SAN DIEGO MUSEUM of ART | Vital Forms: American Art and Design in the Atomic Age, 1940-1960

1960

World Events Kennedy-Nixon debate

John F. Kennedy defeats Richard Nixon for the American presidency. He becomes the youngest president as well as the first Roman Catholic to hold the office.

Four black college students, Ezell A. Blair, Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan), Franklin E. McCain, Joseph A. McNeil, and David L. Richmond, sit at a Woolworth's diner and refuse to leave when asked. This starts a youth-led movement to challenge racial injustice and inequality in the South.

San Diego History

Water, water, water. The state approves a proposition to send water from Northern California to San Diego.

Arts

Alfred Hitchcock releases Psycho. The film shocks audiences and reduces the amount of showers taken across the country.
Chubby Checker launches the biggest dance craze since the Charleston in the '20's. It's called "The Twist," and it goes like this....

American Life Chatty Cathy

Mattell releases the Chatty Cathy doll. She speaks 11 phrases.
The Hughes Laboratory in California perfects the laser beam.