June 23, 1960: The Birth Control Pill Is Approved

June 23, 1960: Enovid, the 1st oral birth control pill approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, is first sold.

It was developed by Dr. Gregory Pincus at G.D. Searle & Company, and had previously been approved for treatment of menstrual disorders. It was a combination of 2 female hormones: Mestranol, a form of estrogen; and Norethynodrel, a form of progesterone.

Gregory Pincus

Some people trace the start of "The Sexual Revolution" to the public release of "The Pill." As one feminist put it, women could now have sex without worry or responsibility: "You know, like men."

Pincus lived until 1967, age 64. Along with most other "first-generation" contraceptive pills, Enovid was discontinued in 1988.

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June 23, 1960 was a Thursday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 2-1 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. (The ballpark was renamed Tiger Stadium the following year.) Charlie Maxwell hit a home run off Ryne Duren in the bottom of the 9th, to make a winning pitcher of Don Mossi. Al Kaline went 1-for-3. Mickey Mantle went 2-for-4.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-3 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Pancho Herrera and Ken Walters hit home runs for the Phillies, and Ernie Banks and Don Zimmer did it for the Cubs.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-1 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Stan Musial did not play. Roberto Clemente went 1-for-4.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Washington Senators, 7-6 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-2 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Frank Robinson did not play.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Gerry Staley walked Bob Boyd with the bases loaded in the top of the 11th inning, and Gene Stephens got an insurance run home on a sacrifice fly. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-4.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the San Francisco Giants, 8-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Warren Spahn outpitched Sam Jones. Hank Aaron went 0-for-4, but Eddie Mathews hit 2 home runs. Willie Mays went 1-for-4.

* And the Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Athletics, 13-4 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Ted Williams, in his last season, did not play.