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The period from Sept. 1966 through June 1970 witnessed transformative changes in politics, society and culture within the U. S. and around the globe. This timeline offers a glimpse of the major events and trends which not only impacted the lives of the OTHS Class of 1970, but which changed the nation and in some cas.
Sept. 1966
(9-8-66) The science fiction television show Star Trek debuts on NBC-TV, and eventually runs for 79 episodes over a three year period.
(9-12-66) The first episode of The Monkees is broadcast on NBC-TV.
Oct. 1966
(10-8-66) WOR-FM in NY City becomes the first FM rock music station, led by DJ Murray The K.
(10-15-66) U. S. Department of Transportation created, beginning operations in early 1967.
(10-15-66) The Black Panther Party is founded by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton in Oakland, CA.
(10-22-66) The Supremes become the first all-female musical group to reach number one on the US Billboard 200 with their album The Supremes A’Go-Go.
Nov. 1966
(11-8-66) Republican Clifford P. Case is re-elected to his third term in the U. S. Senate. Republican Edward Brooke is elected a U. S. senator from Massachusetts, the first African-American to be elected to the U. S. Senate in 85 years, and the first to be popularly elected to that body.
(11-8-66) Future U. S. President Ronald Reagan is elected Governor of California, a post he would hold for two terms (1967-75).
Dec. 1966
Martin Luther King announces his opposition to the Vietnam War.
(12-15-66) Famed animator, theme park developer and producer and studio head Walt Disney dies at the age of 65 from lung cancer
Significant Film Releases-1966
Alfie
Georgy Girl
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
A Man For All Seasons
Blow Up
Black Girl
Batman
The Battle of Algiers
Born Free
Fantastic Voyage
A Funny Thing Happened On The Wat To The Forum
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
King of Hearts
A Man and a Woman
The Professionals
Seconds
War and Peace
Jan. 1967
(1-4-67) The Doors release their debut album, The Doors.
Feb. 1967
(2-10-67) The 25th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution is adopted, establishing a process for presidential succession, for filing a vacancy in the office of the vice-president and providing measures to maintain continuity in the executive branch of the federal government if the president becomes disabled.
(2-14-67) Aretha Franklin records “Respect” at New York’s Atlantic Studios.
March 1967
Muhammad Ali is stripped of his heavyweight boxing title following his refusal to be drafted into army service based upon his religious convictions and his opposition to the Vietnam War.
(3-25-67) The Who perform their first U. S. concert in New York.
April 1967
(4-15-67) Over 100,000 protesters in New York City march to the United Nations to protest the Vietnam War.
May 1967
(5-1-67) Elvis Presley marries Priscilla Beaulieu at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas NV.
June 1967
(6-1-67) The Beatles release Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in mono and stereo LP versions.
(6-10-67) The KFRC Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival occurs at Mount Tamalpais in Marin County California, featuring Canned Heat, The Byrds, The Seeds, Blues Magoos, Jefferson Airplane, The doors, County Joe and The Fish and others.
(6-16 through 18-67) The outdoor Monterey Pop Festival premieres, held in Monterey CA and featuring The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, Eric Burdon & the Animals, The Byrds, The Association, Jefferson Airplane, Otis and the MGs, Ravi Shankar, Big Brother and The Holding Company with Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.
(6-23 through 6-25-67) Governor Richard Hughes hosts U. S. President Lyndon Johnson and Soviet Premier Aleksei Kosygin at their summit meeting, held at Glassboro State College (now Rowan University).
(June through August 1967) The “Summer of Love”, referring to the period when San Francisco was the center of the “hippie movement”, occurs when thousands of young people converge on the city’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood to experience “flower power.”
July 1967
(7-13 through 7-19-67) Riots, arson and looting occur in Newark, resulting in 26 deaths and millions of dollars of property losses. The urban unrest is brought under control after NJ Governor Richard Hughes mobilizes the National Guard to restore order in the city.
(7-23 through 28-67) The Detroit Rebellion, also known as the Detroit Race Riot or 12th Street Riot occurs in Detroit Michigan, resulting in the most destructive urban riot in U. S. history since the 1863 New York City draft riots.
Aug. 1967
Sept. 1967
(9-17-67) The Doors appear on the Ed Sullivan Show on CBS-TV, performing the song “Light My Fire” with its original lyrics, which Sullivan had requested be changed. As a result, The Doors are banned from future appearances on the show.
Oct. 1967
(10-2-67) Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first African-American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Nov. 1967
(11-9-67) Rolling Stone Magazine premieres, featuring John Lennon on the cover.
Dec. 1967
Significant Film Releases-1967
Belle de Jour
Bonnie and Clyde
Cool Hand Luke
The Dirty Dozen
Far From the Madding Crowd
The Graduate
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
Hombre
How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
In Cold Blood
In the Heat of the Night
The Jungle Book
Playtime
Point Blank
Two For the Road
Valley of the Dolls
Wait Until Dark
Week End
Jan. 1968
(1-13-68) Johnny Cash and his band perform at Folsom State Prison in California. A recording of the concert is later released by Columbia Records and rejuvenates Cash’s artistic career.
(1-22-68) The comedy/satire TV show Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-in Premieres on NBC. The show pilot was broadcast in September 1967, but the full run of 140 episodes commenced in January 1968, concluding on March 12, 1973.
(1-23-68) The USS Pueblo is attached by North Korean patrol boats and eventually seized. The crew was imprisoned, and after months of negotiations, the ship’s crew was released to South Korea on Dec. 12, 1968.,
Feb. 1968
March 1968
(3-6-68) Chicano students begin a series of protests against the poor quality of their education in the Los Angeles Unified School district. These are the first mass mobilizations by Mexican-Americans in Southern California.
April 1968
(4-4-68) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated in Memphis Tennessee. James Earl Ray is convicted of King’s murder in 1969.
(4-11-68) President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, also known as the Fair Housing Act.
(4-29-68) The musical “Hair” opens on Broadway, the first rock musical to become a mainstream success
April 1968—Governor Richard Hughes signs into law the Hackensack Meadowlands Reclamation and Development Act, which creates the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission, which eventually oversees the reclamation and development of the 21,000 acres of public and private land in the Meadowlands, many of them part of one of the nation's largest urban wetlands areas.
May 1968
Representatives of the U. S. and North Vietnam begin peace negotiations in Paris.
June 1968
July 1968
(7-1-68) President Lyndon Johnson signs the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Aug. 1968
Sept. 1968
(9-7-68) The annual televised presentation of the Miss America Pageant from Atlantic City Nj takes place, and Judi Ford is crowned Miss America. Outside the pageant on the Atlantic City boardwalk, feminists protest the pageant, drawing substantial media attention to their protest. On the same day, the first Black Miss America Contest is held to protest the all-white Miss America pageant.
(9-30-68) Boeing premieres the 747 jumbo jet, at that time the world's largest passenger jet.
Oct. 1968
Nov. 1968
Dec. 1968
Significant Film Releases-1968
Bullitt
Charly
Faces
Flash
Funny Girl
If…
The Lion in Winter
Night of the Living Dead
Oliver!
Once Upon a Time in The West
Petulia
Planet of the Apes
Pretty Poison
The Producers
Rachel, Rachel
Romeo and Juliet
Rosemary’s Baby
Stolen Kisses
The Swimmer
Targets
The Thomas Crown Affair
2001: A Space Odyssey
Yellow Submarine
Jan. 1969
(1-12-69) The New York Jets defeat the Baltimore Colts 16-7 in Super Bowl III.
(1-13-69) The Beatles release their album Yellow Submarine.
(1-30-69) The Beatles perform for the last time in public, on the roof of the Apple building in London, UK.
(1-20-69) Richard M. Nixon is inaugurated as President of the United States.
Feb. 1969
(Month of Feb. 69) Campus uprisings spread across the United States, beginning at the Univ. of California at Berkeley, and continuing with takeovers and sit-ins at the University of Massachusetts, Howard University and Penn State.
March 1969
(3-1-69) NY Yankees star Mickey Mantle retires after 18 seasons, 12 World Series and 3 MVP awards.
(3-13-69) The U. S. Senate ratifies the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
(3-20-69) John Lennon marries Yoko Ono in Gibraltar.
April 1969
(4-28-69) The band Chicago releases its debut album, The Chicago Transit Authority.
May 1969
(5-23-69) The Who release Tommy, the first rock opera.
June 1969
(6-22-69) Actress and singer Judy Garland dies at age 47 from a drug overdose.
(6-27-69) The Stonewall Riots, considered the event that launched the modern Gay Rights Movement in the US, occur in NY City when conflict between the police and gay mourners of Judy Garland’s death leads to a melee and the arrest of mourners by the NY City Police.
July 1969
(7-18/19-69) Senator Edward Kennedy and his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne are involved in a car accident on Chappaquiddick Island Mass., with the result being the death of Mary Jo Kopechne due to Kennedy’s negligence while driving. The Chappaquiddick incident becomes national news and influences Kennedy’s decision not to seek the Democratic party’s presidential nomination in both 1972 and 1976.
(7-20-69) Over half a billion people watch as Apollo 11 lands on the moon at 4:19 pm EDT. Six hours later, Neil Armstrong sets foot on the moon, with millions still riveted to their television sets across the world. Armstrong’s words—“one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”—become an iconic statement about the moon landing and the U. S. space program.
(7-30-69) Columbia Records releases In A Silent Way by Miles Davis, one of the first jazz/rock fusion albums.
Aug. 1969
(8-8/9-69) Charles Manson and his cult followers murder 7 people in California over two days in one of the decade's most notorious mass killings.
8-15/17-69) An estimated 400,000 people gather at Max Yasgur’s dairy farm neat Bethel NY for the Woodstock music festival, which features performances by Janis Joplin, The Who, Canned Heat, the Grateful Dead, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Country Joe and the Fish, and Jimi Hendrix, among others.
Sept. 1969
(9-11-69) Janis Joplin releases I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!, her first solo album.
Oct. 1969
(10-14-69) The final single by Diana Ross & The Supremes, “Someday We’ll Be Together” is released.
Nov. 1969
(11-10-69) The first broadcast of Sesame Street occurs on NET, the predecessor to PBS.
(11-20-69) Native Americans occupy Alcatraz in San Francisco bay, protesting the condition of Native Americans and government policies dealing with Native Americans. The occupation of Alcatraz is considered a landmark event in the modern Native American protest movement.
Dec. 1969
(12-1-69) The first draft lottery is televised nationally. The first date chosen is September 14.
(12-6-69) The Jackson 5 release their debut album, Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5.
Significant Film Releases-1969
Alice’s Restaurant
Anne of the Thousand Days
The Arrangement
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Easy Rider
Fellini Satyricon
Hello, Dolly
The Italian Job
Kes
The Learning Tree
Medium Cool
Midnight Cowboy
Model Shop
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Sorrow and the Pity
Take the Money and Run
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
True Grit
The Wild Bunch
Women in Love
Z
Jan. 1970
(1-11-70) The Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV.
(1-14-70) Diana Ross and the Supremes perform for the last time at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas.
(1-22-70) The Boeing 747 makes its first commercial flight to London, UK.
(1-26-70) Simon & Garfunkel release their final album together, Bridge Over Troubled Water. The title song and album win 6 Grammy awards, including “Record of the Year”, “Song of the Year” and “Album of the Year.”
Feb. 1970
(2-1-70) The American Football League (AFL) officially merges with the National Football League (NFL).
March 1970
(3-6-70) The Beatles release Let It Be in the UK.
(3-12-70) The voting age in the United States is lowered to 18 from 21.
(3-25-70) The Concorde makes its first supersonic flight at 700 mph. Commercial Concorde flights began in 1976 and ended in 2003.
April 1970
(4-10-70) Paul McCartney publicly announces the breakup of The Beatles.
(4-22-70) The first Earth Day is celebrated in the U.S.
May 1970
(5-8-70) The Beatles’ final album, Let It Be, is released in the US.
June 1970
(6-9-70) Singer Bob Dylan is awarded an honorary doctorate by Princeton University.
(6-13-70) The Beatles song “The Long and Winding Road” becomes their final No. 1 song in the United States.
(6-21-70) Brazil becomes the first team to win the World Cup three times.
Significant Film Releases-1970
Airport
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
The Bird With Crystal Plumage
El Topo
Five Easy Pieces
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis
Gimme Shelter
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
Little Big Man
Love Story
M*A*S*H*
Patton
Performance
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
Tristana
Woodstock 3 Days of Peace & Music
Zabriskie Point