April
First Man in Space!: 12 April
27 year old Soviet, Yuri Gagarin, lifted off in the Vostok I to a maximum height of 187 miles in space. He orbitted the Earth for 108 minutes before parachute landing in central Russia. Naturally, he was a national hero!
August
Berlin Wall Built: 23 August
Communist East Berlin has long been separated from the Capitalist West by a fence of barbed wire and hatred. The fence was pulled down - not to unite Berlin - but to make way for a two metre high wall stretching from the North to the South.
September
Russian Nuclear Bombs: 5 August
The Russians launched three nuclear bombs from their Siberian testing ground. In response, the Americans resumed their testing in the Nevada desert. The bombs were exploded deep among the sandy dunes to avoid the spread of nuclear fallout.
