- In 1960: In the U.S.A. Percy Faith's "Theme From A Summer Place" was Billboard's #1 hit of the year.
- In 1960: In the U.S.A. Percy Faith's "Theme From A Summer Place" was Billboard's #1 hit of the year.
- In 1960: The yearly USA inflation rate was 1.46% . Average family income in the country was $6,691 ($55,065.00 in 2016 dollars), 57.9 percent higher than in 1950.
- In 1960: The average cost of new house was $12,700.00 ($102,975 in 2016 dollars), and the average monthly rent was $98.00 ($794 in 2016 dollars).
- In 1960: The average cost of a new automobile was $2,600.00 ($21,081 in 2016 dollars), while a gallon of gasoline averaged $0.25 cents ($2.03 in 2016 dollars).
- In 1960: The Rome Summer Olympics were the first Olympic games to be fully covered on television.
- In 1960: Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent & Cochran's girlfriend Sharon Sheeley were injured in a car accident near Chippenham in England...
- Cochran died in a hospital in Bath, Somerset, from severe brain injuries.
- In 1960: John F. Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon to win the United States Presidential election. According to some his victory was aided by the votes of dead Americans in Cook County, Illinois and in Texas.
- ...Kennedy was the first Catholic and the youngest person to be elected at 43 years old.
- In 1960: Sean Penn, Cal Ripken, Jr., Astronaut Catherine Coleman, and Erin Brockovich were born. Clark Gable, Boris Pasternak, and John D. Rockefeller Jr, died.
- In 1960: Notable innovations for the year included the audio casette, "Space Wars" (the first computer game), the compact disk (CD), soft contact lenses, the halogen lamp, and the implantable heart pacemaker.
- In 1960: The Drifters` - Ben E. King left the group and signed a solo record contract with ATCO Records.
- In 1960: Lucille Ball filed for divorce from husband Desi Arnaz after 19 years of marriage. Kiss the I Love Lucy TV show goodbye!.
- In 1960: Elvis Presley returned home from Germany, after being away on military duty for 2 years.
- In 1960: At the 32nd Academy Awards ceremony, Ben-Hur won a record number of Oscars, including Best Picture.
- In 1960: Dion DiMucci split from Dion and The Belmonts.
- In 1960: BrasÃlia became Brazil’s new capital.
- In 1960: The Soviet Union shot down an American Lockheed U-2 spy plane. Its pilot, Francis Gary Powers of the Central Intelligence Agency, was captured.
- In 1960: The world's first approved oral contraceptive pil, Enovid was introduced.
- In 1960: The last 78 rpm records are released in the U.S. and the U.K.
- In 1960: The U.S. nuclear-powered submarine USS Triton, under the command of Captain Edward L. Beach Jr., completed the first underwater circumnavigation of the Earth.
- In 1960: The Academy Award for Best Picture went to "Lawrence of Arabia." Gregory Peck won for Best Actor in "To Kill a Mockingbird" and best actress went to Anne Bancroft for "The Miracle Worker."
- In 1960: Harper Lee published her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which later won the Pulitzer Prize for the best American novel of 1960.
- In 1960: Joseph Kittinger parachuted from a balloon over New Mexico at an altitude of about 102,800 feet (31,333 meters). Kittinger set world records for: high-altitude jump; free-fall by falling 16.0 miles (25.7 kilometers) before opening his parachute;...
- ...and the fastest speed attained by a human being without mechanical or chemical assistance, about 982 k.p.h (614 m.p.h.). Kittinger survived more or less uninjured, and he is still alive in Florida as of 2013.
- In 1960: The newly named Beatles began a 48-night residency at the Indra club in Hamburg, West Germany.
- In 1960: Dr. Michael Woodruff carried out the first successful kidney transplant in the United Kingdom, at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
