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SNCC formed
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, often pronounced /snɪk/ SNIK) was one of the major Civil Rights Movement organizations of the 1960s. -
First televised Presidential debate
70 million American viewers watched the first of four televised presidential debates between candidates Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. -
First airing of the "The Flintstones"
an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera for ABC. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting, depicts the lives of the titular characters and their next-door neighbors and best friends. -
President Kennedy is elected
the youngest man ever to be elected president of the United States, narrowly beating Republican Vice President Richard Nixon. He was also the first Catholic to become president.The campaign was hard fought and bitter. -
Russians send the first man to space
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth -
Berlin Wall is constructed
In an effort to stem the tide of refugees attempting to leave East Berlin, the communist government of East Germany begins building the Berlin Wall to divide East and West Berlin -
Roger Maris of the Yankees breaks Babe Ruth's single season home run record
the first-ever major-league baseball player to hit more than 60 home runs in a single season. -
SDS releases its Port Huron statement
The Port Huron Statement is a 1962 political manifesto of the North American student activist movement Students for a Democratic Society -
Marilyn Monroe dies
She was a major sex symbol and one of the most popular Hollywood stars during the 1950s and early 1960s. She was a top-billed actress for a decade, and her films grossed $200 million by 1962. -
James Meredith registers at Ole Miss
The Ole Miss riot of 1962, or Battle of Oxford, was fought between Southern segregationists and federal and state forces beginning the night of September 30, 1962; segregationists were protesting the enrollment of James Meredith, a black US military veteran -
"Dr. No" the first James Bond movie premiers
A resourceful British government agent seeks answers in a case involving the disappearance of a colleague and the disruption of the American space program -
Cuban Missile Crisis
leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a tense, 13-day political and military standoff in October 1962 over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba -
Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" Speech
a public speech delivered by American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom -
John F. Kennedy is assassinated
Traveling in a presidential motorcade through downtown Dallas, he was shot once in the back, the bullet exiting via his throat, and once in the head. -
The Beatles arrive in the Unites States
An estimated four thousand Beatles' fans were present as Pan Am Flight 101 left Heathrow Airport. -
The Beatles appear on Ed Sullivan
The Beatles, starring Lennon & McCartney, made history with their first live television performance in the USA on The Ed Sullivan Show. -
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
was an international confrontation that led to the United States engaging more directly in the Vietnam War. It involved either one or two separate confrontations involving North Vietnam and the United States in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin -
New York World's Fair begins
The immense fair covered 646 acres (261 ha) on half the park, with numerous pools or fountains, and an amusement park with rides near the lake. However, the fair did not receive official sanctioning from the Bureau of International Expositions -
Lyndon B Johnson defeats Barry Goldwater
At the 1964 Democratic National Convention, Johnson also won the nomination of his preferred running mate, Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota. -
Malcolm X assassinated
an African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of blacks, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against black Americans -
Watts race riots
an African-American motorist on parole for robbery, was pulled over for reckless driving. A minor roadside argument broke out, and then escalated into a fight with police. -
"Star Trek" TV show airs
The iconic series "Star Trek" follows the crew of the starship USS Enterprise as it completes its missions in space in the 23rd century. Captain James T. Kirk -- along with half- human/half-Vulcan science officer Spock, ship Dr. "Bones" McCoy, Ensign Pavel Chekov, communications officer Lt. Nyota Uhura, helmsman Lt. Hikaru Sulu and chief engineer Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott -- confront strange alien races, friendly and hostile alike, as they explore unknown worlds. -
San Francisco "Summer of Love" begins
a social phenomenon that occurred during the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people, mostly young people sporting hippie fashions of dress and behavior, converged in San Francisco's neighborhood of Haight-Ashbury. -
First NFL Super Bowl
at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. The National Football League (NFL) champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American Football League (AFL) champion Kansas City Chiefs by the score of 35–10. -
Boxer Muhammed Ali refuses military service
boxing champion Muhammad Ali refuses to be inducted into the U.S. Army and is immediately stripped of his heavyweight title. -
Beatles release Sgt. Pepper's album
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by English rock band the Beatles -
Thurgood Marshall nominated to the Supreme Court
President Lyndon Johnson appoints U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Thurgood Marshall to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court Associate Justice Tom C. Clark. -
Monterrey Music Festival held
The Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert event -
Tet Offensive
a campaign of surprise attacks against military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam. -
Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated
an American clergyman and civil rights leader, was shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee -
Robert Kennedy is assassinated
Senator Robert Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the California presidential primary. Immediately after he announced to his cheering supporters that the country was ready to end its fractious divisions, Kennedy was shot several times by the 22-year-old Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. He died a day later. -
Stonewall riots
a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations by members of the gay (LGBT) community -
Protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention
tens of thousands of Vietnam War protesters battle police in the streets, while the Democratic Party falls apart over an internal disagreement concerning its stance on Vietnam. -
LSD declared illegal by the US governemnt
By the mid-1950s, LSD research was being conducted in major American medical centers, where researchers used LSD as a means of temporarily replicating the effects of mental illness. -
Richard Nixon is elected
The Republican nominee, former Vice President Richard Nixon, defeated the Democratic nominee, incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey. -
American astronauts land on the moon
Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins were the astronauts on Apollo 11. Four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon. They landed on the moon in the Lunar Module. -
Manson family murders Sharon Tate
played small television roles before appearing in films and was regularly featured in fashion magazines as a model and cover girl. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic and dramatic acting performances, Tate was hailed as one of Hollywood's most promising newcomers. -
Woodstock concert
was a music festival in the United States in 1969 which attracted an audience of more than 400,000. -
The Rolling Stones host the Altamont music festival
Alan Passaro stabbed a gun-wielding 18-year-old named Meredith Hunter to death just 20 feet in front of the stage where Mick Jagger was performing “Under My Thumb.” Unaware of what had just occurred, the Rolling Stones completed their set without further incident, bringing an end to a tumultuous day that also saw three accidental deaths and four live births.
