Date in year · 1963 · The 1960s

July 26, 1963

On July 26, 1963, syncom 2, the world's first geosynchronous satellite, is launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta B booster. The year's #1 song was "Surfin' U.S.A." by The Beach Boys. Garry Kasparov, Conan O'Brien, Rachel Whiteread would arrive in the same year.

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Year

1963

1960s

Around 1963

The year in brief

1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1963rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 963rd year of the 2nd millennium, the 63rd year of the 20th century, and the 4th year of the 1960s decade.

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What happened

On July 26, 1963

  1. 1963 Syncom 2, the world's first geosynchronous satellite, is launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta B booster.

    1960s and 80s NASA program to develop communications satellites

    Syncom started as a 1961 NASA program for active geosynchronous communication satellites, all of which were developed and manufactured by the Space and Communications division of Hughes Aircraft Company. Syncom 2, launched in 1963, was the world's first geosynchronous communications satellite. Syncom 3, launched in 1964, was the world's first geostationary satellite.

  2. 1963 An earthquake in Skopje, Yugoslavia (present-day North Macedonia) leaves 1,100 dead.

    Earthquake in SR Macedonia

    1 moment magnitude earthquake which occurred in Skopje, SR Macedonia, then part of the SFR Yugoslavia, on July 26, 1963, which killed over 1,070 people, injured between 3,000 and 4,000 and left more than 200,000 people homeless. About 80 percent of the city was destroyed.

  3. 1963 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development votes to admit Japan.

    Intergovernmental economic organisation

    The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is a forum whose member countries describe themselves as committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practices, and coordinate domestic and international policies of its members. The majority of OECD members are generally regarded as developed countries, with high-income economies, and a very high Human Development Index.

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 1963

The class of 1963

Others born in 1963

Garry Kasparov 1963– Russian chess player and author
Conan O'Brien 1963– American television host, comedian, and writer
Rachel Whiteread 1963– English sculptor
Ken Caminiti 1963– American baseball player (died 2004)
Rosalind Gill 1963– English sociologist and academic
Sean Lock 1963– English comedian and actor (died 2021)

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