What Happened in 1964 Important News and Events, Key Technology and Popular Culture

What happened in 1964 Major News Stories include The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is signed into law, The Beatles hold the top five positions in the Billboard Top 40 singles in America, Race Riots in Major US Cities, First pirate radio station, Radio Caroline, is established, 24th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is Ratified, Elizabeth Taylor marries Richard Burton for the first time, U.S. Surgeon General reports that smoking may lead to lung cancer, Mods and Rockers fight at British Seaside Resorts

1964 as the war in Vietnam and US Congress Authorizes war against N Vietnam more American servicemen were dying, and after three civil rights workers were murdered in Mississippi the president signed the Civil Rights act of 1964 but this did not stop the violence as it continued to increase in many American Cities. Lyndon Johnson was also returned to power after a landslide victory. This was also the year The Beatles took the world and America by storm and Beatlemania went into overdrive as they released a series of number one hits including "I want to hold your hand" , "All my Loving" . Other British groups also found success including The Rolling Stones and The Animals and together with the American Talent of The Supremes and Bob Dylan many say this was one of the greatest years for music in the last century. Also one young loud talented boxer by the name of Cassius Clay won the Boxing World heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston.

Vietnam War

Three North Vietnamese torpedo boats attack the US Destroyer Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin US Congress Authorizes war against N Vietnam Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

More Information and Timeline For History Of Vietnam War From 1960 to 1964

1. Leading up to 1960 check out earlier Vietnam War History Check Out 1960

2. 1961 May Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson visited Saigon and declared Ngo Dinh Diem the "Winston Churchill of Asia. Johnson assured Diem of more aid in molding a fighting force that could resist the communists.

3. 1963 January 3rd Vietcong units defeat South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) in Battle of Ap Bac

4. 1963 November 2nd Coup d'état in South Vietnam and Ngo Dinh Diem is assassinated Major General Duong Van Minh takes control of South Vietnam

5. 1964 January 30th In a bloodless coup, General Nguyen Khanh seizes power in Saigon. South Vietnam

6. August 2 to 4th Sea battle between the North Vietnamese Navy's Torpedo Squadron and the destroyer USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy

7. August 10 Tonkin Gulf Resolution (officially, Asia Resolution, Public Law 88-408) passed by United States Congress

8. The Tonkin Gulf Resolution gave U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson authorization, without a formal declaration of war by Congress, for the use of conventional military force in Southeast Asia

By the following year over 200,000 US Troops are involved in the Vietnam war and sustained American bombing raids of North Vietnam, dubbed Operation Rolling Thunder, begin lasting for the next 3 years.

Boston Strangler

The Boston Strangler Albert DeSalvo is captured

More Information and Timeline For The Boston Strangler Murders

1. 1962 First Victim Anna E. Slesers is found strangled with the cord from her Bathrobe

2. 1962 Seven more victims are murdered Mary Mullen, 85, Nina Nichols, 68, Helen Blake, 65, Ida Irga, 75, Jane Sullivan, 67, Sophie Clark, 20 and Patricia Bissette, 23

3. 1963 Four more victims are murdered Mary Brown, 69, Beverly Samans, 23, Evelyn Corbin, 58 and Joann Graff, 23

4. 1964 January 4th The final victim Mary Sullivan, 19 is found

5. 1964 October 27th Albert DeSalvo is arrested and later confesses to being the Boston Strangler

6. 1967 Albert DeSalvo is found guilty and sentenced to Life Imprisonment

7. 1973 is found stabbed to death at Massachusetts Correctional Institution formerly known as MCI-Walpole

Though the crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo, investigators of the case have since suggested the murders (sometimes known as the silk stocking murders) were not committed by one person because the victims from different age and ethnic groups, and that there were different modi operandi.

Warren Commission

Warren Commission report on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy concludes Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone

More Information and Timeline for the Warren Commission

1. President John F. Kennedy is shot and killed on November 22nd, 1963 while visiting Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald.

2. On November 29th, 1963, only a week after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, President Lyndon B. Johnson creates the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy.

3. Chief Justice Earl Warren is appointed to head the commission and they were tasked with investigating the death of President Kennedy.

4. The Warren Commission, as it was called, spent nearly a whole year traveling to Dallas, listening to witnesses, examining government reports and looking into the alleged shooter's background.

5. On September 24th, the report was presented to President Johnson and then on September 27th, 1964 it was released to the public.

6. The report concluded that the gunman Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone with an unknown motive in assassinating President Kennedy and the Jack Ruby had acted alone in his murder of the suspect Oswald.

7. It was also reported that the Secret Service had not made adequate preparations for the president's Dallas visit.

8. The results proved to be somewhat controversial as there was some conflicting evidence and many people believed in different conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination such as there were multiple shooters involved or that foreign governments arranged the assassination.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is signed into law by President Johnson.

More Information and Timeline for the Civil Rights Act of 1964

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law on July 2nd, . The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal to discriminate against someone based on their race, religion, sex, national origin, or the colors of their skin. It also made segregation in public places illegal, enforced the desegregation of schools and addressed unfair and unequal access to voting and voter registration.

The law was considered one of the crowning achievements during the civil rights movement and ended the Jim Crow laws that had legalized segregation in the United States since the end of slavery and the Civil War. While it did not solved the country's racial issues or end prejudice, it was the first step in creating a more fair and equal society.

Martin Luther King Jr. -- Nobel Peace Prize

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr receives the Nobel Peace Prize.

More Information and Timeline for Martin Luther King Jr. and the Nobel Peace Prize

On October 14th, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The prize was awarded to him for his efforts in leading the non-violent resistance against racial prejudice and segregation in the United States. King was only 35 years old when he received the prestigious prize, making him the youngest recipient at the time. King was awarded $54,123 of prize money, of which he donated to his cause in furthering the Civil Rights Movement.

Elizabeth Taylor marries Richard Burton

Elizabeth Taylor marries Richard Burton for the first time.

More Information and Timeline for Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton

Having first met while filming the movie Cleopatra in 1961, actors Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor make their much publicized relationship official on March 15th when they are married in Montreal. The two had both been married when they first started their relationship, a scandalizing event that garnered attention from the Vatican, which condemned them. The Burton-Taylor affair and marriage had the public fascinated and marked the beginning of the public's enthrallment with celebrity relationships. The pair were married until their divorce in June of 1974. They remarried each other in 1975 but divorced for a second time in less than a year.