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1969 Major News Events 55 Years Ago

  1. The first man is landed on the moon on the Apollo 11 mission by the United States and Neil Armstrong and Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the Moon. and the famous words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." will become part of our history
  2. Woodstock attracts more than 350,000 rock-n-roll fans,
  3. Atlanta International Pop Festival on 4th July attracts 100,000
  4. Isle of Wight Festival attracted an audience of approximately 150,000
  5. The Beatles record Abbey Road, their final album together.
  6. The first communications are sent through the ARPANET on October 29th, 1969.
  7. The U.S. Air Force closed its Project ( Blue Book ) concluding there was no evidence of UFO's.
  8. Golda Meir of Milwaukee, Wisconsin , USA, becomes Prime Minister of Israel
  9. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Established
  10. Chappaquiddick Affair Senator Edward Kennedy driving a car plunges into a pond

More Detailed Information on each Event and those not included can be found below

What Happened in 1969 Important News and Events, Key Technology and Popular Culture

What happened in 1969 Major News Stories include The Beatles' last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records, First Concorde test flight is conducted In France, Boeing 747 jumbo jet makes its debut, Pontiac Firebird Trans Am the epitome of the American muscle car is introduced, Woodstock attracts more than 350,000 rock-n-roll fans, Members of a cult led by Charles Manson murder five people, Chappaquiddick Affair Senator Edward Kennedy, PBS Established, The first man is landed on the moon on the Apollo 11 mission by the United States and Neil Armstrong and Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the Moon.

1969 On July 20th one of mans crowning achievements occurred when American Astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon and uttered the immortal words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." . The opposition to the war continued to increase with more and more attending anti war demonstrations and demanding that the US withdrew from Vietnam. The music came from groups including the Doors, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin and the Beatles and the most famous music festival of modern times "WOODSTOCK" took place on a New York Farm on August 15 to August 17 with more than 400,000 avid music fans attending to see the Who, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby Stills Nash and Young and others perform live. fashions reflected the anti war sentiment with military jackets adorned with peace signs, and other trends including long unkempt wild hair and headbands showed the feelings of anti establishment felt by the youth.

Apollo 10 Mission

NASA’s Apollo 10 space mission launched and landed successfully during May. The 3-man crew consisted of Thomas P. Stafford (the Commander), John W. Young (the Command Module Pilot), and Eugene A. Cernan (the Lunar Module Pilot). The flight was a test run for the first Moon landing which took place 2 months later. The Apollo 10 mission successfully tested all aspects of a lunar landing except the actual landing. The crew conducted a lunar orbit and lunar descent to about 9 miles from the surface, a rendezvous and docking with the command module, tested various systems, and conducted transmissions back to Earth. The mission completed all objectives and returned to Earth after 8 days.

Moon Landing

The first man is landed on the moon on the Apollo 11 mission by the United States and Neil Armstrong and Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the Moon. and the famous words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." will become part of our history

More Information and Timeline For The First Man On The Moon

1. 1961 May 25th President Kennedy asks Congress for $531 million to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade

2. 1963 June 16th Russians put the first woman in space on the Vostok 6

3. 1965 March 18th First space walk by the Russian cosmonaut Alexey Leonov from the Voskhod 2

4. 1966 March 16th first docking of two spacecraft Gemini 8 Commanded by Neil Armstrong docks with unmanned Agena Target Vehicle

5. 1968 December 24th Apollo 8, was the first human space flight to leave Earth orbit and enter a different orbit around the moon.

6. 1969 July 16th Apollo 11 Launched from the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 in Merritt Island, Florida carrying Neil A. Armstrong ( Commander ) Michael Collins ( Command Module Pilot ) and Edwin "Buzz" E. Aldrin, Jr. ( Lunar Module Pilot )

7. July 19th Apollo 11 passed behind the Moon and fired its service propulsion engine to enter lunar orbit.

8. July 20th Lunar module (LM) Eagle ( Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" E. Aldrin, Jr. ) separated from the command module Columbia ( Michael Collins ) .

9. July 20th Lunar module (LM) Eagle lands on the moons surface in the Sea of Tranquillity

10. july 21st Neil Armstrong stepped off Eagle's footpad and uttered his famous line "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind " Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin joined him, describing the view as "Magnificent desolation."

11. July 21st Lunar module (LM) Eagle leaves the moons surface to rendezvous with Columbia

12. July 24th The command module Columbia carrying the 3 astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean

Estimates put the number who watched or listened to the Moon landing between 1/2 and 1 billion people around the world ( From Webmaster I consider myself privileged to have watched and listened to Neil A. Armstrong's famous words "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind " ) . For Information for the Space Race 1961,

Apollo 9 Space Mission

NASA’s Apollo 9 mission launches on March 3 News Events. The purpose of the mission was to prepare for an eventual manned lunar landing later that year. It was the first space test of a complete Apollo spacecraft including the lunar module and Saturn V launch rocket. The included James McDivitt, David Scott, and Russell Schweickart. They performed the first docking and extraction of a lunar module and the first crewed flight of a lunar module. The crew also performed several test on the lunar module systems and a two person space walk. The Apollo 9 space mission returned to Earth successfully after 10 days in space.

Significant Live Music Events in 1969

Woodstock attracts more than 350,000 rock-n-roll fans, Atlanta International Pop Festival on 4th July attracts 100,000 fans, Isle of Wight Festival attracted an audience of approximately 150,000

More Information and Timeline For Significant Music Events in 1969

1. January 30th The Beatles, with Billy Preston, gave their final live performance on the roof of the Apple building in London, England, the live performance was an impromptu event that ran for 42 minutes featuring Get Back, I Want You (She's So Heavy), Don't Let Me Down, I've Got A Feeling, One After 909, Danny Boy, Dig A Pony, God Save The Queen and A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody later featured as the climax of their Let It Be film

2. March 25th to March 31st Following The Marriage of John Lennon and Yoko Ono on March 20th in Gibralta they hold a week-long Bed-In for Peace at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel inviting the world's press into their hotel room every day between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m

3. July 4th Atlanta International Pop Festival attracted an audience of approximately 100,000 to watch 16 performers including Janis Joplin, Johnny Rivers, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Canned Heat, Joe Cocker, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Sweetwater and Led Zeppelin

4. August 15 to 18th The Woodstock Festival attracted an audience of approximately 500,000 to watch 35 performers including Ravi Shankar, Joan Baez, Santana, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin with The Kozmic Blues Band, Sly & the Family Stone, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Joe Cocker, The Band, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Jimi Hendrix at White Lake, New York, U.S.A.

5. August 30th and 31st Isle of Wight Festival attracted an audience of approximately 150,000 to watch 26 performers including Bob Dylan, The Who, Blonde On Blonde, Joe Cocker, The Moody Blues and Free at Wootton, Isle Of Wight, England

6. September 13th Toronto Rock and Roll Revival attracted an audience of approximately 20,000 to watch 20 performers including Chicago, Alice Cooper, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent, Little Richard, Doug Kershaw and The Doors, Screaming Lord Sutch and John Lennon, Yoko Ono and The Plastic Ono Band at at Varsity Stadium, of the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

7. December 6th Altamont Speedway Free Festival attracted an audience of approximately 300,000 to watch 10 performers including The Rolling Stones, Santana, Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young at Altamont Speedway, California, U.S.A. The concert is best known for having been marred by considerable violence caused by alcahol and drugs including by the Hells Angels motorcycle club who were used for security round the stage.

1969 provided so many significant live music events that I thought they should be included in a Music Timeline for the year, I hope you enjoyed taking the trip in time and memories that the timeline provides

Apollo 12

The second manned moon mission, Apollo 12, successfully launches and lands on the moon.

More Information and Timeline for Apollo 12

Apollo 12, the second manned moon mission, launched on November 14th carrying astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., Alan Bean, and Richard Gordon Jr. The mission successfully landed on the Moon on November 19th about 950 miles away from where the Apollo 11 mission had landed. The mission's objectives included seismic experiments, examining the Surveyor III spacecraft, studying possible future landing sites, and human ability to work on the moon, among many other things. The crew tried to broadcast parts the mission but the television camera was damaged by sun exposure soon after landing. The crew left on November 20th and got to Earth on November 24th, after having spent about 31 hours on the surface of the moon.

Cost of Living 1969 - How Much things cost

Yearly Inflation Rate USA 5.46 %

Year End Close Dow Jones 800

Average Cost of new house $15,550.00

Average Income per year $8,550.00 -

Average Cost of a new car $3,270.00 -

Average Monthly Rent $135.00

Cost of a gallon of Gas 35 cents

Toyota Corona $1,950.00

Alarm Clock from Westclox $9.98

Solid State Blender $29.95

Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Sterling

Average House Price 4,640

Gallon of Petrol 6 shillings 2 pence or 31 new pence

Few Examples of Houses For Sale


1969

Mansfield Ohio

Bungalow well kept living room , dining room , kitchen and 3 bedrooms
$8,500

1969

Oshkosh Wisconsin

Lakeside Property cosy 3 bedroom ranch with boat dock 2 car garage on lake winnebago
$29,300

Popular Culture 1969

A free concert organized by the Rolling Stones is held at Altamont Speedway in Livermore, Calif with problems caused by the use of Hells Angels as Bouncers resulting in a number of deaths

The Groundbreaking TV programme Monty Python's Flying Circus is shown for the first time and the catch phrase "And now for something completely different," becomes their trade mark

Sesame Street known for its Muppet characters, makes it's debut on PBS

Bell Bottom Jeans and tie-dye shirts become part of the teenage fashion scene.

The John Lennon Album "Two Virgins" featuring John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the nude are confiscated at Newark Airport

The Beatles' last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records.

The Beatles release their album Abbey Road. bringing the 1960's to an end

Sesame Street debuts on Public Television

Brian Jones Former Rolling Stones Guitarist drowns after drinking and drugs binge.


Popular Films

The Love Bug

Funny Girl

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

True Grit

Midnight Cowboy

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Easy Rider

Where Eagles Dare


Popular Musicians

The Rolling Stones -- " Honky Tonk Woman "

James Brown

The Beatles with -- " Get Back and Come Together "

Johnny Cash -- " Daddy Sang Bass "

Bob Dylan

Crosby, Stills and Nash

Creedence Clearwater Revival

John Denver

Simon and Garfunkel

Fleetwood Mac

Marvin Gaye

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Cream

Pink Floyd

-- " In The Year 2525 " by Zager and Evans

-- " Sugar Sugar " by The Archies

Elton John

David Bowie

United Kingdom -- Beatles "Abbey Road"

The Beatles record Abbey Road, their final album together.

More Information and Timeline for The Beatles Abbey Road

The Beatles release Abbey Road on September 26th. Abbey Road was not the group's final album to be released to the public but it was their final album to be recorded together.

The classic album's cover art featured the iconic photograph of John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison walking across a zebra crossing near the entrance to the famous Abbey Road recording studio.

This rock album featured such popular songs as "Here Comes the Sun," "Come Together," "Something," and "Oh! Darling."

The full track listing includes:

Come Together, Something, Maxwell's Silver Hammer, Oh! Darling, Octopus's Garden, I Want You, Here Comes the Sun, Because, You Never Give Me Your Money, Sun King, Mean Mr. Mustard, Polythene Pam, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, The End, Her Majesty

It also topped the charts around the world once released, staying in the UK and US charts for over 80 weeks. While there were initially mixed reviews about the album, many fans believe it to be the best the band had ever produced and it remains one of the top selling Beatles albums of all time.

United States - Mariner 6

NASA launches the Mariner 6 space probe during February of 1969. Mariner 6 was part of a duel-mission with the Mariner 7 space probe. The Mariner 7 spacecraft was launched about a month later. The mission of the two Mariner probes was to study the atmosphere and surface of Mars by conducting close flybys. Mariner 6 was primarily used to gather data relevant to programming the Mariner 7 follow-up mission. Both probes were successful in gathering the intended information which was used by NASA to plan future missions to Mars.

ARPANET

The first communications are sent through the ARPANET on October 29th, 1969.

More Information and Timeline for the ARPANET

1. ARPA (Advance Research Projects Agency) was created in 1958

2. In 1966 the creation of the ARPA computer network, or ARPANET, began.

3. The first point of the ARPANET was installed at a computer in UCLA in September

4. In October, the second point was installed at a computer in the Stanford Research Institute.

5. The first communication between the two is sent and received across the new network on October 29th,

6. After that, it is installed at several other universities across the United States.

7. ARPANET, the predecessor to the Internet, was not demonstrated to the public until 1972

8. By 1989 the ARPANET had become somewhat obsolete and was shut down.

Project ( Blue Book )

The U.S. Air Force closed its Project ( Blue Book ) concluding there was no evidence of UFO's.

More Information and Timeline for Project Blue Book.

Project Blue Book, the United States Air Force's investigation into unidentified flying objects (UFOs), officially comes to an end on December 17, 1969. The investigations began in 1952 when government officials started to collect information related to UFO sightings. Between 1952 and 1969, there were over 12,000 reports compiled by officials and of those reports all but 701 cases were identified as either an atmospheric, astronomical, or man-made event. The project concluded that UFOs did not threaten national security and did not present evidence of extraterrestrial life or technology and the US government decided that it would be far to costly to continue to investigate UFO sightings.

Montreal Expos Baseball Team Created

The Montreal Expos baseball team makes its debut during April. Located in Montreal, Canada, they were Major League Baseball’s first team to be established outside of the United States. They were one of four teams added at the same time, the other teams included the San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, and the Seattle Pilots (became Milwaukee Brewers in 1970). They won their first game against the New York Mets but struggled to do well the rest of the season. They were a part of the National League and their first manager was Gene Mauch. In 2004 the team moved to Washington D.C. and became the Washington Nationals.

Echo 2 Satellite Mission Ends

The Echo 2 satellite mission ends during June . Echo 2 was a 135-foot satellite that was launched by NASA in January of 1964 and it orbited the Earth in a near polar orbit for the duration of its time in space. It was easily visible to the naked eye across Earth’s surface due to its large size and type of orbit. It was used to perform some passive communications experiments and to measure the shape of the Earth. The satellite burned up upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.

Venera 5 and Venera 6 Missions

The Soviet Union launched the Venera 5 and Venera 6 spacecraft during the month of January. The two spacecrafts were identical in design and build and were launched five days apart with the mission of measuring the atmosphere of Venus during their descents onto the planet’s surface. Venera 5 made it to Venus on the 16th of May in 1969 and Venera 6 arrived the next day. The missions were partially successful in that both vehicles were able to transmit measurements for about 50 minutes each but ultimately failed in that their instruments were then presumably damaged by the surface pressure and heat that they encountered on their descents.

1969 Mens and Womens Fashion Clothes

Fashion Clothing Examples From 1969 Houndstooth Ensemble, Striped Flared Denim, Leopard Accent Dress, Layered Mock Turtleneck, Print Tunic and Flared Pant, Corduroy Coat

Fashion Accessories Examples From 1969 Fastback Style Cap, East West Bag, Cuffed Hood, Strapped Vamp Boot, Four Button Dandy Boot, Shoulder Bag

Toys From The Year 1969

1969 Toys including  Electric Oven Toy, Walkie Talkie Set, Pan Am Cockpit, Short Wave Radio, Dress Up Costumes

More News and Key Events From 1969

250,000 march on Washington in protest at the Vietnam War

RMS Queen Elizabeth 2

RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 entered service

Golda Meir of Milwaukee

Golda Meir of Milwaukee,   Wisconsin   , USA, becomes Prime Minister of Israel

Robin Knox-Johnston

Robin Knox-Johnston becomes the first person to sail around the world solo without stopping

draft lottery

The US institutes the draft lottery to determine draft into US Forces for Vietnam War

troop withdrawals

The very first U.S. troop withdrawals are made from Vietnam

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Established

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Established

Stonewall Riot

Police raid Stonewall Inn on June 28th a gay club located in New York City ending The Stonewall Riot.

Chappaquiddick Affair

Chappaquiddick Affair Senator Edward Kennedy driving a car plunges into a pond on July 25th and a body of a woman passenger is later found in the car

Civil war in Biafra

Civil war in Biafra leaves 3 million starving and needing international aid.

Charles Manson

Members of a cult led by Charles Manson murder five people August 9

Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon becomes President of the United States

Hurricane Camille

Hurricane Camille hits the Mississippi coast killing 248 people

Northern Ireland

Britain deploys troops in Northern Ireland following increasing violence

Bloodless Coup in Libya

Bloodless Coup in Libya deposing King Idris

HMAS Melbourne

Australian light aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne slices the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half killing 82 of her crew

Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart incorporates as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc

"Chicago Seven"

The trial begins of "Chicago Seven" accused of inciting riot at 1968 Democratic National Convention

Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle Resigns as French President

Italy Bank Bombing

A bomb is exploded in a bank in Milan, Italy

Rising Inflation

Rising Inflation is a worldwide problem

Death Penalty

The Death Penalty is Abolished in the UK

Atlanta International Pop Festival

Atlanta International Pop Festival on 4th July attracts 100,000 fans

Woodstock

Woodstock attracts more than 350,000 rock-n-roll fans

Stanley v. Georgia

The US Supreme Court rules on Stanley v. Georgia declaring "The State may not prohibit mere possession of obscene materials for personal use".

Cornell University

Militant black students at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York use force to take over Willard Straight Hall demanding a black studies program.

student protests

Police forces in the United States crack down on student protests

Born This Year in 1969

Catherine Zeta-Jones September 25th

Brett Favre October 10th

Renee Zellweger April 25th

Jennifer Aniston February 11th

Technology

First Concorde test flight is conducted In France

First transplant of human eye

Seiko sells the first Quartz Watch

The Harrier Jump Jet enters service with the RAF

The first automatic teller machine ATM or Cash Machine is installed in the United States

Creation of ARPANET, the predecessor of the Internet

The Boeing 747 jumbo jet makes its debut. It carried 191 people, most of them reporters and photographers, from Seattle to New York City.

UNIX is developed by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs

The Pontiac Firebird Trans Am the epitome of the American muscle car is introduced.

The Microprocessor ( a miniature set of integrated circuits ) is invented opening the way for the computer revolution that followed

Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country ( or attributed to First Use )

Internet USA US military

Manned Moon Landing USA Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin walk on Moon

CCDs USA Charge Coupled Device - to capture image

Cash Dispenser Turkey by Luther Simjian

Battery Powered Smoke Detector USA

Calendar For The Year 1969

1969 Calendar

Major World Political Leaders

Australia -- Prime Minister -- John Gorton --

Brazil -- President -- Costa e Silva -- Till 31 August

Brazil -- President -- Military Joint Tri -- From 31 August

Brazil -- President -- Military Joint Tri -- Till 30 October

Brazil -- President -- Emilio Medici -- From 30 October

Canada -- Prime Minister -- Pierre Trudeau --

China -- Chairman of the People's Republic of China -- Song Qingling --

France -- President -- Charles de Gaulle -- Till 28 April

France -- President -- Georges Pompidou -- From 20 June

Germany -- Chancellor -- Kurt Georg Kiesinger -- Till 21 October

Germany -- Chancellor -- Willy Brandt -- From 21 October

India -- Prime Minister -- Indira Gandhi --

Italy -- Prime Minister -- Mariano Rumor --

Japan -- Prime Minister -- Eisaku Sato --

Mexico -- President -- Gustavo Diaz Ordaz --

Russia / Soviet Union -- First Secretary of the CPSU -- Leonid Brezhnev --

South Africa -- Prime Minister -- Balthazar Johannes Vorster --

United States -- President -- Lyndon B. Johnson -- Till January 20,

United States -- President -- Richard Nixon -- From January 20,

United Kingdom -- Prime Minister -- Harold Wilson --