istoryworld
Events relating to europe
British artist Anthony Caro begins welding and painting abstract metal sculpture
The French colony of Mauritania becomes independent, with Moktar Ould Daddah as president
Penguin Books are prosecuted for obscenity for publishing D.H. Lawrence's novel Lady Chatterley's Lover, and are acquitted
British artist Bridget Riley creates patterns that produce unexpected optical effects, in a style that becomes known as op art
Britain formally tables an application to join the European Economic Community
Patrice Lumumba is sent to Katanga, where he is murdered
Atmosphères, by the Hungarian composer György Ligeti, achieves a mysterious blend of sound in what he calls 'micropolyphony'
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel in space, orbiting the earth once in Vostok 1
Former British colony Sierra Leone becomes an independent state within the Commonwealth
British author Roald Dahl publishes a novel for children, James and the Giant Peach
Joshua Nkomo founds ZAPU, the Zimbabwe African People's Union, in the British colony of Southern Rhodesia
Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti makes his operatic debut in Reggio Emilia, as Rodolfo in La Bohème
Two French generals, Raoul Salan and Edmond Jouhaud, form the OAS (Organisation de l'Armée Secrète) to preserve French rule in Algeria
Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev defects from the Kirov company at Le Bourget airport and seeks political asylum in France
In Babi Yar the dissident Soviet poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko tackles the subject of Russian anti-Semitism
Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski uses 'aleatory counterpoint' in his Venetian Games
French film director François Truffaut makes Jules et Jim, starring Jeanne Moreau and Oskar Werner
Largely under the influence of Tito, a summit is held by nations eager to be non-aligned in the Cold War
The southern part of the British Cameroons votes to merge with Cameroun, becoming the federal republic of Cameroon
Rudolf Nureyev makes his first appearance in a western company, dancing in The Sleeping Beauty for the Marquis de Cuevas
Tanganyika becomes an independent nation with Julius Nyerere as prime minister
British novelist Muriel Spark publishes The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, set in an Edinburgh school in the 1930s
In a series of informal meetings, Harold Macmillan tries to persuade Charles de Gaulle that Britain should join the EEC
Harold Macmillan dismisses a third of his cabinet, including his chancellor, in what becomes known as 'the night of the long knives'
Sean Connery creates on screen the role of 007 in the first James Bond film, Dr No
