1962

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	19th century – 20th century – 21st century
Decades:	1930s  1940s  1950s  – 1960s –  1970s  1980s  1990s
Years:	1959 1960 1961 – 1962 – 1963 1964 1965

1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar.

Events

• March 16 – Walter Cronkite becomes lead anchor on the CBS Evening News.
• August 6 – Jamaica becomes separate from the United Kingdom.
• August 16 – The Beatles fire drummer Pete Best and replace him with Ringo Starr
• Johnny Carson becomes host of The Tonight Show.
• Punchy, the Hawaiian Punch mascot makes his debut.
• Cuban Missile Crisis

Births

• January 7 – Abigail Johnson, American businesswoman
• January 17 – Jim Carrey, Canadian actor and comedian
• February 6 – Axl Rose, American singer (Guns N' Roses)
• February 7 – Eddie Izzard, British actor and comedian
• February 11 – Sheryl Crow, American singer
• February 22 – Steve Irwin, Australian animal expert and television personality (The Crocodile Hunter) (d. 2006)
• February 27 – Adam Baldwin, American actor
• March 2 – Jon Bon Jovi, American singer, songwriter, and actor
• March 4 – Lolo Ferrari, French actress (d. 2000)
• March 7 – Taylor Dayne, American singer
• March 21 – Rosie O'Donnell, American comedian, actress and talk show host
• March 25 – Marcia Cross, American actress
• April 23 – Hillel Slovak, American musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers) (d. 1988)
• May 17 – Alan Johnston, British journalist
• May 18 – Nanne Grönvall, Swedish singer
• June 3 – Susannah Constantine, English television presenter
• June 10 – Maxi Priest, English singer
• June 11 – Jack Irons, American musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
• June 19 – Paula Abdul, dancer and singer; American Idol judge
• July 3 – Tom Cruise, American actor
• July 31 – Wesley Snipes, American actor
• August 20 – James Marsters, American actor
• August 30 – Alexander Litvinenko, British citizen and ex-KGB (d. 2006)
• September 17 – Baz Luhrmann, Australian movie director
• October 2 – Jeff Bennett, American actor
• October 16, Flea, Australian musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
• October 17- Mike Judge, American animator and producer
• October 19 – Evander Holyfield, American boxer
• October 25 – Chad Smith, American musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers))
• November 1 – Anthony Kiedis, American singer (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
• November 11 – Demi Moore, American actress
• November 19 – Jodie Foster, American actress and director
• December 9 – Felicity Huffman, American actress
• December 22 – Ralph Fiennes, English actor

Deaths

• April 10 – Stuart Sutcliffe, English musician (The Beatles) (b. 1940)
• July 11 – Polly Adler, Russian writer (b. 1900)
• August 5 – Marilyn Monroe, American actress (b. 1926)
• August 9 – Hermann Hesse, German writer (b. 1877)
• November 7- Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States, wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt (b. 1884)
• November 18 – Niels Bohr, Danish physicist (b. 1885)

Movies released

• Girls! Girls! Girls!
• In Search of the Castaways
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• The Manchurian Candidate
• The Longest Day
• That Touch of Mink
• Lolita (1962 movie)
• Lawrence of Arabia

Hit songs

• "Peppermint Twist" – Joey Dee & the Starlighters
• "The Twist" – Chubby Checker
• "Soldier Boy" – The Shirelles
• "V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N" – Connie Francis
• "Hey Baby" – Bruce Channel
• "The Loco-Motion" – Little Eva
• "Sherry" – Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
• "Only Love Can Break a Heart" – Gene Pitney
• "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" – Gene Pitney
• "Break It To Me Gently" – Brenda Lee
• "All Alone Am I" – Brenda Lee
• "He's A Rebel" – The Crystals
• "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" – Neil Sedaka
• "Any Day Now" – Chuck Jackson
• "Leah" – Roy Orbison
• "Dream Baby" – Roy Orbison
• "Fortune Teller" – Bobby Curtola
• "Duke Of Earl" – Gene Chandler
• "Telstar" – The Tornadoes
• "Johnny Angel" – Shelley Fabares
• "Go Away Little Girl" – Steve Lawrence
• "Don't Make Me Over" – Dionne Warwick
• "Big Girls Don't Cry" – Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
• "Love Me Do" – The Beatles
• "Adios Amigo" – Jim Reeves
• "I'm Gonna Change Everything" – Jim Reeves
• "Wolverton Mountain" – Claude King
• "The Burning Of Atlanta" – Claude King
• "I Can't Stop Loving You" – Ray Charles
• "Let's Twist Again" – Chubby Checker
• "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover" – Bo Diddley

New books

• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey