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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.
JFK was the first Catholic to ever become president. -
The FDA approved the first birth control pill for sale.
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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.
He was aboard the Freedom 7. -
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act.
Segregation in public facilities became illegal. -
Martin Luther King Jr. won Nobel Peace Prize.
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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.
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
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Walt Disney dies of cancer.
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US, UK, and USSR sign a treaty banning nuclear weapons in space.
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Detroit riots
There were multiple race riots in Detroit in July. -
First Successful Heart Transplant
Though the patient died, Dr. Christiaan Barnard succeeded in completing the transplant. -
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
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Robbie Kennedy was assassinated.
He had just won the California primary. -
Shirley Chisholm was the first black woman elected to Congress.
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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.
