- January 25
- US-North Vietnamese peace talks begin in Paris, France. [1]
- January 30
- US/Canada ISIS 1 launched to study ionosphere. [1]
- January 31
- Vice Admiral Rufus L Taylor, US Navy, ends term as deputy director of US Central Intelligence Agency. [1]
- February 5
- US population reaches 200 million. [1]
- February 8
- Last edition of Saturday Evening Post. [1]
- February 9
- World's largest airplane, Boeing 747, makes first commercial flight. [1]
- February 27
- US President Richard Nixon visits West Berlin. [1]
- March 3
- Apollo 9 is launched (151 Earth orbits in 10 days). [1] [452.94]
- March 10
- James Earl Ray pleads guilty in murder of Martin Luther King Jr. [1]
- March 12
- 11th Grammy Awards: "Mrs Robinson", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" win. [1]
- March 13
- Buena Vista generally releases the Walt Disney Pictures live-action feature film The Love Bug to theatres in the USA. (It becomes the highest grossing film in the US for the year.) [6]
- Apollo 9 returns to Earth. [1]
- March 15
- US Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas resigns. [1]
- March 16
- Peter Stone and Sherman Edward's 1776 premieres at 46th Steet Theater in New York City for 1217 performances. [1]
- March 19
- Chicago 8 indicted in aftermath of Chicago Democratic convention. [1]
- March 20
- US President Richard Nixon proclaims he will end Vietnam war in 1970. [1]
- March 21
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- March 23
- Rally for Decency held in Miami, Florida. [1]
- March 27
- Black Academy of Arts and Letters forms in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. [1]
- Launch of Mariner 7. [1] [5]
- April 7
- US Supreme Court strikes down laws prohibiting private possession of obscene material. [1]
- April 11
- The export ban of US silver coins is lifted. [388.B20] [486.32] [618.77] (May 12 [433.3] [582.51])
- April 14
- 41st Academy Awards - Oliver, Cliff Robertson, and Katharine Hepburn/ Barbra Streisand win. [1]
- Student Afro-American Society seized at Columbia College. [1]
- April 15
- North Korea shoots at US airplane above Japanese sea. [1]
- April 17
- Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating US Senator Robert F Kennedy. [1]
- April 20
- 23rd Tony Awards: Great White Hope and 1776 win. [1]
- April 23
- Sirhan Sirhan sentenced to death for killing US Senator Robert Kennedy. [1]
- April 24
- American B-52 bombers drop 3,000-ton bombs at Cambodian boundary. [1]
- April 26
- US ownership of pre-1934 gold coins no longer requires a license from the Treasury Department. [401.36] [488.36]
- May 7
- Lieutenant General Robert E Cushman, Jr, US Marine Corp, becomes deputy director of US Central Intelligence Agency. [1]
- May 10
- Apollo 10 transmits first color pictures of Earth from space. [1]
- US troops begin attack on Hill 937/Hamburger Hill, Vietnam. [1]
- May 14
- Last Chevrolet Corvair car built. [1]
- May 15
- Associate Justice Abe Fortas resigns from US Supreme Court. [1]
- May 16
- US submarine Guitarro sinks at the pier at San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California. [1]
- May 18
- Apollo 10 (Stafford/Cernan/Young) launched toward lunar orbit. [1] [452.94]
- May 20
- US troops capture Hill 937/Hamburger Hill Vietnam. [1]
- May 22
- Stafford and Cernan pilot Apollo 10 LEM 9.4 miles (15km) above lunar surface. [1]
- May 26
- Apollo 10 astronauts returned to Earth. [1]
- May 27
- Walt Disney World construction begins. [1]
- June 2
- Australian aircraft carrier Melbourne slices US destroyer. [1]
- June 5
- Race riot in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. [1]
- June 8
- In Santa Monica, California, and New York, New York, the 21st Annual Emmy Awards are presented, hosted by Bill Cosby (Los Angeles) and Merv Griffin (New York).
- Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series: Carl Betz for Judd for the Defense
- Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Paul Scofield for Male of the Species
- Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series: Don Adams for Get Smart
- Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series: Barbara Bain for Mission: Impossible
- Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Geraldine Page for The Thanksgiving Visitor
- Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series: Hope Lange for The Ghost & Mrs. Muir
- Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series: Werner Klemperer for Hogan's Heroes
- Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Anna Calder-Marshall for Male of the Species
- Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series: Susan Saint James for The Name of the Game
- Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama: David Greene for episode "The People Next Door" of CBS Playhouse
- Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy, Variety or Music: Allan Blye, Bob Einstein, Murray Roman, Carl Gottlieb, Lorenzo Music, Steve Martin, Cecil Tuck, Paul Wayne, Cy Howard, and Mason Williams for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
- Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama: J.P. Miller for episode "The People Next Door" of CBS Playhouse
- Outstanding Variety or Musical Series: Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
- Outstanding Achievement in Musical Composition: John Williams for Heidi
- Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music: Mort Lindsey for A Happening in Central Park
- Outstanding Variety or Musical Program: The Bill Cosby Special
- Outstanding Achievement in News Documentary Programming - Programs: Law and Order
- Special Classification Achievements - Programs: Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom
- Special Classification Achievements - Individuals (Variety Performances): Harvey Korman for The Carol Burnett Show and Arte Johnson for Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
- Outstanding Dramatic Program: Teacher, Teacher
- Outstanding Achievement in Daytime Programming - Programs: The Dick Cavett Show
- Outstanding Comedy Series: Get Smart.
[206]
- June 9
- Warren Burger confirmed as US Chief Justice. [1]
- June 16
- US Supreme Court rules suspension of Adam Clayton Powell Jr from House had been unconstitutional. [1]
- June 19
- State troopers ordered to Cairo, Illinois, to quell racial disturbances. [1]
- June 20
- 150,000 attend Newport '69, Jimi Hendrix gets $120,000 to appear. [1]
- June 22
- In Cleveland, Ohio, USA, the Cuyahoga River catches fire, triggering a crack-down on pollution in the river. [5]
- June 23
- Warren E Burger sworn in as US Supreme Court Chief Justice. [1]
- June 27
- 50,000 attend Denver Pop Festival. [1]
- Police raid the Stonewall Gay Bar in Greenwich Village, New York; about 400 to 1,000 patrons riot against police, lasting three days. [1]
- June 29
- First Jewish worship service at White House, Washington, DC. [1]
- July 2
- The International resort/casino opens in Las Vegas Boulevard, Nevada. With 1500 rooms, it is the world's largest hotel, with the world's largest casino, at 29,000 square feet. [187.420]
- July 3
- 78,000 attend Newport Jazz Festival, Newport, Rhode Island. [1]
- July 4
- 140,000 attend Atlanta Pop Festival featuring Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin. [1]
- July 8
- US troop withdrawal begins in Vietnam. [1]
- July 9
- The United States Postal Service announces a stamp to commemorate the first landing on the Moon. A record 8,743,070 requests are received for first day covers. [270.499]
- July 16
- Apollo 11 takes off from Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins aboard. [1] [129]
- July 18
- Mary Jo Kopechne and Senator Ted Kennedy plunge off Chappaquiddick bridge. [1]
- July 19
- Mary Jo Kopechne dies at age 28, in Senator Ted Kennedy's car. [1]
- July 20
- Lunar module Eagle, manned by Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin separates from the command module of Apollo 11, and lands on the Moon 2.5 hours later. Armstrong radios Mission Control in Houston, Texas, "The Eagle has landed." [5] [129]
- At 10:56 p.m. EDT, American astronaut Neil Armstrong, 240,000 miles from Earth, speaks these words to more than a billion people listening at home: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Stepping off the lunar landing module Eagle, Armstrong became the first human to walk on the surface of the moon. Edwin Aldrin joins him 11:11 p.m., and the two take photographs, plant a U.S. flag, run scientific tests, and leave a plaque that reads: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon - July 1969 A.D. - We came in peace for all mankind." [1] [129]
- Astronauts on the Moon hand-cancel a "moon letter" bearing a die proof of a stamp for later release, with a die cancel "Moon Landing USA JUL 20 1969". [270.499]
- July 24
- Apollo 11 splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean. [1] [5] [129]
- July 25
- 70,000 attend Seattle Pop Festival, Washington State. [1]
- July 27
- July 29
- Mariner 6 begins transmitting far-encounter photos of Mars. [1]
- July 31
- National Guard mobilizes in racial disturbances in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. [1]
- August 1
- 110,000 attend Atlantic City Pop Festival in New Jersey. [1]
- August 9
- Sharon Tate, actress, killed by Charles Manson's gang. [1]
- August 14
- The new Philadelphia Mint officially opens. [388.118] [518.70]
- August 15
- Woodstock Music and Art Fair opens in New York State (Max Yasgur's Dairy Farm). [1]
- August 22
- Hurricane Camille strikes U.S. Gulf Coast; kills 255. [1]
- August 30
- 120,000 attend Texas International Pop Festival. [1]
- 25,000 attend second Annual Sky River Rock Festival, Tenino, Washington. [1]
- Racial disturbances in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. [1]
- August 31
- 25,000 attend New Orleans Pop Festival. [1]
- September 9
- Allegheny 853 collides with Piper Cherokee above Indiana, kills 82. [1]
- October 14
- Race riots in Springfield, Massachusetts. [1]
- October 15
- Vietnam Moratorium Day; millions in US nationwide protest the war. [1]
- October 18
- US Federal government bans use of cyclamates artificial sweetener. [1]
- October 27
- Ralph Nader sets up a consumer organization known as Nader's Raiders. [1]
- October 31
- Race riot in Jacksonville, Florida. [1]
- November 13
- US Vice President Spiro T Agnew accuses network TV news depths of bias and distortion. [1]
- November 14
- NASA launches Apollo 12, the second manned mission to the surface of the Moon. [1] [5]
- November 15
- 250,000 peacefully demonstrate in Washington DC against the Vietnam War. [1]
- November 20
- In Southern West Virginia, a magnitude 4.5 earthquake occurs. This is the largest known historical earthquake in West Virginia. [53]
- November 24
- Apollo 12 returns to Earth. [1]
- December 1
- US government holds its first draft lottery since WWII. [1]
- December 2
- Boeing 747 jumbo jet first public preview (Seattle, Washington to New York City, New York). [1]
- December 5
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- December 6
- 300,000 attend the Altamont, California, rock concert featuring The Rolling Stones. [1]
- December 17
- US Air Force closes Project Blue Book, concluding no evidence of extraterrestrial spaceships behind thousands of UFO sightings. [1]
- December 18
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- December 28
- Neil Simon's Last of the Red Hot Lovers premieres in New York City, New York. [1]
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