May 15, 1963

1963Gavin Nebbeling, South African footballer^[†]

Gavin Mark Nebbeling is a South African former professional footballer who was active exclusively in England between 1981 and 1998. Nebbeling, who played as a central defender, made over 250 appearances in the Football League and over 300 senior professional appearances throughout his entire career.

1963John Aglionby, English-born Bishop of Accra and soldier (born 1884)^[†]

John Orfeur Aglionby was Bishop of Accra during the second quarter of the 20th century.

1963Project Mercury: The launch of the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 with astronaut Gordon Cooper on board. He becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space, and the last American to go into space alone.^[†]

Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Union. Taken over from the US Air Force by the newly created civilian space agency NASA, it conducted 20 uncrewed developmental flights, and six successful flights by astronauts. The program, which took its name from Roman mythology, cost $2.76 billion. The astronauts were collectively known as the "Mercury Seven", and each spacecraft was given a name ending with a "7" by its pilot.