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The world: 1960s

1960–1969

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Events in this period 22

  1. 1962 · North America · Politics

    Cuban Missile Crisis

    The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis, was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of nuclear missiles in the United Kingdom, Italy and Turkey were matched by Soviet deployments of nuclear missiles in Cuba. The crisis lasted from 16 to 28 October 1962. The confrontation is widely considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into full-scale nuclear war.

  2. 1969 · North America · Science

    Apollo 11 Moon landing

    Apollo 11 was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon, and the fifth crewed mission of NASA's Apollo program. The mission was crewed by Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, all of whom were on their second and final spaceflight.

  3. 1960 · Africa · Politics

    Year of Africa

    The Year of Africa refers to a series of events that took place during the year 1960—mainly the independence of seventeen African nations—that highlighted the growing pan-African sentiments in the continent. The year brought about the culmination of African independence movements and the subsequent emergence of Africa as a major force in the United Nations. These rapid political developments led to speculation and hope about the future of Africa as a whole; yet at the same time, the continent was beginning to face the realities of post-colonial violence. This year also saw the beginning of armed opposition to South African apartheid government, with political ramifications across Africa and around the world. During the year, 17 colonies became independent, including 14 colonies from the French colonial empire, 2 from the British Empire and 1 from Belgium.

  4. 1961 · Central Asia · Science

    Vostok 1

    Vostok 1 was the first spaceflight of the Vostok programme and the first human orbital spaceflight in history. The Vostok 3KA space capsule was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 12 April 1961, with Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin aboard, making him the first human to reach orbital velocity around the Earth and to complete a full orbit around the Earth.

  5. 1964 · North America · Politics

    Civil Rights Act of 1964

    The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requirements, racial segregation in schools and public accommodations, and employment discrimination. The act is considered one of the most significant legislative achievements in American history.

  6. 1965 – 1966 · Southeast Asia · Politics

    Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66

    From October 1965 to March 1966, a series of large-scale killings and civil unrest primarily targeting members and supposed sympathizers of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) took place in Indonesia. Other affected groups included alleged communist sympathisers, Gerwani women, trade unionists, ethnic Javanese Abangan, ethnic Chinese, atheists and other non-Muslims, and leftists in general. According to the most widely published estimates, at least 500,000 to 1 million people were killed. Some of the higher estimates reach figures as much as 2 to 3 million people killed.

  7. 1966 – 1976 · China · Politics

    Cultural Revolution

    The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong, chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, in 1966 and lasted until his death in 1976. Its stated goal was to advance Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society and government.

  8. 1967 · Middle East · War

    Six-Day War

    The Six-Day War, or the 1967 Arab–Israeli war, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states, primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, in the context of the Arab–Israeli conflict. In the war, Israel captured and occupied the West Bank from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria.

  9. 1968 · Europe · Politics

    Prague Spring

    The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), and continued until 21 August 1968, when the Soviet Union and four other Warsaw Pact members invaded the country to suppress the reforms.

  10. 1969 · North America · Science

    ARPANET

    The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first wide-area packet-switched network with distributed control and one of the first computer networks to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. Both technologies became the technical foundation of the Internet. The ARPANET was established by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the United States Department of Defense.

  11. 1960 · Korea · Politics

    April Revolution

    The April Revolution, also called the April 19 Revolution or April 19 Movement, were mass protests in South Korea against President Syngman Rhee and the First Republic from April 11 to 26, 1960, which led to Rhee's resignation.

  12. 1961 · Korea · Politics

    May 16 coup

    The May 16 military coup d'état or the May 16 Military Revolution was a military coup d'état in South Korea in 1961, organized and carried out by Park Chung Hee and his allies who formed the Military Revolutionary Committee, nominally led by Army Chief of Staff Chang Do-yong after the latter's acquiescence on the day of the coup. The coup rendered powerless the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Chang Myon and President Yun Posun, and ended the Second Republic, installing a reformist military Supreme Council for National Reconstruction effectively led by Park, who took over as chairman after Chang's arrest in July.

  13. 1962 · India · War

    Sino-Indian War

    The Sino-Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo-China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino-Indian border dispute. The fighting was concentrated in two locations along the India-China border, the North-East Frontier Agency (NESA), and the Aksai Chin region, which were roughly 1,000 km (620 mi) apart. The conflict arose due to China's claims over the Aksai Chin and NESA, with both countries relying on different historical border agreements. India recognised the Johnson Line in the west and the McMahon Line in the east, while China did not recognise them.

  14. 1963 · Africa · Politics

    Organisation of African Unity

    The Organisation of African Unity was an African intergovernmental organisation established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 33 signatory governments. Some of the key aims of the OAU were to encourage political and economic integration among member states, and to eradicate colonialism and neo-colonialism from the African continent.

  15. 1964 · Japan · Science

    Tokaido Shinkansen

    The Tokaido Shinkansen is a Japanese high-speed rail line and part of the nationwide Shinkansen network. Together with the San'yō Shinkansen, it forms a continuous high-speed corridor through the Taiheiyō Belt, also known as the Tōkaidō corridor.

  16. 1964 · South America · Politics

    1964 Brazilian coup d'état

    The 1964 Brazilian coup d'état was the overthrow of Brazilian president João Goulart by a military coup from March 31 to April 1, 1964, ending the Fourth Brazilian Republic (1946–1964) and initiating the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964–1985). The coup took the form of a military rebellion, the declaration of vacancy in the presidency by the National Congress on April 2, the formation of a military junta and the exile of the president on April 4. In his place, Ranieri Mazzilli, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, took over until the election by Congress of general Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco, one of the leaders of the coup.

  17. 1965 · India · War

    India–Pakistan war of 1965

    The India–Pakistan war of 1965, also known as the second Kashmir war, was an armed conflict between Pakistan and India that took place from August 1965 to September 1965.

  18. 1965 · Southeast Asia · Politics

    Proclamation of Singapore

    The Proclamation of Singapore was the official declaration that marked Singapore's separation from Malaysia and its emergence as an independent and sovereign nation. The document was drafted by E. W. Barker, Minister for Law, and signed by Lee Kuan Yew, the first Prime Minister of Singapore, on 9 August 1965. Its announcement marked the end of Singapore's status as a constituent state within the Federation of Malaysia, established on 16 September 1963, and signified the beginning of a new chapter of full sovereignty and national responsibility in both domestic governance and international affairs.

  19. 1967 · Southeast Asia · Politics

    ASEAN Declaration

    The ASEAN Declaration, commonly known as the Bangkok Declaration, is the founding charter of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Signed on 8 August 1967 by the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, it formally established the Association to promote regional cooperation in economic, social, cultural, technical, and administrative fields, and to foster regional peace and stability through adherence to the United Nations Charter and the rule of law.

  20. 1967 – 1970 · Africa · War

    Nigerian Civil War

    The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria–Biafra War, or Biafra War, was an armed conflict fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state that had declared its independence from Nigeria in 1967. During the war years, General Yakubu Gowon served as the head of state of Nigeria, while Biafra was led by Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka "Emeka" Odumegwu Ojukwu. The conflict emerged from political, ethnic, cultural, and religious tensions that preceded the United Kingdom's formal decolonisation of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963. Immediate causes of the war in 1966 included a military coup, a counter-coup, and anti-Igbo pogroms in the Northern Region. As a consequence of these pogroms, alongside the mass exodus of surviving Igbos from the Northern Region to the Igbo homelands in the Eastern Region, the leadership of the Eastern Region concluded that the Nigerian federal government was either unwilling or unable to guarantee them an adequate protection, therefore, the only remaining solution seemed to be to guarantee their compatriots' security by establishing a sovereign and independent country of Biafra.

  21. 1968 · India · Economy

    Green Revolution in India

    The Green Revolution in India was a period that began in the 1960s during which agriculture in India was converted into a modern industrial system by the adoption of technology, such as the use of high-yielding varieties of crops, and fertilisers. Mainly led by agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan in India, this period was part of the larger Green Revolution endeavour initiated by Norman Borlaug, which leveraged agricultural research and technology to increase agricultural productivity in the developing world. Varieties or strains of crops can be selected by breeding for various useful characteristics such as disease resistance, response to fertilisers, product quality and high yields.

  22. 1968 · North America · Politics

    Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

    The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty, the objective of which is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. Between 1965 and 1968, the treaty was negotiated by the Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament, a United Nations-sponsored organization based in Geneva, Switzerland.

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