Year retrospective · 1960s

1963

1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1963rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 963rd year of the 2nd millennium, the 63rd year of the 20th century, and the 4th year of the 1960s decade.

Recorded events

10

top entries

Notable births

30

Notable deaths

30

Decade

1960s

Timeline

Defining events of 1963

  1. 1963 One hundred twenty-nine American sailors die when the submarine USS Thresher sinks at sea.

    Watercraft capable of independent underwater operation

    A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or informally to refer to remotely operated vehicles and robots, or to medium-sized or smaller vessels. Submarines are referred to as boats rather than ships regardless of their size.

  2. 1963 Pope John XXIII issues Pacem in terris, the first encyclical addressed to all Christians instead of only Catholics, and which described the conditions for world peace in human terms.

    Head of the Catholic Church from 1958 to 1963

    Pope John XXIII was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963.

  3. 1963 The Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-33 collides with the Finnish merchant vessel M/S Finnclipper in the Danish straits.[citation needed]

    Country in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991

    The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until its dissolution in 1991. It was the world's third-most populous country, the largest by area, and bordered twelve countries. A diverse multinational state, it was organized as a federal union of national republics, with the largest and most populous being the Russian SFSR.

  4. 1963 U.S. civil rights campaigner Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. writes his open letter from Birmingham Jail, sometimes known as "The Negro Is Your Brother", while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama, for protesting against segregation.

    American minister and civil rights activist (1929–1968)

    Martin Luther King Jr. was an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister who was a prominent leader of the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. He advanced civil rights for people of color in the United States through the use of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience against Jim Crow laws and other forms of legalized discrimination, which most commonly affected African Americans.

  5. 1963 The first election of the Universal House of Justice is held, marking its establishment as the supreme governing institution of the Baháʼí Faith.

    Elected institution governing the worldwide Baháʼí community

    The Universal House of Justice is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith. It was envisioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, as an institution that could legislate on issues not already addressed in the Baháʼí writings, providing flexibility for the Baháʼí Faith to adapt to changing conditions. It was first elected in 1963, and subsequently every five years, by delegates consisting of the members of Baháʼí National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world.

  6. 1963 Marriage of Princess Alexandra of Kent to Angus Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey in London.

    British princess

    Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy, is a member of the British royal family. She is the only daughter of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, the only living granddaughter of George V, a niece of Edward VIII and George VI, and a first cousin of Elizabeth II. Alexandra's mother was also a first cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, consort of Elizabeth II, making her both a second cousin and first cousin once removed of Charles III.

  7. 1963 In Libya, amendments to the constitution transform Libya (United Kingdom of Libya) into one national unity (Kingdom of Libya) and allow for female participation in elections.
  8. 1963 The Bristol Bus Boycott is held in Bristol to protest the Bristol Omnibus Company's refusal to employ Black or Asian bus crews, drawing national attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom.
  9. 1963 Bye Bye Birdie, a musical romantic comedy film directed by George Sidney, was released.
  10. 1963 Execution of Henry John Burnett, the last man to be hanged in Scotland.

Arrivals

Born in 1963

Garry Kasparov 1963– Russian chess grandmaster (born 1963)
Conan O'Brien 1963– American television host, comedian, and writer (born 1963)
Rachel Whiteread 1963– English artist (born 1963)
Ken Caminiti 1963– American baseball player (1963–2004)
Rosalind Gill 1963– British sociologist and author (born 1963)
Sean Lock 1963– English comedian and actor (1963–2021)
Charles Ingram 1963– English fraudster (born 1963)
Kevin Mitnick 1963– American hacker (1963–2023)
Joakim Nystrom 1963– Swedish tennis player
Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou 1963– Greek politician
Cui Yongyuan 1963– Chinese TV host and professor
Bobby Bonilla 1963– American baseball player (born 1963)

Farewells

Died in 1963

Meyer Jacobstein American politician
Clifford Odets American writer and actor (1906–1963)
Jack Hobbs English cricketer (1882–1963)
Constance Davey Australian psychologist (1882–1963)
Melville J. Herskovits American anthropologist (1895–1963)
Benjamin R. Jacobs American biochemist
Learco Guerra Italian cyclist (1902–1963)
Józef Gosławski Polish sculptor and medallic artist
Raphaël Salem Greek mathematician (1898–1963)
William Baziotes American painter (1912–1963)
Patsy Cline American country singer (1932–1963)
Cowboy Copas American country music singer (1913–1963)

On the charts

Culture of 1963

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