istoryworld
Events relating to europe
20-year-old Spanish tenor Placido Domingo sings his first major role, as Alfredo in La Traviata in the Mexican city of Monterrey
Italian film director Federico Fellini makes La Dolce Vita, an episodic study of life along the Via Veneto in Rome
Fellini's Dolce Vita features the work of the distinguished painter of still lives, Giorgio Morandi
French Sudan becomes independent as the republic of Mali, with Modibo Keita as president
Madagascar becomes independent (under the name Malagasy republic from till 1975), with Philibert Tsiranana as president
English poet John Betjeman publishes his long autobiographical poem Summoned by Bells
Irish author Edna O'Brien publishes her first novel, The Country Girls
Jean-Luc Godard directs his first feature film, A Bout de Souffle ('Breathless'), a classic of French New Wave cinema
Patrice Lumumba becomes prime minister of the newly independent Democratic Republic of the Congo, previously the Belgian Congo
The South West Africa People's Organization is founded to fight against South African control of Namibia
British and Italian colonies merge as the independent Somali republic, also known as Somalia, with Aden Abdullah Osman as president
Anti-European riots in the Congo cause some 25,000 Belgians to flee the country
The French colony of Dahomey (known from 1975 as Benin) becomes independent but suffers six military coups in its first twelve years
Niger becomes independent, with Hamani Diori as the new nation's first president
Kenyatta, still in prison, is elected leader of KANU, a new political party in Kenya
The French colony of Upper Volta becomes independent as Burkina Faso, with Maurice Yaméogo as president
Félix Houphouët-Boigny, first president of the newly independent Ivory Coast, begins thirty-three years of relatively peaceful rule
The English revue Beyond the Fringe has its premiere at the Edinburgh Festival
The French colony of Chad becomes independent with François Tombalbaye as president
The French colony of Gabon becomes independent with Léon M'ba as president
The French colony of Ubangi-Shari becomes independent and takes the name Central African Republic
The French Congo becomes independent as the republic of Congo, with Fulbert Youlou as president
Paul Scofield plays Thomas More in Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons
The French colony of Senegal becomes independent, with Léopold Senghor as the new nation's first president
Nigeria wins independence, with Abubakar Tafawa Balewa as prime minister, but its stability is threatened by tribal and regional factions
