August 1963

1963

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August 28, 1963: 250,000 March on Washington

Martin Luther King Jr. delivering his "I Have a Dream" speech

August 30, 1963: Philips introduces the cassette tape recorder

The following events occurred inAugust 1963:

August 1,1963 (Thursday)

• The "Protocol to Amend the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air signed at Warsaw on 12 October 1929", commonly known as theHague Protocol,came into effect.
• The first Design Engineering Inspection of the full-scale test vehicle of the Gemini Paraglider Landing System Program was done byNorth American Aviationand resulted in 30 requests for alterations.
• The United States amended itsSingle Integrated Operational Plan(SIOP) for nuclear war for the first time, altering the original plan that had been in place sinceJuly 1, 1962.
• George HarrisonandPaul McCartneysang a duet on a Beatles tape recording of the Goffin-King song "Don't Ever Change"for later broadcast on BBC radio.
• The11th World Scout Jamboreebegan, inMarathon,Greece.
• TheBanque du Libanwas established in Lebanon.
• Born:Coolio(stage name for Artis Ivey, Jr.) American rapper (d. 2022); inMonessen, Pennsylvania
• Died:Theodore Roethke,55, American Pulitzer Prize-winning poet; of a heart attack

August 2,1963 (Friday)

• TheSino-Soviet splitwidened as thePeople's Republic of China,in its strongest condemnation to that time of the Soviet Union, criticized the Soviets as being "freaks and monsters" for making "unconditional concessions and capitulation to the imperialists" after the USSR had agreed to a partial nuclear test ban treaty with the United States and the United Kingdom. The statement came in an editorial in the Chinese Communist Party newspaper, thePeople's Daily.
• The NFL championGreen Bay Packerswere upset, 20–17, by the College All-Stars in the annualChicago College All-Star Game.It would be the last time that the All-Stars would win the series, which would be discontinued after the 1976 contest.
• José de Jesús García Ayalawas consecrated as Auxiliary Bishop of Campeche. He would go on to become the oldest bishop in the Mexican church, living beyond his 100th birthday.
• A tropical storm off Bermuda intensified and was classified asHurricane Arlene,though it would degenerate into a tropical depression the following day.

August 3,1963 (Saturday)

• The U.S.-launchedSyncom 2,launched on July 26, was successfully lifted to an altitude of 22,500 miles (36,200 km) and achieved a speed of 6,880 miles per hour (11,070 km/h) in order to keep pace with the Earth's equatorial rotational movement of 1,040 miles per hour (1,670 km/h), becoming the first Earth-made object to achievegeosynchronous orbit.Syncom 2 remained fixed at a point near the equator and over Brazil.
• The Beatlesperformed atThe Cavern ClubinLiverpoolfor the 275th, and final time, nearly 18 months after their first appearance on the club's stage onFebruary 9, 1961.
• Born:
  • James Hetfield,American singer/songwriter and founder of the rock bandMetallica;inDowney, California
  • Tasmin Archer,English singer; inBradford,Yorkshire
• Died:
  • Stephen Ward,50, English osteopath and a central figure in theProfumo affair,died three days after taking an overdose of barbiturates. In his suicide note, he wrote, "It's a wish not to let them get me. I'd rather get myself."
  • Phil Graham,48, publisher ofThe Washington Postnewspaper andNewsweekmagazine; by suicide

August 4,1963 (Sunday)

• At 5:00 in the morning,Haitiwas invaded from theDominican Republicby an army of 500 Haitian rebels seeking to overthrow the dictatorship of PresidentFrancois Duvalier,commonly referred to as "Papa Doc". The rebel forces crossed the border from the Dominican town ofDajabónto strike atOuanaminthe,moving across theRivière du Massacre/Rio Dajabón.
• The1963 German Grand Prixwas held at the Nürburgring and won byJohn Surtees,withJim Clarkfinishing second. Clark remained well in first place in the world auto-driving championship standings, with 42 points, while Surtees was second at 22.
• TheAfrican Development Bank(AfDB) was created by agreement of the leaders of 33 African nations meeting inKhartoum,the capital ofSudan.
• Born:Keith Ellison,U.S. Representative for Minnesota from 2007 to 2019, the first Muslim to be elected to the United States Congress; inDetroit

August 5,1963 (Monday)

August 5, 1963: NASA astronauts dressed for survival in the Nevada desert

• All members ofNASA Astronaut Group 2and two of theMercury astronautsbegan a five-daydesertsurvival course atStead Air Force BaseinNevada.The course, oriented towardProject Geminimissions, had (1) one and one-half days of academic presentations on characteristics of world desert areas and survival techniques; (2) one day of field demonstrations on use and care of survival equipment and use of the parachute in construction of clothing, shelters, and signals; and (3) two days of remote site training, when two-man teams were left alone in the desert to apply what they had learned from the academic and demonstration phases of the program.
• In Moscow, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union signed the firstNuclear Test Ban treaty.The ceremony took place at the Kremlin with U.S. Secretary of StateDean Rusk,British Foreign SecretaryAlec Douglas-Home,and Soviet Foreign MinisterAndrei Gromykosigning on behalf of their respective nations.
• Craig Breedloveset the record for fastest driver in the world, reaching 428.37 miles per hour (689.39 km/h) "for a measured mile" in a jet-powered vehicle,Spirit of America,on theBonneville Salt FlatsinUtah.His average for two runs was 407.45 miles per hour (655.73 km/h).
• The trial ofStephen Wardwas formally closed with no sentence pronounced, two days after Ward's suicide.
• Born:Mark Strong,English actor; inLondon
• Died:Salvador Bacarisse,64, Spanish composer

August 6,1963 (Tuesday)

• The United States Senate voted, 84 to 0, for a pay increase to nearly all members of the United States Armed Services, whether active or on reserve, three months after the House of Representatives had passed a "somewhat similar, but less generous bill".
• Died:
  • Lina Ruz González y Castro, 60, mother of Cuban leadersFidel CastroandRaúl Castro
  • Sophus Nielsen,75, Danish soccer player and manager

August 7,1963 (Wednesday)

• A freakescalatoraccident at theGarden State Park RacetrackinCherry Hill, New Jersey,killed a man and his daughter. John Patrick Sweeney and 8-year-old Peggy Sweeney, ofMaple Shade, New Jersey,were touring the closed park with a friend when they stepped over a box of tools that had been blocking the moving stairway, unaware that a protective plate at the top had been removed for maintenance. The two fell into the moving machinery and were crushed to death.
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 181was passed, calling for a voluntaryarms embargoofSouth Africabecause of its racial discrimination. The United States and the United Kingdom abstained from the vote.
• Test pilotJim Eastham made the first flight of theLockheed YF-12jet fighter over Nevada's Groom Dry Lake.
• Thebeach party filmgenre began with the release ofAIP'sBeach Party.
• Born:Patrick Bouvier Kennedy,son ofU.S. PresidentJohn F. KennedyandFirst LadyJacqueline Kennedy,by emergencycaesarean section,five and a half weeks early, at theOtis Air Force Base HospitalinBourne, Massachusetts.He was quickly transferred to theChildren's Hospital Boston,and would die 39 hours later of respiratory problems.
• Died:Ramon Vila Capdevila,55, nicknamed Caraquemada, Spanish rebel who was killed in a gun battle with Spanish Civil Guards

August 8,1963 (Thursday)

• The Great Train Robbery of 1963took place atLedburn,Buckinghamshire,England, when a gang of bandits halted a train ferrying mail betweenGlasgowand London. At 3:00 a.m., the group caused the train's engineer to stop by activating the red signal and covering the green signal. When the train came to a halt, engineer Jack Mills and his assistant were overpowered, while others in the group boarded the first two coaches hauling mail and tied up the four employees on board. The group then uncoupled the engine and two coaches from the other ten cars on the train, and forced the engineer and assistant to move one mile down the line to the Bridego Bridge, where the mail bags were dropped into automobiles waiting beneath. The haul was estimated at £2,600,000 (at the time worth about $7,300,000; equivalent to £70 million or $87,500,000 in 2023).
• Ndabaningi Sithole,future Zimbabwean prime minister (and later, president)Robert Mugabe,and other members of theZimbabwe African People's Unionformed theZimbabwe African National Union(ZANU) after being dissatisfied with the leadership ofJoshua Nkomo.
• Qualification testing of the Gemini parachute recovery system demonstrated water-impactaccelerationslow enough to make water landing safe.

August 9,1963 (Friday)

Oswald distributing leaflets in New Orleans on August 16, 1963

• American dissidentLee Harvey Oswaldwas arrested inNew Orleanswhile distributing leaflets for theFair Play for Cuba Committeeat the corner of Canal Street and Baronne Street, after getting into a scuffle with three Cuban men (Carlos Bringuier, Celso Macario and Miguel Mariano), who were also arrested. Oswald spent the night in jail, and was then released.A week later, on August 16, Oswald again passed out Fair Play for Cuba leaflets with two hired helpers, this time in front of theInternational Trade Mart.
• Representatives ofManned Spacecraft Center(MSC),Arnold Engineering Development Center,McDonnell Aircraft Corporation,andThiokolmet to analyze problems in the Geminiretrorocketabort system. Several components, including retrorocket nozzle exit cones and mounting structure, had failed in recent tests at Arnold. After improvements, a retesting in October was successful.
• Hurricane Arlene passed directly overBermudawith winds of 85 mph (137 km/h).The storm continued to intensify after passing the island, with a barometric pressure of 969 mbar (969 hPa; 28.6 inHg) and winds reaching 105 mph (169 km/h).The hurricane weakened and was downgraded to anextratropical cycloneas it moved out to sea.
• 1963 Great Hai River flood,atorrential heavy massive rain,resulting tomany dam collapse,levee collapse on Hai river andflooding,mainly,Beijing,TianjinandHebei Province,China, killing total 5,154 persons, according toChinese governmentofficial document figures report.
• The British rock music showReady Steady Go!premiered onAssociated-RediffusioninLondon,part of Britain'sITVnetwork, and would later be shown on the other ITV stations. It would run until December 7, 1966.
• Born:Whitney Houston,American pop singer (d. 2012); inNewark, New Jersey
• Died:Patrick Bouvier Kennedy,two-day-old son of President John F. Kennedy, ofinfant respiratory distress syndrome.A funeral mass for the child was held the next day in the private chapel of CardinalRichard Cushingin Boston.

August 10,1963 (Saturday)

• A new record was set for latest ending to a Major League Baseball game, when the second game of a doubleheader between thePittsburgh Pirates,and the visitingHouston Colt.45s(now the Astros) lasted until 2:30 in the morning. The first game had been delayed for an hour by rain. Only 300 of the original 9,420 fans stayed to watch Pittsburgh win 7–6 after 11 innings. The record would be broken on June 13, 1967, when aWashington Senators' 6–5 win over theChicago White Soxended at at 2:44 a.m.
• Giovanni Colombobecame Archbishop of Milan, replacingPope Paul VI,who had been elected to the papacy two months earlier.
• Born:Phoolan Devi,Indian bandit and politician (d. 2001); inGhura Ka Purwa,Uttar Pradeshstate
• Died:Estes Kefauver,60, American politician who almost won the 1952 Democratic presidential nomination and then served as running-mate for nomineeAdlai Stevenson IIin 1956.

August 11,1963 (Sunday)

• Four of the defendants who had been arrested onJuly 11,at theLiliesleaf FarmnearJohannesburg,were able to escape their South African jail after a bribe was promised to their guard by the ANC.Harold WolpeandArthur Goldreich,who were both white, were confined at Johannesburg's Marshall Square Police Station, in the same cell with Indian South Africans Abdulhay Jassat andMoosa Moolla,separate from the black South African defendants. Their white guard, Johannes Greeff, served three years of a six-year sentence, and later received 2,000 African pounds.Wolpe and Goldreich would elude a nationwide search and, "disguised as priests", make it toSwaziland(which was surrounded by South Africa), and on September 8, would charter a plane to fly to Tanganyika.
• Lieutenant General Song Yo-Chang, formerPrime Minister of South Korea,was arrested on orders of the President and his former superior officer, GeneralPark Chung-hee.On August 8, General Song had published a letter in the nation's newspapers, calling on General Park not to run in the October elections.
• Two teams of surgeons, atChildren's Hospital Los Angeles,carried out the successful separation of a pair ofconjoined twins,Daniel Bartley and David Bartley, 27 hours after their birth. The two were joined at the abdomen.Daniel died three days later, on August 14.
• Food poisoningstruck about 150 of 800 women who had attended a dinner at which theArchbishop of Boston,Richard Cardinal Cushing,was the guest speaker.
• Benoni Beheytwon the1963 UCI Road World Championshipsbicycle race atRenaix,Belgium.
• Jim Clarkwon the1963 Kanonloppetmotor race atKarlskoga Circuitin Sweden.
• Died:
  • Clem Bevans,83, American vaudeville star and film actor
  • Charles Seymour,78, American academician

August 12,1963 (Monday)

• Jomo Kenyatta,President of Kenya,spoke to 300 white farmers atNakuru,and reassured them that the new black African government would look after their interests if they remained. "To the chagrin of many freedom fighters, his prophecy turned out to be accurate", one commentator would observe later about the formerMau Mau Uprisingleader.
• Fifteen of the 16 people on board an Air-Inter flight were killed when the Viscount airplane they were on crashed while attempting a landing in a thunderstorm atLyon.The airplane, which was stopping atLilleon the way toNice,struck a barn as it descended, and debris from the wreckage killed the farm owner. The sole survivor was a three-year-old girl.
• Born:Kōji Kitao,Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 2019); inMie

August 13,1963 (Tuesday)

• The "Trois Glorieuses"uprising began inCongo-Brazzaville(formerly the French Congo), as political rallies degenerated into violent clashes.Striking workers in the capital,Brazzaville,stormed the city prison and released all of the inmates.
• Born:
  • Sridevi,Indian actress cited as the "first female superstar" ofIndian cinema;as Shree Amma Ayyapan inMeenampatti,Madras State(died of cardiac arrest, 2018)
  • Édouard Michelin,managing partner and co-chief executive of the Michelin Group in 1999; inClermont-Ferrand(died by drowning, 2006)
  • Valerie Plame,AmericanCIAOperations Officerwho was identified after a leak from a U.S. State Department official; inAnchorage, Alaska

August 14,1963 (Wednesday)

• A forest fire inBrazilkilled 110 people and caused damage in 128 villages and towns in the state ofParaná.The fire, which broke out in four districts around the city ofLondrina,started when local farmers were clearing their land by setting small blazes that grew out of control. Eventually, two million hectares or 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) were burned by the blaze before it was brought under control. Besides the 110 known dead, another 1,000 were injured and 5,700 families were left homeless. The death toll may have been as high as 250 people, more than twice the official report.
• British police arrested five people believed to have been members of the gang that had carried out the robbery of the Glasgow-London mail train the previous week and recovered £100,000 of the loot that had been stolen.
• The first of theYirrkala bark petitions,created by Aboriginal leaders in theArnhem Landregion of theNorthern Territoryof Australia, were presented to Australian governmental leaders at the capital inCanberra.
• Hamburger SVwon the1962–63 DFB-Pokal,the second-most important national competition in German football.
• Died:Clifford Odets,57, American playwright

August 15,1963 (Thursday)

• Fulbert Youlouwas forced to resign as president of theRepublic of Congo,after athree-day uprisingin the capital.A delegation of military leaders, led by Colonel David Mountsaka and Major Felix Mouzabakani, refused to obey President Youlou's order for the Congolese Army to shoot at the protesters, and demanded his resignation.Youlou was replaced the next day byAlphonse Massamba-Débat,who was designated by the title "chief of government", rather than president.He would be imprisoned until being freed by his supporters onFebruary 7, 1964.
• The last of the American nuclearThor missiles,located in the United Kingdom at the 144th Strategic Missile Squadron atNorth Luffenham,was taken off of alert, ending a process that had started onNovember 29.The missiles were removed by September 27, and the missile facilities closed by December 20.
• A team of scientists fromYale Universityand theBrookhaven National Laboratoryannounced their discovery of what was believed at the time to be the last class ofsubatomic particle,thehyperonreferred to as "anti-xi-zero".
• Born:Simon Brown,Jamaican boxer, IBF welterweight champion (1988–1991), and WBC light middleweight champion (1993–1994); inClarendon
• Died:
  • Eddie Mays,34, the last person to be executed in the state of New York; in the electric chair at Sing Sing prison
  • Karl Drews,43, former American MLB pitcher from 1946 to 1954; by a drunk driver
  • John Powell,80, American pianist, ethnomusicologist and composer
  • Vsevolod Ivanov,68, Soviet novelist

August 16,1963 (Friday)

August 16, 1963: NASA M2-F1 in flight

• Test pilotMilton Orville Thompsonmade the first flight of theNASA M2-F1,a winglesslifting bodyglider nicknamed the "flying bathtub". The lifting body design, which permitted aspacecraftto descend horizontally through the atmosphere, would be put into service through the U.S.Space Shuttle.
• FormerPresident of VenezuelaMarcos Pérez Jiménezwasextraditedfrom the United States back to Venezuela, eight months after his arrest and confinement in the Dade County Jail inMiami.Perez Jimenez had been dictator from 1952 to 1958, then fled to the U.S., where he lived in luxury until being jailed in Miami onDecember 12, 1962.
• Two people walking in Dorking Woods discovered a briefcase, a holdall and a camel-skin bag, all containing money. The evidence would lead to the arrest ofBrian Field,a member of the gang who had carried outthe Great Train Robberya few days earlier. The discovery raised the total amount of money recovered to £141,000 ($394,800).
• Canada's new Prime Minister,Lester B. Pearson,reversed the policy of his predecessor,John G. Diefenbaker,and announced that his government had agreed with the United States to arm American-deployed missiles with nuclear warheads.
• Born:Christine Cavanaugh,American voice actress known for voicing Chuckie Finster in the cartoon seriesRugrats(d. 2014); inLayton, Utah

August 17,1963 (Saturday)

• Fifty-five people were drowned when the Japanese ferry boatMidori Marucapsized in heavy waves as it sailed from the Okinawan capital toKumejima Island.Another 185 of the passengers and crew were rescued by fishing boats and U.S. military aircraft.
• Died:
  • Richard Barthelmess,68, American silent film actor who was nominated for Best Actor in the first Academy Award ceremony
  • Ed Gardner,62, American radio comedian who starred in the seriesDuffy's Tavern

August 18,1963 (Sunday)

• James Meredithbecame the first African-American to graduate from theUniversity of Mississippiin its 115 years of existence. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, having majored in political science and minored in French. The cost of Meredith's protection by federal marshals was more than $5,000,000.His graduation day was without incident; Meredith would later earn a law degree fromColumbia University.
• The last match in the third round of the1963 CONCACAF Champions' Cupwas played at the Estadio Nacional in Costa Rica. The final, scheduled to be played the following month, would eventually be scratched, andRacing Club Haïtienwould eventually be declared champion.

August 19,1963 (Monday)

• Israel's Prime MinisterLevi Eshkolagreed to allow American observers to visit theNegev Nuclear Research Centerat Dimona, where Israel was working on developing a nuclear weapon.
• Born:
  • Monday Michiru,Japanese "acid jazz" musician and actress; inTokyo,to jazz pianistToshiko Akiyoshiand jazz saxophonistCharlie Mariano
  • John Stamos,American TV actor and producer; inCypress, California
• Died:
  • Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan,74, Pakistani politician, President (speaker) of Pakistan's first Constituent Assembly
  • Jay Meuser,51, American abstract expressionist painter

August 20,1963 (Tuesday)

• In the case ofCurtis Publishing Co. v. Butts,former University of Georgia football coachWally Buttswon a $3,060,000 judgment in his libel lawsuit against theSaturday Evening Postmagazine. TheMarch 19, 1963issue of the magazine alleged in an article that Butts and University of Alabama coachBear Bryanthad conspired to fix the outcome of the game between their schools.The jury verdict would later be reduced to $460,000 by the trial court, but would be upheld by the United States Supreme Court.
• In theBristol South East by-election,Tony Bennregained his seat in the House of Commons. Benn had been forced to resign Commons in 1960, when he inherited a peerage, becoming the 2ndViscount Stansgate(and a member of the House of Lords) on his father's death. Benn had won the by-election onMay 4but had been disqualified by law. When thePeerage Act 1963took effect, Benn renounced his peerage, ran again and received 79.7% of the vote.
• TheIsraeli governmentinformed theUnited NationsSpecial Committee onApartheidthat it had taken all necessary steps to ensure that no arms, ammunition, orstrategic materialswould be exported from Israel to South Africa in any form, directly or indirectly.
• TheRoyal Shakespeare Companyintroduced its performance cycle ofShakespeare'shistory playsunder the titleThe Wars of the Roses,adapted and directed byJohn BartonandPeter Hall,at theRoyal Shakespeare Theatre,Stratford-upon-Avon.
• Rocketdynebegan testing its new thrust chamber assembly (TCA) design for the Gemini reentry control system (RCS) and theorbit attitude and maneuver system(OAMS). Design verification testing was completed in October.

August 21,1963 (Wednesday)

• Victor Mostovoy, the pilot of a disabledAeroflotTupolev Tu-124airliner,successfully made an emergency landingin theNeva RiveratLeningradafter the jet developed engine trouble. The Tu-124 remained afloat, and all 52 people on board were able to escape without injury.
• The first of five flight tests in the Gemini malfunction detection system (MDS) piggyback series was made with theTitan IIrocket. Because of a short circuit, all MDS parameter data was lost 81 seconds after liftoff. Performance would be verified by the final test on March 23, 1964.
• TheArmy of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces,on orders of PresidentNgô Đình Diệmand his brother,Ngô Đình Nhu,arrested thousands of monks and nuns(some of whom would die in prison or disappear entirely), and vandalised Buddhist pagodas across South Vietnam.
• Lee Harvey Oswald, identifying himself as New Orleans representative of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, debated against Cuban exileCarlos Bringuierin a live radio program on the New Orleans stationWDSU-AM.
• U.S. President Kennedy issued a Presidential Memorandum establishing theNational Communications System.
• MSC ordered the procurement of eightAtlasrockets for theGemini program,at a cost of $40,000,000.
• The Soviet Union established diplomatic relations withJordanfor the first time.
• Born:KingMohammed VI of Morocco,son of KingHassan II of MoroccoandLalla Latifa Hammou;inRabat
• Died:Gladys Dick,81, American physician and co-developer of the vaccine againstscarlet fever

August 22,1963 (Thursday)

• Lloyd Miller Jr., convicted in 1956 of the murder and rape of an 8-year-old girl, was given a stay of execution seven hours before he was scheduled to die in theelectric chairat theStateville Correctional CenterinIllinois.U.S. District Court JudgeBernard M. Deckerissued awrit of habeas corpusto halt proceedings while Miller's attorneys continued to pursue an appeal. Three-and-a-half years later, on February 13, 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court would reverse Miller's conviction after it was determined that the prosecutor inFulton County, Illinois,had presented faked evidence at Miller's trial, and Miller would be set free on March 20 after more than ten years behind bars.
• American test pilotJoe Walkermade a second sub-orbital spaceflight, according to the international standard of 100 kilometers, piloting anX-15rocket plane to an altitude of 354,200 feet (67.08 mi; 108.0 km).The record was unofficial, because the X-15 did not take off from the ground under its own power, and was sent up by anair launch.Walker's flight would remain the highest ever achieved by an airplane for more than fifty years, until broken onOctober 4, 2004,whenBrian Binniewould pilotSpaceShipOneto an altitude of 367,500 feet (112,000 m; 112.0 km).
• Died:Eric Johnston,66, American motion picture executive who had served as president of theMotion Picture Association of Americasince 1945

August 23,1963 (Friday)

• Einar Gerhardsenresigned asPrime Minister of Norwayafter losing amotion of no confidenceby a two-vote margin.The 76–74 vote came about when two deputies in theStorting(Finn GustavsenandAsbjørn Holm) broke with the ruling Labor Party to vote against Gerhardsen.
• Born:
  • Stephanie Biddle,Canadian jazz musician; inLaSalle, Quebec
  • Glória Pires,Brazilian actress; inRio de Janeiro

August 24,1963 (Saturday)

August 24, 1963:The Gladiators

• Newspaper photographer John O'Gready took the iconic photographThe Gladiators,showing opposing playersNorm ProvanandArthur Summonsembracing at the end of the1963 NSW Rugby League Premiership Grand FinalatSydney Cricket Ground.
• The very first games of theBundesliga,composed of the 16 best professional soccer football teams inWest Germany,were played, with all eight matches starting at 5:00 p.m. InBremen,Timo KonietzkaofBorussia Dortmundscored the first goal in league history, 59 seconds into the match againstSV Werder Bremen,although Bremen would win 3–2. In other contests,Meidericher SVbeatKarlsruher SC,4–1;FC Schalke 04defeatedVfB Stuttgart,2–0;1. FC Kölnwon 2–0 overFC Saarbrücken.The other four games ended in 1–1 draws.
• With conditional approval by President Kennedy, theU.S. Department of Statesent what would later become known as "Cable 243"to AmbassadorHenry Cabot LodgeinSouth Vietnam.The wording of the message, which was dispatched after the violentXá Lợi Pagoda raids,included the statement that the Ambassador should "make detailed plans as to how we might bring about Diem's replacement if this should become necessary", and implied support for a coup against PresidentNgo Dinh Diem.
• John Pennel,who had broken the world record in thepole vaulton August 5, became the first person to vault more than 17 feet (5.2 m), vaulting 17 feet 0.75 inches (5.2007 m) in a meet near his hometown, at the University of Miami.

August 25,1963 (Sunday)

• All 26 people aboard the Greek freighterMVDonald(formerly the U.S. Navy cargo ship USSCabell) disappeared shortly after the captain reported by radio that he was encountering bad weather in theIndian Ocean.The ship had been en route toIndonesiawith a cargo of 5,000 tonnes (4,900 long tons; 5,500 short tons) of iron, and was never found after being reported as missing a month later by the Greek Ministry of Merchant Marine.
• McDonnell completed the fabrication and assembly ofGemini spacecraftNo. 1 with the mating of the spacecraft's major modules. The spacecraft passed its final roll-out inspection on October 1 and was shipped toAtlantic Missile RangeOctober 4.
• Nearly three years after theDecember 15, 1960decision by KingMahendra of Nepalto abolish the nation's short-lived elected legislature, the King held the first meeting of the new "National Guidance Council"as an advisory body.
• Died:Karl Probst,79, American automobile engineer who, in 1940, designed the U.S. Army's "G.P." (general purpose) vehicle, which would become known as the "jeep"

August 26,1963 (Monday)

• In a meeting with U.S. President Kennedy, Soviet AmbassadorAnatoly Dobrynintold Kennedy that all Soviet combat troops had been removed fromCuba.In actuality, one brigade of Soviet troops had remained after the end of theCuban Missile Crisis,at the request ofFidel Castro.The existence of the brigade would not be discovered by U.S. intelligence until 1979.
• Born:Cristina Favre-MorettiandIsabella Crettenand-Moretti,twin sisters Swiss ski mountaineers who both won gold medals in the2004 World Championships

August 27,1963 (Tuesday)

• Singaporeanbar waitressJenny Cheokdisappeared at sea during a scuba diving trip nearSisters' Islands,Singapore.Initially considered as a missing persons case, it was found that Cheok was killed by her boyfriend,Sunny Ang,for her insurance money, which amounted to $450,000 in total. Despite the circumstantial evidence and lack of a body, Ang would beconvictedon May 19, 1965 for murder, making the case one of the most sensational murder cases in Singapore's legal history. Ang would be executed inChangi Prisonon February 6, 1967. Till this day, Cheok's body has never been found.
• Less than six hours before the railroads of the United States were scheduled to be shut down by a walkout of railway employees, President Kennedy signed anti-strike legislation that had been passed minutes earlier by the U.S. House of Representatives. The vote in the House, finished at 4:42 p.m., was 286–66 on a bill that had passed the U.S. Senate on August 22. President Kennedy signed the bill into law at 6:14 p.m., ending the strike that had been scheduled for one minute after midnight.
• Japanese Construction MinisterIchirō Kōnoannounced that the government would construct a new city on undeveloped land in "a very suitable place nearMount Tsukuba".The"Tsukuba Science City",located 35 miles (56 km) northeast of Tokyo and intended as a community for researchers and scientists, would be ready for its first residents after ten years of construction, and would have over 200,000 residents within 50 years.
• Eighteen miners were killedin an explosion at an undergroundpotashmine nearMoab, Utah,but five men were able to survive the carbon monoxide by finding an air pocket, 2,712 feet (827 m) below the surface, and were lifted to safety by rescue workers.
• Born:Greg Daniels,former Australian rules footballer who played forCollingwoodin theVictorian Football League(VFL) in 1986

Du Bois

• Died:
  • W. E. B. Du Bois,95, African-American professor and civil rights activist, who later became a citizen ofGhana;of health problems
  • Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi,75, Indian mathematician, logician, political theorist, Islamic scholar and the founder of the Khaksar movement
  • Werner Kuhn,64, Swiss physical chemist

August 28,1963 (Wednesday)

August 28, 1963: Marchers at the Lincoln Memorial

• At the "March on Washington" (officially, theMarch on Washington for Jobs and Freedom), ReverendMartin Luther King Jr.delivered his "I Have A Dream"speech on the steps of theLincoln Memorialto an audience of at least 250,000 people.
• The "Career Girls Murders"were committed as Janice Wylie, a 21-year-old researcher forNewsweekmagazine, and her roommate, 22-year-old schoolteacher Emily Hoffert, were stabbed to death in their luxury apartment on New York's Upper East Side.An innocent man would be convicted of the murders and was imprisoned until the discovery of the actual killer, Richard Robles.
• John LyngbecamePrime Minister of Norway,forming the first government in 28 years not to be led by the Norwegian Labour Party. Lyng's government would last for only one month.
• Two U.S. Air ForceKC-135 Stratotankerscollided over the Atlantic Ocean and crashed.

August 29,1963 (Thursday)

• Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.,the U.S. Ambassador toSouth Vietnam,sent a top secret cable to the White House, reporting that "We are launched on a course from which there is no turning back: the overthrow of the [Ngo Dinh] Diem government."At noon in Washington, D.C., President Kennedy held a conference with his Secretaries of State, Defense and the Treasury, as well as with the CIA Director, after which Kennedy authorized a reply to Lodge, which included the statement that "The USG [United States Government] will support a coup which has good chance of succeeding but plans no direct involvement of U.S. Armed Forces."
• The Policlínico Bancario bank in Argentina was robbed by members ofTacuara Nationalist Movement,who stole 14,000,000 Argentine pesos (equivalent to US$100,000), and killed two bank employees in the process.
• Gulzarilal NandareplacedLal Bahadur Shastrias India'sMinister for Home Affairs.

August 30,1963 (Friday)

The original hot line, at the Johnson Presidential Library

• TheMoscow–Washington hotlinebegan operations, as the U.S. Department of Defense made a one-sentence announcement to the world press: "The direct communication link between Washington and Moscow is now operational."Because the spoken word could be misunderstood, the hot line was actually a link ofteletypemachines rather than the red telephone commonly depicted in television and film.

The standard for cassette tapes

• Themodern audio cassette tapeand thetape recorderthat used it were both introduced to the public by thePhilipsCompany, at the annualInternationale Funkausstellung Berlin,an exhibition of the latest consumer technology, inWest Germany.For the next 30 years, the "cassette" would be the standard form of portable recorded music.
• Kansas City ChiefsrookieStone Johnson,a former United States Olympic sprinter, sustained a fractured vertebra in his neck during a kickoff return in a preseason game against theHouston OilersinWichita, Kansas.Johnson would die on September 8 as a result of the injury.
• Born:
  • Paul Oakenfold,British record producer and DJ; inMile End, London
  • John King,American journalist; inDorchester, Massachusetts
• Died:
  • Eddie Mannix,72, American film executive
  • Axel Stordahl,50, American bandleader
  • Guy Burgess,52, British spy

August 31,1963 (Saturday)

Proposed Gemini parasail landing system

• Gemini Project Office (GPO) reported that it was investigating the use of aparasailand landing rocket system to enable the Gemini spacecraft to make ground landings rather than splashing down at sea. Major system components were the parasail,drogue parachute,retrorocket, control system, and landing rocket. Unlike the conventional parachute, the parasail was capable of controlled gliding and turning. Landing rockets, fired just before touchdown, reduced the spacecraft rate of descent to less than 11 feet (3.4 m) per second or 7.5 miles per hour (12.1 km/h). After a briefing by GPO toNASA Headquarterson September 6, no further action was taken on the parasail and landings of U.S. spacecraft would continue to be in the ocean until thefirst space shuttle flightin 1981.
• Singaporedeclared its independence from the United Kingdom, withYusof bin Ishakas the head of state (Yang di-Pertuan Negara) andLee Kuan Yewas prime minister. Sixteen days later, Singapore would join the Federation ofMalaysia,but would declare independence again on August 9, 1965.
• John Dalgleish Donaldsonand his first wife, Henrietta Clark Horne, married at Port Seton, Scotland. One of their daughters, Mary Donaldson (born 1972), would marryFrederik, Crown Prince of Denmarkin 2010 and becomeMary, Crown Princess of Denmark.
• GPO reported that theGemini Guidance Computerwas in its final factory testing phase and would be ready forinertial guidance systemintegration testing on September 6.
• British North Borneobecame the self-governing territory known asSabah,pending the establishment of the Federation ofMalaysialater in the year.
• TheNational Museum of Malaysiaopened, on the sixth anniversary of the independence ofMalaya.
• Winston P. Wilsonbecame chief of the U.S.National Guard Bureau.
• Died:Georges Braque,81, French painter and sculptor