At A Glance
18 August 1962 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 18 August 1962 was a Saturday.
- Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
- The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” by Neil Sedaka.
- Top Film of 1962
- The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1962 was Lawrence of Arabia.
- Bestselling Novel of 1962
- “Ship of Fools” by Katherine Anne Porter was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1962.
- Top-Rated TV Show
- “The Beverly Hillbillies” (CBS) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1962–63 season.
- Star sign
- The star sign for 18 August is Leo.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 18 August 1962 fell in the Year of the Tiger.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for August is Peridot.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 18 August 1962 was Waning Gibbous.
On this day: 18 August
- 1958 Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in the United States.
- 1958 Brojen Das from Bangladesh swims across the English Channel in a competition as the first Bengali and the first Asian to do so, placing first among the 39 competitors.
- 1963 Civil rights movement: James Meredith becomes the first African American to graduate from the University of Mississippi.
- 1965 Vietnam War: Operation Starlite begins: United States Marines destroy a Viet Cong stronghold on the Van Tuong peninsula in the first major American ground battle of the war.
- 1966 Vietnam War: The Battle of Long Tan ensues after a patrol from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment clashes with a Viet Cong force in Phước Tuy Province.
Famous people born on August 18
- Robert Redford, American actor, director, and producer (1936–2025)
- Patrick Swayze, American actor and dancer (1952–2009)
- Edward Norton, American actor (born 1969)
- Kaitlin Olson, American actress and comedian (born 1975)
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Events of 1962 in the United States
A selection from Wikipedia's '1962 in the United States'. Not a complete list.
- January 1 – The United States Navy SEALs are activated. SEAL Team One is commissioned in the Pacific Fleet and SEAL Team Two in the Atlantic Fleet.
- March 21 – The Taco Bell fast food restaurant chain is founded by Glen Bell, in Downey, California.
- April 9 – The 34th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Bob Hope, is held at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins' West Side Story wins ten awards, including Best Motion Picture and a joint Best Director win for Wise and Robbins.
Life in the US in 1962
President
John F. Kennedy
Gas (per gallon)
$0.31
Loaf of Bread
$0.21
Average House
$12,900
Weekly Wage
$92
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Famous Faces Born in the 1960s
Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.
Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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