1962

Lawrence of Arabia starring Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif was the top-grossing film of the year. Christopher Fry was the recipient of the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry.

Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi SS officer, died in Israel for the crimes he undertook against humanity and the in particular Jews during WW II. Eichmann became the coordinator the Holocaust activities including identification, grouping, and the transportation of millions of Jews into the infamous Nazi death camps. In the extermination camps, the Nazi SS officers gassed and worked the Jews to death. Following a televised trial that gave a death sentence and all of his many appeals failed. A few minutes into 1 June 1962, Eichmann hung dead at a prison in Ramla.

Pope John XXIII convened the ecumenical council, the first in over 90 years. The ecumenical council is a general meeting of the bishops in the church, took place on October 11, 1962. The aim of the council was to bring about the spiritual rebirth of Catholicism. The pope also hoped to cultivate a greater sense of unity between Catholics and other branches of Christianity.

James Bond is one of the longest –running film franchises in the world. Dr. No was the first movie of the James Bond series on October 5, 1962. Created by Ian Fleming, Sean Connery became the first actor to be James Bond a super-spy codename: 007. Idolized in bestselling novels and top grossing films, James Bond is a favorite of many.

In 1962 saw the second Lancaster House Commence, where the negotiations for a framework for Kenya's self-governance took place. One of the greatest comedians of the 20th Century from Canada, Jim Carrey was born in January, while the legendary Wesley Snipes of The Blade was born in July.