Date in year · 1962 · The 1960s

February 20, 1962

On February 20, 1962, mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes. The year's #1 song was "Stranger on the Shore" by Acker Bilk. Jeff Dunham, Sanjaasürengiin Zorig, Jeff Minter would arrive in the same year.

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Year

1962

1960s

Around 1962

The year in brief

1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1962nd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 962nd year of the 2nd millennium, the 62nd year of the 20th century, and the 3rd year of the 1960s decade.

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What happened

On February 20, 1962

  1. 1962 Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes.

    Initial American crewed spaceflight program (1958–1963)

    Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Union. Taken over from the US Air Force by the newly created civilian space agency NASA, it conducted 20 uncrewed developmental flights, and six successful flights by astronauts.

Arrivals

Born on February 20, 1962

Dwayne McDuffie 1962– American comic book and television writer (1962–2011)

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 1962

The class of 1962

Others born in 1962

Jeff Dunham 1962– American ventriloquist and comedian
Sanjaasürengiin Zorig 1962– Mongolian Politician, (died 1998)
Jeff Minter 1962– British video game designer and programmer
Danièle Sauvageau 1962– Canadian ice hockey player and coach
Michelle Yeoh 1962– Malaysian-Hong Kong actress and producer
Rex Ryan 1962– American football coach and analyst

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