The biggest news of the year was the assassination of the US President Kennedy on November 22nd which thrust Lyndon Johnson into the role of president and the murder two days later of Lee Harvey Oswald by nightclub owner Jack Ruby.
This was a difficult time to become president with the mounting troubles in Vietnam where the Viet Cong Guerrillas had now killed 80 American Advisers.
The continued campaign for civil rights by the black community caused violent reactions from whites including Mississippi, Virginia and Alabama where the black civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr was arrested.
Films included “The Birds” and “The Great Escape” and popular TV programs “The Virginian” and “Lassie”.
Ladies fashion clothes and hairstyles included fur boots and towering hair do’s for evening wear.
In music the beginning of Beatlemania after they release “I Want To Hold Your Hand/I Saw Her Standing There” and “Meet the Beatles”.
Start of Beatlemania
Zip codes implemented
Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his “I Have A Dream” speech
Members of Ku Klux Klan dynamite Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama
Sabin oral Polio Vaccine which is taken with a lump of sugar is given nationwide in US
President John F. Kennedy assassinated
Population:
- Wake County (1960 census): 169,082
- NC: 4,742,000
- USA: 186,200,000
National Debt:
- $305,859,632,996 (1963)
- $18,152,809,942,589 (2015)
Value of a Dollar: $1 in 1963 is $7.72 in 2015
Cost Of Living 1963:
- Yearly Inflation Rate USA: 1.24%
- Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average: 762
- Average Cost of new house: $12,650
- Average Yearly Wages: $5,807
- Average Cost of a new car: $3,233
- Cost of a gallon of Gas: $0.29
- Loaf of bread: $0.22
- Cheeseburger at McDonald’s: $0.15
- Ticket to Disneyland: $3.75
Ounce of Gold Price:
- The cost of an ounce of gold was $35.09
- The inflation-adjusted price of an ounce of gold was $274.14
Cost of a movie ticket: $0.85
Inflation-adjusted price of a movie ticket: $6.64
The cost of a movie ticket in 2015: $7.92
Top 5 Movies:
- Cleopatra
- How the West Was Won
- It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
- Tom Jones
- Irma la Douce
- Best Picture: Tom Jones
- Best Director: Tony Richardson – Tom Jones
- Best Actor: Sidney Poitier – Lilies of the Field
- Best Actress: Patricia Neal – Hud
- Best Supporting Actor: Melvyn Douglas – Hud
- Best Supporting Actress: Margaret Rutherford – The V.I.P.s
- The Beverly Hillbillies – CBS – 20,175,600
- Bonanza – NBC – 19,040,400
- The Dick Van Dyke Show – CBS – 17,182,800
- Petticoat Junction – CBS – 15,634,800
- The Andy Griffith Show – CBS – 15,170,400
- The Lucy Show – CBS – 14,499,600
- Candid Camera – CBS – 14,293,200
- The Ed Sullivan Show – CBS – 14,190,000
- The Danny Thomas Show – CBS – 13,777,200
- My Favorite Martian – CBS – 13,570,800
- Jimmy Gilmer and The Fireballs – Sugar Shack
- Beach Boys – Surfin’ U.S.A.
- Skeeter Davis – The End Of The World
- Cascades – Rhythm Of The Rain
- Chiffons – He’s So Fine
- Bobby Vinton – Blue Velvet
- Paul and Paula – Hey Paula
- Little Stevie Wonder – Fingertips II
- Village Stompers – Washington Square
- Impressions – It’s All Right
- Andy Williams – Can’t Get Used To Losing You
- Angels – My Boyfriend’s Back
- Kyu Sakamoto – Sukiyaki
- Lesley Gore – She’s A Fool
- Tymes – So Much In Love
- Peter, Paul and Mary – Puff (The Magic Dragon)
- Peter, Paul and Mary – Blowin’ In The Wind
- Dale and Grace – I’m Leaving It Up To You
- Nino Tempo and April Stevens – Deep Purple
- Surfaris – Wipe Out
- Ruby Ann – Marty Robbins
- The Ballad Of Jed Clampett – Flatt & Scruggs
- Still – Bill Anderson
- Lonesome 7-7203 – Hawkshaw Hawkins
- Act Naturally – Buck Owens
- Ring OF Fire – Johnny Cash
- Abilene – George Hamilton IV
- Talk Back Trembling Lips – Ernest Ashworth
- Love’s Gonna Live Here – Buck Owens
- From A Jack To A King – Ned Miller
ACC Football Champ: UNC Chapel Hill/ NC State
ACC Basketball Champs: Duke (Duke 86 – Wake Forest 57)
World Series Winner: LA Dodgers over the NY Yankees
Heavyweight Boxing Champ: Sonny Liston
NFL Championship Game: Chicago Bears (Bears 14 – NY Giants 10)
NASCAR Season Winner: Joe Weatherly
Masters Winner: Jack Nicklaus (2 under)
Wimbledon Winners:
- Men’s Singles: United States Chuck McKinley defeated Australia Fred Stolle 9–7, 6–1, 6–4
- Women’s Singles: Australia Margaret Court defeated United States Billie Jean King 6–3, 6–4
- Men’s Doubles: Mexico Rafael Osuna / Mexico Antonio Palafox defeated France Jean-Claude Barclay / France Pierre Darmon 4–6, 6–2, 6–2, 6–2
- Women’s Doubles: Brazil Maria Bueno / United States Darlene Hard defeated Australia Robyn Ebbern / Australia Margaret Smith 8–6, 9–7
- Mixed Doubles: Australia Margaret Smith / Australia Ken Fletcher defeated United States Darlene Hard / Australia Bob Hewitt 11–9, 6–4