-
SNCC formed
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was founded in 1960 in the wake of student-led sit-ins at segregated lunch counters across the South and became the major channel of student participation in the civil rights movement. -
First televised Presidential debate
John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon squared off in the first televised presidential debates in American history. -
First airing of “The Flintstones”
The very first episode aired titled "The Flintstone Flyer" (P-2), it was actually the second Flintstones episode produced (after The Swimming Pool, P-1), but the first to air. -
President Kennedy is elected
The 1960 United States presidential election was the 44th quadrennial presidential election. In a closely contested election, Democratic United States Senator John F. Kennedy defeated the incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon, the Republican Party nominee. -
Berlin Wall is constructed
As Berliners slept, the GDR began building fences and barriers to seal off entry points from East Berlin into the western part of the city. The overnight move stunned Germans on both sides of the new border -
Russians send the first man into space
Aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin becomes the first human being to travel into space. During the flight, the 27-year-old test pilot and industrial technician also became the first man to orbit the planet, a feat accomplished by his space capsule in 89 minutes. -
Roger Maris of the Yankees breaks Babe Ruth’s single season home run record
In New York's final game of the regular season, Yankees slugger Roger Maris hits his 61st home run, becoming the first player in Major League Baseball to hit more than 60 in a season. He tops former Yankees great Babe Ruth, who hit 60 home runs in 1927. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Soviets armed Cuba with nuclear missiles. After a thirteen-day political and military standoff, a bargain was reached and the weapons were removed. It was the closest the world has been to World War III and nuclear war. -
SDS releases its Port Huron statement
The Port Huron Statement was a 1962 manifesto by the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), that proposed a new form of “participatory democracy” to rescue modern society from destructive militarism and cultural alienation. -
Marilyn Monroe dies
Monroe was found dead from an overdose of barbiturates in her home in Brentwood, California. She was 36 years old. -
James Meredith registers at Ole Miss
Despite the fierce resistance, Meredith registered as the first African-American student at Ole Miss. -
John F Kennedy is assassinated
President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. He was campaigning and riding down a street in his convertible when he was shot in the head. This was the last time a president ever rode in a convertible. Vice President Johnson was sworn in as president shortly after. -
“Dr. No” the first James Bond movie premiers
With the release of Dr. No, North American moviegoers get their first look–down the barrel of a gun–at the super-spy James Bond (codename: 007), the immortal character created by Ian Fleming. -
Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” Speech
Martin Luther King Jr., delivered a speech to a massive group of civil rights marchers gathered around the Lincoln memorial in Washington DC. -
The Beatles arrive in the United States
The Beatles arrived at John F Kennedy airport in New York, greeted by thousands of screaming fans. -
New York World’s Fair begins
The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or attractions at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City. -
The Beatles appear on Ed Sullivan
America tuned in to CBS and The Ed Sullivan Show. But this night was different. 73 million people gathered in front their TV sets to see The Beatles' first live performance on U.S. soil. -
Lyndon B Johnson defeats Barry Goldwater
Incumbent Democratic United States President Lyndon B. Johnson defeated Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee, in a landslide. With 61.1% of the popular vote, Johnson won the largest share of the popular vote of any candidate since the largely uncontested 1820 election. -
Malcolm X assassinated
In New York City, Malcolm X, an African American nationalist and religious leader, is assassinated while addressing his Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights. -
Watts race riots
Series of violent confrontations between Los Angeles police and residents of Watts and other predominantly African American neighborhoods of South-Central Los Angeles. -
“Star Trek” TV show airs
Star Trek aired on NBC from September 8, 1966, to June 3, 1969. It was first broadcast-ed on Canada's CTV network. Star Trek's Nielsen ratings while on NBC were low, and the network cancelled it after three seasons and 79 episodes. -
Beatles release Sgt. Pepper’s album
The Beatles had brought the values of the counterculture into the mainstream. By breaking traditional rules about what a “rock album” should be, Sgt. Pepper gave other musicians new ideas and new attitudes to the approach of music. The production of the record also set new standards in expertise and innovation. -
San Francisco “Summer of Love” begins
30,000 people gathered in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. They came to take part in counterculture poet Allen Ginsberg and writer Gary Synder's "Human Be-In" initiative, part of the duo's call for a collective expansion of consciousness. -
First NFL Football Super Bowl
Green Bay Packers of the National Football League smash the American Football League (AFL)'s Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10, in the first-ever AFL-NFL World Championship, later known as Super Bowl I, at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. -
Boxer Muhammed Ali refuses military service
With the United States at war in Vietnam, Ali refused to be inducted into the armed forces, saying “I ain't got no quarrel with those Vietcong.” On June 20, 1967, Ali was convicted of draft evasion, sentenced to five years in prison, fined $10,000 and banned from boxing for three years. -
Thurgood Marshall nominated to the Supreme Court
On June 13, 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated distinguished civil rights lawyer Thurgood Marshall to be the first African American justice to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam. The offensive was an attempt to foment rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back its involvement in the Vietnam War. -
Richard Nixon is elected
In the presidential election, Republican former Vice President Richard Nixon defeated Democratic incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Nixon won the popular vote by less than one point, but took most states outside the Northeast, and comfortably won the electoral vote. -
Robert Kennedy is assassinated
Robert F. Kennedy was shot and killed in California by Sirhan Sirhan while running for president. He served as a senator and his brother's (John F. Kennedy) attorney general. -
LSD declared illegal by the U.S. government
At the time, neither of these substances were illegal in the United State. -
Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated
Martin Luther King was shot dead while standing on a balcony outside his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. News of King’s assassination prompted major outbreaks of racial violence. -
Protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention
Protest activity against the Vietnam War took place prior to and during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. In 1968, counterculture and anti-Vietnam War protest groups began planning protests and demonstrations in response to the convention, and the city promised to maintain law and order. -
American astronauts land on the moon
Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon by flying Apollo 11. His two teammates were Edwin Aldrin and Mike Collins. -
Stonewall riots
Series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood. -
Woodstock concert
The Woodstock music festival was not a smoothly-run event, but it was electrified with moments—musical and otherwise—that made it it unforgettable. -
The Rolling Stones host the Altamont music festival
300,000 gathered at the Altamont Speedway in Tracy, California to see the Rolling Stones perform a free concert that was seen as a 'Woodstock West. ' It was also supposed to be a triumphant conclusion for the band that year, following their successful U.S. tour.