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New York World’s Fair begins
On April 30, 1939, a very hot Sunday, the fair had its grand opening, with 206,000 people in attendance. -
First televised Presidential debate
on November 4, 1956, two surrogates debated the issues on network television: for the Democrats, former First Lady and party icon Eleanor Roosevelt; for the Republicans, the senior senator from Maine, Margaret Chase Smith. That's right—the first televised presidential debate featured two women. -
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”
The very first episode aired on September 30, 1960. 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
John F. Kennedy, a wealthy Democratic senator from Massachusetts, was elected president in 1960, defeating Vice President Richard Nixon. -
Russians send the first man into space
On April 12, 1961, aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin becomes the first human being to travel into space. -
Berlin wall is constructed
East Germany built a barrier to close off East Germans' access to West Berlin and hence West Germany -
Roger Maris of the Yankees breaks Babe Ruth’s single season home run record
On October 1, 1961, 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
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 died in the waning hours of August 4, in what looked like a barbiturate overdose. She was just 36 years old. -
James Meredith registers at Ole Miss
Meredith was escorted onto the Ole Miss campus by U.S. Marshals, setting off riots that resulted in the deaths of two students -
“Dr. No” the first James Bond movie premiers
It also marks the final appearance of Daniel Craig in the starring role of 007, the debonair superspy originated by Sean Connery in the very first Bond film, 1962's Dr. No. -
Cuban Missile crisis
In 1962 the Soviet Union began to secretly install missiles in Cuba to launch attacks on U.S. cities. The confrontation that followed, known as the Cuban missile crisis, brought the two superpowers to the brink of war before an agreement was reached to withdraw the missiles. -
Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” Speech
"I Have a Dream" is a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist and Baptist minister, Martin Luther King Jr., during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. In the speech, King called for civil and economic rights and an end to racism in the United States. -
John F Kennedy is assassinated
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, is assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald while traveling through Dallas, Texas. -
The Beatles arrive in the U.S
On 7 February 1964, the Beatles arrived at John F Kennedy airport in New York, greeted by thousands of screaming fans. -
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. -
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
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
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. -
San Francisco “Summer of Love” begins
The Summer of Love began on January 14, 1967, when some 30,000 people gathered in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. -
First NFL Football Super Bowl
The first Super Bowl was held on January 15, 1967. Arising out of a merger of the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL), it was originally called the “AFL-NFL World Championship Game.” It was hosted in Los Angeles, California, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum -
Boxer Muhammed Ali refuses military service
Prior to his match against Foley, Ali received news he had been drafted to fight in Vietnam. When Ali arrived to be inducted in the United States Armed Forces, however, he refused, citing his religion forbade him from serving. -
Thurgood Marshall nominated to the Supreme Court
President Johnson nominated Marshall in June 1967 to replace the retiring Justice Tom Clark, who left the Court after his son, Ramsey Clark, became Attorney General -
The Beatles release the agt. peppers album
A signed copy of The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band has been bought at auction in the US for $290,500 (£191,000). -
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. was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesman and leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. -
Robert Kennedy was assassinated
Shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, Senator Robert Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the California presidential primary. -
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
On October 24, 1968, possession of LSD was made illegal in the United States. -
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. -
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City, New York, United States of America. -
American astronauts land on the moon
Apollo 11, U.S. spaceflight during which commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Edwin Aldrin, Jr., on July 20, 1969, became the first people to land on the Moon and walk the lunar surface. -
Woodstock concert
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to simply as Woodstock, was a music festival held August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, 40 miles southwest of the town of Woodstock. -
“Star Trek” TV show airs
Star Trek aired on NBC from September 8, 1966, to June 3, 1969. It was first broadcast on September 6, 1966, 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. -
The Rolling Stones host the Altamont music festival
On December 6, 1969, about 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.