What Happened in October 1962

Historical Events

  • Oct 1 "The Lucy Show" premieres on CBS

Contract of Interest

Oct 1 American singer Barbra Streisand signs her 1st recording contract (with Columbia)

Contract of Interest

Oct 1 Brian Epstein signs a contract to manage The Beatles through 1977

Event of Interest

Oct 1 James Meredith becomes the 1st black student at the University of Mississippi

  • Oct 1 James Meredith enrolls for classes at University of Mississippi, desegregating the college
  • Oct 1 UN gives Netherlands control of New Guinea
  • Oct 1 US National Radio Astronomy Observatory installs a 300' (91m) radio telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia
  • Oct 1 WEDH TV channel 24 in Hartford, Connecticut (PBS) begins broadcasting
  • Oct 2 San Francisco Giants beat rival LA Dodgers, 8-7 in 4 hours 18 minutes in Game 2 NL tie-break series; longest 9-inning game in MLB history; Giants win series, 2-1
  • Oct 2 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Johnston Island
  • Oct 3 "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off" opens at Shubert NYC for 886 performances
  • Oct 3 SF Giants (103-62) beat rivals LA Dodgers (102-63), 6-4 in season ending NL pennant decider; Dodgers set MLB record season attendance 2,755,184
  • Oct 3 Wally Schirra in Sigma 7 launched into Earth orbit
  • Oct 4 USAF Maj Robert A Rushworth takes X-15 to 32,300m

World Series

Oct 4 Willie Mays scores in the 2nd inning for the Giants ending Whitey Ford's record Baseball World Series consecutive scoreless inning streak at ​33 2⁄3; Yankees beat Giants, 6-2 in Game 1 and 4-3 in the series

Dr. No

Oct 5 "Dr. No", 1st James Bond film based on the novel by Ian Fleming and starring Sean Connery and Ursula Andress, premieres in London

  • Oct 5 The Beatles release their first record, "Love Me Do"
  • Oct 6 16th NHL All-Star Game, Maple Leaf Garden, Toronto, ON: Toronto Maple Leafs beat All-Stars, 4-1; MVP: Eddie Shack, Toronto, LW
  • Oct 6 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Johnston Island
  • Oct 7 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, Stardust CC, LV: Judy Kimball wins her only major title by 4 strokes ahead of runner-up Shirley Spork
  • Oct 7 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
  • Oct 8 Algeria admitted as 109th member of UN
  • Oct 8 North Korea reports 100% election turnout, miraculously 100% vote for the Workers' Party
  • Oct 8 Spiegel scandal: Der Spiegel publishes article "Bedingt abwehrbereit" ("Conditionally prepared for defense") about NATO manoeuver called "Fallex 62", uncovering sorry state of West German army. Magazine soon accused of treason.
  • Oct 9 Battles to decide Algeria-Morocco boundary kills 130
  • Oct 9 NASA civilian test pilot John B McKay takes X-15 to 39,200 m
  • Oct 9 Uganda becomes independent from the United Kingdom
  • Oct 10 Indies assault up Chinese positions in North-India attack
  • Oct 11 1st appearance of a Gabor sister on Merv Griffin Show

Second Vatican Council

Oct 11 Second Vatican Council (21st ecumenical) convened by Pope John XXIII

  • Oct 12 Infamous Columbus Day Storm strikes the U.S. Pacific Northwest with record wind velocities; 46 dead and at least U.S. $230 million in damages
  • Oct 12 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
  • Oct 12 US/USSR sign joint space effort in telecommunications & meteorology

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Oct 13 Edward Albee's play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" opens on Broadway featuring actress Uta Hagen

Sports History

Oct 14 Houston Oiler George Blanda throws for 6 TD passes vs NY Titans 56-17

  • Oct 14 US U-2 espionage planes locate missile launchers in Cuba
  • Oct 14 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
  • Oct 15 Byron R. White appointed to the US Supreme Court
  • Oct 15 WLOX TV channel 13 in Biloxi-Gulfport, MS (ABC) begins broadcasting
  • Oct 16 Baseball World Series: NY Yankees win 20th championship; beat SF Giants, 1-0 at Candlestick Park for 4 games to 3 series victory; MVP: Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry
  • Oct 16 Byron R White becomes a Supreme Court Justice

Cuban Missile Crisis

Oct 16 Cuban Missile Crisis begins as JFK is shown photos confirming the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba

  • Oct 16 KTXT TV channel 5 in Lubbock, TX (PBS) begins broadcasting
  • Oct 17 The Beatles make their live television debut, appearing on Manchester's local "People And Places" program, performing ‘Some Other Guy’ and their new single ‘Love Me Do’

Nobel Prize in Medicine

Oct 18 James Watson (US), Francis Crick (UK) and Maurice Wilkins (UK) win the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their work in determining the structure of DNA [1]

Let's Dance

Oct 18 Tony Sheridan & Beat Brothers (later known as The Beatles) record "Let's Dance" in Hamburg, Germany

  • Oct 18 US launches Ranger 5 for lunar impact; misses moon
  • Oct 18 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Johnston Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean

Meeting of Interest

Oct 18 US President John F. Kennedy meets Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Gromyko

  • Oct 19 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
  • Oct 20 Chinese army lands in India

Mr. President

Oct 20 Irving Berlin's final musical "Mr. President" opens at St James Theater, NYC; runs for 265 performances

#1 in the Charts

Oct 20 Peter, Paul and Mary's debut folk album "Peter, Paul and Mary" reaches No. 1 on US album charts

  • Oct 20 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Johnston Island
  • Oct 22 Cuban Missile Crisis: US President John F. Kennedy addresses TV about Russian missile bases in Cuba and imposes a naval blockade on Cuba, beginning the missile crisis
  • Oct 22 JFK receives Ugandan premier Milton Obote
  • Oct 22 Pacific Science Center opens at Seattle Center
  • Oct 22 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan

United Nations Speech

Oct 23 Adlai Stevenson speaks at the United Nations about the Cuba crisis

  • Oct 23 USAF Major Robert A Rushworth takes X-15 to 40,800m
  • Oct 23 WCIV TV channel 4 in Charleston, South Carolina (NBC) begins broadcasting

The Manchurian Candidate

Oct 24 "The Manchurian Candidate", directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Frank Sinatra and Laurence Harvey, is released

  • Oct 24 Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviet ships approach but stop short of the US blockade of Cuba
  • Oct 25 110th member of UN admitted (Uganda)
  • Oct 25 1st Belgian nuclear reactor begins operation

Nobel Prize in Literature

Oct 25 American author John Steinbeck awarded Nobel Prize for Literature

  • Oct 25 US Ambassador to the UN Adlai Stevenson demands USSR UN rep Valerian Zorin answer regarding Cuban missile bases saying "I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over"

Khrushchev's Missile Deal

Oct 26 Nikita Khrushchev sends note to JFK offering to withdraw his missiles from Cuba if US closes its bases in Turkey. Offer is rejected and JFK warns Russia that the USA will not allow Soviet missiles to remain in Cuba.

  • Oct 26 The Beatles record "Ask Me Why"
  • Oct 26 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Johnston Island

Music History

Oct 27 Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Jonathan Miller comedy revue "Beyond the Fringe" opens at John Golden Theater, NYC; runs for 667 performances

The Man Who Saved The World

Oct 27 Black Saturday during the Cuban Missile Crisis: An American spy plane is shot down over Cuba and the navy drops warning depth charges on Soviet submarines

  • Oct 27 The plane of Enrico Mattei, Italian oil industry's most powerful figure, crashes in mysterious circumstances
  • Oct 27 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Johnston Island
  • Oct 27 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
  • Oct 28 Cuban Missile Crisis: US President JFK receives letter from Soviet Leaderr Khrushchev suggesting agreement
  • Oct 28 Jo Weatherly in a Pontiac finishes 2nd to Rex White in season-ending Dixie 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway to clinch his 1st of 2 consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Championships
  • Oct 28 NY Giant Y. A. Tittle passes for 7 touchdowns vs Wash Redskins (49-34)
  • Oct 28 Radio Moscow reports nuclear missiles in Cuba deactivated
  • Oct 28 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
  • Oct 30 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Johnston Island

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Oct 31 "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" horror film released directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, based on novel by Henry Farrell


1962 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Oct 1 Esai Morales, American actor (Bad Boys; La Bamba; NYPD Blue), born in Brooklyn, NYC
  • Oct 1 Paul Walsh, English soccer forward (5 caps; Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Charlton), born in London, England
  • Oct 2 Aziz M. Osman, Malaysian actor and director
  • Oct 2 Mark Rypien, Canadian NFL quarterback (Super Bowl MVP 1991; Washington Redskins), born in Calgary, Alberta
  • Oct 2 Sigtryggur Baldursson, Icelandic alt-rock drummer (The Sugarcubes - "Hit"), born in Oslo, Norway

Tommy Lee (61 years old)

Oct 3 American drummer (Mötley Crüe - "Girls, Girls, Girls"), born in Kypseli, Athens, Greece

  • Oct 4 Aldo Sprenger, Dutch pop guitarist (Kong-Phlegm)
  • Oct 4 Tim Palmer, British record producer and audio engineer (Tin Machine; Big Country; Tears For Fears; Robert Plant), born in North Shields, Englanda
  • Oct 5 Caron Keating, British television personality (d. 2004)
  • Oct 5 Ken Noda, American pianist (Rivalry), born in New York City
  • Oct 5 Michael Andretti, Indy-car racer/Auto Hall of Fame (elected 1986)
  • Oct 5 Mike Conley Sr., American athlete (Olympic gold triple jump 1992; World C'ship gold 1993), born in Chicago, Illinois
  • Oct 6 Rich Yett, baseball player
  • Oct 7 Dave Bronconnier, Canadian politician, born in Calgary, Canada
  • Oct 7 Mickey Flanagan, English stand-up comedian (Was It Something I Said?), born in Whitechapel, East London, England
  • Oct 8 Bruno Thiry, Belgian rally driver, born in St. Vith, Belgium
  • Oct 8 Michael Abels, American Pulitzer Prize-winning composer (Omar; Us), born in Phoenix, Arizona
  • Oct 9 Jorge Burruchaga, Argentine soccer attacking midfielder and manager (57 caps; Independiente, Nantes), born in Gualeguay, Argentina
  • Oct 10 Rex J. Walheim, U.S. Air Force officer and NASA astronaut, born in Redwood City, California
  • Oct 11 Joan Cusack, American actress (Working Girl; SNL (1985-86); Addams Family Values), born in Evanston Illinois
  • Oct 11 Leslie Landon, American actress (Etta Plum-Little House on Prairie), born in Los Angeles, California
  • Oct 11 Martin Bayless, American NFL safety (KC Chiefs), born in Dayton, Ohio
  • Oct 11 Nicola Bryant, English actress (Doctor Who-Peri Brown), born in Guildford, Surrey, England
  • Oct 11 Phil Newport, English cricketer (England pace bowler in 3 Tests 1988-91), born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
  • Oct 12 Branko Crvenkovski, 3rd President of Macedonia, born in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
  • Oct 12 Carlos Bernard, American actor (24), born in Evanston, Illinois
  • Oct 12 Chris Botti, American Grammy Award-winning jazz and pop trumpeter, and composer (Impressions), born in Portland, Oregon
  • Oct 12 Dammika Ranatunga, Sri Lankan cricketer (bro of Arjuna Sri Lankan batsman 1990), born in Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • Oct 12 Sid Fernandez, American baseball pitcher (NY Mets, Philadelphia Phillies), born in Honolulu, Hawaii

Jerry Rice (61 years old)

Oct 13 American Pro and College Football Hall of Fame wide receiver (SF 49ers, 13 x Pro Bowl), born in Starkville, Mississippi

  • Oct 13 Kelly Preston, American actress (Mischief, Twins, A Tigers Tale), born in Honolulu, Hawaii (d. 2020)
  • Oct 14 Jaan Ehlvest, Estonian chess player
  • Oct 14 Shahar Perkiss, Israeli tennis player, born in Haifa, Israel
  • Oct 15 Philip Blackburn, British-American composer (Ghostly Psalms), sound artist, musicologist (Harry Partch), and record executive (Innova), born in Cambridge, England
  • Oct 15 Susan DeMattei, American cyclist (Olympic bronze 1996), born in San Francisco, California
  • Oct 16 Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Russian operatic baritone, born in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia (d. 2017)
  • Oct 16 Durga McBroom, American singer-songwriter (Blue Pearl -"Naked In The Rain"), and touring musician (Pink Floyd; Steve Hackett), born in Los Angeles, California
  • Oct 16 Flea [Michael Balzary], Australian-American bassist (Red Hot Chili Peppers), actor, and educator (Silverlake Conservatory of Music), born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  • Oct 16 Laura Coenen, team handball goalie (Olymp-1988, 92, 96), born in Neenah, Wisconsin
  • Oct 16 Manute Bol, Sudanese-American NBA basketball center, 1985-95 (Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and 3 other teams), political activist, and philanthropist, born in Turalei, Sudan (d. 2010)
  • Oct 16 Tamara McKinney, slalom skier (Olympic-4th-1984), born in Lexington, Kentucky
  • Oct 17 Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, French concert pianist (Beethoven International Piano Competition, 1986), born in Lannion, France
  • Oct 17 Mike Judge, Ecuadorian born American cartoonist, born in Guayaquil, Ecuador
  • Oct 18 Jody Rosenthal, American golfer (du Maurier Classic 1987), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Oct 18 Vincent Spano, American actor (Baby, It's You; Alphabet City; Maria's Lovers), born in Brooklyn, New York

Evander Holyfield (61 years old)

Oct 19 American boxer (Olympic bronze 1988) and world champion (1990-92), born in Atmore, Alabama

  • Oct 19 Tracy Chevalier, American author
  • Oct 20 Ray Childress, American NFL defensive tackle/defensive end (Houston Oilers), born in Memphis, Tennessee
  • Oct 20 Stuart Bruce, English recording engineer (Band Aid -"Do They Know It's Christmas?": Loreena McKennitt), born in Northolt, Middlesex, England

David Campese (61 years old)

Oct 21 Australian rugby union player (101 Tests at wing and fullback, record 64 tries), born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales

  • Oct 22 Bob Odenkirk, American actor (Breaking Bad; Better Call Saul), comic, and Emmy Award-winning screenwriter (SNL,1987-91; The Ben Stiller Show; Late Night with Conan O'Brien, 1993-94), born in Berwyn, Illinois
  • Oct 23 Beatie Edney, English actress (Diary of a Mad Old Man), born in London, England
  • Oct 23 Christo van Rensburg, South African tennis player (Australian Open doubles 1985), born in Uitenhage, South Africa
  • Oct 23 Daria Scagliola, Italian-Dutch photographer (vuurtorenpostzegels)

Doug Flutie (61 years old)

Oct 23 American College Football Hall of Fame quarterback (Heisman Trophy 1984, Boston College; Grey Cup MVP 1992, 96, 97; Pro Bowl 1998, Buffalo Bills), born in Manchester, Maryland

  • Oct 23 Mike Tomczak, *American NFL quarterback (Pittsburgh Steelers), born in Calumet City, Illinois
  • Oct 24 Giovanni Sollima, Italian classical and cross-over cellist, and composer (Silk Road Ensemble; Patti Smith), born in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
  • Oct 24 Jay Novacek, American NFL tight end (Dallas Cowboys), born in Martin, South Dakota
  • Oct 25 Darlene Vogel, American actress (Pacific Blue), born in Modesto, California
  • Oct 25 MC Sha-Rock [Sharon Green], American rapper (Funky 4 + 1), born in Wilmington, North Carolina
  • Oct 25 Nick Hancock, British television presenter (They Think It's All Over), born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England
  • Oct 26 Cary Elwes, English actor (Glory, Princess Bride), born in London, England
  • Oct 26 Roger Kingdom, American 110m hurdler (Olympic gold 1984, 88), born in Vienna, Georgia
  • Oct 26 Steve Wren, British pop-rock drummer (Then Jericho - "The Motive"), born in Lambeth, London, England
  • Oct 28 Daphne Zuniga, actress (Jo Reynolds-Melrose Place, Spaceballs), born in San Francisco, California
  • Oct 28 Erik Thorstvedt, Norwegian footballer
  • Oct 28 Scotty Nguyen, professional poker player
  • Oct 29 Einar Örn [Benediktsson], Icelandic rock singer (The Sugarcubes; Ghostdigital), born in Reykjavík, Iceland

Courtney Walsh (61 years old)

Oct 30 West Indian cricket fast bowler (132 Tests, captain 22 Tests, 519 wickets @ 24.44; hat-trick v Aust 1988; Jamaica, Gloucestershire CCC), born in Kingston, Jamaica

  • Oct 30 Danny Tartabull, outfielder (NY Yankees, Chicago White Sox), born in Miami, Florida
  • Oct 30 John Custer, American rock guitarist and record producer, born in Cary, North Carolina
  • Oct 30 Mark Portugal, pitcher (Cincinnati Reds), born in Los Angeles, California
Born in 1962

Famous Weddings

Edith Piaf

Oct 9 French singer Édith Piaf (46) marries French Greek actor Théo Sarapo (26)

Famous Deaths

  • Oct 2 Boris Y. Bukreev, Russian mathematician (b. 1859)
  • Oct 2 Frank Lovejoy, American actor (Man Against Crime, Meet McGraw), dies from a heart attack at 50
  • Oct 4 E H (Patsy) Hendren, English cricket batsman (51 Tests, 7 x 100s, HS 205no; 57,611 1st-class runs, 3rd-best ever; Middlesex CCC), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 73
  • Oct 4 John Lowry, NYC builder (Radio City Music Hall), dies at 79
  • Oct 6 Tod Browning, American film director (Dracula), dies at 82
  • Oct 7 Maurits Dekker, Dutch novelist and playwright (Merkteken; Boots In Jail), dies at 66
  • Oct 9 Lulu McConnell, American vaudeville, radio, and television comedienne (It Pays To Be Ignorant), dies at 80
  • Oct 11 Erich Tschermak von Seysenegg, Austrian botanist who was one of three scientists (also Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns) who independently rediscovered Gregor Mendel's work on the laws of genetics, dies at 90
  • Oct 16 Gaston Bachelard, French philosopher (Water & Dreams), dies at 78
  • Oct 17 (Henry) "Rubberlegs" Williams, American vaudeville dancer, and blues and jazz singer, dies at 55
  • Oct 17 Natalia Goncharova, Russian avant-garde artist and painter, dies at 81
  • Oct 22 Dirk Roosenburg, Dutch architect (KLM building and design) dies at 75
  • Oct 26 Louise Beavers, American actress (Beulah-Beulah), dies at 60
  • Oct 27 Enrico Mattei, Italian oil magnate (Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi), dies at 58
  • Oct 27 Fatso Marco, American actor and comedian (Milton Berle Show), dies at 56
  • Oct 27 Rudolph Anderson, U-2 pilot, shot down over Cuba
  • Oct 28 Pierre Froidebise, Belgian organist, composer, and musicologist, dies at 48
  • Oct 29 Siegfried Salomon, Danish composer, dies at 77