1st » Samoa e.g Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa.
1st » United States Navy SEALs established.
3rd » Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.
8th » The Harmelen train disaster killed 93 people in the Netherlands.
10th » Apollo program: NASA announces plans to build the C-5 rocket launch vehicle. It became better known as the Saturn V Moon rocket, which launched every Apollo Moon mission.
11th » Cold War: While tied to its pier in Russian Shipyard Number 10 called Polyarny, the Soviet submarine B-37 is destroyed when fire breaks out in its torpedo compartment.
11th » An avalanche on Huascarán in Peru causes 4,000 deaths.
12th » Vietnam War: Operation Chopper (Vietnam) named Operation Chopper, the first American combat mission in the war, takes place.
26th » Ranger program: Ranger 3 is launched to study the moon. The space probe later misses the moon by 22,000 miles (35,400 km).
4th » Michael France, American screenwriter (d. 2013)
4th » Robin Guthrie, Scottish guitarist and producer (Cocteau Twins)
4th » Joe Kleine, American basketball player
4th » André Rouvoet, Dutch politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
4th » Peter Steele, American singer-songwriter and bass player (Type O Negative, Carnivore (band) known as Carnivore and Fallout (heavy metal band) named Fallout) (d. 2010)