Papal Succession (June 3): Pope John XXIII dies at age 81 and is succeeded by Cardinal Giovanni Batista Montini, 66, who becomes Pope Paul VI.

Up, Up and Away (June 16): Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman to rocket into space. She spends about three days aboard Vostok 6.

Church vs. State (June 17): The U.S. Supreme Court rules that reading the Lord's Prayer or the Bible in public schools is unconstitutional.

	Martin Luther King Jr.

'I Have a Dream' (Aug. 28): Martin Luther King Jr. outlines his dream of a multiracial society while standing before the Lincoln Memorial, where nearly 300,000 people gathered for the March on Washington.

Nuclear Link (Aug. 30): An emergency "hot line" between Washington and Moscow goes into service. The link's purpose is to reduce the risk of accidental war.

Little Victims (Sept. 15): Four black schoolgirls -- Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Denise McNair -- are killed when a bomb explodes during services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala.

American Aid (Nov. 1): With tacit U.S. backing, the South Vietnam military stages a successful coup against the country's leader, Ngo Dinh Diem. After Diem's assassination, American economic and military aid increases to the Southeast Asian country.