The 1960s

By annagreen317

  • U-2 spy plane shot down.

    American spy plane U-2 was shot down over the USSR.
  • John F. Kennedy was elected to the presidency.

    John F. Kennedy was elected to the presidency.

    JFK was the first Catholic to ever become president.

  • The FDA approved the first birth control pill for sale.

  • JFK's Inaugural Address

    "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."

  • Bay of Pigs Invasion

    The US invaded Cuba, and the mission was a failure.
  • Alan Shepard was the first American man in space.

    Alan Shepard was the first American man in space.

    He was aboard the Freedom 7.
  • John Glenn became the first man to orbit the earth.

    John Glenn became the first man to orbit the earth.

    He orbited the earth 3 times in 5 hours.

  • Bob Dylan released his first album.

  • Cuban Missile Crisis

    The US discovered a Soviet missile-building base in Cuba and it led to a 14-day blockade.
  • Martin Luther King gave his "I have a Dream" speech.

    Martin Luther King gave his "I have a Dream" speech.

    This was the most famous civil rights speech and one of the most famous speeches period in American history.

  • John F. Kennedy proposed the Civil Rights Bill.

  • President Kennedy was assassinated.

    It happened in Dallas, TX by Lee Harvey Oswald, and then Oswald was killed before he could be tried.
  • The Beatles arrived in New York.

    The Beatles arrived in New York.

  • President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act.

    Segregation in public facilities became illegal.

  • Martin Luther King Jr. won Nobel Peace Prize.

  • The first American soldiers set foot in Vietnam.

    Though the war had been going on since 1959, Americans didn't enter Vietnam until 1965.

  • March from Selma to Montgomery

    Martin Luther King, Jr. leads a march with 25,000 people in Alabama.
  • The Houston Astrodome was built.

    The Houston Astrodome was built.

    It was the world's first roofted stadium.

  • Soviet Luna 9 lands on the moon.

    Luna 9 was the first artificial satellite to land on the moon.

  • Groundbreaking of World Trade Center

  • Walt Disney dies of cancer.

    Walt Disney dies of cancer.

  • US, UK, and USSR sign a treaty banning nuclear weapons in space.

  • Detroit riots

    There were multiple race riots in Detroit in July.
  • First Successful Heart Transplant

    First Successful Heart Transplant

    Though the patient died, Dr. Christiaan Barnard succeeded in completing the transplant.

  • Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.

  • Robbie Kennedy was assassinated.

    He had just won the California primary.
  • Shirley Chisholm was the first black woman elected to Congress.

    Shirley Chisholm was the first black woman elected to Congress.

  • Apollo 11 landed on the moon.

    Apollo 11 landed on the moon.

    Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon - "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

  • Woodstock Festival

    Over 500,000 gathered in New York for a three-day festival of music and peace.

  • Supreme Court orders nationwide desegregation.