Mystique, a feminist analysis of the role of women. • New York's Guggenheim museum exhibits pop art works by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg. • Folk singers Bob Dylan and Joan Baez enjoy popular success. • The Great Escape, directed by John Sturges, begins its long run, soon becoming a fixture on television at Christmas around the world. |
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