This page offers an insight into life in 1963 and includes World news, political leaders, prices, population statistics and information about the popular culture of 1963.
The year 1963 began on a Tuesday. It was not a leap year.
1963 In The News
29th January – Charles de Gaulle of France vetoed Britain’s entry into the European Common Market
21st March– Alcatraz Prison was closed.
1st May– Tab Cola was the first diet version of Coca-Cola
26th June– President Kennedy visited Berlin
28th August– The March on Washington and Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.
22nd November– President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald.
Life in 1963 – Prices
Average house:
UK – £2,748; USA – $12,650
Petrol per gallon:
UK – £0.22; USA – $0.30
Loaf of Bread:
UK – £0.06; USA – $0.22
Gold per ounce:
UK – $35.09, USA – $35.4
Life in 1963 – Population
World: – 3,209,535,892
Australia: – 11,001,483
Canada: – 19,342,840
China: – 674,248,704
India: – 473,613,856
Soviet Union: 124,276,520
United States: – 188,483,008
United Kingdom: – 53,625,000
Life in 1963 – Music
Best Selling Single:
UK – She Loves You – The Beatles
USA – Sugar Shack – Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs
AUS – I Want to Hold Your Hand – The Beatles
CAN – Sugar Shack – Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs
Best Selling Album:
UK – With the Beatles – The Beatles
USA – West Side Story – Original Soundtrack
AUS – No data – Charts began 1965
CAN – No data – Charts began 1968
Popular Artists:
Beach Boys, Boots Randolf, The Drifters, Four Seasons, The Kingsmen, Leslie Gore, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye,
On the Bookshelves
Books Published in 1963:
The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
Cat’s Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut Jr
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold – John le Carré
The Feminine Mystique – Betty Friedan
The Graduate – Charles Webb
At the Movies
1963 Top Movies (USA box office figures):
1. Cleopatra – $26 million
2. How the West Was Won – $22 million
3. It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World – $20.8 million
4. Tom Jones – $17.2 million
5. Irma la Douce – $12.1 million
Life in 1963 – World Leaders
Australia Prime Minister – Robert Menzies
Canada Prime Minister – John Diefenbaker to 22nd April; Lester Pearson from 22nd April
China President – Liu Shaoqi
India Prime Minister – Jawaharlal Nehru
Soviet Union Leader – Nikita Khruschchev
United States President – John F Kennedy to 22nd November; Lyndon B Johnson after 22nd November
United Kingdom Prime Minister – Harold MacMillan to 19th October; Alec Douglas Home after 19th October
Born in 1963
26th January – José Mourinho (Football Manager)
2nd February – Stephen McGann (Actor)
8th April – Julian Lennon (Musician)
16th April – Jimmy Osmond (Singer)
25th June – George Michael (Singer)
5th November – Tatum O’Neal (Actress)
18th December – Brad Pitt (Actor)
Died in 1963
18th January – Hugh Gaitskell (British Politician)
11th February- Sylvia Plath (Poet)
22nd November- Aldous Huxley (Author)
22nd November- C S Lewis (Author)
22nd November – John F Kennedy (President of the USA)
24th November – Lee Harvey Oswald (Assassin)
1963 Sport Highlights
Football – Manchester United won the FA Cup
Cycling – Jacques Anquetil (FRA) won the Tour de France for the 3rd time
Tennis – Margaret Smith won the Australian Open and Wimbledon
Golf – British Open won by Bob Charles; US Open won by Julius Boros
Baseball – Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series
Horse Racing – Mill House won the Cheltenham Gold Cup; Chateaugay won the Kentucky Derby
Christmas Wishlist
Barbie and Ken Dolls
Chatty Cathy
Etch A Sketch
Matchbox Cars
Easy Bake Oven
Disneykins
What Was New?
Touch-tone telephone
Ring-pull tab for cans invented
Lava lamp developed
Computer mouse developed
First episode of Dr Who shown
First published 2020; updated and republished Mar 24 2022 @ 11:04 am – Updated –
