October 9
October 9
Landslide kills thousands in Italy
On October 9, 1963, a landslide in Italy leads to the deaths of more than 2,000 people when it causes a sudden and massive wave of water to overwhelm a…
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.
October 31
October 31
Freak explosion at Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum kills 74
It’s Halloween 1963 in Indianapolis, and hundreds of spectators are gathered at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum for the “Holiday on Ice” skating exhibition. Then, just after 11 pm, a…
October 31
October 31
Ed Sullivan witnesses Beatlemania firsthand, paving the way for the British Invasion
On October 31, 1963, American television impresario Ed Sullivan, waiting for a flight at London’s Heathrow Airport, happens to witness the pandemonium of Beatlemania—a pop‑culture fever then raging in the…
November 2
November 2
Diem murdered during coup
President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu are murdered during a coup by dissident generals of the South Vietnamese army. In the early afternoon hours of November…
November 2
November 2
Ngo Dinh Diem assassinated in South Vietnam
Following the overthrow of his government by South Vietnamese military forces the day before, President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother are captured and killed by a group of soldiers. …
November 4
November 4
General Minh takes over leadership of South Vietnam
In the aftermath of the November 1 coup that resulted in the murder of President Ngo Dinh Diem, Gen. Duong Van Minh, leading the Revolutionary Military Committee of the dissident…
November 22
November 22
Kennedy becomes fourth president to be assassinated
On this day in 1963, the nation is shocked by the assassination of its president, John F. Kennedy. Kennedy was riding in an open car in Dallas, Texas, when a…
November 22
November 22
President John F. Kennedy is assassinated
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, is assassinated in 1963 while traveling through Dallas, Texas, in an open‑top convertible. First lady Jacqueline Kennedy rarely accompanied her…
November 22
November 22
Kennedy assassinated
President John F. Kennedy is assassinated during a visit to Dallas, Texas. His death caused intense mourning in the United States and brought Vice President Lyndon Johnson to the presidency.…
November 22
November 22
JFK assassinated in Dallas
On this day, President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas. Kennedy took office on January 20, 1961. From the start of his term, he was faced with a deteriorating…
November 22
November 22
President Kennedy is assassinated
President John F. Kennedy is shot and killed as his motorcade drives through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy’s suspected assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was believed to have used a…
November 24
November 24
Jack Ruby kills Lee Harvey Oswald
At 12:20 p.m. EST, in the basement of the Dallas police station, Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy, is shot to death by Jack Ruby,…
November 24
November 24
LBJ to continue Kennedy policy in Vietnam
Two days after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, President Lyndon B. Johnson confirms the U.S. intention to continue military and economic support to South Vietnam. He instructed Ambassador Henry…
November 25
November 25
JFK buried at Arlington National Cemetery
Three days after his assassination in Dallas, Texas, John F. Kennedy is laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Kennedy, the 35th president of…
November 25
November 25
Kennedy laid to rest at Arlington
On this day in 1963, President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated three days earlier, is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. It was his son’s third birthday. Kennedy’s coffin had…
November 29
November 29
LBJ forms commission to investigate Kennedy assassination
On November 29, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson appoints a special commission to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which had occurred a week earlier, on November 22,…
November 29
November 29
Johnson establishes Warren Commission
One week after President John F. Kennedy was fatally shot while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas, President Lyndon B. Johnson establishes a special commission, headed by Supreme Court…
December 2
December 2
South Vietnamese leaders order a temporary halt to the strategic hamlet program
The military junta, which took control of the South Vietnamese government following the November coup that resulted in the death of President Ngo Dinh Diem, orders a temporary halt to…
December 7
December 7
The Singing Nun reaches #1 on the U.S. pop charts with “Dominique”
From the perspective of the American pop charts, December 1963 was, as the Four Seasons would later sing, a very special time indeed. The previous month, pop radio stations around…
December 11
December 11
Frank Sinatra Jr. released by kidnappers
On December 11, kidnappers release Frank Sinatra, Jr., after abducting him in Lake Tahoe, California, three days earlier. The 19‑year‑old man, who was trying to follow in his father’s footsteps…
