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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
The increasing popularity of TV companies allowed for debates to be televised, and for voters to see candidate's appearances. That being said, the more put-together look of JFK allowed him to win the election. -
First Airing of "The Flintstones"
On Sept. 30, 1960, The Flintstones first were introduced to television audiences by ABC. -
President Kennedy is elected
John F. Kennedy, a wealthy Democratic senator from Massachusetts, was elected president in 1960, defeating Vice President Richard Nixon. Though he clearly won the electoral vote, Kennedy's received only 118,000 more votes than Nixon in this close election. -
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 is Constructed
The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. It encircled West Berlin, separating it from East German territory. -
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
The Port Huron Statement is a 1962 political manifesto of the North American student activist movement Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). The Port Huron Statement is about democratic ideals. -
Marilyn Monroe dies
After a brief investigation, Los Angeles police concluded that her death was “caused by a self-administered overdose of sedative drugs and that the mode of death is probable suicide.” -
James Meredith registers at Ole Miss
James Meredith enrolled in Ole Miss, the all-white public university. This was no accidental decision. Meredith wanted to take a stand against segregation and white supremacy, and Ole Miss was the place to do it. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
During the 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, just 90 miles from U.S. shores. -
"Dr. No" the first James Bond movie premiers
No is a 1962 spy film directed by Terence Young, and it is the first film in the James Bond series. Starring Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman, and Jack Lord, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather from the 1958 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. -
Dr. Kings "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 shot
According to the Warren Commission and the House Select Committee on Assassinations, Kennedy was waving to the crowds on his right with his right arm upraised on the side of the limo when a shot entered his upper back, penetrated his neck, and slightly damaged a spinal vertebra and the top of his right lung. -
The Beatles arrive in the United States
The Beatles arrived at John F Kennedy airport in New York, greeted by thousands of screaming fans. This Daily Mirror article documents Beatlemania crossing the Atlantic, as the band dubbed the Fab Four arrived to play their first concerts in America. -
The Beatles appeared 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
The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations, 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. -
Lyndon B Johnson defeats Barry Goldwater
Johnson beat Goldwater in the general election, winning over 61% of the popular vote, the highest percentage since the popular vote first became widespread in 1824. Johnson became the only Democrat between 1944 and 1976 to win a majority of the popular vote. -
Malcolm X assasinated
While preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in the neighborhood of Washington Heights, Malcolm X was shot multiple times and killed. Three members of the Nation of Islam, Muhammad A. -
Watts race riots
The riots began due to the arrest of Marquette Frye, an African-American man from the Watts community. He was arrested for allegedly intoxicated driving by a white California policeman. The riots lasted six days and did not end until the National Guard instated a curfew. -
"Star Treck" TV show airs
The Original Series (referred to as Star Trek prior to any spin-offs) is the first Star Trek series. The first episode of the show aired on 6 September 1966 on CTV in Canada, followed by a 8 September 1966 airing on NBC in America. The show was created by Gene Roddenberry as a "Wagon Train to the Stars". -
LSD declared illegal by the U.S government
LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is a synthetic (man-made) drug that has been abused for its hallucinogenic properties since the 1960s. If consumed in a sufficiently large dose, LSD produces delusions and visual hallucinations that distort the user's sense of time and identity. -
San Francisco "Summer of Love" begins
The year 1967 was designated the “Summer of Love” when somewhere between 75,000 and 100,000 youth flooded 25 blocks in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district. Beforehand, the neighborhood was home to a small community of “hip” residents interested in art, music, theatre, and literature. -
First NFL Football Superbowl
The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in the first-ever Super Bowl. -
Boxer Muhammad Ali refuses military service
When Ali arrived to be inducted in the United States Armed Forces, however, he refused, citing his religion forbade him from serving. The cost for his refusal would prove to be drastic: the stripping of his heavyweight title, a suspension from boxing, a $10,000 fine, and a five-year prison sentence. -
Beetles release Sgt. Pepper's Album
Released an album with 11 songs and it was widely popular. -
Thurgood Marshall nominated to the Supreme Court.
On August 30, 1967, the Senate confirmed Thurgood Marshall as the first Black person to serve as a Supreme Court Justice. Marshall was no stranger to the Senate or the Supreme Court at the time. Marshall was confirmed in a 69-11 floor vote to join the Court. -
Richard Nixon is Elected
The Republican nominee, former vice president Richard Nixon, defeated the Democratic nominee, incumbent vice president Hubert Humphrey, and the American Independent Party nominee, former Alabama governor George Wallace. -
Tet Offensive
During the lunar new year (or “Tet”) holiday, North Vietnamese and communist Viet Cong forces launched a coordinated attack against a number of targets in South Vietnam. The U.S. and South Vietnamese militaries sustained heavy losses before finally repelling the communist assault. -
Martin Luther King Jr. assasinated
Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. -
Robert Kennedy is Assassinated
Robert addressed his campaign supporters in the Ambassador Hotel's Embassy Room ballroom. After leaving the podium, and exiting through a kitchen hallway, he was mortally wounded by multiple shots fired by Sirhan. Kennedy died at Good Samaritan Hospital nearly 26 hours later. -
Protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention
The 1968 Democratic National Convention protests were a series of protest activities against the Vietnam War that took place prior to and during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. -
Stonewall Riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous protests 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 Lower Manhattan in New York City. -
Woodstock Concert
In 1969, the country was deep into the controversial Vietnam War, a conflict that many young people vehemently opposed. It was also the era of the civil rights movement, a period of great unrest and protest. Woodstock was an opportunity for people to escape into music and spread a message of unity and peace. -
The Rolling Stone host the Altamont music festival
The Altamont Speedway Free Festival was held in Northern California. The counterculture rock concert is best remembered for a number of violent incidents and accidents that left four people dead and dozens injured. The Rolling Stones, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Jefferson Airplane performed. -
American Astronauts Land on the Moon
American astronauts Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (1930-) became the first humans ever to land on the moon aboard the Apollo 11.