The 1960s

1961 65 years ago

In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba is goin

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as prime minister from 1959 to 1976 and president from 197…

In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba is goin

1961 65 years ago

Bay of Pigs Invasion: A group of Cuban exiles financed and trained by the CIA lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the

The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in April 1961 by the United States and the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front (…

Bay of Pigs Invasion: A group of Cuban exiles financed and trained by the CIA lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the

1961 65 years ago

Alaska Airlines Flight 779 crashes near Shemya Air Force Base in Shemya, Alaska killing six.

Alaska Airlines Flight 779 was a contract cargo flight operated on July 21, 1961 by an Alaska Airlines Douglas DC-6A that crashed short of the runway at Shemya Air Force Base with …

Alaska Airlines Flight 779 crashes near Shemya Air Force Base in Shemya, Alaska killing six.

1961 65 years ago

The Sandinista National Liberation Front is founded in Nicaragua.

The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augus…

The Sandinista National Liberation Front is founded in Nicaragua.

1961 65 years ago

Border guard Conrad Schumann flees from East Germany while on duty guarding the construction of the Berlin Wall.

Hans Conrad Schumann, also known as Konrad Schumann, was an East German Bereitschaftspolizist who escaped to West Germany during the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961.

Border guard Conrad Schumann flees from East Germany while on duty guarding the construction of the Berlin Wall.

1961 65 years ago

Cold War: Failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of US-backed Cuban exiles against Cuba

The Cold War was a period of international geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc …

Cold War: Failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of US-backed Cuban exiles against Cuba

1961 65 years ago

K-19, the first Soviet nuclear submarine equipped with nuclear missiles, is commissioned

K-19 was the first submarine of the Project 658 class, the first generation of Soviet nuclear submarines equipped with nuclear ballistic missiles, specifically the R-13 SLBM. The b…

K-19, the first Soviet nuclear submarine equipped with nuclear missiles, is commissioned

1961 65 years ago

American civil rights movement: The "Freedom Riders" begin a bus trip through the South

The civil rights movement was a social movement in the United States from 1954 to 1968 which aimed to abolish legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement i…

American civil rights movement: The "Freedom Riders" begin a bus trip through the South

1961 65 years ago

Malcolm Ross and Victor Prather attain a new altitude record for manned balloon flight ascending in the Strato-Lab V ope

Malcolm David Ross was a captain in the United States Naval Reserve (USNR), an atmospheric scientist, and a balloonist who set several records for altitude and scientific inquiry, …

Malcolm Ross and Victor Prather attain a new altitude record for manned balloon flight ascending in the Strato-Lab V ope

1961 65 years ago

Project Mercury: Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space, on a sub-orbital flight

Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into E…

Project Mercury: Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space, on a sub-orbital flight

1961 65 years ago

The African and Malagasy Union is founded.

The African and Malagasy Union (AMU) was an intergovernmental organization created to promote cooperation among newly independent states in Francophone Africa. The organization der…

The African and Malagasy Union is founded.

1961 65 years ago

Pakistan establishes its Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission with Abdus Salam as its head.

The Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, commonly referred to as SUPARCO, is the national space agency of Pakistan.

Pakistan establishes its Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission with Abdus Salam as its head.

1961 65 years ago

The world's first retractable roof stadium, the Civic Arena, opens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The Civic Arena, formerly the Civic Auditorium and later Mellon Arena, was a multi-purpose arena located in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily served as the home to th…

The world's first retractable roof stadium, the Civic Arena, opens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1961 65 years ago

Civil rights movement: A white mob twice attacks a Freedom Riders bus near Anniston, Alabama, before fire-bombing the bu

The civil rights movement was a social movement in the United States from 1954 to 1968 which aimed to abolish legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement i…

Civil rights movement: A white mob twice attacks a Freedom Riders bus near Anniston, Alabama, before fire-bombing the bu

1961 65 years ago

Park Chung Hee leads a coup d'état to overthrow the Second Republic of South Korea

Park Chung Hee was a South Korean politician and army officer who served as the third president of South Korea from 1962 after he seized power in the May 16 coup of 1961 until his …

Park Chung Hee leads a coup d'état to overthrow the Second Republic of South Korea

1961 65 years ago

Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly by another planet by passing Venus (the probe had lost

The Venera program was a series of space probes developed by the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1984 to gather information about the planet Venus. A total of eighteen probes were se…

Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly by another planet by passing Venus (the probe had lost

1961 65 years ago

At Silchar Railway Station, Assam, 11 Bengalis die when police open fire on protesters demanding state recognition of Be

Silchar is a city and the headquarters of the Cachar district of the state of Assam, India. It is second largest city of Assam after Guwahati in terms of population and GDP. It is …

At Silchar Railway Station, Assam, 11 Bengalis die when police open fire on protesters demanding state recognition of Be

1961 65 years ago

American civil rights movement: Alabama Governor John Malcolm Patterson declares martial law in an attempt to restore or

The civil rights movement was a social movement in the United States from 1954 to 1968 which aimed to abolish legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement i…

American civil rights movement: Alabama Governor John Malcolm Patterson declares martial law in an attempt to restore or

1961 65 years ago

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 crashes during takeoff from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois,…

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 was a Lockheed L-188 Electra aircraft, registration N137US, which crashed on take-off from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport September 17,…

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 crashes during takeoff from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois,…

1961 65 years ago

Greek general Konstantinos Dovas becomes Prime Minister of Greece.

Konstantinos Dovas was a Greek general and interim Prime Minister.

Greek general Konstantinos Dovas becomes Prime Minister of Greece.

1961 65 years ago

A military coup in Damascus effectively ends the United Arab Republic, the union between Egypt and Syria.

The Syrian coup d'état of 1961 was an uprising by disgruntled Syrian Army officers on 28 September 1961, that resulted in the break-up of the United Arab Republic and the restorati…

A military coup in Damascus effectively ends the United Arab Republic, the union between Egypt and Syria.

1961 65 years ago

American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for "disturbing the peace" after di

The civil rights movement was a social movement in the United States from 1954 to 1968 which aimed to abolish legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement i…

American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for "disturbing the peace" after di

1961 65 years ago

Apollo program: U

The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo was conceiv…

Apollo program: U

1961 65 years ago

The long-time Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo is assassinated in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina, nicknamed "El Jefe", was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until his assassination in May…

The long-time Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo is assassinated in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic