Glorious Events That Took Place In 1963

History is made every day and 1963 was no different. Well, maybe it was a little unusual, because I found an online CBS News piece that referred to 1963 as “The Year Everything Happened.” While a little bit (okay, a lot) of everything did indeed happen in 1963, I choose to focus on the good things that happened in that year and a few of them are as follows:

Vaccine Against Measles Approval was given for a vaccine against measles. John Enders developed the vaccine in 1963.

March on Washington Two hundred thousand people participated in the largest non-violent demonstration ever held to support the passage of civil rights legislation. At the rally, Dr. Martin Luther King stated: "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: we hold these truths to be self evident; that all men are created equal."

1963 Universtiy of Alabama Integrated On June 11, 1963, two black students were admitted to the University of Alabama. This occured after an unsuccessful attempt by Governor George Wallace to block their admission. President Kennedy ordered the national guard federalized to insure their admittance, and gave an impassioned speech to the nation on the subject.

Astronaut Gordon Cooper orbited the Earth 22 times in 34-plus hours in the final solo Mercury mission on May 15-16.

American mountaineer Jim Whittaker became the first American to successfully scale Mount Everest on May 1.

Beatle George Harrison encouraged Decca Records to sign a band he discovered, The Rolling Stones.

“The Beverly Hillbillies” was the most popular prime-time television show, followed by “Bonanza,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “Petticoat Junction.”

The United States Postal Service launches the ZIP Code System during July of 1963.

Cleopatra was the top-grossing movie of 1963.

"Whose Afraid of Virginia Wolf" won the Tony for best actor in 1963.

The most popular songs included “Sugar Shack,” “Hey Paula,” “Puff, the Magic Dragon,” “Blowin' In the Wind,” “Wipe Out,” “Devil in Disguise” and “Ring of Fire.”

My pretty girl, the love of my life was born.

(the picture at the top was taken in 1963, by the way)