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1965 the war in Vietnam continues to worsen as whatever the Americans do including major bombing of North Vietnam they continue to lose more men , at the same time the Anti-War movement grows and in November 35,000 march on Washington as a protest against the war. There is also civil unrest with rioting, looting and arson in Los Angeles. This was also the first year mandated health warnings appeared on cigarette packets and smoking became a no no. The latest craze in kids toys was the Super Ball and The Skate Board. Fashions also changed as womens skirts got shorter mens hair grew longer as the The miniskirt makes its appearance. Sony introduces it's doomed Betamax Recorder and Hypertext is introduced for linking on the Internet. The St Louis Arch is completed and The Beatles release 4 new albums including "Help".
Cost Of Living, - News, Facts and Events, - Movies, TV and Music, - Technology, - Born This Year, World Leaders,



Cost of Living 1965

How Much things cost in 1965
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 1.59%
Yearly Inflation Rate UK 5.0%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 969
Average Cost of new house $13,600.00
Average Income per year $6,450.00
Gas per Gallon 31 cents
Average Cost of a new car $2,650.00
Loaf of bread 21 cents
Average Rent per month $118,00
Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Stirling

Average House Price 3,660
Gallon of Petrol 5 shillings or 26 new pence
E-type Jaguar 1867



What Events Happened in 1965

Australia
  • Australia Joins Vietnam War
India
  • Hindi becomes the official language of India.
U.S.
  • Racing driver Jim Clark wins the Indianapolis 500, and later wins the Formula One world driving championship in the same year.
U.S.
  • The Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak on April 13th : An estimated fifty-one tornadoes (forty-seven confirmed) hit in six Midwestern states killing anywhere from 256 to 271 people and injuring some 1,500 more.
U.S.
  • Lyndon B. Johnson announces increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000
U.S.
  • Lyndon B. Johnson announces his program to create Medicare and to expand his war on poverty
U.S.
  • Hurricane Betsy makes landfall in the Bahamas, Florida and Louisiana causing $1 billion dollars worth of Damage
U.S.
  • Pope Paul VI becomes the first Pope to visit the United States
Canada
  • The Maple leaf becomes Canada’s new national flag symbol
U.S.
  • Power Blackout in Canada and New York affects over thirty million people , many without power for over 12 hrs
Rhodesia / Zimbabwe
  • Rhodesia Declares Unilateral Independence From Great Britain and becomes Zimbabwe
India
  • India and Pakistan Fighting continues to escalate
UK
  • Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs escapes from Wandsworth Prison and flees to Brazil.
U.S.
  • Malcolm X shot in New York
U.S.
  • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. leads civil rights march in Alabama from Selma to Montgomery
UK
  • Britain brings in a new Race Relations Act hoping to stop some of the unrest in inner cities
UK
  • Cigarette advertising banned on Television in Britain
UK
  • The Post Office Tower opens in London
U.S.
  • In St. Louis, Missouri, the 630-foot-tall parabolic steel Gateway Arch is completed ( The St Louis Arch )
U.S.
  • Several U.S. states (VT, NH, MA, CT, RI, NY and portions of NJ) and parts of Canada are hit by a series of blackouts lasting up to 13 1/2 hours. 30 million people
UK
  • 70 mph speed limit imposed on British roads
U.S.
  • Higher Education Act of 1965 is signed into law providing low-interest loans for students in higher education.
U.S.
  • US Citizens Evacuated due to Civil War in Dominican Republic
U.S.
  • The Voting Rights Act, guaranteeing African Americans the right to vote becomes law
Indonesia
  • Following attempted coup by communists in Indonesia lead to the murder of over half million people and a transition to the new order led by Major General Suharto.
Vietnam
  • Operation Rolling Thunder Launched In Vietnam
U.S.
  • Warren Buffet Gains controlling interest in Berkshire-Hathaway 1965 ( $18.00 per share ) in 2008 ( $150,000 per share )
U.S.
  • Troopers violently confront civil rights marchers in Alabama
U.S.
  • Race Riots Break Out In Watts, California leaving large parts of the city burnt and looted and 34 dead. August 11th


Cuba
  • US begins airlift of Cubans wishing to leave Cuba and live in America




Technology 1965

  • Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program


  • Ranger 9 sends back live TV broadcast when it crashes on to the moon


  • Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space


  • Major Edward H. White II becomes the second human to walk in space during the flight of Gemini 4


  • Sony introduces it's Betamax video recorder




    • Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country ( or attributed to First Use )
    Space Walk Russia Aleksei Leonov - first person outside space vehicle
    Optical Disk USA by James Russell - now Compact Disk
    Hypertext USA for linking text on the Internet

    Respirator ( replacement for the Iron Lung ) USA



Popular Culture

  • The Mary Quant designed Mini Skirt appears in London and will be the fashion statement of the 60's
  • One of most popular films "Sound of Music" released
  • The Beatles Release The Movie and Album Help!
  • The Beatles Play Live Concert Shea Stadium
  • The Grateful Dead with Lead guitarist Jerry Garcia play their first concert, in San Francisco

Popular Films

  • Mary Poppins
  • The Sound of Music
  • Goldfinger
  • My Fair Lady
  • What's New Pussycat?
  • Cat Ballou

Books Released

  • Dune
  • The Man with the Golden Gun
  • Hotel

Check out our Television Programmes From The 60s whenever possible we have included a trailer to jog your memory. Series trailers and more information are found on the decade they started.

Popular Musicians

  • The Beatles
  • The Rolling Stones
  • Freddie and the Dreamers
  • The Animals
  • The Kinks
  • The Searchers
  • The Seekers
  • Moody Blues
  • Donovan
  • Cilla Black
  • Dusty Springfield
  • Tom Jones


Born This Year 1965

Ty Pennington This Day In History October 19th

Ben Stiller This Day In History November 30th

Sarah Jessica Parker This Day In History March 25th

J K Rowling This Day In History July 31st






Major World Political Leaders 1965

Australia Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies

Brazil President Castelo Branco

Canada Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson

China Chairman of the People's Republic of China Liu Shaoqi

France President Charles de Gaulle

Germany Chancellor Ludwig Erhard

India Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri

Italy Prime Minister Aldo Moro

Japan Prime Minister Eisaku Sato

Mexico President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz

Russia / Soviet Union
First Secretary of the CPSU Leonid Brezhnev

South Africa Prime Minister Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd

United States President Lyndon B. Johnson

United Kingdom Prime Minister Harold Wilson


Political Elections 1965


Canadian Federal Election 1965 Lester B. Pearson ( Liberal ) defeats John Diefenbaker ( Progressive Conservatives ) and Tommy Douglas ( New Democrat )


British General Election 1966 Harold Wilson ( Labour )defeats Edward Heath ( Conservative ) and Jo Grimond ( Liberal )


The Information above is taken from our new page that gives world leaders from 1920 to current.
WorldLeaders