August 1960

• At a dinner at the Swiss Embassy in Beijing, Communist Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai proposed negotiating a peace treaty with the United States, to create "a non-nuclear zone in Asia and the Western Pacific" region. A press officer for the U.S. State Department rejected the idea as "another meaningless propaganda gesture".
• The Republic of Dahomey, formerly part of French West Africa as French Dahomey, became independent, with Hubert Maga as its first president.{{cite news |title=New African Nation Born |newspaper=Arizona Republic |location=Phoenix, Arizona |date=August 1, 1960 |page=4}} In 1975, it would change its name to the Republic of Benin.
• Typhoon Shirley struck Taiwan, killing 126 people.{{cite book |chapter=Chronology August 1960 |title=The World Almanac and book of facts, 1961 |publisher=New York World-Telegram |year=1960 |pages=178–182}}
• Born:
• Chuck D (stage name for Carlton Douglas Ridenhour), American rapper, leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy; in Long Island, New York{{cite book|last1=D|first1=Chuck|title=Chuck D: Lyrics of a Rap Revolutionary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V18iAQAAMAAJ |year=2007|publisher=Offda|location=Gardena, Calif.|isbn=978-0-9749484-1-6|last2=Jah |first2=Yusuf}}
• Professor Griff (stage name for Richard Griffin), American rapper, spoken word artist, lecturer and former member of Public Enemy; in Roosevelt, New York{{cite book |last1=Santoro |first1=Gene |title=Dancing in Your Head: Jazz, Blues, Rock, and Beyond |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1995 |url=https://archive.org/details/dancinginyourhea0000sant |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/dancinginyourhea0000sant/page/119 119] |isbn=9780195101232}}
• Micheál Martin, Irish politician, Taoiseach (2020-2022; 2025-present), in Corkhttps://news.sky.com/story/amp/micheal-martin-the-taoiseach-in-waiting-finally-gets-his-chance-to-lead-ireland-12015725

• The Continental League, proposed as a third major league for baseball, came to an end after CL President Branch Rickey and co-founder William Shea concluded a meeting in Chicago with representatives of the National League and American League. The NL and AL, each with eight teams, had been confronted with the proposed eight team CL. By agreement, each established league would place franchises in proposed CL cities."Continental League Baseball Bid Is Dead", The Post-Standard (Syracuse, New York), August 3, 1960, p1[http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1960/08/03/page/39/article/continental-quits-speeds-baseball-expansion "3d League Paves Way for Major Expansion"], Chicago Tribune, August 3, 1960, p4-1 For 1962, three Continental sites had franchises, with the National League adding the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s (later the Astros), while the American League allowed its Washington Senators to relocate to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area as the Minnesota Twins. In later years, teams would be placed in Atlanta (1966), Dallas (1972), Toronto (1976) and Denver (1993). Buffalo, New York, was the only Continental site that would still be without a major league team nearly 60 years later.

• Hector Trujillo resigned abruptly as president of the Dominican Republic. The brother of de facto leader Rafael Trujillo had served as a figurehead and was succeeded by Joaquín Balaguer.{{cite news |title=Dominican Strongman's Brother Quits |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=August 3, 1960 |page=1}}
• A fire at the Soviet research center at Mirny Station in Antarctica, fed by gale-force winds and hampered by a lack of equipment, killed eight meteorologists.{{cite book |first=Tom |last=Griffiths |title=Slicing the Silence: Voyaging to Antarctica |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2007 |page=149}}
• The Republic of Niger, formerly part of French West Africa as the Colony of Niger, became independent, with Hamani Diori as its first president.{{cite news |title=Niger Independent |newspaper=The Post-Standard |location=Syracuse, New York |date=August 3, 1960 |page=1}}
• Redstone launch vehicle No. 1 was delivered to Cape Canaveral for the uncrewed Mercury 1 mission to be launched in November.{{Source attribution}} {{cite book |title=Project Mercury - A Chronology |chapter=PART II (B) Research and Development Phase of Project Mercury January 1960 through May 5, 1961 |last=Grimwood |first=James M. |series=NASA Special Publication-4001 |chapter-url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4001/p2b.htm |publisher=NASA |access-date=7 February 2023}}

• NASA test pilot Joseph A. Walker became the fastest man in history as he flew a North American X-15 at a speed of {{Convert|2,196|mph}}, breaking a record set in 1956 by Milburn Apt, who had been killed while flying a Bell X-2.{{cite news |title=X15 Sets 2,150-mph Speed Mark |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=August 4, 1960 |page=1}}
• Born: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain from 2004 to 2011; in Valladolid{{cite book |first=José M. |last=Magone |title=Contemporary Spanish Politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCmqGzjn49AC&pg=PA440 |date=27 October 2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-10196-2 |page=440 |via=Google Books}}

• The Republic of Upper Volta, formerly part of French West Africa as French Upper Volta, became independent, with Maurice Yaméogo as its first president."Third West Africa Nation Of Week Gets Independence", Oakland Tribune, August 5, 1960, p6 In 1984, the nation changed its name to Burkina Faso.
• Died: Arthur Meighen, 86, Prime Minister of Canada from 1920 to 1921, and briefly in 1926{{cite book|author=Barbara Martindale|title=Caledonia: Along the Grand River|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5iUH03diaSYC&pg=PA53|date=15 July 1995|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-1-4597-1369-7|pages=53}}

• In response to a United States embargo against Cuba, Fidel Castro nationalized American and foreign-owned property in the nation."Castro Regime Grabs Rest of U.S. Property", Oakland Tribune, August 7, 1960, p1

• Côte d'Ivoire (also referred to as the Ivory Coast), formerly part of French West Africa, became independent of France, with Félix Houphouët-Boigny as its first president."Ivory Coast Hails Independence", The Independent (Long Beach, California), August 8, 1960, p4
• The Bluebell Railway, in Sussex, England, began regular operation as the first standard gauge steam-operated passenger preserved railway in the world.{{Cite book|author=Cole, T. C.|title=Bluebell Railway – Steaming On!|year=1970|publisher=Bluebell Railway|location=Sheffield Park}}
• Born: David Duchovny, American actor, producer, novelist, and singer-songwriter; in New York City{{cite book|author=Paul T. Hellmann|title=Historical Gazetteer of the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=REtEXQNWq6MC&pg=PA781|date=14 February 2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=1-135-94859-3|pages=781}}

File:Flag of South Kasai.svg

• The Mining State of South Kasai, with its capital at Bakwanga (now Mbuji-Mayi), seceded from the rest of the Republic of the Congo, by declaration of Chief Albert Kalonji. Congolese troops recaptured Bakwanga two weeks later on August 24.

• The government of Laos was overthrown in a coup led by Captain Kong Le, and supported by rebellious units within the Laotian Army. Prime Minister Samsonith was in Luang Prabang, making preparations for the funeral of the late King of Laos, when the army units struck in Vientiane. Former Premier Souvanna Phouma formed a new cabinet on August 15, and civil war was averted after the new King asked, on August 29, that a new ministry be created, and to include members of the old regime. The legislature approved the new ministry on August 31.
• Voters in a referendum in Alaska elected (by a margin of about 19,000 to 17,000) against moving the state capital from Juneau to a new site to be constructed between the Cook Inlet and Fairbanks.

• U.S. Navy frogmen successfully recovered the satellite Discoverer 13, marking the first retrieval of a satellite after twelve previous attempts had failed. Although plans to make the first mid-air capture failed, the recovery opened the era of the spy satellite.{{cite book |first=Jeffrey |last=Richelson |author-link=Jeffrey T. Richelson |title=The Wizards of Langley: Inside the CIA's Directorate of Science and Technology |publisher=Westview Press |year=2002 |pages=25–26}}
• The Wright Air Development Center requested that NASA Headquarters provide the center with pertinent working papers and reports on Project Mercury, especially on human factor aspects, for possible application in the X-20 Dyna Soar program.
• The Institute of Heraldry was created under United States Army General Order Number 29.{{cite web |url=http://www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil/historyweek/4-11aug.htm |title=This week in Quartermaster History |access-date=18 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518063631/http://www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil/historyweek/4-11aug.htm |archive-date=18 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}
• The Canadian Bill of Rights became effective.{{cite book |first=Ian |last=Bushnell |title=The Federal Court of Canada: A History, 1875–1992 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1997 |page=145}}
• Born: Antonio Banderas, Spanish actor and director; in Málaga{{cite book |title=Chase's calendar of events 2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WoV51PohNjwC |year=2009 |publisher=McGraw Hill Professional |isbn=978-0-07-159956-6 |page=401 |via=Google Books}}

• The Republic of Chad, formerly part of French Equatorial Africa as French Chad, became independent, with François Tombalbaye as its first president.{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Lea |first2=Annamarie |last2=Rowe |title=A Political Chronology of Africa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ROR1xreEJTsC&pg=PA80 |year=2001 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-85743-116-2 |page=80 |via=Google Books}}
• Representatives of NASA, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, Air Force Ballistic Missile Division, Space Technology Laboratories, and Convair met at Cape Canaveralto discuss the recent Mercury-Atlas 1 (MA-1) mission malfunction. James A. Chamberlin of the Space Task Group was appointed chairman of a joint committee to resolve the problems and to provide a solution prior to the Mercury-Atlas 2 (MA-2) mission.
• The Mercury spacecraft landing system qualification test program was completed.

• NASA successfully launched Echo 1, the first communications satellite. Weighing {{convert|137|lb}}, Echo was a {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=mid|-diameter}} Mylar balloon, inflated after it reached orbit when the Sun's heat converted powders inside the balloon into gas. A pre-recorded message from U.S. President Eisenhower was transmitted from Goldstone, California, bounced off of Echo, and received at a station in Holmdel, New Jersey. The largest satellite launched up to that time, Echo was big enough that it could be seen from the Earth as it orbited at an average altitude of {{convert|1,000|mi}}.
• USAF Major Robert M. White set a record by flying an X-15 rocket plane to an altitude of 136,500 feet (26.85 miles or 41.6 kilometers), besting the mark of {{convert|126,200|ft}} set by Iven C. Kincheloe in an X-2 in 1956.
• Dr. Seuss published the popular children's book, Green Eggs and Ham, which has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide as of 2019.

• The Central African Republic, formerly Ubangi-Shari in the colony of French Equatorial Africa, became independent, with David Dacko as its president.{{cite book|author1=Pierre Kalck|author2=National Archives UK Staff|title=Historical Dictionary of the Central African Republic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tbDFlvQeps0C&pg=PA199|year=2005|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-4913-6|pages=199}}
• Typhoon Wendy killed at least 18 people in central Japan.

• North Korea's chairman Kim Il Sung made his first proposal for the reunification of his nation and South Korea under a "North–South Confederation" or "Confederal Republic of Koryo". The plan, proposed again in 1971, 1980 and 1991, envisioned both nations initially keeping their political systems, with a "Supreme National Committee" to guide cultural and economic development.In-gwan Hwang, The Neutralized Unification of Korea in Perspective (Schenkman, 1980), p88

• The Republic of the Congo, an autonomous colony of France since 1958, formerly known as the French Congo or a part of French Equatorial Africa, attained independence under that name, becoming the second nation to use that name. In that the Belgian Congo was also referred to as the Republic of the Congo, reference to the nation's capital was made as Congo (Brazzaville), to distinguish it from Congo (Léopoldville) (later Zaire), and now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Former Roman Catholic priest Fulbert Youlou became the nation's first president.{{cite book|author=Harris M. Lentz|title=Heads of States and Governments Since 1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D6HKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA191|date=4 February 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-26490-2|pages=191}}

File:Kittinger-jump.jpg

• Joseph Kittinger parachuted from a balloon over New Mexico at 102,800 feet ({{Nowrap|31,333 m)}}. He set records, which stood for 52 years, for highest altitude jump; longest free-fall by falling 16 miles (25.7 km) over a period of 4 minutes and 38 seconds before opening his parachute; and fastest speed by a human without motorized assistance (614 mph).{{cite news |title=U.S. Chutist Sets Height, Fall Records |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=August 16, 1960 |page=1}} On October 14, 2012, Felix Baumgartner of Austria (using Kittinger as his adviser) would break all of Kittinger's records except for the longest duration for a free-fall, plunging 128,100 ft ({{Nowrap|39,045 m)}} in 4 minutes, 19 seconds.{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Skydiver-breaks-sound-barrier-record-3948539.php |title=Skydiver breaks sound barrier, record |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=October 14, 2012}}
• After 82 years as a British colony, the Mediterranean island of Cyprus was proclaimed independent by its last British Governor, Sir Hugh Foot. The new state, populated by Cypriots of Greek and Turkish descent, had Greek Cypriot Archbishop Makarios III as its president, and Turkish Cypriot Fazıl Küçük as its vice-president. The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia would remain as British Overseas Territories.
• A three-day design engineering inspection of Mercury spacecraft No. 7 began, as the astronauts requesting changes in the control panel for easier pilot operation.

• While campaigning for the presidency in Greensboro, North Carolina, Richard Nixon bumped his left knee on a car door. What seemed, at first, to be a minor injury, led to a painful infection and Nixon's hospitalization on August 29.{{cite news |title=Nixon Works On Speeches; 'Feels Fine' |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=August 30, 1960 |page=1}} Nixon was kept at Walter Reed Hospital for 11 days, until asking to be discharged early on September 9 after a poll showed that John F. Kennedy had taken a lead over him in voter preferences.{{cite book |first=David |last=Pietrusza |author-link=David Pietrusza |title=1960: LBJ Vs. JFK Vs. Nixon : the Epic Campaign that Forged Three Presidencies |publisher=Sterling Publishing |year=2008 |page=317}} His injury, his nearly two-week absence from the campaign trail, and his continued illness would be cited by historians as a factor in his defeat, from the loss of momentum after his nomination{{cite book |first=Jonathan |last=Aitken |author-link=Jonathan Aitken |title=Nixon: A Life |publisher=Regnery Publishing |year=2015 |page=234}} to his poor appearance in the first televised presidential debate.{{cite book |first=Douglas |last=Gomery |author-link=Douglas Gomery |title=Media in America: The Wilson Quarterly Reader |publisher=Woodrow Wilson Center Press |year=1998 |page=105}}
• The first successful running of a computer program written in COBOL was carried out on an RCA 501 computer.{{cite book |first=Kurt W. |last=Beyer |title=Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age |publisher=MIT Press |year=2009}} COBOL, the "Common Business Oriented Language", was an improvement in the adaptation of the FLOW-MATIC computer language developed by Grace Hopper.
• All 27 people aboard Aeroflot Flight 36 were killed when the Il-18 airliner caught fire while approaching Moscow after departing Cairo. The airplane crashed near Kiev.[https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19600720-0 Aviation Safety Network]
• Gabon, formerly part of French Equatorial Africa, was granted independence from France.
• In Argentina, after the capture of Adolf Eichmann by Israel, members of the neo-Nazi Tacuara group shot at Jewish students, injuring 15-year-old Edgardo Trilnik.{{cite news |first=S. |last=Kiernan |url=http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/elpais/1-51068-2005-05-15.html |title=Tacuara salió a la calle |trans-title=Tacuara went out to the street |newspaper=Página/12 |language=es |date=May 15, 2005}}
• Born: Sean Penn, American actor, screenwriter, and politician; in Santa Monica, California{{cite book|author=((Editors of Chase's))|title=Chase's Calendar of Events 2019: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JVJtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA417|date=30 September 2018|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-64143-264-1|page=417|via=Google Books}}

• The first photograph ever from a spy satellite was taken, after the launch of the American Discoverer 14 at {{Nowrap|12:15 p.m.}} PDT, and showed a Soviet airfield at Mys Shmidta.{{cite book |first=Loch K. |last=Johnson |author-link=Loch K. Johnson |title=Secret Agencies: U.S. Intelligence in a Hostile World |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1996 |page=16}} With {{Convert|3,000|ft}} of film, the satellite took more pictures than all 24 of the U-2 spy plane flights put together, and revealed the existence, not previously known to the U.S., of 64 airfields and 26 missile bases.{{cite book |first=Clayton K.S. |last=Chun |title=Aerospace Power in the Twenty-first Century: A Basic Primer |publisher=Air University Press |year=2002 |page=208}}
• At a meeting of the U.S. National Security Council, President Eisenhower told CIA Director Allen Dulles that Congolese Premier Patrice Lumumba needed to be "eliminated" in order to keep the Congo from becoming "another Cuba". Robert Johnson, who took notes of the meeting, revealed the information at a Senate hearing years later.{{cite book |first=Tim |last=Weiner |author-link=Tim Weiner |title=Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA |title-link=Legacy of Ashes (book) |publisher=Anchor Books |year=2008 |page=188}}
• A French Navy bomber exploded over Morocco, killing all 27 people on board.
• Died:
• Clarence Hudson, 66, American department store janitor, was electrocuted by a homemade electric chair in his Wenatchee, Washington, apartment. Police estimated that 1,000 volts shot through Hudson's body, as well as several wet towels on his head and feet. Police also investigated a homemade transformer that was used to increase the voltage from a wall outlet which extended a wire from a 25-cent piece.{{cite news |date=19 August 1960 |page=2 |title=Department store janitor executed in a homemade electric chair |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/230423006/ |newspaper=Fort Lauderdale News |via=Newspapers.com}}
• Peter Poole, 28, an English-born engineer, became the first white man to be hanged in Kenya. Poole had been convicted of the murder of a black house servant, Kamawe Musunge.{{cite book |first=Christine Stephanie |last=Nicholls |author-link=Christine Nicholls |title=Red Strangers: The White Tribe of Kenya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7XQdt37BJ6cC&pg=PA270 |year=2005 |publisher=Timewell Press |isbn=978-1-85725-206-4 |page=270 |via=Google Books}}
• Carlo Emilio Bonferroni, 68, Italian mathematician{{Citation |last=Mikulski |first=Piotr W. |title=Leading Personalities in Statistical Sciences |chapter=Bonferroni, Carlo Emilio |date=2012-09-12 |chapter-url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118150719.ch68 |series=Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics |pages=225–227 |editor-last=Johnson |editor-first=Norman L. |place=Hoboken, NJ, USA |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |doi=10.1002/9781118150719.ch68 |isbn=978-1-118-15071-9 |access-date=2022-10-25 |editor2-last=Kotz |editor2-first=Samuel}}

• The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 5 into orbit, with the dogs Belka and Strelka (Russian for "Squirrel" and "Little Arrow"), 40 mice, 2 rats and a variety of plants. Recovered the next day after 18 orbits, the menagerie became the first living animals to return safely to Earth after being placed into orbit.{{cite news |title=Space Dogs Back Safe |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=August 21, 1960 |page=1}}
• A capsule from the Discoverer 14 satellite became the first object to be recovered in mid-air while returning from space. A C-119 Flying Boxcar, one of ten in the recovery area, snagged the object with "trapeze-like hooks" at an altitude of {{Convert|8,500|ft}}.
• In Moscow, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was convicted of espionage against the Soviet Union, and sentenced to ten years imprisonment.{{cite news |title=Powers Given 10-Year Term By Russian Military Court |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=August 19, 1960 |page=1}} Powers would be released two years later in exchange for the spy Rudolf Abel.
• A French Navy bomber exploded over Morocco, killing all 27 people on board.

• Senegal seceded from the Mali Federation, following a dispute, between Defense Minister Mamadou Dia and Federation Premier Modibo Keita, over whether the Federation's first president would be a figurehead or a strongman. Keita fired Dia, and Dia had Keita arrested. Keita and non-Senegalese members of his cabinet were sent back to Mali the next day, and Dia became the first Prime Minister of Senegal. The Federation had been created by a union of the colonies of Senegal and the French Sudan prior to independence, and the former French Sudan retained the name Republic of Mali.
• Regular television broadcasting began in Norway as the NRK network (Norsk rikskringkasting AS, or Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) launched what is now its channel NRK1.

• The submarine {{USS|Seadragon|SSN-584|6}} completed the first undersea crossing of the Northwest Passage, and then turned toward the North Pole.

[http://www.navsource.net/archives/08/08584.htm NavSource Online]

• Died: David B. Steinman, 74, American bridge engineer{{cite book|author1=Emily J. McMurray|author2=Jane Kelly Kosek|author3=Roger M. Valade|title=Notable Twentieth-century Scientists: S-Z|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QfI5AQAAIAAJ|year=1995|publisher=Gale Research|isbn=978-0-8103-9185-7|page=1915}}

• Leaders of the Tunisian-based Algerian Provisional Government asked the United Nations to hold a referendum in French Algeria on the question of independence from France."Algerian Rebels Seek Referendum", Oakland Tribune, August 22, 1960, p1
• Discussions in Geneva, between the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom on a nuclear test-ban treaty, were adjourned indefinitely.

• Hans Peter Luhn received U.S. Patent No 2,950,048 for "computer for verifying numbers", the Luhn algorithm.[https://news.google.com/patents?id=Y7leAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false United States Patent Office]{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Assigned to the IBM Corporation, the checksum formula provides a method for validating credit card numbers.
• Died: Oscar Hammerstein II, 65, American lyricist who is best known for his collaborations with composer Richard Rodgers. A week later, the lights of Times Square{{cite news |title=Blackout on Broadway to Honor Hammerstein |newspaper=The New York Times |page=52 |date=September 1, 1960}} were turned off for one minute, and London's West End{{cite news |title=London Honors Hammerstein |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 26, 1960 |page=14}} lights were dimmed in recognition of his contribution to the musical.

• In Washington, reporters asked President Eisenhower about vice-president (and Republican presidential candidate) Richard Nixon's experience. Charles Mohr of Time magazine asked Ike "if you could give us an example of a major idea of his that you had adopted..." and the President replied "If you give me a week, I might think of one."{{cite news |title=Decisions? ' I Make'em ', Ike Affirms |newspaper=Salt Lake Tribune |date=August 25, 1960 |page=1}}{{cite book |first=Stephen E. |last=Ambrose |author-link=Stephen E. Ambrose |title=Eisenhower: Soldier and President |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=1991 |page=525}}
• Approval of the Sabin polio vaccine, designed by Dr. Albert Sabin to be taken orally rather than the polio shots developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, was as "suitable for use in the United States" by Surgeon General Leroy Edgar Burney.{{cite news |title=Use of 'Polio Pills' Approved by U.S. |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=August 24, 1960 |page=1}}
• The "coldest temperature recorded on Earth" was measured at −88.3 °C (−126.9 °F) at the Soviet Vostok Station.{{cite book |title=Official Year Book of the Commonwealth of Australia, 1967 |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |year=1967 |page=36}} The current record low is −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F), recorded at the same station on July 21, 1983.
• McDonnell Aircraft Corporation proposed a one-man space station comprising a Mercury capsule plus a cylindrical space laboratory capable of supporting one astronaut in a shirtsleeve environment for 14 days in orbit.{{Source attribution}} {{cite book |title=Project Gemini Technology and Operations - A Chronology |chapter=PART I (A) Concept and Design April 1959 through December 1961 |last1=Grimwood |first1=James M. |last2=Hacker |first2=Barton C. |last3=Vorzimmer |first3=Peter J. |series=NASA Special Publication-4002 |chapter-url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4002/p1a.htm |publisher=NASA |access-date=17 February 2023}}
• Sixty people were killed in Brazil when a bus fell from a bridge into a river near São José do Rio Preto.
• Born:
• Cal Ripken Jr., American baseball player; in Havre de Grace, Maryland
• Steven W. Lindsey, American astronaut on five Space Shuttle missions; in Arcadia, California{{cite book |first=Lee |last=Ellis |title=Who's who of NASA Astronauts |via=Google Books |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z-M-YksXsqcC&pg=PA111 |year=2004 |publisher=Americana Group Publishing |isbn=978-0-9667961-4-8 |pages=111–}}
• Takashi Miike, Japanese filmmaker; in Yao, Osaka{{cite book |first=Tom |last=Mes |author-link=Tom Mes |title=Agitator: The Cinema of Takashi Miike |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f1kdAQAAIAAJ |year=2006 |publisher=FAB Press |isbn=978-1-903254-41-7 |page=15 |via=Google Books}}

File:Giancarlo Peris lighting 1960 Olympic flame.jpg

• The 1960 Summer Olympics opened in Rome, with a record 5,348 athletes from 83 nations competing. Cross-country champion Giancarlo Peris lit the Olympic flame after Italy's President Giovanni Gronchi declared the Games of the 17th Olympiad open. Competition would continue until September 11.{{cite book |first=David |last=Maraniss |author-link=David Maraniss |title=Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World |title-link=Rome 1960 (book) |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2008}}
• The submarine {{USS|Seadragon|SSN-584|6}} surfaced at the North Pole, where the crew played softball in the northernmost athletic competition ever staged.{{cite web |url=http://www.navsource.net/archives/08/0858412.jpg |title=0858412.jpg (800x668) |website=NavSource |access-date=April 8, 2022}}{{Failed verification|date=April 2022|reason=Source is an image file without date or caption.}}

• CIA Director Allen Dulles cabled instructions to station chief Larry Devlin, authorizing wider authority for the "removal" of Congolese Premier Patrice Lumumba, including assassination.
• John Devitt of Australia was declared the winner over Lance Larson of the United States in a controversial judgment at the Summer Olympic swimming competition in the men's 100 meter freestyle.{{cite book |first=David |last=Wallechinsky |author-link=David Wallechinsky |title=The Complete Book of the Olympics |publisher=Penguin Books |year=1984}}
• Born: Branford Marsalis, American jazz musician; in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana
• Died: Knud Enemark Jensen, 23, Danish cyclist, died in a hospital in Rome after fracturing his skull in a fall during his Olympic cycling event.{{cite news |title=First Games' Fatality |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=August 26, 1960 |page=1}} A post-mortem examination revealed that he had been under the influence of performance-enhancing drugs.

• The weekly syndicated country music radio series Louisiana Hayride, which had been broadcast from the Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana since 1948, was retired. Featured on the final broadcast on flagship station KWKH were Grandpa Jones and African-American singer Johnny Mathis.[http://www.hillbilly-music.com/programs/story/index.php?prog=320 "Louisiana Hayride KWKH"], Hillbilly-Music.com
• In what became known in the press as "Ax Handle Saturday", racial tensions came to a head in Jacksonville, Florida, as 200 white men armed with baseball bats and axe handles attacked protesters conducting sit-ins at Hemming Plaza."50 Injured In Florida Race Clash", Oakland Tribune, August 28, 1960, p1
• In the final of the Women's 200 metre breaststroke at the Olympics, British swimmer Anita Lonsbrough broke the world record with a time of 2:49.5, a {{frac|1|2}} second ahead of West Germany's Wiltrud Urselmann.

• The Declaration of San José, resulting from a meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs at San José, Costa Rica,[http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/intam13.asp Avalon Project] condemned any interference by extra-continental powers in the affairs of the American republics. The declaration was approved unanimously (19–0).
• The United Nations announced that it had sufficient peacekeeping troops in the Congo to preserve order, and demanded that the last of Belgium's forces there be withdrawn.

• Hazza Majali, the Prime Minister of Jordan, was assassinated in the explosion of a time bomb that had been placed in one of the drawers of his desk, at his office in Amman. Eleven other people were killed as well, and 65 were injured.{{cite news |title=Assassins' Time Bomb Kills Premier of Jordan, 10 Others |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=August 29, 1960 |page=1}}
• A {{Convert|300|ft|abbr=on}} diameter weather balloon, described by the U.S. Air Force as "the largest ever launched", crashed into a home in Stockton, California, an hour after being sent up from Vernalis Air Force Base. Mrs. Ben Petero evacuated her six children from the frame house after realizing that the balloon was descending on the family home.{{cite news |title=Home Swallowed By Big Balloon |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=August 29, 1960 |page=1}}
• Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser won the Women's 100 metres freestyle for the second time. The next day, Fraser clashed with her teammates, who shunned her for the remainder of the Games in the tradition of "sending one to Coventry".
• Air France Flight 343, a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation airliner on a flight from Paris, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while attempting to land during a torrential rain at Dakar in Senegal, killing all 63 people on board.{{cite news |title=63 Die as French Airliner Misses Field, Crashes in Sea |newspaper=Oakland Tribune |date=August 29, 1960 |page=1}}[https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19600829-0 Aviation Safety Network]

• John F. Kennedy appointed four "Cold War" aides in anticipation of his victory in the United States presidential election.[http://thisdayinthe60s.blogspot.com/2006/08/august-30-1960-jfk-prepares-for.html This Day in the 1960s]
• Born: Chalino Sánchez, Mexican singer and songwriter; in Municipio de Culiacán, Sinaloa (died of gunshot wounds, 1992){{Cite web|date=1998-07-29|title=Sing Now, Die Later|url=https://www.laweekly.com/sing-now-die-later-2/|access-date=2021-05-26|website=LA Weekly|language=en-US}}

• South Africa lifted the state of emergency that had been in effect since the Sharpesville massacre in March.James Zug, in South Africa's Resistance Press: Alternative Voices in the Last Generation Under Apartheid(Ohio University Center for International Studies, 2000), p138
• Born: Hassan Nasrallah, General Secretary of Hezbollah; in Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon{{cite book|author=Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.|title=Encyclopaedia Britannica Almanac 2010|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kd2bAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA61|date=1 January 2010|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.|isbn=978-1-61535-329-3|pages=61}}

{{reflist|2}}

{{Events by month links}}

1960

*1960-08