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SNCC Formed
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was one of the major American Civil Rights Movement organizations of the 1960s. It emerged from the first wave of student sit-ins and formed at a 1960 meeting organized by Ella Baker at Shaw University. -
First Televised Presidential Debate
The first televised general election presidential debate was between U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard Nixon, in Chicago at the studios of CBS's WBBM-TV. -
First Airing of the "Flintstones"
The Flintstones airing in 1960, and quickly took off as on of the most popular cartoon. -
President Kennedy is Elected
John F. Kennedy was elected as the 35th president of the United States after beating Richard Nixon. -
Russians Send the First Man into Space
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin became the first human being to travel into space, aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1, for 89 minutes. -
Berlin Wall is Constructed
The Berlin Wall was constructed to separate West and East Berlin. -
Roger Maris of the Yankees breaks Babe Ruth's Single Season Home Run Record
New York Yankee Roger Maris becomes the first-ever major-league baseball player to hit more than 60 home runs in a single season. The great Babe Ruth set the record in 1927; Maris and his teammate Mickey Mantle spent 1961 trying to break it. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
While the Cold War was coming down to the wire, Bobby Kennedy was able to create an agreement with the Russian government to save both countries from nuclear bombs. -
SDS Releases its Port Huron Statement
The Port Huron Statement reflected the dissatisfaction many young people were feeling in the 1960s. College enrollments were booming, and many students objected to the way college administrators attempted to control their personal lives. Other students were beginning to be involved in the civil rights movement. After 1962 the student movement increasingly focused on opposition to the Vietnam War. -
Marilyn Monroe Dies
Marilyn Monroe died of a barbiturate overdose in Los Angeles California at the age of 36 -
James Meredith Registers at Ole Miss
Riots erupted on the campus of the University of Mississippi to protest the enrollment of James Meredith, a black Air Force veteran attempting to integrate the all-white school. -
"Dr. No" the First James Bond Movie Premiers
Dr. No is a 1962 spy film based on the 1958 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. -
Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" Speech
Martin Luther King, Jr. presented his "I Have A Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. He used it to rally support for African Americans. -
John F Kennedy is Assassinated
Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated JFK during a campaign in Texas. -
The Beatles Arrive in the United States
The Beatles, an English band, became a sensation in America. They kick started their British invasion to the U.S. when they came in 1964. -
The Beatles Appear on Ed Sullivan
The Beatles made their first American television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. A record setting 73 million people tuned in that evening making it one of the seminal moments in television history -
New York World's Fair Begins
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. -
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
The Gulf of Tonkin incident was a turning point in history because it launched America into war with Vietnam, after they attacked the USS Maddox. -
Lyndon B Johnson Defeats Barry Goldwater
Lyndon B. Johnson defeated Republican Barry Goldwater, with over 60 percent of the popular vote. Johnson turned back the conservative senator from Arizona to secure his first full term in office after succeeding to the presidency after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November 1963. -
Malcolm X is Assassinated
In New York City, Malcolm X, an African American nationalist and religious leader, was assassinated by rival Black Muslims while addressing his Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights. -
Watts Race Riots
The cause of the riots was the arrest of a black man, Marquette Frye, by a white California Highway Patrol officer on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Resentment of racial injustices is cited as reasons why Watts' African-American population exploded. -
"Star Trek" TV Show Airs
Star Trek is an American media franchise based on the science-fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry. The first television series, called Star Trek and now known as "The Original Series", debuted on September 8, 1966 and aired for three seasons on NBC. -
San Francisco "Summer of Love" Begins
Hippies took over the Haight Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. Over 100,000 people were part of the hippie fashion. -
First NFL Football Super Bowl
The first Super Bowl was held at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. The Green Bay Packers won over the Chiefs, 35-10. -
Boxer Muhammed Ali Refuses Military Service
Boxing champion Muhammad Ali refused to be inducted into the U.S. Army and was immediately stripped of his heavyweight title. -
The Beatles Release Sgt. Pepper's album
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the Beatles. It spent 15 weeks at number one on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the US. -
Monterrey Music Festival
The Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert event held June 16 to June 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. -
Thurgood Marshall Nominated to the Supreme Court
President Lyndon Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall to fill the seat in the Supreme Court. After a heated debate, the Senate confirmed Marshall's nomination by a vote of 69 to 11 -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a turning point in the Vietnam War because the Vietcong launched a series of surprise attacks on South Vietnam. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination
MLK Jr. was shot in Memphis, Tennessee, on his balcony. He was assassinated by James Earl Ray, while he was supporting black sanitation workers on strike. -
Robert Kennedy is Assassinated
During a presidential campaign Sirhan Sirhan assassinated the candidate, and wounded five others -
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 1967, counterculture and anti-Vietnam War protest groups had been promising to come to Chicago and disrupt the convention, and the city promised to maintain law and order. -
LSD Declared Illegal by the U.S. government
After the CIA conducted many experiments with LSD and it was found on the streets, the drug was deemed illegal by the United States. -
Richard Nixon is Elected
Richard NIxon was elected as the 37th president of the United States after beating Hubert Humphrey. -
Stonewall Riots
The Stonewall riots were a series of violent demonstrations by members of the gay community against a police raid that began on June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village. -
American Astronauts Land on the Moon
During the space race, Kennedy made huge strides to get an American on the moon. After 3 days, Apollo 11 landed on the moon. -
Manson Family Murders Sharon Tate
Charles Manson created a cult family based in California, and had the family kill Sharon Tate and four others. Charles Manson was sentences to life in prison. -
Woodstock Concert
Over half a million people gathered in upstate New York for three days of peace and music. The people experimented with drugs and kept order with out security. -
The rolling Stones Host the Altamont Music Festival
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.' It was also supposed to be a triumphant conclusion for the band that year, following their successful U.S. tour.
