Year by year · 20th century

1962

1962 in world history: 26 events, 5 births, 16 deaths, 6 states founded and 10 that came to an end. 293 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 7 February

    US embargo on trade with Cuba takes effect

    A proclamation by John F. Kennedy banning almost all imports from Cuba came into force. Extended since, it is one of the longest-lasting trade embargoes in modern history.

  2. 10 February

    U-2 pilot Gary Powers exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel

    On the Glienicke Bridge between West Berlin and Potsdam, the US pilot shot down in 1960 was swapped for the KGB colonel Rudolf Abel. The bridge became known for Cold War exchanges.

  3. 20 February

    John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit Earth

    Aboard Friendship 7, Glenn circled the Earth three times in under five hours. Ten months after Yuri Gagarin's flight, it restored American confidence in the space race.

  4. 5 July

    Algeria becomes independent from France

    Algeria proclaimed independence, 132 years to the day after French troops took Algiers. It followed an eight-year war of liberation and a referendum in which Algerians voted overwhelmingly for independence.

    AlgeriaAlgiers

  5. 10 July

    Telstar is launched, the first satellite to relay live TV

    NASA launched AT&T's Telstar 1 from Cape Canaveral. Within hours it relayed the first television pictures across the Atlantic, opening the age of satellite communications.

  6. 5 August

    Marilyn Monroe is found dead in Los Angeles

    Marilyn Monroe was found dead at her home in Brentwood, aged 36; the coroner ruled probable suicide from barbiturates. Her death cut short the career of Hollywood's most famous star.

  7. 31 August

    Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent

    Trinidad and Tobago gained independence from Britain, with Eric Williams as prime minister. Oil and gas wealth made it one of the most prosperous nations in the Caribbean.

    Caribbean

  8. 12 September

    Kennedy tells Rice University 'we choose to go to the Moon'

    In a speech at Rice University in Houston, John F. Kennedy committed America to a Moon landing that decade, 'not because they are easy, but because they are hard'. Apollo 11 landed seven years later.

  9. 25 September

    Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson to win the world title

    Sonny Liston took the world heavyweight title in Chicago by knocking out Floyd Patterson in 2 minutes 6 seconds of the first round. He lost the title to Cassius Clay in 1964.

  10. 5 October

    Dr. No premieres, launching the James Bond films

    Dr. No, starring Sean Connery as Ian Fleming's secret agent, premiered at the London Pavilion. It began one of the longest-running series in cinema history.

    London

  11. 5 October

    The Beatles release their first single, 'Love Me Do'

    Parlophone released 'Love Me Do', the Beatles' debut single in Britain. It reached only number 17, but within a year the band from Liverpool had become a national sensation.

  12. 9 October

    Uganda gains independence from Britain

    Uganda became independent with Milton Obote as prime minister and the Kabaka of Buganda later as president. Its early decades were marked by political upheaval, including the dictatorship of Idi Amin.

  13. 11 October

    Pope John XXIII opens the Second Vatican Council

    More than 2,000 bishops gathered in St Peter's Basilica for the opening of the Second Vatican Council. Over three years it introduced vernacular liturgy, embraced ecumenism and affirmed religious freedom.

  14. 22 October

    Kennedy tells Americans of Soviet missiles in Cuba

    In a televised address, John F. Kennedy revealed that Soviet nuclear missile sites were being built in Cuba and announced a naval 'quarantine' of the island. The crisis brought the superpowers closer to nuclear war than ever before.

  15. 6 November

    The UN General Assembly calls for sanctions on South Africa

    Resolution 1761 condemned apartheid and urged member states to break diplomatic ties and boycott South African trade. It also set up a special committee against apartheid.

    South Africa

  16. Treaty · Peace

    Évian Accords

    The Évian Accords were the agreements signed in 1962 between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front, ending the Algerian War.

  17. Crisis

    Cuban Missile Crisis

    The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was the closest the Cold War came to nuclear war.

  18. War

    Sino-Indian War

    The Sino-Indian War was a border war fought between China and India in October and November 1962 over disputed Himalayan territory in Aksai Chin and the North-East Frontier Agency.

ProfileState281 states with a known seat in 1962Open the atlas at 1962 →

In the profiles

  • French EmpireThe Evian Accords bring Algerian independence after eight years of war
  • French AlgeriaThe Évian Accords end the war and Algeria becomes independent on 5 July
  • MyanmarGeneral Ne Win seizes power and launches the Burmese Way to Socialism
  • Republic of IndiaChina defeats India in the Sino-Indian War
  • UgandaUganda becomes independent on 9 October under Prime Minister Milton Obote
  • Kingdom of BurundiBurundi becomes independent as a constitutional monarchy under Mwambutsa IV

Wars and longer events

Born in 1962 5

Died in 1962 16

States founded 6

States that came to an end 10

All years → The 20th century →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1962. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1962
MLA
“1962.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1962. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1962.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1962.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1962’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1962 (Accessed: ).