1960s

The 1960s, or The Sexy Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. The Sixties has come to refer to the complex of inter-related cultural and political events which occurred in approximately that period, in western countries, particularly Britain, France, the United States and West Germany. Social upheaval was not limited to just these nations, reaching large scale in nations such as Japan and Mexico as well. The term is used both nostalgically by those who participated in those events, and pejoratively by those who regard the time as a period whose harmful effects are still being felt today.

Events and trends

Many of the trends of the 1960s were due to the demographic changes brought about by the baby boom generation, the height of the Cold War, and the dissolution of European colonial empires. The rise in social revolution, civil rights movements, human rights movement, anti-War movements, and the Counterculture movement are only some of the characteristics that defined the 1960s. Many experts attribute the 1960s "counter-culture revolution" as being the result of the major social and political factors that rose in the 1950s like brinksmanship, continued fighting in the 3rd world, and a return to pre-WWII lifestyle. The new generation was determined to reject a pre-WWII conformist lifestyle with men in suits and women in the kitchen. While many believed it to be just a "Western" phenomenon, the '60s revolution spread far beyond the borders of America and Western Europe. In South America, revolutions were at a height, in the Eastern Bloc, movements were made inspired by the Hungarian Revolution to reject Soviet domination, and in the Middle East attempted to resist Soviet and American domination (see Non-Aligned Movement). Overall, the '60s affected almost the entire globe.

Related Topics:
Demographic - Baby boom - Counterculture - Eastern Bloc - Non-Aligned Movement

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Technology

• USSR puts first man (Yuri Gagarin) and first woman (Valentina Tereshkova) in outer space
• The United States puts man on Earth's Moon (see Apollo 11)
• Geosynchronous satellites revolutionize global communications
• Start of the development of algorithmic information theory
• The ARPAnet, precursor of the Internet, is founded in 1969 as a United States Department of Defense project. The numbered series of Request For Comments (RFC) documents begins in order to document the standards and practices of this network, and continues to this day
• Direct Use of the Sun's Energy by pioneer solar-energy scientist Farrington Daniels is published (1964)
• Compact audio cassette introduced; begins to displace reel-to-reel audio tape recording for home users

Science

• Discovery of plate tectonics revolutionizes understanding of continental drift
• Jacques Monod and Francois Jacob discover the lac operon
• Rise of the science of ecology in the awareness of the intelligentsia

War, peace and politics

• Cultural Revolution in mainland China causes political and economic chaos.
• Nigerian Civil War begins.
• 6-Day War between Israelis and Arabs in 1967.
• Beginning of The Troubles in Northern Ireland
• Berlin Wall built in 1961.
• Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961, the United States sponsored an attempt to overthrow Cuba's socialist government and Fidel Castro.
• Civil rights movement in the United States; end of official segregation and disenfranchisement of African-Americans; racial tensions continue with large race riots in Watts (Los Angeles) in 1966, Detroit in 1967, and Hough and Glenville in Cleveland.
• Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 over Kashmir ends in a stalemate.
• The Vietnam War and protests, leading to Kent State University shootings in May, 1970.
• Suppression of uprising in Czechoslovakia.
• The Stonewall Riots in New York City give birth to the gay rights movement, June 1969.
• United Nations imposes sanctions against South Africa to protest the policy of Apartheid.
• Students protesting perceived problems with the status-quo are suppressed with violence by police and soldiers in USA, France, Mexico, Czechoslovakia. See New Left.
• The Quiet Revolution (Révolution tranquille) begins in Quebec - precipitous decline of the Roman Catholic church, liberalism, social-democratic programs, and the birth of modern Quebec nationalism.
• The rise of radical feminism.

Economics

• Many countries in The West experience high economic growth (4 to 8% per year)

Culture

• Rock and roll develops, diversifies, and becomes very hip. The Beatles eclipse Elvis Presley and become the most popular musical artists in the world. "Topical" artists like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez worked social commentary into their music.
• ' hits movie theaters
• The long running BBC family science fiction show Doctor Who begins in 1963
• Star Trek makes its debut in 1966
• James Bond movies begin. Dr. No is the first of the series in 1962, starring Sean Connery as Bond
• Hippies, drug culture & rock and roll converge at the Woodstock festival, 1969
• In the West, the growing popularity of religions other than Christianity (for example, as discussed in the writings of Alan Watts), and of atheism; Time Magazine asks: "Is God Dead?" See Fourth Great Awakening, Consciousness Revolution
• Memorable expositions, or "World's Fairs," are held in Seattle (1962), New York (1964/1965), Montreal (1967) and San Antonio (1968)
• Progressive rock emerges
• Fine Art begins to move away from exclusively consisting of painting, drawing, and sculpture and begins to incorporate elements from popular culture (Pop Art) and begins to favour the ideas behind a work, rather than the work itself (Conceptual Art)

Others

• Post-Colonialism; many new or previously colonized countries achieve independence in Africa, Asia
• U.S. president John F. Kennedy assassinated in 1963; his brother Robert F. Kennedy assassinated in 1968
• U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated on April 4, 1968
• Charles Manson gave up his ambitions of becoming a popular song writer to become a cult leader and mass murderer, 1969
• Nation of Islam leader Malcolm X assassinated on February 21, 1965
• U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society program
• In the United States, increase in crime; riots in Los Angeles in 1965 and Chicago, Illinois at the 1968 Democratic National Convention
• Rise of the baby boom generation to adulthood
• First widespread availability of practical birth control pill for women; See sexual revolution
• Sweden switches from driving on the left to the right, in order to harmonise with neighbouring countries. See Rules of the road