Sunday, April 24, 1960: Biloxi wade-in

A group of about 125 blacks go into the waters off Biloxi, Mississippi, the second such wade-in undertaken in an effort to desegregate the city's beaches. An armed white mob attacks the group, and that night brings on more violence, with at least 10 people shot and dozens more injured. A similar wade-in took place in Biloxi on June 23, 1963; dozens of protesters were arrested. (In 1968, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the beach was open to all.)

* "White Men Attack Negroes at Biloxi Beach; 11 Hurt" (United Press International): @
* "Racial Violence Leaves 14 Hurt in Mississippi" (Associated Press): @
* Summary from "Encyclopedia of American Race Riots" (edited by Walter C. Rucker and James M. Upton, 2007): @
* "A Civil Rights Watershed in Biloxi, Mississippi" (Smithsonian magazine, 2010): @ 
* Report from Zach J. Van Landingham, Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, April 27, 1960 (Mississippi Department of Archives and History): @
* "Remembering the Biloxi wade-ins" (WLOX-TV, 2009): @
* "68 Held in 'Wade-In'; Detroit March Biggest" (The Associated Press, June 24, 1963): @
* Text of United States v. Harrison County (Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, August 15, 1968): @
* "A Brief History of the Civil Rights Movement on the Mississippi Gulf Coast" (Civil Rights In Mississippi Digital Archive, University of Southern Mississippi): @
* "Beaches, Blood and Ballots: A Black Doctor's Civil Rights Struggle" (Gilbert R. Mason and James Patterson Smith, 2000): @ 

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Thursday, April 21, 1960: Brasilia is born

Brazil's new capital city, built from scratch in about 3 and a half years, is officially inaugurated. It was constructed so that the capital would be in a more central part of the country than the previous capital, Rio de Janeiro. The new capital was known for its urban planning and its modern architecture; at left is the city's Cathedral.

* More about Brasilia: @

* More on history of Brasilia: @

* Graphic of city's key features: @

* Panoramic views of the city: @

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Sunday, April 17, 1960: Eddie Cochran dies

U.S. rockabilly star Eddie Cochran ("Summertime Blues," "C'mon Everybody") is killed in a car crash at the age of 21. He was on his way to London to return to the U.S. after a hugely successful tour of England. He was riding in a taxi with fiancee Sharon Seeley (who had written "Poor Little Fool") and singer Gene Vincent ("Be-Bop-a-Lula"), who both survived.

* Tribute website: @

* Rock and Roll Hall of Fame entry: @

* Rockabilly Hall of Fame entry: @

* Listen to "Summertime Blues": @

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Friday-Sunday, April 15-17, 1960: SNCC formed

At an Easter weekend gathering at Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C., young activists form the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee as part of a civil rights movement that was quickly gaining momentum. (Sit-ins had spread across the South since the Greensboro incident of Feb. 1.) The gospel song "We Shall Overcome," performed at the meeting by Guy Carawan, becomes the unofficial anthem of the movement.

* More about SNCC: @ and @

* SNCC's Founding Statement: @

* More on Guy Carawan: @

* Listen to "We Shall Overcome": @

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Thursday, April 14, 1960: Motown

Motown Record Corporation is incorporated by Berry Gordy Jr., left, combining the two Detroit record labels that he had started the year before (Tamla and Motown).

* Motown timeline: @

* Motown Museum: @

* "Motown at 50" from Detroit Free Press (published in '09): @

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Wednesday, April 13, 1960: 'We real cool'

"The Bean Eaters," a book of poems by Gwendolyn Brooks, is published. (Ten years earlier, Brooks had been the first black author to win a Pulitzer Prize, for her book "Annie Allen.") One of the poems, "We Real Cool," would become a staple of literature textbooks.

We Real Cool

The pool players.

Seven at the Golden Shovel.

We real cool. We

Left school. We

Lurk late. We

Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We

Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We

Die soon.

* Brooks talks about and reads poem: @

* Short analyses: @

* "The Bean Eaters" (from same book): @

* "The Lovers of the Poor" (from same book): @

* More poems and short biography: @

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Friday-Saturday, April 8-9, 1960: Unrest in South Africa

April 8: The political groups PAC (Pan Africanist Congress) and the ANC (African National Congress) are banned by the apartheid government under the Unlawful Organisations Act. The order follows the Sharpeville massacre (see March 21) and the state of emergency imposed on March 30. Members of the groups flee the country or go into hiding for fear of arrest; the ban would lead to the rise of armed resistance the next year under the banner of Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), or MK.

* Timeline (from South African History Online): @

* History of the ANC (from ANC website): @

* More about ANC (from South African History Online): @

* PAC website: @

* The Road to Democracy Project: @

April 9: Prime minister Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd is shot twice in the face by a white farmer who called Verwoerd "the epitome of apartheid." Verwoerd survives.

* More about the assassination attempt: @

* Newsreel: @

* Brief biography: @

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Friday, April 8, 1960: The search for alien life

From a mountaintop in Green Bank, West Virgina, radio astronomer Frank Drake aims a radio telescope toward the "nearby" (11 light years away) stars Epsilon Eridani and Tau Ceti and begins listening. It's part of "Project Ozma," the first systematic attempt to detect extraterrestrial intelligence (by searching for artificial radio signals). The project would last through July; no alien transmissions or messages were received.

* More about Project Ozma: @

* Recollections from Frank Drake: @

* More on Epsilon Eridani and Tau Ceti: @ and @

* National Radio Astronomy Observatory site: @

* SETI Institute website: @

* How to set up your computer to monitor radio telescope data: @

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Tuesday, April 5, 1960: Kennedy wins Wisconsin

In the Democratic race for the presidential nomination, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy (476,024, 56.5%) defeats Minnesota Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey (366,753, 43.5%). Religion -- specifically, Kennedy's -- becomes a campaign issue, centering on this question: Is America ready to elect a Catholic as president? (Walter Cronkite, at left with Kennedy, asked him about the impact of Roman Catholic voters; the question incensed the Kennedy camp.)

* Summary of Kennedy-Humphrey debate: @

* About the documentary "Primary": @ and @

* Photo of Kennedy and Humprey, who sometimes traveled together while campaigning: @

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Monday, April 4, 1960: 'Ben-Hur' wins a record 11 Oscars

The awards for the wide-screen epic included best picture, actor (Charlton Heston) and director (William Wyler). Other notable movies from 1959 included "Some Like It Hot," "North by Northwest," "Anatomy of a Murder" and "Plan 9 From Outer Space."

* Detailed summary of the movie: @

* Oscar database (search for "1959"): @

* Database of "sword and sandal" movies (in German; use Google translate): @

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Friday, April 1, 1960: First weather satellite

TIROS-1 (Television InfraRed Observation Satellite) is launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla. It was only operational for about two and a half months, but the thousands of images it sent back proved that satellites could monitor global weather conditions from space.

* More about the satellite: @ and @

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Undated: Don't try this at home

"The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments" was first published in 1960. It was later said to have been pulled from many library shelves -- many of the experiments were considered too dangerous, especially for kids. (It includes directions on making chlorine gas.)

* To download PDF of entire book: @

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Tuesday, March 29, 1960: 'Heed Their Rising Voices'

A full-page ad appears in The New York Times as part of an effort to raise funds for the legal defense of civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who was facing a perjury charge in Alabama. (After the ad appeared, Montgomery city commissioner L.B. Sullivan would sue the Times for libel, and the case would be settled four years later as the U.S. Supreme Court established the "actual malice" standard.)

* Text of ad: @

* Image of ad: @
* Definition of "actual malice": @

* Summary of the events and New York Times Co. v. Sullivan : @

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Friday, March 25, 1960: Oliver Cromwell's head

In a secret ceremony inside the antechapel at Sidney Sussex College (part of England's University of Cambridge), the head of Oliver Cromwell is given a final resting place as it is reburied, 302 years after his death. Cromwell had helped lead the overthrow and execution of King Charles I and took the title of Lord Protector as he governed the short-lived republic. Though some historical and scientific claims vary, the general consensus is that when Cromwell died in 1658, he was buried in Westminster Abbey. After Charles II restored the monarchy in 1660, Cromwell's body was disinterred, hanged and dismembered, with the head displayed on a spike to symbolize his treason. Through the years the head was sold and resold until it was finally returned to the college Cromwell had attended.

* More about Cromwell's remains: @

* Cromwell biographies: @ (BBC) and @ (Cambridge University Library)

* Charles I biography (British monarchy website): @

* Cromwell Museum: @

* The Cromwell Association: @

* Video summary: @

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Monday, March 21, 1960: The Sharpeville massacre

Police in Sharpeville, South Africa (a township south of Johannesburg) open fire on a crowd protesting the country's pass laws, under which black people were required to carry identification with them at all times. Failure to do so could mean arrest and jail. The pass books also were used to restrict where blacks could go. 69 people were killed and at least 180 were wounded at Sharpeville; many of them were shot in the back as they ran from the gunfire. South Africa and its apartheid policies were quickly condemned around the world.

* More about Sharpeville: @

* More about pass laws: @ and @

* Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg: @

* Artists on the massacre: @

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