60s timeline

  • SNCC formed

    SNCC formed
    The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was founded in April 1960 by young people dedicated to nonviolent, direct action tactics. Although Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • First airing of “The Flintstones”

    First airing of “The Flintstones”
    the beloved show about a family of cavemen airs in the 1960s.
  • First televised Presidential debate

    First televised Presidential debate
    Which presidential campaign produced the first nationally televised debate? The typical answer to that question is 1960, Kennedy v. Nixon.
  • JFK elected president

    JFK elected president
    John F. Kennedy becomes the president of the US. He would remain president until his assassination three years later.
  • Russians send the first man into space

    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.
  • Berlin Wall constructed

    Berlin Wall constructed
    Wall built between west and east berlin
  • Roger Maris of the Yankees breaks Babe Ruth’s single season home run record

    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.
  • SDS releases its Port Huron statement

    SDS releases its Port Huron statement
    It was written by SDS members, and completed on June 15, 1962, at a United Auto Workers (UAW) retreat outside of Port Huron, Michigan (now part of Lakeport State Park), for the group's first national convention.
  • Marilyn Monroe dies

    Marilyn Monroe dies
    Famous actress dies in her house. She dies of an overdose
  • James Meredith registers at Ole Miss

    James Meredith registers at Ole Miss
    James Meredith was finally allowed to register
  • Cuban Missile Crisis

    Cuban Missile Crisis
    In 1962 the Soviet Union began to secretly install missiles in Cuba to launch attacks on U.S. cities
  • “Dr. No” the first James Bond movie premiers

    “Dr. No” the first James Bond movie premiers
    The famous franchise's first movie, starring Sean Connery as James Bond, premiers
  • JFK assassinated, Lyndon B. Johnson becomes president

    JFK assassinated, Lyndon B. Johnson becomes president
    Vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson becomes the president after JFK is killed.
  • The Beatles arrive in America

    The Beatles arrive in America
    The British boy band arrive in America.
  • The Beatles appear on Ed Sullivan

    The Beatles appear on Ed Sullivan
    At 8 o'clock on February 9th 1964, 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.
  • New York World’s Fair begins

    New York World’s Fair begins
    A huge fair held in New York begins
  • Lyndon B Johnson defeats Barry Goldwater

    Lyndon B Johnson defeats Barry Goldwater
    Incumbent Democratic United States President Lyndon B. Johnson defeated Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee, in a landslide.
  • Malcolm X assassinated

    Malcolm X assassinated
    Malcolm X was an African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement.
  • Watts race riots

    Watts race riots
    The Watts riots, sometimes referred to as the Watts Rebellion or Watts Uprising, took place in the Watts neighborhood and its surrounding areas of Los Angeles from August 11 to 16, 1965. On August 11, 1965, Marquette Frye, a 21-year-old African American man, was pulled over for drunken driving.
  • “Star Trek” TV show airs

    “Star Trek” TV show airs
    The critically acclaimed sci-fi shows starts in the late 60s
  • San Francisco “Summer of Love” begins

    San Francisco “Summer of Love” begins
    In summer of '67, a huge wave of hippie fashion populated San Francisco, California
  • First NFL Football Super Bowl

    First NFL Football Super Bowl
    The biggest event in Football starts in the 1960s
  • Boxer Muhammed Ali refuses military service

    Boxer Muhammed Ali refuses military service
    Ali refused to be inducted into the armed forces, saying “I ain't got no quarrel with those Vietcong.”
  • The Beatles release Sgt. Pepper's lonely heart's club band

    The Beatles release Sgt. Pepper's lonely heart's club band
    The Beatles release the experimental album they spent over 400 hours making
  • Thurgood Marshall nominated to the Supreme Court

    Thurgood Marshall nominated to the Supreme Court
    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

    Tet Offensive
    The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War.
  • Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated

    Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated
    The famed pastor and civil rights activist is shot and killed
  • Robert Kennedy assassinated

    Robert Kennedy assassinated
    Robert Kennedy, brother to JFK is killed.
  • Protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention

    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.
  • LSD declared illegal by the U.S. government

    LSD declared illegal by the U.S. government
    LSD was declared a "Schedule I" substance, legally designating that the drug has a "high potential for abuse" and is without any "currently accepted medical use in treatment." LSD was removed from legal circulation.
  • Richard Nixon elected president

    Richard Nixon elected president
    Richard Nixon is elected president in 1969. He resigns after being impeached in 1974
  • Stonewall riots

    Stonewall riots
    Members of the LGBTQ+ community respond to a violent police raid at a well know gay bar in Manhattan
  • Moon Landing

    Moon Landing
    Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on the moon
  • Woodstock concert

    Woodstock concert
    A huge hippie music festival consisting of over 100,000 people in New York.
  • The Rolling Stones host the Altamont music festival

    The Rolling Stones host the Altamont music festival
    The famous rock band hailing from London host the Altamont music festival