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Period: to
The Sixties
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3,500 American soldiers are sent to Vietnam
The United States announces that 3,500 American soldiers will be sent to Vietnam. -
First Adelaide Festival of Arts
The Governor- General of Australia, Viscount Dunrossil, had opened the first Adelaide Festival of Arts. It ran from 12 to 26 March 1960 and was led by Artistic Director Professor John Bishop. -
The First contraceptive pill is made available on the market
The pill is approved for contraceptive use and is made available to all on the market, though many protests were held as the price was too high as the maximum wage was one third of the price of the pill. -
First televised presidential debate
Kennedy and Nixon square off in the first televised presidential debate. 70 million American viewers had tuned in to watch the first of four televised presidential debate. -
John Fitzgerald Kennedy wins Presidency
John F. Kennedy is elected as the youngest and first Catholic president of the United States. He beat Richard Nixon by only 100,000 votes. -
The Beatles perform for the first time
The Beatles perform their first gig at the Cavern Club, in Liverpool. The Cavern Club soon became the most publicised pop music venue in the world. As the Beatles became more popular, they became too expensive for the Cavern to book. -
The Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba begins
United States was sending trained Cuban exiles to Cuba to try and overthrow Fidel Castro's government as they believed his notion was governing a country was more communist-leaning rather than capitalistic. -
Construction of the Berlin Wall begins
The government of East Germany, that was communist, began building the Berlin Wall to divide East and West Berlin. Construction of the wall caused a short-term crisis in U.S. The Berlin Wall soon symbolized the Cold War. -
The American involvement in the Vietnam War officially begins
John F. Kennedy orders the Pentagon to provide US crews to South Vietnam while the first U.S. helicopters touches down in South Vietnam. The helicopter was used to airlift South Vietnamese Army troops into combat. -
Woman in Sydney fined for "unsuitably dressed"
A young lady is fined at Bondi Beach for being "unsuitably dressed." She was wearing a bikini that goes against The Local Government Act, Ordinance No. 52 which sets exact dimensions for swimming costumes . -
Adolf Eichmann is Executed
Adolf Eichmann was a Nazi SS officer who is well known for influencing Adolf Hitler's wish to exterminate Europe's Jewish population. Adolf Eichmann was executed for his crimes against humanity. -
Marylin Monroe is found dead
The movie actress Marilyn Monroe was found dead located in her home in Los Angeles. Marilyn had been discovered lying nude on her bed, with her face down and the phone in her other hand. -
Pope John XXIII convenes the Second Vatican Council
Pope John XXIII gathers all the bishops for the twenty-first ecumenical council, th Second Vatcan Council, which sought to address relations between the Catholic Church and the modern world. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world has ever came to a nuclear war. The world waited for thirteen days in anticipation to see whether the war would end in a peaceful matter or on the brink of nuclear war. -
Prince Philip opens the Commonwealth Games
On this day, the VII Commonwealth Games were opened in Perth. The ceremony was held at Perry Lakes Stadium. The opening commenced in the presence of Prince Philip. -
Germany and France sign the Élysée Treaty
The Élysée Treaty is popularly known nowadays as the Treaty of Friendship. The treaty had been established by two representations of France and Germany, Charles de Gaulle of France and Konrad Adenauer of German. The treaty pleaded for reconciliation between the two countries. -
The Good Pope; Pope John XXIII dies
The liberalizing pope of the sixties who convened the Second Vatican Council is found dead due to peritonitis, an inflammation of the thin tissue that lines the inner wall of the abdomen. Catholics all over the world weeped the death of Pope John XXIII. -
Martin Luther King: I Have a Dream Speech
250,000 people join Martin Luther King Jr. in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was on this day that Martin Luther King delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. -
The Assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy
President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in a motorcade as he is driven through Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas. His Vice President, Lyndon Baines Johnson, is sworn in as the president the same day. Many conspiracy theories point to Lee Harvey Oswald to being the assassin. -
Lee Harvey Oswald is shot and killed
Lee Harvey Oswald is well known in the conspiracy world for assassinating John F. Kennedy. Two days after his muder trial, as he was being transferred from police headquarters to the county jail, Lee Harvey Oswald was shot and mortally wounded by owner Jack Ruby in full view of television cameras broadcasting live. -
Dawn Fraser awarded Australian of the Year
Dawn Fraser, a national swimming champion was awarded Australian of the Year. In her swimming career she won 8 olympic and 8 commonwealth game medals. In 1962, she was the first woman to swim 100m in less than a minute. She won the 1956 100m freestyle, breaking the world and Olympic record. -
Malcom X leaves the Nation of Islam
Before leaving the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X had originally believed that Nation of Islam's notion of black superiority and violent rebellion was correct. After Malcolm X had made a pilgrimage to Mecca, he realized that people of all races could come together peacefully and he began to have doubts about the Nation of Islam, leading him to leave the organisation. -
The Beatles arrive in Australia to launch their tour
The Beatles had arrived in Australia in 1964 for the The Beatles 1964 world tour, the Beatles first world tour. A crowd of 2,000 fans greeted them at Sydney's Mascot International Airport. even though the day was cold and raining heavily. -
Nelson Mandela Sentenced to Life in Prison
South Africa had imprisoned eight people, including Nelson Mandela. They were imprisoned because they all committed sabotage against South Africa’s apartheid government (apartheid being power for whites over blacks in South Africa). The sentence was for life but he ended up only serving 27 years in jail -
Civil Rights Act
Lyndon B Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act on July 2, 1964. The Civil Rights Act abolished all racial segregation in the United States. It is a landmark piece of civil rights that made discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex, or national religions illegal. -
Martin Luther King Jr. receives Nobel Peace Prize
Martin Luther King Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 14, 1964. Martin Luther won this award because, as stated by Gunnar Jahn (Chairman of the Nobel Committee) “He is the first person in the Western world to have shown us that a struggle can be waged without violence. He is the first to make the message of brotherly love a reality in the course of his struggle, and he has brought this message to all men, to all nations and races.” -
Malcolm X Assassinated
On Feb. 21, 1965, Malcolm X, well-known for being the former Nation of Islam leader was shot and killed by assassins identified as being part of the Black Muslim religion, as he was about to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. -
Prime Minister Menzies declares that Australia is at war with Vietnam
By the end of the 1964, the United States had already sent 200,000 of its men to the Vietna War and had asked its allies to do the same. Later in that year, the Australian prime minister, Robert Menzies announced the decision to send Australians to Vietnam. In June, Menzies declared that Australia was at war in Vietnam. -
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Right Act was put foward to reinfoce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution. It is also a federal legislation in the United States that prohibits discrimination in voting. It was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who was under pressure by the American Civil Rights Movement. -
Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act
The Murder Act of 1965 is an Act put foward by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in order to abolish the death penalty for murder in Great Britain. The Act replaced the death penalty with a mandatory sentence of imprisonment for life. -
Anti-Vietnam war protests
25th of March 1966, has hosted the "Second Days of International Protest." The protest had been organized by the National Coordinating Committee to end the war in Vietnam, 20,000 to 25,000 in New York alone protested. -
Fidel Castro announces martial law
Fidel Castro had announced and reinfoced martial law within Cuba as he feared a possibility of the US attacking due to a hot tension which was instigated previous years before. -
Martin Luther King Jr. leads a civil rights march in Chicago
Martin Luther King Jr. had joined tens of thousands of protestors of all ages on a march in Chicago demanding more rights and fighting against the discrimination put forth towards negros by the government and other civilians. Some of the demands covered eucation, transport and jobs. -
LSD is made illegal in California
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide was made illegal in California after tests by scientists conducting LSD discovered that the acid does not physically harm your body in any way. Before illegal, scientist tested LSD on more than 40,000 people. -
Black Panther Party is founded
The Black Panther Party was founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. The Black Panther Party is recognised as a black revolutionary socialist organization active in the United States. They put forth teachings primarily for the protection of black neighborhoods from police brutality. -
Walt Disney dies
Walt Disney had died of acute circulatory collapse, caused by lung cancer. Walt was a heavy smoker throughout his life, though he made sure that he didn't smoke anywhere around children. -
The Beatles release the album "Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band."
Sgt. Pepps Lonely Hearts Club Band is the Beatles most well-known album as it contained many one hit singles such as "With a Little Help from My Friends", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", and "A Day in the Life". The album has been sold over 30 million times. -
Six Day War outset
The Six-Day War lasted from June 5th to June 10th. The Israelis had felt threatened by the surrounding Arab countries; Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Israel believed that it had to defend its self from what they saw as an impending attack by Arab nations. -
Colour television introduced in Britian
On this day, Britain had became the first country in Europe to offer regular programming in colour to the public. The colour program were initially available to the public for four hours per week, changing to 10 hours a week after the first year. -
Leader of American Nazi Party assassinated
George Lincoln Rockwell, founder of the American political party, the American Nazi Party, was assassinated by gunshots as he left a shopping center in located in Virginia. -
Nguyen Van Thieu is elected as President of South Vietnam
Nguyen Van Thieu was elected as the president of South Vietnam in 1967 though his government did not reign long as it had only lasted for two years after the U.S. withdrawal. Thieu was expected to win partly because he was the country's most popular military figure. -
Doctor Christian Bernard completes the first successful heart transplant
Christiaan Neethling Barnard is a South African cardiac surgeon well known for performing the world's first successful human-to-human heart transplant. He also performed the second kidney transplant in South Africa in October 1967. -
US troops massacre 347 civilians at My Lai
The My Lai Massacre was a mass muder of 347 Vietnamese civilians killed by United States troops. Victims ranged from women, men to children, and infants. It is reported that a minority of the women were gang-raped and their bodies were mutilated -
Martin Luther King Jr. is Assassinated
The well known activist, and prominent leader of the African-American civil rights movement, Martin Luther King, was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis and was pronounced dead the same evening. -
Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated
Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated at midnight on June 5, 1968. He had been assassinated during the campaign season for the United States Presidential election, 1968. Robert died in the Good Samaritan Hospital twenty-six hours later his shooting. -
Apollo 8 is launched
Apollo 8 was NASA’s second successful manned mission in the United States Apollo space program. It was also \ the first manned spacecraft to leave the Earth's orbit, reach the Earth's Moon, orbit it and return safely to Earth -
Richard Nixon becomes the 37th President of the United States of America
Richard Nixon became the thirty-seventh President of the United States in 1969 after defeating Lyndon Johnson's Vice-President, Hubert Humphrey, in one of the closest elections in US history. -
Neil Armstrong is the first man to land on the Moon
As part of the Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong became the very first man to walk on the Moon, followed only minutes later by Buzz Aldrin. This accomplishment placed the United States ahead of the Soviets in the Space Race. -
The birth of Woodstock Festival
The Woodstock Festival was a three-day concert packed with tons of Rock n' Roll, sex and drugs. The Woodstock Music Festival later on became an icon of the 1960s hippie counterculture. -
Sesame Street airs
Sesame Street debuts on public broadcasting television stations. It was funded by the Ford Foundation, and the U.S. Federal Government. Sesame Street was the first preschool television show to base its contents on formative research. -
First draft lottery since World War II
On this day, the Selective Service System of the United States held two lotteries in order to decide the men born from 1944 to 1950 who would pack their bags to answer the call to military service in the Vietnam War.
