January
1st	Cameroon gains its independence
3rd	U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy (D-MA) announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination
9th	Aswan High Dam construction begins in Egypt
10th	British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan makes the Wind of Change speech for the first time
14th	Reserve Bank and Commonwealth Bank are created in Australia
19th	The Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan is signed in Washington, DC
21st	A mine collapses at Coalbrook, South Africa, killing 437
22nd	In France, President Charles de Gaulle fires Jacques Massu, commander-in-chief for the French troops in Algeria
23rd	Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh descend into the Marianas Trench in the bathyscaphe Trieste, reaching the depth of 10,916 metres
24th	A major insurrection occurs in Algiers against French colonial policy
25th	In Washington, DC, the National Association of Broadcasters reacts to the payola scandal by threatening fines for any disc jockeys who accepted money for playing particular records
30th	The African National Party is founded in Chad, through the merger of traditionalist parties

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February
1st	In Greensboro, North Carolina, four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University begin a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. Although they are refused service, they are allowed to stay at the counter. The event triggers many similar nonviolent protests throughout the Southern United States, and 6 months later the original 4 protesters are served lunch at the same counter
3rd	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Harold Macmillan makes the Wind of Change speech to the South African Parliament in Cape Town (although he had first made the speech, to little publicity, in Accra, Gold Coast - now Ghana - on January 10 the same year)
5th	The CERN particle accelerator is inaugurated in Geneva, Switzerland
9th	Joanne Woodward receives the first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
9th	Adolph Coors III, chairman of the board of the Coors Brewing Company, is kidnapped and captors demand $500,000. Coors is later found dead and Joseph Corbett, Jr. is indicted
10th	A conference about the independence of the Belgian Congo begins in Brussels
11th	The airship ZPG-3W is destroyed in a storm in Massachusetts
13th	France tests its first atomic bomb in the Sahara
18th	The 1960 Winter Olympics open in Squaw Valley, California
29th	An earthquake totally destroys Agadir, Morocco

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March
3rd	Elvis Presley returns home from Germany, after being away on duty for 2 years
6th	The United States announces that 3,500 American soldiers will be sent to Vietnam
6th	The Canton of Geneva in Switzerland gives women the right to vote
17th	Northwest Orient Airlines flight 710 crashes near Tell City, Indiana killing all 63 on board
21st	The Sharpeville massacre in South Africa kills more than 69 people, wounds 300
22nd	Arthur Leonard Schawlow & Charles Hard Townes receive the first patent for a laser
23rd	Nikita Khrushchev meets Charles De Gaulle in Paris
25th	Tom Pillibi by Jacqueline Boyer (music by André Popp, text by Pierre Cour) wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 for France

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April
1st	The United States launches the first weather satellite, TIROS-1
4th	The first 3 female priests are ordained in Sweden
4th	32nd Academy Awards ceremony takes place in Los Angeles, California
12th	Eric Peugeot, youngest son of the founder of Peugeot, is kidnapped in Paris. Kidnappers release him April 15 in exchange for $300,000 ransom
13th	The United States launches navigation satellite Transit I-b
16th	Gunman David Pratt attacks South African Prime Minister Henrik Verwoerd in Johannesburg, wounding him seriously
19th	In the April Revolution, South Korean students hold a nationwide pro-democracy protest against president Syngman Rhee, eventually leading him to resign
21st	In Brazil, the country's capital (Federal District) is shifted from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília. The Guanabara State is founded to succeed Rio de Janeiro as the Brazilian Federal District
27th	Togo gains independence from French-administered UN trusteeship

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May
1st	A Soviet missile shoots down an American Lockheed U2 spy plane; the pilot Francis Gary Powers is captured
1st	In India, May 1st is declared as 'Maharashtra Divas', or Maharashtra Day (the same day is also celebrated as 'Kaamgaar Divas', or Workers Day)
4th	West German refugee minister Theodor Oberländer is fired because of his Nazi past
6th	President Dwight Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1960 into law
9th	The U.S. FDA announces that it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle's Enovid, making it the world's first approved oral contraceptive pill
10th	The nuclear submarine USS Triton completes the first underwater circumnavigation of the Earth
10th	Wolves won The FA cup
11th	In Buenos Aires, 4 Mossad agents abduct fugitive Nazi Adolf Eichmann, who was using the alias "Ricardo Klement"
13th	A Swiss/Austrian expedition makes the first ascent of Dhaulagiri, the world's 7th highest mountain
14th	The Kenyan African National Congress Party is founded in Kenya, when 3 political parties join forces
15th	Sputnik 4 is launched into Earth orbit
16th	Nikita Khrushchev demands an apology from U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower for U-2 spy plane flights over the Soviet Union, thus ending a Big Four summit in Paris
16th	Theodore Maiman operates the first laser
22nd	Chile's subduction fault ruptures from Talcahuano to Taitao Peninsula, causing a tsunami and one of the greatest earthquakes on record. Seismographs in Valdivia crash
23rd	Prime Minister of Israel David Ben-Gurion announces that Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann has been captured
27th	In Turkey, a bloodless military coup d'état removes President Celal Bayar and installs General Cemal Gürsel as head of state

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June
1st	New Zealand's first television transmission occurs when a switch is flicked in Shortland Street, Auckland
4th	The Lake Bodom murders occur in Finland
6th	U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy wins the California Democratic primary
9th	Typhoon Mary kills 1,000,000 in the Fukien province of China
15th	Violent demonstrations at Tokyo University result in 182 arrests, 589 injuries
19th	The Associated Broadcasting Company is founded in the Philippines
20th	The Mali Federation between Senegal and Sudanese Republic (now Mali) gains independence from France
23rd	Japanese prime minister Nobusuke Kishi announces his resignation
24th	Joseph Kasavubu is elected the first president of independent Congo
26th	British Somaliland gains independence from the United Kingdom; 5 days later it unites with the former Italian Somaliland to create the modern Somali Republic
30th	Belgian Congo gains independence from Belgium; civil war follows
30th	Public demonstrations by democratic and left forces, against Italian government support of the post-fascist Italian Social Movement, are heavily suppressed by police

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July
1st	Ghana becomes a Republic and Kwame Nkrumah becomes its first President as Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom ceases to be the Head of state
1st	A Soviet MiG fighter north of Murmansk in the Barents Sea shoots down a 6-man RB-47. Two United States Air Force officers survive and are imprisoned in Moscow's dreaded Lubyanka prison
1st	Italian Somailand Gains it's Independence from Italy, 5 days after the British Somailand
4th	Following the admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state the previous year, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
10th	The Soviet Union beats Yugoslavia 2-1 to win the first European Football Championship
11th	U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy is nominated for President at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, California
11th	Harper Lee publishes her critically acclaimed novel To Kill a Mockingbird
20th	Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) elects Sirimavo Bandaranaike Prime Minister, the world's first elected female head of government
21st	Francis Chichester, English navigator and yachtsman, arrives in New York aboard Gypsy Moth II having made a record solo Atlantic crossing in 40 days
25th	The Woolworth's counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, the subject of a sit-in which sparked sit-ins and pickets across the southern United States in February 1960, serves its first black customer
25th	In Chicago, the Republican National Convention nominates U.S. Vice President Richard M. Nixon for President and Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. for Vice President

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August
5th	Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) declares independence from France
6th	In response to a United States embargo, Cuba nationalises American and foreign-owned property in the nation
7th	Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) becomes independent
11th	Chad becomes independent
13th	Central African Republic becomes independent
15th	Congo-Brazzaville becomes independent
16th	Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico at 102,800 feet (31,333 m). He sets unbeaten world records for: high-altitude jump; free-fall by falling 16 miles (25.7 km) before opening his parachute; and fastest speed by a human without motorized assistance, 982 km/h (614 mi/h)
16th	Cyprus gains its independence from the United Kingdom
17th	The newly named Beatles begin a forty-eight night residency at the Indra Club in Hamburg, West Germany
17th	Gabon gains independence from France
17th	The trial of U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers begins in Moscow
19th	In Moscow, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by the Soviet Union for espionage
19th	The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 5, with the dogs Belka and Strelka (Russian for "Squirrel" and "Little Arrow"), 40 mice, 2 rats and a variety of plants. The spacecraft returns to earth the next day and all animals are recovered safely
20th	Senegal breaks away from the Mali Federation, declaring independence
25th	The 1960 Summer Olympics are open in Rome, Italy
25th	The USS Seadragon (SSN-584) surfaces at the North Pole, where the crew plays softball
29th	Hurricane Donna kills 50 in Florida and New England

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September
1st	Disgruntled railroad workers effectively halt operations of the Pennsylvania Railroad, marking the first shutdown in the company's history (the event lasts 2 days)
2nd	The first election of the Parliament of the Central Tibetan Administration, in history of Tibet, takes place. The Tibetan community observes this date as Democracy Day
5th	At the 1960 Summer Olympics Cassius Clay (who will later change his name to Muhammad Ali) wins a gold medal in boxing
5th	Congo president Joseph Kasavubu fires Patrice Lumumba's government and places him under house arrest
8th	In Huntsville, Alabama, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally dedicates the Marshall Space Flight Centre (which NASA had already activated on July 1)
14th	Colonel Joseph Mobutu takes power in Congo in a military coup
14th	Oil Producing nations, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela form OPEC
22nd	Mali, sole remaining member of the Mali Federation following the withdrawal of Senegal a month earlier, declares full independence as the Republic of Mali
26th	The 2 leading U.S. presidential candidates, Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy, participate in the first televised presidential debate

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October
3rd	Jânio Quadros is elected president of Brazil for a 5-year term
5th	White South Africans vote to make the country a republic
12th	Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe on a table at a United Nations General Assembly meeting, to protest at the discussion of Soviet Union policy toward Eastern Europe
12th	Otoya Yamaguchi assassinates Inejiro Asanuma, chairman of the Japanese Socialist Party
14th	U.S. presidential candidate John F. Kennedy first suggests the idea for the Peace Corps
24th	A rocket explodes in the Baikonur Space Centre during fueling, killing 91
26th	Robert Kennedy calls Coretta Scott King, wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, and secures his release from jail on a traffic violation in Atlanta, Georgia
29th	In Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) wins his first professional fight
30th	Michael Woodruff performs the first successful kidney transplant in the United Kingdom, at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary

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November
2nd	Penguin Books is found not guilty of obscenity in the Lady Chatterley's Lover case
8th	In a close race, John F. Kennedy is elected over Richard M. Nixon, becoming the youngest (43) man elected to become President of the United States
13th	Sammy Davis, Jr. marries Swedish actress May Britt
14th	Belgium threatens to leave the United Nations over criticism of its Congo policy
14th	A collision between two trains in Pardubice, Czechoslovakia kills 117 people
15th	The Polaris missile is test-launched
22nd	The United Nations supports the government of Joseph Kasavubu and Joseph Mobutu in Congo
28th	Mauritania becomes independent of France
30th	Production of the DeSoto automobile brand ceases

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December
1st	Patrice Lumumba, the deposed premier of the Congo, is arrested by troops of Colonel Joseph Mobutu
1st	A 5-ton Soviet spacecraft containing animals, insects and plants is launched into orbit; it burns up upon re-entry
2nd	U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorises the use of $1M for the relief and resettlement of Cuban refugees, who have been arriving in Florida at the rate of 1,000 a week
4th	The admission to the United Nations of Mauritania is vetoed by the USSR
5th	Pierre Lagaillarde, who led 1958 and 1960 insurrections in Algeria, fails to appear in a Paris court. He has reportedly fled with 4 fellow defendants to Spain en route to Algeria
7th	The United Nations Security Council is called into session by the Soviet Union, to consider Soviet demands that the U.N. seek the immediate release of former Congolese Premier Patrice Lumumba
9th	French President Charles de Gaulle's visit to Algeria is marked by bloody riots by European and Muslim mobs in Algeria's largest cities, killing 127 people
9th	First Episode of long-running drama Coronation Street airs. It was originally planned to be a 16-part drama but became such a success that it is still running 5 times or more per week
12th	The U.S. Supreme Court upholds a Federal Court ruling that Louisiana's segregation laws are unconstitutional
13th	While Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia visits Brazil, his Imperial Bodyguard revolts unsuccessfully against his rule. The rebels proclaim the emperor's son, Crown Prince Asfa Wossen, as Emperor
13th	Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras found the Central American Common Market
13th	Navy Commander Leroy Heath (Pilot) and Lieutenant Larry Monroe (Bombardier/Navigator) establish a world altitude record of 91,450.8 feet (27,874.2 metres) in an A3J Vigilante carrying a 1,000 kilogram payload, besting the previous record by over 4 miles
14th	Antoine Gizenga proclaims in Stanleyville, Congo, that he has assumed the premiership
15th	King Mahendra of Nepal deposes the government and takes power into his own hands
15th	King Baudouin of Belgium marries Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragon
16th	United Airlines DC-8 collides with a TWA Lockheed Constellation over Staten Island, New York City. All 128 passengers and crew on both planes are killed, as are 6 persons on the ground
17th	Troops loyal to Haile Selassie I in Ethiopia suppress the revolt that began December 13, giving power back to their leader upon his return from Brazil. Haile Selassie absolves his son of any guilt
19th	Fire sweeps through the USS Constellation, the largest U.S. aircraft carrier, while it is under construction at a Brooklyn Navy Yard pier, killing 50 and injuring 150
20th	Discoverer XIX is launched into polar orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base, to measure radiation
27th	France sets off its third nuclear test blast at its atomic proving grounds at Reggane, Algeria