January: Alaska, originally purchased from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million, is officially proclaimed the 49th state of the US.

February: A plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa claims the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, 'The Big Bopper' & pilot Roger Peterson.

March: The Barbie doll, manufactured by Mattel goes on sale. Her creator, Ruth Handler, named Barbie after her daughter Barbara.

April: Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, Gordon Cooper & Deke Slayton become astronauts.

May: Two monkeys, Able & Miss Baker are the first animals to successfully return to Earth from space, aboard Jupiter AM-18.

June: USS George Washington, the first submarine to carry ballistic missiles, is launched at the Electric Boat Division in Groton.

July: Louis Leakey & his wife Mary discover the first skull of Australopithecus, in the Olduvai Gorge of Tanzania.

August: The Mini, designed by Sir Alec Issigonis is launched, by the British Motor Corporation. It will become an icon of the 1960s.

September: Luna 2 is the first spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon, crash landing near the craters Aristides, Archimedes & Autolycus.

October: The Guggenheim art museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright & located in Manhattan, opens its doors to the public.

November: MGM releases Ben-Hur starring Charlton Heston. The movie, directed by William Wyler, will win 11 Academy Awards.

December: 12 countries sign the Antarctic Treaty declaring Antarctica a scientific preserve & banning military activity.