On this day

May 16, 1963

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from May 16, 1963

COOPER IS FLYING SMOOTHLY ON, WILL TRY FOR AT LEAST 17 ORBITS; HE EJECTS BEACON, THEN SLEEPS; GOAL IS 22 ORBITS Astronaut May Land in Pacific Tonight-- TV Image Fuzzy Cooper Flying Smoothly On After Getting Permission to Try for at Least 17 Orbits ASTRONAUT NAPS EARLY IN FLIGHT Sends TV Pictures Back to Earth but Image Is Fuzzy --Final Goal 22 Orbits

By Richard Witkin Special To the New York Times

Maj Cooper circles earth in Faith 7 Mercury capsule in planned 22-orbit flight; capsule, launched from Cape Canaveral with newly modified Atlas booster, orbits earth every 93 min at top speed of 17,546 mph with 165.8-mi apogee, 100.2-mi perigee; astronaut and equipment performing perfectly; Cooper recd signal to continue flight after 7th orbit; started scheduled 8-hr rest period during 9th orbit; in 1st US astronaut to be seen live on TV while in orbit; plans call for landing in Pacific Ocean at 7:23 PM; other details; Cooper and Atlas launching illus

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Flashing Beacon Watched Through Capsule Porthole; Flashing Beacon Is Observed by Cooper in Experiment for Rendezvous in Space TEST CALLED VITAL FOR MOON FLIGHT Visibility Is Seen as Key to Maneuvering Craft for Linkup in Orbit

By Harold M. Schmeck Jr. Special To the New York Times

Cooper performed 3 visibility experiments during flight; ejected small flashing xenon light beacon during 3d orbit to test visibility of relatively nearby objects in space; sighted beacon during 5th orbit; unsuccessfully tried to deploy tethered orange balloon; viewed intense light on ground at Bloemfontein, S Africa, during 6th orbit; tests assigned to gather data for use in space rendezvous and docking

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SCIENTISTS URGE WIDER CONTROLS OVER PESTICIDES; President's Panel Calls for Stiffer Rules to Protect Health of the Nation KENNEDY BACKS REPORT A New Drug Agency Study of Chemical Levels in Food Is Already Under Way SCIENTISTS WARN ON PESTICIDE USE

By Robert C. Toth Special To the New York Times

Pres Science Advisory (MacLeod) Com rept warns on use of pesticides, urges wider controls to guard against hazards involved in widespread use; asks more research into health hazards and more judicious use; says use of some materials, now regis by Govt, must be modified, new compounds must be rigorously evaluated; lauds Carson book Silent Spring for alerting pub to dangers of pesticides; Pres Kennedy backs rept

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Notable Births

Rachel Griffith

1963Rachel Griffith, Anglo-American economist[†]

Dame Rachel Susan Griffith is a British-American academic and educator. She is professor of economics at the University of Manchester and a research director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

1963David Wilkinson, English theologian and academic[†]

David Adam Wilkinson, FRAS is a British Methodist minister, theologian, astrophysicist and academic. He was the Principal of St John's College, Durham (2006-2023), and is a professor in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University. He remains at St John's College, having been appointed, in September 2023, Director of Equipping Christian Leadership in an Age of Science (ECLAS), an international project based at St John’s College. He is the author of several books on the relationship between science and religion, and a regular contributor to Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4. He has a PhD in astrophysics and is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Historical Context for May 16, 1963

In 1963, the world population was approximately 3,192,807,828 people[†]