Yuri Gagarin - The Soviet Union spacecraft Vostok 1 was launched in 1961.

1960s History Fun Facts

Discover some of the most incredible fun facts about the 1960s. This decade was a significant year for many reasons. Discover fascinating facts about 1960 that happened in the US, UK, and around the world. Get to know about events that shaped this decade.

The 1960s were a turbulent decade in many ways. It was a time of political unrest, counterculture, the space race, the Beatle-mania, Bob Dylan, Civil Rights Movement, assassinations, police brutality, and war protests.

1960s History Fun Facts

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1960s History

Nelson Mandela, who led the movement in South Africa in a bid to end apartheid, was sentenced to life in June 1964. He served 27 years in prison.

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1960s History

OPEC, The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, was formed on 14 September 1960 initially by five countries, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.

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1960s History

On 20 July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to step on the moon, six and half hours after they landed on the moon at the "sea of tranquility".

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1960s History

The 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was assassinated on 22 November 1963 in Dallas when his motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza.

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1960s History

On 17 June 1967, China became the fourth thermonuclear power of the world (after the United States, Soviet Union, and the U.K.) after successfully testing its first hydrogen bomb.

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1960s History

On 20 October 1961, Russia performed the first armed test in which it launched a submarine-launched ballistic missile named R-13 from a Golf-class submarine.

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1960s History

The famous “I Have a Dream” public speech was delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., American civil rights activist and Baptist minister, on 28 August 1963 in Washington D.C.

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1960s History

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, on 12 April 1961, became the first man to travel in space by completing one orbit around Earth in his capsule Vostok 1.

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1960s History

Allen K. Breed, in 1968 was successful in inventing a ball-in-tube mechanism that was instrumental in detecting crashes and led to the invention of automated airbags for vehicles.

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1960s History

Rhodesia declared its independence from Britain in 1965. It officially named itself The Republic of Zimbabwe on 18 April 1980, and the Zimbabwean dollar replaced the Rhodesian dollar as the official currency.