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In April 1960, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was formed at Shaw University. The organization became one of the famous civil rights movements during the 1960's.
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On Sept. 26, 1960, the first Televised Presidential Debate was broadcast for about 70 million American viewers to see. The debate was between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy.
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On September 30, 1960, the first episode of the children's show, "The Flintstones" aired on ABC. The show was produced by Hanna-Barbera and ran for 6 seasons.
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On January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy was elected as the 35th President of the United States. He remained in office until his assassination in 1963.
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On April 12, 1961, the Soviet Union sent Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin into space, where he was also the first man to orbit the Earth.
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On August 13, 1961, construction began on the Berlin Wall, a 155 km long wall dividing West Berlin from East Berlin. The wall lasted for almost 30 years and was demolished in 1990-1992.
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On October 1, 1961, Yankees member Roger Maris Broke Babe Ruth's record for hitting over 60 home runs in a single season record from 1927.
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On October 16–28, 1962, the United States was in conflict with the Soviet Union, trying to negotiate the use and placement of ballistic missiles, without starting WW III. By the end of the 13 days, U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Union leader, Khrushchev, reached an agreement to remove missiles from Cuba, Turkey, and Italy. The U.S. also agreed not invade Cuba without being provoked, and a nuclear hotline was created between the Soviet Union and United States.
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On June 15, 1962, Tom Hayden, a member of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), wrote the Port Huron Statement, a political manifesto.
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On August 5, 1962, famous actress and model Marilyn Monroe passes away from an barbiturate overdose in Los Angeles, CA.
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On October 1, 1962, James Meredith became the first African American to register at Ole Miss. Days before his enrollment there was a riot, opposing his enrollment in the all white university, which resulted in two deaths and over 300 injuries.
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On October 5, 1962, "Dr. No", the first of many James Bond movies, was released in theaters. The movie was directed by Terence Young and stared Sean Connery.
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On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered this famous speech to over 250,000 people in Washington, D.C. The speech addressed the problem of racism in the United States and told of a world where people of color could be treated equally.
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On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas. While Oswald was arrested, there were multiple theories on the actual shooter behind the murder, due to the unconvincing single-bullet theory given by the Warren Commission.
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The Beatles departed on their first trip to the United States and landed at the Kennedy Airport in New York. Six days before their flight, the band's song, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" reached No. 1 on the U.S. music charts, and not long after the "Beatlemania" began.
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On February 9th, 1964, the Beatles had their first American TV appearance when they went on the Ed Sullivan Show. Their debut was extremely successful and was watched by over 73 million people.
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On April 22, 1964, the New York World's Fair was held with about 51,000,000 visitors, and stayed open for 6 months. The following year, the fair was opened around the same time until October 17.
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On August 2, 1964, the United States was pulled into the Vietnam War when it had two confrontations with North Vietnamese ships.
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On November 3, 1964, Lyndon B Johnson defeated Barry Goldwater and became the 36th President of the United States. The democratic nominee won the popular vote with 61.1%.
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On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated in New York City, NY by 3 members of the Nation of Islam.
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On August 11, 1965, the Watts race riots began and lasted for 5 days in Los Angeles, California. The riots were reported to have allegedly started because of racism with police, and the result of the riots were 34 deaths and about a thousand injuries.
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On September 8, 1966, the original "Star Trek" airs on NBC and continues for three seasons of 79 episodes.
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During the summer in 1967, about 100,000 people involved in hippie culture met in Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco.
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On January 15, 1967, the first NFL Football Super Bowl was held in Los Angeles, CA, where the Green Bay Packers won.
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On April 28, 1967, Muhammad Ali, a famous boxer, refused military service because he felt uncomfortable as a Muslim, going to fight in Vietnam. Due to his controversial decision, he was stripped of his heavyweight title.
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On May 26,1967, the Beatles released their 8th album, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", which reached the top of the United Kingdom's album chart for 27 weeks and the United States's for 15 weeks.
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On June 16, 1967, the Monterrey Music Festival was held for 3 days in Monterey, California. About 25,000 to 90,000 people were estimated to have attended, and the genres performed varied from pop and folk to different kinds of rock.
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On August 30, 1967, Thurgood Marshall was nominated to the supreme court by a vote of 69 to 11. He also became the first African American member of the supreme court.
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On January 20, 1968, famous actress Sharon Tate and four others were found murdered in her home. They were murdered by Tex Watson, a member of the Manson Family, under the demand of Charles Manson.
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The Tet Offensive began on January 30, 1968, and was one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was split into 3 phases, concluding on September 23, 1968.
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On April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray.
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While greeting his supports about his win during the California presidential primary, Robert F. Kennedy was shot multiple times by Sirhan Sirhan and died the next day.
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On August 23 - 28, 1968, at Grant Park, Chicago, and for eighth days people protested. Violence broke out and over 500 protesters were injured.
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Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was a popular drug during the 60's that caused sensations and hallucinations.On October 24, 1968, LSD was declared illegal by the United States government.
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On Tuesday, November 5, 1968, republican Richard Nixon was elected as the 46th President of the United States.
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On June 28, 1969, members of the LGBT community reacted violently to a police raid that occurred earlier that morning, in Manhattan, New York City.
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On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins are the first people to step on the moon. America becomes the first country to successfully send people to the moon, and Neil Armstrong becomes the first man on the moon.
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On August 15–17, 1969, the Woodstock music festival was held at White Lake, New York, in hopes of celebrating music in a peaceful way. The concert was extremely successful with an attendance of over 400,000 people and performances by many famous acts such as Jimmy Hendrix, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, The Who, etc.
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In December 6, 1969, The Rolling Stones hosted the rock themed Altamont Music Festival in hopes of recreating the atmosphere and success of the Woodstock Music Festival that was held months ago. While the festival had good attendance, it ended in disaster, resulting in violence and some deaths .
