A Year in History: 1965 Timeline

STEP into 1965, a year of cultural change, and cosmic ambition. U.S. Marines land in Vietnam,
Malcolm X is assassinated, and civil rights marchers face violence in Selma. LBJ launches the
Great Society, signs Medicare into law, and doubles the draft. Protesters march in Berkeley as war escalates in the Drang Valley. In space, Ranger 8 strikes the moon, Gemini astronauts complete the first orbital rendezvous, and cigarette packs now carry health warnings. Churchill, Eliot, and Nat King Cole pass away, while Dylan and the Beatles reshape popular music. Julie Andrews wins for Mary Poppins, while A Charlie Brown Christmas debuts. Nicklaus wins the Masters, UCLA takes the NCAA title, and the Dodgers claim the World Series. This collection captures a world on the move, restless, rising, and pushing forward.

If you want to delve deeper with original reports of what happened in 1965, why not take a look at our 1965 Newspaper Book?

January
January 1: London’s Hammersmith Odeon hosts Another Beatles Christmas Show, continuing from December 1964.
Delve deeper into The Story of the Beatles.
January 4: T.S. Eliot dies aged 76.
January 5: LBJ delivers the State of the Union, launching his “Great Society”.
January 7: Gangster twins Ronnie & Reggie Kray are remanded in custody charged in connection with running a protection racket in London.
January 17: Fred Lorenzen wins the Daytona 500 in front of 84,200 fans.
January 19: Gemini 2 is launched on a suborbital test flight.
January 20: LBJ begins his full presidential term; Hubert Humphrey sworn in as VP.
January 24: Winston Churchill dies aged 90.
January 30: State funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in London, the largest gathering of dignitaries until 2005
Explore The Story of Winston Churchill. 

February
February 3: 8.7-magnitude Rat Islands earthquake in Alaska triggers tsunami.
February 6: Sir Stanley Matthews plays his final First Division soccer game.
February 7: U.S. launches Operation Flaming Dart II airstrikes on North Vietnam.
February 8: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson orders sustained bombing of North Vietnam (plans for Operation Rolling Thunder).
February 9 – 15: Anti-Vietnam war protests at embassies in Moscow, Budapest, Jakarta, Sofia.
February 15: Nat “King” Cole dies of lung cancer.
February 18: The Gambia gains independence from the UK.
February 20: NASA’s Ranger 8 Spacecraft crashes on the Moon after transmitting images.
February 21: Malcolm X is assassinated in New York City.
February 22: A suspect is charged with Malcolm X’s murder.
February 26: South Korea sends its first troops to Vietnam.
February 28: U.S. and South Vietnamese forces conduct Operation Quyet Thang 8 against Viet Cong forces.
Read about The Story of the Vietnam War

March
March 1: Bechuanaland Protectorate (modern-day Botswana) holds its first general election with universal suffrage.
March 2: The Sound of Music movie premieres at the Rivoli Theater in New York City.
March 7: (Bloody Sunday) Troopers attack Selma marchers on Edmund Pettus Bridge.
March 8: 1,400 U.S. Marines land at Da Nang, the first official U.S. ground combat presence in Vietnam.
March 9: In Turnaround Tuesday, Martin Luther King Jr. leads another Selma-to-Montgomery march to the Edmund Pettus Bridge, holds a prayer gathering, and leads marchers back to Selma under court order.
March 15: President Lyndon B. Johnson gives his powerful “We Shall Overcome” speech to
Congress.
March 18: Soviet Alexei Leonov conducts first-ever spacewalk on Voskhod 2.
March 18: A U.S. federal judge rules that the SCLC has the legal right to march to Montgomery to petition for redress of grievances.
March 20: UCLA wins NCAA basketball championship (91 – 80 vs. Michigan).
March 23: NASA launches Gemini 3, the first U.S. two-man spaceflight.
March 25: Martin Luther King Jr. leads a final successful march from Selma to Montgomery with over 25,000 participants. The event culminates in a major rally, reinforcing the nationwide demand for voting rights.
March 1965: Border tensions and skirmishes escalate between India and Pakistan. 

April
April 1: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson authorises a shift in the mission for U.S. Marines in South Vietnam, they are now permitted to leave protected bases and engage Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces in combat.
April 3: Launch of the world’s first space nuclear power reactor, SNAP-10A, into orbit from
Vandenberg AFB; it operates for 43 days in low Earth orbit.
April 5: At the 37th Academy Awards: My Fair Lady wins eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director (George Cukor).
The Sherman Brothers received Oscars for Best Song (“Chim Chim Cher-ee”).

Delve deeper into The History of the Oscars.
April 6: USSR warns it may send volunteers to Vietnam.
April 9: The Houston Astrodome, the world’s first domed stadium, opens to the public.
April 11: Jack Nicklaus wins Masters with a record 271.
April 13: Palm Sunday tornado outbreak hits Midwest, 51 tornadoes, 271 deaths, 1,500+ injuries.
April 23: Official opening of the Pennine Way, the UK’s renowned long-distance footpath
April 24: Dominican civil war: rebels topple Donald Reid Cabral.
Yerevan Demonstrations begin in Armenia, with public protests demanding formal recognition of the Armenian genocide.
April 28: U.S. military occupies the Dominican Republic in what becomes a months-long
intervention.
April 29: Australia announces it will send an infantry battalion to support South Vietnam. 

May
May 1: Jockey Bill Shoemaker wins the 91st Kentucky Derby aboard Lucky Debonair
Liverpool FC wins FA Cup defeating Leeds.
Explore the History of Liverpool FC.
May 5: At University of California, Berkeley, 40 men publicly burn their draft cards; anti-war
activism intensifies.
May 6: A devastating tornado outbreak near Minnesota's Twin Cities kills 13 and injures hundreds. Minnesota tornado outbreak kills 13, injuries 683.
May 12: West Germany–Israel diplomatic relations established.
May 21: The largest U.S. “teach-in” to date begins at Berkeley, attended by approximately 30,000 and includes further draft-card burnings.
May 22: The first skateboard championship is held, and another round of draft-card burnings and protests occur in Berkeley.
May 25: Muhammad Ali knocks out Liston in 1st-round “phantom punch”.
Delve deeper into the Story of Muhammad Ali.
May 27: Internazionale wins the European Cup final, beating Benfica 1 – 0 in Milan.
May 31: Racing legend Jim Clark wins the Indianapolis 500, becoming the first rear-engine car winner and foreign champion in decades. 

June
June 1: Florida International University is founded.
A devastating coal mine explosion in Fukuoka, Japan, claims 237 lives.
June 2: The first contingent of Australian combat troops arrives in South Vietnam, marking the nation's direct military involvement in the conflict
June 3: NASA launches Gemini 4, the second U.S. two-person space mission. During this flight, astronaut Ed White performs the first American spacewalk, spending approximately 20 minutes outside the capsule.
June 10: In the Battle of Dong Xoai, approximately 1,500 Viet Cong troops attack and overrun South Vietnamese military and militia positions, marking a major engagement in the Vietnam War.
June 15: Coldest recorded June temperature in Omeo, Australia (−11.7°C).
June 16: Pentagon anti-war protest teach-in distributes 50,000 leaflets.
June 18: UK government announces drink-driving blood alcohol limits.
June 19 – 20: June 19 – A bloodless coup in Algeria sees Houari Boumediene's Revolutionary Council remove Ahmed Ben Bella from power.
June 20: Gary Player wins U.S. Open golf.
Discover the History of Open Golf.
June 22: The Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and South Korea is signed in Tokyo.

 July
July 1: The Commonwealth Secretariat was established with its permanent headquarters at
Marlborough House in London.
July 4: Immigration and Nationality Act (Hart-Cellar Act) is signed into law by President Johnson at
the Statue of Liberty, abolishing the discriminatory national‐origin quotas.
Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “The American Dream” sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
July 5: The psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane forms in San Francisco.
July 13: Creation of the Environmental Science Services Administration (pre-NOAA).
July 14: Mariner 4 flies by Mars and becomes the first spacecraft to return images of the Red Planet.
July 15: Greek Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou is dismissed by King Constantine II.
July 16: The Mont Blanc Tunnel, connecting France and Italy, is opened.
July 20: Dylan releases iconic single “Like a Rolling Stone”.
Delve deeper into The Story of Bob Dylan.
July 25: Edward Heath becomes leader of UK Conservatives.
Bob Dylan “goes electric” at Newport Folk Festival.
July 26: The Maldives gain full independence from the United Kingdom.
July 28: LBJ orders 50,000 more troops and doubles draft in Vietnam.
July 30: Medicare & Medicaid are signed into law.
July 31: Voting Rights Act is signed into law. 

August
August 3: Burning draft cards penalized by new law.
August 4: The Cook Islands become a self-governing territory in free association with New
Zealand.
August 5: Indo-Pakistani War begins.
August 6: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act, outlawing literacy tests and discriminatory practices. Elizabeth Lane becomes first female High Court judge in the UK.
August 7 – 9: Singapore is expelled from Malaysia and declares independence.
August 11: Watts riots erupt in LA — 34 dead, 3,000+ arrested.
August 13: The Beatles release the album Help!, featuring hits like “Ticket to Ride” and
“Yesterday.”
August 18: Operation Starlite launched in Vietnam — first major U.S. ground battle.
August 19: Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials conclude; 66 former SS personnel receive life sentences, 15 receive lesser penalties.
August 20: Jonathan Daniels, Civil Rights activist, shot dead in Hayneville, AL.
August 21: Gemini 5 launches into orbit with astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles "Pete" Conrad, marking the first one-week spaceflight and pioneering the use of fuel cells for electrical power in space.
August 26: President Johnson ends draft deferments for newly married men, making all men eligible for the draft regardless of marital status.
August 30: Bob Dylan releases Highway 61 Revisited, featuring the groundbreaking hit "Like a Rolling Stone”. 

September
September 1: WTWO TV station begins broadcasting in Indiana.
September 2: Pakistani troops move into Kashmir; India strikes Lahore.
September 7: U.S. Marines launch Operation Piranha near Chu Lai.
September 6 – 22: Major clashes in Second Kashmir War.
September 8: The U.S. Senate confirms Thurgood Marshall as the first African American federal judge.
September 9: Hurricane Betsy hits Louisiana; 76 dead, $1.4B damage.
September 12: Singapore's new Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew officially opens the Parliament of Singapore after independence.
September 14: Final phase of the Second Vatican Council opens.
The Soviet Union launches Kosmos 57, an uncrewed test flight of the Voskhod spacecraft.
September 18: First Mr. Olympia bodybuilding contest in NYC.
The United Nations holds the first ever meeting of the General Assembly Special Committee on Apartheid to address South Africa's racial segregation policies.
September 21: Gambia, Maldives, and Singapore join the UN.
September 23: The first U.S. combat troops arrive in South Vietnam, further escalating American involvement in the Vietnam War.
September 28: Fidel Castro announces emigration offer to U.S.

October
October 1: Indonesian generals killed in attempted coup, begins purge.
October 4: Pope PaulVI addresses the UN, calls for global peace.
October 6: Mount Taal erupts in the Philippines.
October 8: Post Office Tower opens in London.
October 11: The Second Vatican Council introducing significant reforms in the Catholic Church
opens.
October 15: The United Nations adopts the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
October 20: Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) declares its independence unilaterally (UDI) from the UK.
October 29: Craig Breedlove surpasses 600mph in Spirit of America.
October 31: The U.S. and Soviet Union agree on the Outer Space Treaty terms during the UN, limiting the militarization of space.

November
November 3: French President Charles de Gaulle announces his intention to run for re-election.
November 6: The “Freedom Flights” airlift begins, allowing Cubans to immigrate to the U.S.
November 8: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his decision to seek re-election.
November 9 – 10: Northeast Blackout strikes U.S. and Canada — 30 million affected.
The U.S. and South Vietnamese forces begin Operation Piranha, a large-scale search-and-destroy mission against Viet Cong forces.
November 14: The Battle of Ia Drang begins in Vietnam, the first major engagement between U.S. forces and the North Vietnamese Army.
November 15: The United Nations adopts a resolution condemning apartheid in South Africa.
November 16: USSR launches Venera 3 probe to Venus.
The Sound of Music premieres on Broadway, becoming one of the most successful musicals of all time.
November 21: U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea participates in Operation Rolling Thunder bombing missions over North Vietnam.
November 26: France launches its first satellite, Astérix 1, becoming the third space nation.
November 28: “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals surges. Eisenhower hospitalized for gallbladder issues.

December
December 1: The first U.S. combat troops arrive in Da Nang, South Vietnam.
December 3: The Who released their debut album My Generation in the UK.
December 4: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The Gemini 7 mission launches with astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell for a 14-day endurance test in space.
December 6: The Beatles release the album Rubber Soul in the UK.
December 7: The U.S. launches Operation Hastings in Vietnam.
December 8: The Race Relations Act comes into force in the UK.
December 9: A Charlie Brown Christmas debuts on CBS.
December 10: The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to United Nations Secretary-General U Thant.
December 15 – 16: Gemini 6 and 7 rendezvous in orbit.
December 16: Bob Dylan performs at the Newport Folk Festival, introducing an electric set.
December: Health warnings mandated on cigarette packs.
December 20: The Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation intensifies with Indonesian incursions into Malaysian territory.
December 23: The British government announces plans for decimalising the pound sterling.
December 26: Packers clinch NFL Western title with last-gasp overtime field goal.
Delve deeper into the history of the Green Bay Packers.