- 1969 -
A retro journey through the news, history and counter culture of the 1960s

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1960s History

The Nation 1969

The Eagle has Landed

On July 21, 1969 Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Edwin Aldrin became the first human beings to set foot on an object beyond the Earth. With the words

"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"

Neil Armstrong changed the world forever. The most important event in human history.

Richard M. Nixon inaugurated as President of the United States. B-52's drop 3,000 pounders on Cambodia while the biggest anti war protest thus far, the October 15th Vietnam Moratorium Day.

On December 15th Representative Alexander Pirnie from New York draws number 257 in the first U.S. government military draft lottery since WW II. The number corresponds to the 257th day of the year, young men born on Sept 14th packed their bags.

Senator Edward Kennedy's hopes of ever becoming President ended on July 18th when he drove off a small wooden bridge in Chappaquiddic, Massachusetts ending the life of 29 year old Mary Jo Kopechne, a teacher and campaign employee of Robert Kennedy's recent run for President. Kennedy was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and sentenced to 2 months which was deferred.

In a political move to clean up New York City, Mayor John Lindsay had the Police raid the Stonewall Gay Bar in Greenwich Village. The fight lasted 3 days with thousands of gay men beaten by police. Homo Nest Raided, Queen Bees Are Stinging Mad

Cleveland's Cuyahgo River catches fire.

"Middle America's villains are less easily singled out. Yippie Abbie Hoffman or S.D.S. leaders like Mark Rudd are hardly important enough by themselves to constitute major devils. With such faceless groups as the Weathermen, they merely serve as symbols of all the radicals who pronounce the country evil and ripe for destruction. Disliked, too, are the vaguely identified "liberals" and "intellectuals" who are seen as sympathizing with the radicals. Perhaps the most authentic individual villains to Middle America are the Black Panther leaders, Eldridge Cleaver and Bobby Seale." 1969 Man of the Year cover story

The World 1969

Golda Meir becomes Israel's 4th Prime Minister and first woman Prime Minister of the West. She was known as the"Iron Lady" before that title was given to Margaret Thatcher.

Yassar Arafat commander of the Fatah takes over as chairman of Palestinian Liberation Organization. Considered a bad man by one side and a freedom fighter by the other, he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for being more reasonable than most.

After 10 years as a successful President of France Charles de Gaulle resigned to hand power over to Georges Pompidou. De Gaulle was to France much like Dwight Eisenhower was to America.

Canada expresses its progressive roots by banning tobacco advertising on radio and TV, and legalizes both contraception and abortion.

Britain takes the lead in modern civilization by abolishing capital punishment.

Nobel Prizes 1969

Physics - Murray Gell-Mann
Chemistry - Derek Harold Richard Barton, Odd Hassel
Physiology or Medicine - Max Delbrück, Alfred Hershey, Salvador Luria
Literature - Samuel Beckett
Peace - International Labour Organization

Economics - Ragnar Frisch, Jan Tinbergen

Class of 1969