What Happened in 1969

Significant Events

  • Feb 4 The Palestine National Congress appoints Yasser Arafat chairman of the PLO
  • Feb 5 US population reaches 200 million
  • Feb 17 Golda Meir sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Israel
  • Apr 7 The Internet's symbolic birth date: publication of RFC 1
  • Jul 20 1st Moon Landing: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin step out from Apollo spacecraft 11, 530 million watch live global broadcast
  • Jul 21 Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to step on the Moon at 2:56:15 AM (GMT)
  • Aug 14 British Army deploys on the streets of Northern Ireland, marking the beginning of Operation Banner
  • Sep 1 Colonel Muammar Gaddafi deposes King Idris in the Libyan revolution
  • Oct 15 Vietnam Moratorium Day; millions nationwide protest the war
  • Nov 15 An estimated 2 million people take part in the Vietnam War Moratorium demonstration across the United States
More Historical Events

1969 in Film & TV

  • May 11 British comedy troupe Monty Python forms, made up of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin

1969 in Music

  • Aug 15 Woodstock Music & Art Fair opens in New York State on Max Yasgur's Dairy Farm

1969 in Sport

  • Nov 20 Brazilian soccer icon Pele scores his 1,000th goal

Did You Know?

First trial flight of Concorde supersonic jetliner, Bristol, England

On January 9, 1969


World Leaders in 1969

Famous People in 1969

Famous People Born in 1969

More Famous Birthdays

Would You Believe?

22-year-old man sneaks into wheel pod of a jet parked in Havana and survives 9-hr flight to Spain despite thin oxygen levels at 29,000 ft

On June 4, 1969

Famous Weddings

Famous Divorces

  • Sep 18 Actor Rod Taylor (39) divorces model Mary Hilem after 5 years of marriage
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Famous Deaths

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