Democrat John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts elected President of the United States, the first from that state since John Quincy Adams in 1824.

The United States severed ties with communist Cuba and later in the year supported an invasion which became a disaster known as the “Bay of Pigs.”

President Kennedy announced the Apollo Space Program to put a man on the moon.

“Freedom Riders” bussed across the south; race riots broke out in several states, many arrests for disturbing the peace.

The first Wal-Mart store opened in Rogers, Arkansas.

Russian missile bases were spotted in Cuba, triggering the Cuban missile crisis; the U.S. and USSR went to the brink of war over the issue, before it was resolved with Russia backing down.

President John Kennedy assassinated in Dallas, Texas, the fourth President to die at the hands of an assassin, allegedly by Lee Harvey Oswald. The controversy over the extent of the conspiracy to kill the President rages unabated to this day.

Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas, who became President upon the assassination of Kennedy, was elected in his own right.

Winston Churchill, one of the greatest statesman in all human history, is laid to rest as the world mourns.

Battle of Ia Drang, memorialized in the book and film We Were Soldiers Once and Young, and many other fights occur across Vietnam.

Lockheed SR-71 Spy plane enters service

In Miranda vs. Arizona, the Supreme Court ruled that police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning them.

Actor Ronald Reagan elected Governor of California

The first ever Super Bowl is played pitting the Green Bay Packers against the Kansas City Chiefs. Packers win 35-10

Martin Luther King denounces the Vietnam War, linking together the “civil rights movement and war protest.”

Race riots break out in Newark, New Jersey, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Detroit, Michigan, Washington D. C.

Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell & William Anders become the first humans ever to see the far side of the moon and the earth as a whole. The crew are so awed by the experience that they recite the creation story from Genesis.

Republican Richard M. Nixon of California elected President of the United States.

Martin Luther King, leader of the Civil Rights Movement and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy are both assassinated.

Astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on the moon as the entire human race stood transfixed in wonder.