April 1962

January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December

The following events occurred in April, 1962

April 1, 1962 (Sunday)

• The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation was established.
• Soviet submarine K-27 was launched.
• Born: Phillip Schofield, English broadcaster, in Oldham
• Died: Jussi Kekkonen, 51, Finnish war hero; and Michel de Ghelderode, 63, Belgian playwright

April 2, 1962 (Monday)

• The 3rd Lok Sabha began its five-year session in the Parliament of India, with 494 legislators. It would last until March 3, 1967.
• Born: Sridhar Rangayan, Indian filmmaker, in Mandya

April 4, 1962 (Wednesday)

• James Hanratty was hanged in Bedford Gaol for the 1961 A6 murder. Afterward, witnesses came forward to testify that they had seen him in another town at the time. In 1997, a police committee would conclude that he had been wrongfully convicted, but the decision was reversed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, and upheld by a court of appeal in 2002.
• John Kenneth Galbraith, at the time the U.S. Ambassador to India, wrote a letter to President Kennedy, proposed a negotiated peace between North Vietnam and South Vietnam, before the American presence escalated further. Kennedy felt the plan was feasible, and instructed Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Averell Harriman to reply favorably to Galbraith's idea. Years later, researcher Gareth Porter would locate Harriman's alteration of the telegram to Galbraith, replacing the President's approval of mutual de-escalation talks with instructions to threaten further escalation if North Vietnam did not withdraw.

April 5, 1962 (Thursday)

• A federal grand jury indicted Billie Sol Estes, a major supporter of then U.S. Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson, along with three of Estes's assistants, for charges of conspiracy to plot a $24,000,000 fraud of investors.
• U.S. Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter suffered a stroke while in his office, and was never able to return to hearing cases. He would resign on August 28.
• The last train ran on the west Cork railway in Ireland.
• Born: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Kalmyk multimillionaire politician, former President of the international chess federation FIDE, and leader of the Russian Republic of Kalmykia, in Elista, RSFSR, USSR; and Lana Clarkson, American model and actress who was murdered by Phil Spector (d. 2003)

April 6, 1962 (Friday)

• The United Steel Workers of America and steel manufacturers agreed to a new contract, brokered by the U.S. Department of Labor, in which the union reduced its demands for a wage increase from 17 cents to 10 cents an hour, based upon the White House's determination to hold down prices. Four days later, the steel makers raised their prices anyway. A furious President Kennedy forced U.S. Steel and other companies to rescind the increase on April 13.
• Leonard Bernstein caused controversy by his remarks before a concert featuring Glenn Gould with the New York Philharmonic.

April 7, 1962 (Saturday)

• A five-man military tribunal in Cuba convicted the 1,179 surviving attackers of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of an attempt to overthrow the government a year earlier, with a sentence of 30 years incarceration for each prisoner. The tribunal levied "fines" totaling $62 million for the release of the prisoners. The United States would negotiate release of the men by year's end with the delivery of $53,000,000 worth of medicine and food.
• At the Ealing Jazz Club in London, Brian Jones was introduced to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The three would become the heart of The Rolling Stones, formed later that year.
• Author Milovan Djilas, at one time a Vice-President of Yugoslavia and a possible successor to President Tito, was returned to prison after violating a new Yugoslavian law that made it a crime to write about "confidential subjects that may harm Yugoslavia". Djilas had been in prison from 1957 to 1961 after criticizing communism in his book The New Class. The new charges stemmed from a January magazine article in the Italian magazine Tempo Presente, and an upcoming book, Conversations With Stalin.
• Died: Jaroslav Durych, 75, Czech writer

April 8, 1962 (Sunday)

• In France, the Évian Accords were ratified in a referendum, with 9 out of every 10 French voters in favor of letting French Algeria become its own independent nation. The final result was 17,866,423 in favor of Algerian independence, and 1,809,074 against. France-politique.fr
• Died: Juan Belmonte, 69, Spanish bullfighter who revolutionized the sport

April 9, 1962 (Monday)

• The 35th Academy Awards ceremony was held. Lawrence of Arabia won Best Picture.
• The United States Marine Corps' involvement in the Vietnam War began when HMM-362 arrives at Soc Trang south of Saigon (South Vietnam).
• The Cosmonautics Day holiday was established in the Soviet Union, a year after the first manned space flight. It remains a holiday (April 12) and is now designated International Day of Human Space Flight.
• A two day conference opened in Washington, D.C. between representatives of four of the largest American church organizations. The Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, the United Presbyterian Church and the United Church of Christ discussed a possible merger of the denominations to create "United Protestantism in America".
• Police in Marseilles recovered eight Paul Cezanne paintings that had been stolen on August 13 while on loan to a museum in Aix-en-Provence. The value of the works, which included The Card Players, was $2,000,000. "
• The Cleveland Pipers defeated the Kansas City Steers, 106-102, to win the first and only championship series in the American Basketball League. Cleveland had lost the first two games of the best-of-5 series, then won the next two 116-114 and 100-98, to force the final game, which took place at the small gymnasium at Kansas City's Rockhurst College because the city's arena wasn't available. The Steers would be declared the champions of the 1962-63 ABL season based on having the best record when the league disbanded on December 31, 1962.

April 10, 1962 (Tuesday)

• U.S. Steel, the largest steel manufacturer in the world, announced that it would raise its prices effective the next day. Chairman of the Board Roger Blough informed President Kennedy of the decision at the White House. Kennedy responded the next day with a nationally televised press conference.
• The Houston Colt .45s, later renamed the Houston Astros, won their very first game, defeating the visiting Chicago Cubs, 11-2, and in Los Angeles, the first MLB game was played at Dodger Stadium, where 52,564 fans watched the home team lose, 6-3, to the Cincinnati Reds.
• Died: Michael Curtiz (Kertész Kaminer Manó), 75, Hungarian-American director of multiple films, including Casablanca, for which he won an Academy Award.

April 11, 1962 (Wednesday)

• As three other American steelmakers announced a price hike, President Kennedy denounced "Big Steel" in a press conference "with the strongest language he has leveled at anyone or anything since becoming President". In March, the U.S. Department of Labor had helped mediate a contract between the United Steelworkers of America and the companies, with the union agreeing to a smaller wage increase in order to prevent a price rise.
• The New York Mets played their first game, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-4, at St. Louis.
• After two divorces, Diana Churchill, daughter of Winston Churchill, legally takes back her maiden name.
• Born: Vincent Gallo, American actor, director and screenwriter, in Buffalo, New York; Mark Lawson, English journalist and broadcaster
• Died: George Poage, 81, first African-American athlete to win an Olympic medal

April 12, 1962 (Thursday)

• Born: Jarosław Kalinowski, Polish politician, in Wyszków
• Died: Antoine Pevsner, Belarusian sculptor, 76

April 13, 1962 (Friday)

• Edmond Jouhaud, the second-in-command of the Organisation de l'armée secrète, was sentenced to death in France.

April 14, 1962 (Saturday)

• Michel Debre resigned the office of Prime Minister of France after more than three years, bringing to a close "the longest French parliamentary government since the 18th century" and was replaced by Georges Pompidou, who would succeed Charles de Gaulle as President of France
• Dictator Fidel Castro, "in an unexpected burst of generosity", allowed 60 of the 1,179 Bay of Pigs invaders to be released from Principe Prison for reasons of health, and to be flown from Havana to Miami on a Pan American World Airways jet, without conditions.
• Jim Clark wins the 1962 Lombank Trophy motor race at Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit, UK.

April 15, 1962 (Sunday)

• Born: Miriam Stockley, British/South African singer, in Johannesburg
• Died: Arsenio Lacson, 50, Filipino journalist, Mayor of Manila, after suffering a stroke at a hotel suite while preparing to leave to make his weekly radio and television broadcast.>

April 16, 1962 (Monday)

• Born: Martin Zaimov, Bulgarian financier and politician, in Geneva, Switzerland

April 17, 1962 (Tuesday)

• In a by-election for the UK parliamentary constituency of Derby North, caused by the death of sitting MP Clifford Wilcock, Niall MacDermot retains the seat for the Labour Party.

April 18, 1962 (Wednesday)

• The Commonwealth Immigrants Act in the United Kingdom removes free immigration from the citizens of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, requiring proof of employment in the UK. This comes into effect on 1 July.
• The Boston Celtics won their 4th consecutive NBA Championship in the 7th game of the best-of-seven series, in overtime. The Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, tied 3-3 in the series, were tied 100-100 at the end of regulation. L.A.'s Frank Selvy had tied the game, then missed a jump shot that would have won in regulation.
• Died: Harry A. Franck, 80, American travel writer

April 19, 1962 (Thursday)

• Born: Dilan Perera, Sri Lankan politician

April 20, 1962 (Friday)

• OAS leader Raoul Salan was arrested in Algiers.
• Died: Grover Whalen, 75, New York City public events co-ordinator credited with inventing the ticker-tape parade.

April 21, 1962 (Saturday)

• The Century 21 Exposition World's Fair opened in Seattle, Washington at 11:00 am local time. A group of 1,000 newsmen had previewed the fair the day before. In addition to the 606 foot tall Space Needle building, which became a symbol of Seattle, the Fair included a carnival that would "fit a working man's budget". The carnival, in operation for the duration of the fair, was called "Gayway". The fair would run until October 21.
• A flight formation of 24 U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy jets, part of the opening ceremonies of the Seattle World's Fair, ended in tragedy. One of the F-102 Dagger jet fighters experienced flight trouble. The pilot ejected safely, but the jet crashed into a residential neighborhood at the suburb of Mountlake Terrace, Washington, destroying two homes and killing an elderly couple. A five member family, that normally resided in the other home, had gone on Easter vacation to avoid the traffic associated with the fair opening.
• Died: Frederick Handley Page, 76, founder of Britain's first aircraft manufacturing comapny, Handley Page, Ltd.

April 22, 1962 (Sunday)

• The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1, to win ice hockey's Stanley Cup in the sixth game of a best-of-seven series.
• Born: Han Aiping, Chinese badminton player
• Died: Vera Reynolds, 62, American film actress

April 23, 1962 (Monday)

• Transport Minister Dr. Richard Beeching initiated a study of traffic flows on all the railway lines in the UK.
• At a motor racing meeting at Goodwood Circuit, UK, Graham Hill wins the 1962 Glover Trophy and Bruce McLaren won the 1962 Lavant Cup.
• The American Ranger 4 satellite was launched at 2:50 pm local time from Cape Canaveral, with the objective of gathering data from the Moon. A few hours later, ground control found that the satellite would be unable to keep still enough toprovide useful information. One NASA official commented, "All we've got is an idiot with a radio signal."
• Born: John Hannah, Scottish actor, in East Kilbride

April 24, 1962 (Tuesday)

• Died: Prince Sahle Selassie, 31, youngest child of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia

April 25, 1962 (Wednesday)

• The United States ended its moratorium on atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons at 10:45 pm local time near Christmas Island.
• "We have created the first synthetic thunderstorm in space", NASA scientist Wehrner Von Braun announced, after an American Saturn rocket released 95 tons of water into the ionosphere. At an altitude of 65 miles, explosives on the rocket were detonated by ground control, creating a 25 mile wide cloud of ice that was visible from Florida. Dr. Wehrner von Braun announced that electrical charges were detected in the ice mass.
• In Moscow, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev informed the USSR's legislature, the Supreme Soviet, that the nation would need to replace the constitution that had been in place since 1936.
• Born: Foeke Booy, Dutch footballer and manager, in Leeuwarden

April 26, 1962 (Thursday)

• The American Ranger 4 satellite mission was not fully successful, but marked the first time that the United States was able to place an object on the moon. A malfunction in the guidance system prevented Ranger 4 from sending back useable photographs or other data. Tumbling out of control, the satellite crashed into the far side of the Moon at 7:49 a.m. Eastern Time, impacting at nearly 6,000 miles per hour after a 64 hour journey from Earth.
• Died: Clarence Skinner, 62, New Zealand politician and war hero

April 27, 1962 (Friday)

• Sir Henry Josiah Lightfoot Boston became the first indigenous Governor-General of Sierra Leone.
• The USAF Special Air Warfare Center was activated at Eglin Air Force Base near Valparaiso, Florida.
• The 3474 Linsley and 2334 Cuffey asteroids were discovered by Goethe Link Observatory at Brooklyn, Indiana, USA.
• Died: A. K. Fazlul Huq, 88, Bengali statesman

April 28, 1962 (Saturday)

• Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Baker v. Carr, a federal court in Atlanta ruled that Georgia's county-unit system was unconstitutional. Since 1868, voting in primary elections was done in a system similar to that of the American electoral college, with each of Georgia's 159 counties having at least two "unit votes", and a provision that whichever candidate finished first in a county would receive that county's units. Eight counties had six units, and 30 had four units, so voters in rural and low populated counties had a greater share of representation in a statewide election.
• Ipswich Town F.C. finished in first place in the English League, winning the league championship with a record of 24 wins, 8 draws and 10 losses. The team was in its first season in the soccer football league's First Division, having been promoted from Second Division play after its 1960-61 finish. It was the first time since 1889 that the major league championship was captured by a first year team. Dundee United F.C. won its first Scottish League title on the same day, with a record of 25-4-5.
• Jim Clark won the 1962 Aintree 200 motor race.

April 29, 1962 (Sunday)

• Dick Thompson wins the President's Cup Race at Virginia International Raceway.