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1969 in the United States

Events from the year 1969 in the United States.

Incumbents

Federal government

:Lyndon B. Johnson (D-Texas) (until January 20)
:Richard Nixon (R-California) (starting January 20)
:Hubert Humphrey (D-Minnesota) (until January 20)
:Spiro Agnew (R-Maryland) (starting January 20)
:Earl Warren (California) (until June 23)
:Warren E. Burger (Virginia) (starting June 23)

State governments

Events

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

  • August 4 – Vietnam War: At the apartment of French intermediary Jean Sainteny in Paris, U.S. representative Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Xuan Thuy begin secret peace negotiations. They eventually fail since both sides cannot agree to any terms.
  • August 5 – Mariner program: Mariner 7 makes its closest fly-by of Mars (3,524 kilometers).
  • August 9 – Members of a cult led by Charles Manson murder Sharon Tate (who was 8 months pregnant) and her friends: Folgers coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, and Hollywood hairstylist Jay Sebring at Roman Polanski's home in Los Angeles. Also killed was Steven Parent, leaving from a visit to the home's caretaker. More than 100 stab wounds are found on the victims, except for Parent, who had been shot almost as soon as the Manson Family entered the property.
  • August 10 – The Manson Family kills Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, wealthy Los Angeles business people.
  • August 15 – Captain D's is founded as "Mr. D's Seafood and Hamburgers" by Ray Danner with its first location opening in Donelson, Tennessee.
  • August 15–18 – The Woodstock Festival is held in upstate New York, featuring some of the era's top rock musicians.
  • August 17 – Category 5 Hurricane Camille, the most powerful tropical cyclonic system at landfall in history, hits the Mississippi coast, killing 248 people and causing US$1.5 billion in damage (1969 dollars).
  • August 20 – Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument is established in Florissant, Colorado.
  • August 21 – Donald and Doris Fisher open the first Gap store on Ocean Avenue in San Francisco.

September

October

November

December

  • December 1 – Chicago: Blues musician Magic Sam dies at the age of 32 of a heart attack.
  • December 1 – Vietnam War: The first draft lottery in the United States is held since World War II (on January 4, 1970, The New York Times will run a long article, "Statisticians Charge Draft Lottery Was Not Random").
  • December 2 – The Boeing 747 jumbo jet makes its debut. It carries 191 people, most of them reporters and photographers, from Seattle to New York City.
  • December 4
  • Black Panther Party members Fred Hampton and Mark Clark are shot dead in their sleep during a raid by 14 Chicago police officers.
  • A Boy Named Charlie Brown, the first feature film based on the Peanuts comic strip, was released to theaters for the first time.
  • December 6
  • The Altamont Free Concert is held at the Altamont Speedway in northern California. Hosted by the Rolling Stones, it is an attempt at a "Woodstock West" and is best known for the uproar of violence that occurred. It is viewed by many as the "end of the sixties."
  • College football: #1 ranked Texas rallies from 14–0 deficit with two fourth quarter touchdowns to edge #2 Arkansas 15–14 at Fayetteville in a game attended by President of the United States Richard Nixon and several high-ranking government dignitaries, including future President George H. W. Bush. The victory clinches the national championship of the coaches poll for the Longhorns; they would win the Associated Press national championship by defeating Notre Dame 21–17 in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day.
  • December 7 – Frosty the Snowman airs for the first time on CBS.
  • December 12 – The Piazza Fontana bombing in Italy (Strage di Piazza Fontana) takes place. A U.S. Navy officer and C.I.A. agent, David Carrett, is later investigated for possible involvement.
  • December 28 – The Young Lords take over the First Spanish Methodist Church in East Harlem.

Undated

Ongoing

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January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Full Date Unknown

Deaths

See also

References

External links