1966 - What happened in 1966 ?
January 1966
Monday 03:
The first Acid Test at the Fillmore, San Francisco, California.
Saturday 08:
Operation Crimp of the Vietnam War.
Saturday 15:
1966- First Military Coup in Nigeria, government of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is overthrown.
Sunday 16:
The Metropolitan Opera House opens at Lincoln Center in New York City.
Monday 17:
Carl Brashear, the first African American United States Navy diver, is involved in an accident on a routine mission which amputates his leg.
February 1966
Thursday 03:
The unmanned Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft makes the first controlled rocket-assisted landing on the Moon.
Friday 04:
All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 jet plunges into Tokyo Bay killing 133
Monday 07:
Paul Williams created the rock music magazine Crawdaddy!
Monday 14:
Australian currency is decimalised.
Wednesday 23:
A military coup in Syria replaces the previous government.
March 1966
Friday 04:
John Lennon says, "We (The Beatles) are more popular than Jesus" which sparks controversy in the United States.
Saturday 05:
In Luxembourg, Udo Jürgens wins the eleventh Eurovision Song Contest for Austria.
Tuesday 08:
A bomb planted by young Irish protesters destroys Nelson's Pillar in Dublin.
Sunday 20:
1966 – The World Cup is stolen from Central Hall, London
Thursday 31:
The Soviet Union launches Luna 10 which later becomes the first spaceprobe to enter orbit around the Moon.
April 1966
Thursday 21:
Rastafari movement: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Jamaica, an event now celebrated as Grounation Day.
Saturday 30:
Anton LaVey founds the Church of Satan.
May 1966
Friday 06:
Myra Hindley and Ian Brady are sentenced to life imprisonment for the Moors Murders in England.
Thursday 12:
Busch Memorial Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals major league baseball team, opens in St. Louis, Missouri.
Monday 16:
Two extremely influential rock albums are released on the same day: Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds.
Saturday 21:
Cassius Clay beat Henry Cooper in the sixth round at the Arsenal football ground, North London.
Wednesday 25:
Explorer program: Explorer 32 launches.
June 1966
Monday 06:
James Meredith, civil rights activist, is shot while trying to march across Mississippi.
Monday 13:
The United States Supreme Court rules in Miranda v. Arizona that the police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning them.
Tuesday 14:
The Vatican announces the abolition of the index librorum prohibitum (index of prohibited books), which was originally instituted in 1557.
Monday 20:
Canada sells 336 million bushels (9.14 teragrams) of wheat to Soviet Union.
Monday 27:
The first broadcast of Dark Shadows aired on ABC-TV.
July 1966
Monday 04:
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act goes into effect the next year.
Friday 08:
King Mwambutsa IV Bangiriceng of Burundi was deposed by his son Prince Charles Ndizi.
Thursday 14:
1966 - A fire at a mental hospital in Guatemala City kills 225.
Monday 18:
Gemini 10 launched.
Saturday 30:
At Wembley Stadium, host England wins the Football World Cup, beating Germany 4 to 2.
August 1966
Sunday 07:
Race riots occur in Lansing, Michigan.
Thursday 11:
John Lennon holds a press conference in Chicago excusing himself from the "Jesus affair"
Tuesday 16:
Vietnam War: The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigations of Americans who have aided the Viet Cong. The committee intends to introduce legislation making these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 people are arrested.
Thursday 18:
Vietnam War: The Battle of Long Tan occurs, when a patrol of Royal Australian Regiment encounter the Viet Cong.
Tuesday 23:
Lunar Orbiter 1 takes the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the Moon.
September 1966
Wednesday 07:
The final new episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show airs (the first episode aired on October 3, 1961).
Thursday 08:
1966 - The Severn Road Bridge was officially opened.
Friday 09:
The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act signed into law by U.S. President Lyndon Johnson.
Friday 16:
The Metropolitan Opera House opens at Lincoln Center in New York City to the world premiere of Samuel Barber's opera, Antony and Cleopatra.
Friday 30:
The British protectorate of Bechuanaland declares its independence, and becomes the Republic of Botswana. Seretse Khama takes office as the first President.
October 1966
Thursday 06:
LSD is declared illegal in the United States.
Monday 10:
Simon and Garfunkel release the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.
Friday 14:
The city of Montreal inaugurates its metro system (see Montreal Metro).
Saturday 15:
US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs a bill creating the United States Department of Transportation.
Monday 17:
A fire at a building in New York, New York kills 12 firefighters.
November 1966
Wednesday 02:
The Cuban Adjustment Act enters force, allowing 123,000 Cubans the opportunity to apply for permanent residence in the United States.
Friday 04:
Two-thirds of Florence, Italy is submerged as the Arno and Po rivers flood; 113 people die, 30,000 are rendered homeless, and countless Renaissance artworks and books are destroyed.
Friday 11:
NASA launches spaceship Gemini 12.
Tuesday 15:
Gemini program: Gemini 12 splashes down safely in the Atlantic Ocean.
Wednesday 30:
Barbados becomes independent.
December 1966
Wednesday 07:
A fire at an army barracks in Erzurum, Turkey kills 68 people.
Friday 16:
Mao's Little Red Book is published in Beijing
Sunday 18:
Saturn's moon Epimetheus is discovered by Richard L. Walker, and then lost for 12 years
Saturday 24:
A Canadair CL44 chartered by the United States military crashes into a small village in South Vietnam, killing 129.
Monday 26:
The first Kwanzaa is celebrated by Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach
- History Forum
Come and discuss about History, Civilizations, Historical Events and Figures
- History Web-Ring
A community of sites, blogs and forums dedicated to History. Do not hesitate to submit your site.
| [Under Construction] - Spiritus-Temporis.com ©2005. | ![]() |

