What happened in 1969
98 entries recorded for 1969, listed by date. That was 57 years ago.
1969 at a glance
- Years ago
- 57 (as of 2026)
- Century
- 20th century
- Decade
- 1960s
- Generation born
- Generation X
- Entries here
- 98
- Breakdown
- 97 historical events · 1 deaths
January
- January 5
Venera 5
The Venera 5 space probe is launched at 06:28:08 UTC from Baikonur.
- January 5
Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701
Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes in Fernhill, West Sussex, UK, while on approach to Gatwick Airport, killing 50 people.
- January 6
Allegheny Airlines Flight 737
Allegheny Airlines Flight 737 crashes in Lafayette Township, McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States, killing 11.
- January 12
New York Jets
The New York Jets of the American Football League defeat the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League to win Super Bowl III in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
- January 13
Rock music
British rock band Led Zeppelin released their first album, Led Zeppelin, in the United States.
- January 14
1969 USS Enterprise fire
A major fire and series of explosions aboard the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise killed 28 sailors, injured 314 others, and destroyed 15 aircraft.
- January 16
Czechs
Czech student Jan Palach commits suicide by self-immolation in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in protest against the Soviets' crushing of the Prague Spring the year before.
- January 18
1968–1969 Japanese university protests
In response to months of nationwide student protests, thousands of Japanese police stormed the University of Tokyo.
- January 19
Jan Palach
Student Jan Palach dies after setting himself on fire three days earlier in Prague's Wenceslas Square to protest about the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in 1968. His funeral turns into another major protest.
- January 20
Amanullah Asaduzzaman
Bengali student activist Amanullah Asaduzzaman was shot and killed by East Pakistani police, an event that led to the Bangladesh Liberation War.
- January 22
Leonid Brezhnev
Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev (pictured) survived what was seen as an assassination attempt, an incident that was not revealed to the public until after the fall of the Soviet Union.
- January 30
The Beatles
The Beatles' last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records in London. The impromptu concert is broken up by the police.
February
- February 4
Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat (pictured) was elected chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
- February 17
Berry L. Cannon
American aquanaut Berry L. Cannon dies of carbon dioxide poisoning while attempting to repair a leak in the SEALAB III underwater habitat. The SEALAB project was subsequently abandoned.
- February 18
Dragiša Cvetković
Dragiša Cvetković, Serbian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (born 1893)
- February 28
1969 Portugal earthquake
The 1969 Portugal earthquake hits Portugal, Spain and Morocco.
March
- March 2
Concorde
The maiden flight of Concorde, the Anglo-French supersonic jet, was conducted in Toulouse, France using a prototype aircraft with the registration F-WTSS.
- March 3
Apollo program
Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module.
- March 10
Memphis, Tennessee
In Memphis, Tennessee, James Earl Ray pleads guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. He later unsuccessfully attempts to recant.
- March 13
Apollo 9
Apollo 9 returns safely to Earth after testing the Lunar Module.
- March 17
Golda Meir
Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel.
- March 18
Operation Menu
The United States begins secretly bombing the Sihanouk Trail in Cambodia, used by communist forces to infiltrate South Vietnam.
- March 18
Vietnam War
Vietnam War: The United States began secretly bombing the Sihanouk Trail in Cambodia, used by communist forces to infiltrate South Vietnam.
- March 19
Emley Moor transmitting station
The 385-metre-tall (1,263 ft) TV-mast at Emley Moor transmitting station, United Kingdom, collapses due to ice build-up.
- March 20
EgyptAir
A United Arab Airlines (now Egyptair) Ilyushin Il-18 crashes at Aswan International Airport, killing 100 people.
- March 28
Nobel Prize in Literature
Greek poet and Nobel Prize laureate Giorgos Seferis makes a famous statement on the BBC World Service opposing the junta in Greece.
April
- April 1
Hawker Siddeley Harrier
The Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first operational fighter aircraft with V/STOL capabilities, entered service with the Royal Air Force.
- April 9
Concorde
The first British-built Concorde 002 makes its maiden flight from Filton to RAF Fairford with Brian Trubshaw as the test pilot.
- April 15
1969 EC-121 shootdown incident
The EC-121 shootdown incident: North Korea shoots down a United States Navy aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 on board.
- April 17
Sirhan Sirhan
Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of the assassination of U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy.
- April 17
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovak Communist Party chairman Alexander Dubček was deposed.
- April 22
Robin Knox-Johnston
British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston wins the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race and completes the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world.
- April 22
Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist)
The formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) is announced at a mass rally in Calcutta.
- April 28
Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle resigns as President of France.
May
- May 2
Queen Elizabeth 2
The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.
- May 9
Carlos Lamarca
Carlos Lamarca leads the first urban guerrilla action against the military dictatorship of Brazil in São Paulo, by robbing two banks.
- May 10
Vietnam War
Vietnam War: The Battle of Dong Ap Bia begins with an assault on Hill 937. It will ultimately become known as Hamburger Hill.
- May 13
13 May incident
Sino-Malay race riots began in Kuala Lumpur, leaving at least 190 people dead, with the government declaring a state of emergency and suspending the Parliament of Malaysia until 1971.
- May 16
Venera program
Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet space probe, lands on Venus.
- May 18
Apollo program
Apollo program: Apollo 10 is launched.
- May 20
Battle of Hamburger Hill
The Battle of Hamburger Hill in Vietnam ends.
- May 26
Apollo program
Apollo program: Apollo 10 returns to Earth after a successful eight-day test of all the components needed for the forthcoming first crewed Moon landing.
- May 30
Curaçao
A demonstration by workers and activists on the Caribbean island of Curaçao escalated into a violent uprising which destroyed much of Willemstad.
June
- June 3
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
During a SEATO exercise in the South China Sea, a collision between HMAS Melbourne and USS Frank E. Evans resulted in the latter vessel being cut in two and the deaths of 74 personnel.
- June 3
Melbourne–Evans collision
Melbourne-Evans collision: Off the coast of South Vietnam, the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne cuts the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half, resulting in 74 deaths.
- June 7
Blind Faith
In their only UK concert, the rock supergroup Blind Faith, featuring Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood and Ginger Baker, debuted in London's Hyde Park in front of 100,000 fans.
- June 13
Preston Smith (governor)
Preston Smith, Governor of Texas, signed a law converting a research arm of Texas Instruments into the University of Texas at Dallas.
- June 22
Cuyahoga River
The Cuyahoga River catches fire in Cleveland, Ohio, drawing national attention to water pollution, and spurring the passing of the Clean Water Act and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
- June 23
Warren E. Burger
Warren E. Burger is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court by retiring Chief Justice Earl Warren.
- June 23
Software industry
IBM announces that effective January 1970 it will price its software and services separately from hardware thus creating the modern software industry.
- June 28
Stonewall Inn
In response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, groups of gay and transgender people began demonstrations, a watershed event for the worldwide gay rights movement.
- June 28
Stonewall riots
Stonewall riots begin in New York City, marking the start of the Gay Rights Movement.
July
- July 5
Brian Jones
Two days after the death of their founder Brian Jones, the Rolling Stones performed at a free festival in Hyde Park, London, in front of more than a quarter of a million fans.
- July 16
Apollo 11
The Apollo 11 lunar landing mission is launched from Cape Kennedy in Florida, USA.
- July 19
Chappaquiddick incident
Chappaquiddick incident: U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy crashes his car into a tidal pond at Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, killing his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.
- July 20
Apollo 11
The Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle landed on the Sea of Tranquillity, where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later (bootprint pictured).
- July 21
Apollo program
Apollo program: At 02:56 UTC, astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the Moon, followed 19 minutes later by Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.
- July 24
Apollo program
Apollo program: Apollo 11 splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean.
- July 25
Vietnam War
Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon declares the Nixon Doctrine, stating that the United States now expects its Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This is the start of the "Vietnamization" of the war.
August
- August 4
Vietnam War
Vietnam War: At the apartment of French intermediary Jean Sainteny in Paris, American representative Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Xuân Thuỷ begin secret peace negotiations. The negotiations will eventually fail.
- August 5
Lonesome Cowboys police raid
Police raided a screening of the film Lonesome Cowboys in Atlanta, Georgia, leading to the creation of a Gay Liberation Front in that city.
- August 8
Zebra crossing
At a zebra crossing (pictured) on Abbey Road in London, Iain Macmillan took the photograph that was used for the cover of the Beatles' album Abbey Road.
- August 9
Manson Family
Members of the Manson Family invaded a house and murdered American actress Sharon Tate (pictured) and four guests in Los Angeles, before killing two more people the following night.
- August 9
Tate–LaBianca murders
Tate–LaBianca murders: Followers of Charles Manson murder pregnant actress Sharon Tate (wife of Roman Polanski), coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Polish actor Wojciech Frykowski, men's hairstylist Jay Sebring and recent high-school graduate Steven Parent.
- August 11
Apollo 11
The Apollo 11 astronauts are released from a three-week quarantine following their liftoff from the Moon.
- August 12
The Troubles
The Troubles: Riots erupted in the neighbourhood of Bogside in Derry, and spread across much of Northern Ireland.
- August 12
Apprentice Boys of Derry
Violence erupts after the Apprentice Boys of Derry march in Derry, Northern Ireland, resulting in a three-day communal riot known as the Battle of the Bogside.
- August 13
Apollo 11
The Apollo 11 astronauts enjoy a ticker-tape parade in New York City. That evening, at a state dinner in Los Angeles, they are awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Richard Nixon.
- August 14
The Troubles
The Troubles: British troops are deployed in Northern Ireland as political and sectarian violence breaks out, marking the start of the 37-year Operation Banner.
- August 17
Saffir–Simpson scale
Category 5 Hurricane Camille hits the U.S. Gulf Coast, killing 256 and causing $1.42 billion in damage.
- August 26
1969 Vnukovo Airport Il-18 crash
Aeroflot Flight 1770 crashes while landing at Vnukovo International Airport, killing 16.
- August 31
Isle of Wight Festival 1969
On the final day of the Isle of Wight Festival 1969, attended by approximately 150,000 people over three days, Bob Dylan appeared in his first gig in three years.
September
- September 1
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi (pictured) led a coup d'état to overthrow King Idris of Libya.
- September 1
1969 Libyan revolution
A coup in Libya brings Muammar Gaddafi to power.
- September 5
My Lai massacre
Mỹ Lai Massacre: U.S. Army Lieutenant William Calley is charged with six specifications of premeditated murder for the death of 109 Vietnamese civilians in My Lai.
- September 9
Official Languages Act (Canada)
In Canada, the Official Languages Act comes into force, making French equal to English throughout the Federal government.
- September 9
Allegheny Airlines Flight 853
Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 collided in mid-air with a Piper PA-28 Cherokee flown by a student pilot near Fairland, Indiana, killing all 83 occupants of and destroying both aircraft.
- September 25
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The charter establishing the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation is signed.
October
- October 8
Days of Rage
The opening rally of the Days of Rage occurs, organized by the Weather Underground in Chicago.
- October 8
Weather Underground
Demonstrations organized by the Weather Underground known as the Days of Rage began in Chicago, aimed at ending U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
- October 9
Chicago
In Chicago, the National Guard is called in as demonstrations continue over the trial of the "Chicago Eight".
- October 20
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Experimental results from the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center were published showing that protons were composed of smaller particles, the first evidence of quarks.
- October 21
1969 Somali coup d'état
The 1969 Somali coup d'état establishes a Marxist–Leninist administration.
November
- November 3
Richard Nixon
U.S. president Richard Nixon made a plea for support from the "silent majority", referring to those Americans who did not join in the large demonstrations against the Vietnam War at the time.
- November 10
Sesame Street
The children's television series Sesame Street premiered in the United States.
- November 14
Apollo 12
Apollo 12 (pictured) launched from the Kennedy Space Center, later becoming the second crewed flight to land on the Moon.
- November 17
Cold War
Cold War: Negotiators from the Soviet Union and the United States meet in Helsinki, Finland to begin SALT I negotiations aimed at limiting the number of strategic weapons on both sides.
- November 19
Santos FC
Playing for Santos against Vasco da Gama in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian footballer Pelé (pictured) scored his thousandth goal.
- November 20
Native Americans in the United States
A group of Native American activists began a 19-month occupation (graffiti pictured) of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.
- November 24
Apollo program
Apollo program: The Apollo 12 command module splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean, ending the second crewed mission to land on the Moon.
December
- December 4
Fred Hampton
Fred Hampton, the leader of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, and Mark Clark were killed in a raid by Chicago police officers in what many scholars consider an illegal assassination.
- December 6
Altamont Free Concert
Altamont Free Concert: At a free concert performed by the Rolling Stones, eighteen-year old Meredith Hunter is stabbed to death by Hells Angels security guards.
- December 9
William P. Rogers
U.S. secretary of state William P. Rogers proposed a plan, later called the Rogers Plan, for a ceasefire in the War of Attrition; Egypt's and Jordan's acceptance of the plan over Palestine Liberation Organization objections led to civil war in Jordan in September 1970.
- December 12
Piazza Fontana bombing
The Piazza Fontana bombing; a bomb explodes at the headquarters of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura (the National Agricultural Bank) in Piazza Fontana in Milan, Italy, killing 17 people and wounding 88. The same afternoon, three more bombs are detonated in Rome and Milan, and ano
- December 12
Greek junta
The Greek junta announced its withdrawal from the Council of Europe after the junta was found guilty of torture and other human-rights violations by the European Commission of Human Rights.
- December 17
Project Blue Book
Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closes its study of UFOs.
- December 18
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the sixth James Bond film and the only one to star George Lazenby, premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London.
- December 24
Umuahia
Nigerian troops capture Umuahia, the Biafran capital.
Questions about 1969
What happened in 1969?
This site records 98 entries for 1969, including Venera 5 on January 5. They are listed below by date.
How long ago was 1969?
57 years ago, counting from 2026. Anyone born in 1969 turns 57 this year.
Which century is 1969 in?
1969 falls in the 20th century, in the 1960s.
Which generation was born in 1969?
Generation X (1965–1980). The latch-key generation; first to grow up with personal computers.
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