1964

In 1964, the year that I was born, the following was going on:

  • Lyndon B. Johnson is president of the US.
  • After riots break out, Panama suspends relations with he US.
  • Cassius Clay becomes heavyweight champion when Sonny Liston throws in the towel in the sixth round in Miami.
  • Near Anchorage, the strongest earthquake ever to strike North America kills 117.
  • Worst soccer disaster in history occurs when rioting and panic kills over 300 in Liverpool.
  • Hundreds of white college students work for civil rights in the south during “Freedom Summer”.
  • South Africa sentences Nelson Mandela to life in prison.
  • Kemeny and Kurtz create BASIC (Beginners’ All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code), an easy to learn high level programming language.
  • Nicolas Cage, Jeff Bezos, Rob Lowe, Elle Macpherson, Courteney Cox Arquette, and Keanu Reeves are born.
  • St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series.
  • Cleveland Browns win the NFL championship.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup.
  • “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles released in the US, sparking Beatlemania.
  • The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, breaking television ratings records.
  • The game show Jeopardy! debuts on television.
  • Mary Poppins, starring Julie Andrews, is the top grossing film.

What Happened the Year You Were Born?