1965 History Events: What Happened in 1965

1965 was a watershed year for the world, especially in the United States. President Lyndon B. Johnson unveiled his “Great Society” programme plan in January. The Great Life initiatives were a series of Democrat, or neoliberal, policies that attempted to greatly extend the American welfare state and the federal government’s engagement in practically every element of American society, including education, the arts, medicine, the environment, and more. Following Republican administrations, these projects would be continued. The signing of the 1965 Civil Rights Act was a significant event in this regard in the year 1965. While enormous changes were taking place on the domestic front, there was no quiet on the foreign policy front. President Lyndon B. Johnson dispatched 3,500 US Marines to Vietnam in March 1965. During America’s engagement in Vietnam, these were the first official combat troops deployed.

The Sound of Music, featuring Julie Andrews, had its world debut in New York City. At Shea Stadium in New York City, the Beatles gave the first stadium concert in music history. A Charlie Brown Christmas, the inaugural Peanuts special, premiered in December and has since become a Christmastime tradition for millions of people. The successful launch of Gemini 3, the first two-man crew into Earth’s orbit for the United States, was a major milestone in the American space programme this year.

The Second Vatican Council of the Roman Catholic Church ended in December 1965, marking a watershed moment in world history. The council would reshape the Roman Catholic Church’s relationship with modernity, and it continues to have a profound impact around the world. The Church would become more open and relaxed toward the modern world as a result of this Council, allowing for increased use of vernacular languages and numerous changes to the liturgy, music, art, and architecture of the Church.

Continue reading to discover more about the events of 1965.

Event
(February 15, 1965) Following a royal proclamation, Canada adopted the Maple Leaf Flag.
Advertisements (February 20, 1965) After a successful mission of surveying potential landing locations for the Apollo programme astronauts, Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon.
(February 21, 1965) Malcolm X, who espoused racial pride and black nationalism in the United States, was assassinated on this day in 1965 and became an intellectual hero after the publication of his autobiography, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, after his death.
(March 02, 1965) The Sound of Music, a cinematic adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical production, premiered; the film, which was based on the true storey of Austria's Trapp family, was a popular triumph and earned an Oscar for best picture.
(March 07, 1965) On this day in 1965, state troopers attacked American civil rights demonstrators with nightsticks and tear gas as they sought to cross a bridge in Selma, Alabama, on their way to the state capitol in Montgomery.
Advertisements (March 18, 1965) Aleksei Leonov, a Soviet cosmonaut, became the first man to walk in space after passing through an air lock aboard the Voskhod 2 spacecraft.
(March 21, 1965) Martin Luther King Jr. leads 3,200 people from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in the third and eventually victorious civil rights march.
(March 25, 1965) Sarah Jessica Parker, well known for her role in the television series Sex and the City (1998–2004), was born in the United States.
(June 03, 1965) Gemini 4, the first NASA crewed multi-day space mission, gets launched. A crew member, Ed White, makes the first American spacewalk.
Advertisements Happy Birthday! (July 31, 1965) J. K. Rowling, English author and film producer. photo source: wikimedia.org
Happy Birthday! (July 31, 1965) Scott Brooks, American basketball player and coach. photo source: wikimedia.org
(August 01, 1965) The novel Dune by Frank Herbert was published for the first time. In 2003, it was named the best-selling science fiction novel in the world.
(August 09, 1965) Singapore is ousted from Malaysia, becoming the only country to acquire independence unwillingly until this day.
Happy Birthday! (September 03, 1965) Charlie Sheen, American actor and producer. photo source: wikimedia.org
Advertisements (September 18, 1965) Ikeya Kaoru and Seki Tsutomu, both Japanese astronomers, discovered Comet Ikeya-Seki. photo source: wikimedia.org
(October 28, 1965) The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, was finished. It was built by Eero Saarinen, a Finnish-born American architect, to celebrate St. Louis' historic significance as the "Gateway to the West." photo source: wikimedia.org
(November 26, 1965) Astérix is launched, making France the third country to launch an object into orbit using its own rocket. photo source: wikimedia.org