John XXIII died on 3 June 1963 in Vatican City, aged 81. The head of the Catholic Church from 1958 to 1963, John XXIII was born Angelo Roncalli to a peasant family in northern Italy. He served as a Vatican diplomat in Bulgaria, Turkey and France and as patriarch of Venice before being elected pope at the age of 76, widely seen as a transitional figure. Instead he surprised the world by calling the Second Vatican Council in 1962, aimed at renewing the Church and opening it to the modern world. His encyclical Pacem in Terris appealed for peace and human rights, and he helped to ease tensions during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Affectionately known as the good pope, he was canonized in 2014.
Before and after
- 6 April 1963Birth of Rafael Correa
- 13 April 1963Birth of Garry Kasparov
- 26 April 1963Birth of Jet Li
- 31 May 1963Birth of Viktor Orbán
- 3 June 1963Death of John XXIII
- 9 June 1963Birth of Johnny Depp
- 16 June 1963Launch of Vostok 6
- 25 June 1963Birth of George Michael
- 26 July 19631963 Skopje earthquake
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The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.