The original group of seven U.S. astronauts are selected by NASA for Project Mercury with a goal of manned spaceflight. The Mercury Seven are Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton.
Wilma Rudolph on her way to winning three Gold Medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.
Civil rights protests continue, with segregated lunch counters in Greensboro, North Carolina targeted with sit-ins.
The animated television series The Flintstones debuts on ABC. It is the first animated series to air in primetime.
Democrat John Kennedy (shown with wife Jackie) defeats Republican Richard Nixon in the 1960 U.S. presidential election becoming the youngest president ever at age 43.
Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, who organized the holocaust, is captured in Argentina. He would be executed in 1962.
Russia shoots down an American U2 spy plane and captures the pilot.
Mid Century Modern style ranch home design.
Detail from 1960 Cadillac car advertisement.
1960 Handi-Wrap advertisement.
Detail from 1960 Bell Telephone ad showing the Princess phone with light up dial.
Detail from the Fall 1960 Sears Catalog cover.
A New York City night fashion shoot.
Short shorts in a 1960 Life Magazine fashion article.
The "Rat Pack" in front of the sign announcing their appearance at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas.
The founder of Playboy Magazine, Hugh Hefner, poses with bunnies at the opening of the first Playboy Club in Chicago.
Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho is released.
Kirk Douglas stars as Spartacus, the top grossing film of 1960.
The Andy Griffith Show debuts in 1960 on CBS. The popular sitcom would air until 1968.
The sitcom My Three Sons, starring Fred MacMurray as a single father, debuts on U.S. television where it would air until 1972.
Scene from an American wedding in 1960.
A photo from a family vacation.
Children on the living room floor reading the Sunday paper 1960.
A young twirler marching in a Dixon, Illinois parade.