January 2
January 2
Viet Cong are successful at Ap Bac
At Ap Bac, a village in the Mekong Delta 50 miles southwest of Saigon, the Viet Cong inflict heavy casualties on a much larger South Vietnamese force. About 2,500 troops…
A Year In History: 1963
This Year in History:
1963
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
January 8
January 8
“Mona Lisa” exhibited in Washington
At the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, is exhibited for the first time in America. Over 2,000 dignitaries, including President John…
January 14
January 14
George Wallace inaugurated as Alabama governor
On January 14, 1963, George Wallace is inaugurated as the governor of Alabama, promising his followers, “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!” His inauguration speech was written by Ku Klux…
February 11
February 11
Julia Child’s “The French Chef” debuts
On February 11, 1963, Julia Child’s “The French Chef” debuts on public television in the U.S., introducing French cuisine to Americans and creating the cooking world’s first television star. The…
February 19
February 19
“The Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedan is published
On February 19, 1963, Betty Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique is published, shaking the ground beneath an American society rooted in a myth of pleasant domesticity and supported by the…
March 5
March 5
Hula Hoop patented
March 5, 1963: the Hula Hoop, a hip‑swiveling toy that became a huge fad across America when it was first marketed by Wham‑O in 1958, is patented by the company’s…
March 21
March 21
Alcatraz closes its doors
Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco‘s Bay closes down and transfers its last prisoners. At its peak period of use in 1950s, “The Rock,” or “America’s Devil Island,” housed over 200…
April 1
April 1
Soap operas “General Hospital” and “The Doctors” premiere
On April 1, 1963, the ABC television network airs the premiere episode of General Hospital, the daytime drama that will become the network’s most enduring soap opera and the longest‑running…
April 7
April 7
Tito is made president of Yugoslavia for life
On April 7, 1963, a new Yugoslav constitution proclaims Tito the president for life of the newly named Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Formerly known as Josip Broz, Tito was…
April 10
April 10
Atomic submarine USS Thresher sinks in the Atlantic, killing all on board
On April 10, 1963, the USS Thresher, an atomic submarine, sinks in the Atlantic Ocean, killing the entire crew. One hundred and twenty‑nine sailors and civilians were lost when the…
April 11
April 11
Troops from Hawaii sent to South Vietnam
One hundred U.S. troops of the Hawaiian‑based 25th Infantry Division are ordered to temporary duty with military units in South Vietnam to serve as machine gunners aboard Army H‑21 helicopters.…
April 12
April 12
Martin Luther King Jr. is jailed in Birmingham
On April 12, 1963, Good Friday, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is arrested and jailed for a campaign of protests, marches and sit‑ins against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama.…
April 16
April 16
Martin Luther King Jr. writes “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
On April 16, 1963, days after being jailed in Birmingham, Alabama, for a series of anti‑segregation protests, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pens a response to his critics on some…
April 27
April 27
High school freshman Little Peggy March earns a #1 hit with “I Will Follow Him”
On April 27, 1963, Margaret Annemarie Battavio’s very first single, “I Will Follow Him,” reached #1 on the U.S. pop charts. With her 15th birthday only six weeks behind her,…
May 1
May 1
Gloria Steinem publishes first half of her undercover Playboy exposé “A Bunny’s Tale”
After enduring a brief but grueling stint as a Bunny in Manhattan’s Playboy Club, feminist writer Gloria Steinem publishes the first half of her landmark account, “A Bunny’s Tale,” in…
May 1
May 1
James Whittaker becomes the first American to top Mt. Everest
James Whittaker of Redmond, Washington, becomes the first American to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. Located in the central Himalayas on the border…
May 2
May 2
More than 1,000 schoolchildren protest segregation in the Children’s Crusade
On May 2, 1963, in Birmingham, Alabama, more than 1,000 Black school children march through the city in a demonstration against segregation. The goal of the non‑violent demonstration, which became…
May 8
May 8
American moviegoers get their first view of James Bond in “Dr. No”
On May 8, 1963, with the American release of Dr. No, North American moviegoers get their first look down the barrel of a gun—at the super‑spy James Bond (codename: 007),…
May 12
May 12
Bob Dylan walks out on “The Ed Sullivan Show”
On May 12, 1963, the young and unknown Bob Dylan walked off the set of “The Ed Sullivan Show,” the country’s highest‑rated variety TV show, after network censors rejected the…
May 15
May 15
Project Mercury’s Faith 7 launches in program’s final flight
On May 15, 1963, Gordon Cooper is launched into space aboard Faith 7 on the longest American space mission to that date. Faith 7 was the capstone of Project Mercury,…
