At A Glance

19 August 1960 at a glance

Day of the week
19 August 1960 was a Friday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Apache” by The Shadows.
Top Film of 1960
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1960 was Swiss Family Robinson.
Star sign
The star sign for 19 August is Leo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 19 August 1960 fell in the Year of the Rat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 19 August 1960 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 19 August

  • 1953 Cold War: The CIA and MI6 help to overthrow the government of Mohammad Mosaddegh in Iran and reinstate the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
  • 1960 Cold War: In Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to ten years imprisonment by the Soviet Union for espionage.
  • 1960 Sputnik program: Korabl-Sputnik 2: The Soviet Union launches the satellite with the dogs Belka and Strelka, 40 mice, two rats and a variety of plants.
  • 1964 Syncom 3, the first geostationary communication satellite, is launched. Two months later, it would enable live coverage of the 1964 Summer Olympics.
  • 1965 Japanese prime minister Eisaku Satō becomes the first post-World War II sitting prime minister to visit Okinawa Prefecture.

Famous people born on 19 August

  • Bill Clinton, American lawyer and politician, 40th and 42nd Governor of Arkansas, 42nd President of the United States (born 1946)
  • Kirk Cousins, American football player (born 1988)
  • Matthew Perry, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (1969–2023)
  • Kyra Sedgwick, American actress and producer (born 1965)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1960 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1960 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 20 March – Lonnie Donegan's single "My Old Man's a Dustman" reaches No. 1 in the UK charts.
  • 27 April – The first production of Harold Pinter's play The Caretaker takes place at the Arts Theatre in London.
  • 24 June – Avro 748 makes its first flight from Woodford.
More events of 1960 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in 1960

Prime Minister

Harold Macmillan

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

11p

Loaf of Bread

7p

Average House

£2,530

Weekly Wage

£14.10

Or

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Famous Faces Born in the 1960s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Guy Ritchie10 September 1968FilmmakerView their day →Diana, Princess of Wales1 July 1961Member of the British royal familyView their day →Nigella Lawson6 January 1960Food writer & television cookView their day →Jason Statham26 July 1967ActorView their day →Catherine Zeta-Jones25 September 1969ActressView their day →Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer20 May 1964Peer & authorView their day →Kenneth Branagh10 December 1960Actor & filmmakerView their day →George Michael25 June 1963SingerView their day →

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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