WORLD HISTORY · 1969 日本語
Events of 1969Showa 44 (Japan) · Year of the Rooster
What happened in 1969?
In 1969, the Tomei Expressway between Tokyo and Nagoya opened in full, and a U.S.–Japan joint statement set Okinawa's return to Japan for 1972. Abroad, Apollo 11 landed on the Moon and humans walked on its surface for the first time.
- Riot police end Yasuda Hall occupationAsia
- Nixon inaugurated as presidentNorth America
- Concorde makes first test flightEurope
- Tomei Expressway fully opensAsia
- Apollo 11 lands on the MoonNorth America
- Woodstock festival opensNorth America
- U.S.–Japan statement announces Okinawa reversionAsia
- LDP wins landslide in general electionAsia
Tap an event to jump to it in the timeline below.
1969 at a glance
| Japanese era | Showa 44 |
|---|---|
| Chinese zodiac | Year of the Rooster |
| Age of people born in 1969 | Turn 57 in 2026 |
| Previous / next year | 1968 (Showa 43) ／ 1970 (Showa 45) |
| Events | 111 |
| AP World History | Unit 8 (Cold War and Decolonization) |
| AP U.S. History | Period 8 |
Famous people born in 1969
Our birthday pages list 857 people born in 1969. Here are some of them.
- Mariah CareyBorn March 27 · turns 57 this year · American singer and songwriter known for her five-octave range and holiday clas…
- Matthew McConaugheyBorn November 4 · turns 57 this year · American actor known for Dazed and Confused, Interstellar, and his Oscar-winnin…
- Jennifer AnistonBorn February 11 · turns 57 this year · American actress famous for playing Rachel Green on Friends and for comedies li…
- Jennifer LopezBorn July 24 · turns 57 this year · American singer, actress, and dancer from the Bronx known for Selena, Hustlers,…
- Dave GrohlBorn January 14 · turns 57 this year · American rock musician who played drums in Nirvana and founded and fronts the F…
- Paul RuddBorn April 6 · turns 57 this year · American actor known for comedies like Clueless and Anchorman and for playing A…
- Wes AndersonBorn May 1 · turns 57 this year · American filmmaker famous for quirky, carefully designed comedies such as The R…
- Steffi GrafBorn June 14 · turns 57 this year · German tennis champion who won 22 Grand Slam singles titles and completed the G…
- Ice CubeBorn June 15 · turns 57 this year · American rapper and actor who rose to fame with N.W.A and later starred in the…
- Tyler PerryBorn September 13 · turns 57 this year · American playwright, actor, director, and producer best known for creating the…
- Gwen StefaniBorn October 3 · turns 57 this year · American singer, songwriter, and fashion designer who fronted No Doubt and late…
- Brett FavreBorn October 10 · turns 57 this year · Hall of Fame NFL quarterback who led the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl titl…
Show 28 more
- Mariano RiveraBorn November 29 · turns 57 this year · Panamanian baseball pitcher and longtime New York Yankees closer who holds the…
- Jay-ZBorn December 4 · turns 57 this year · Brooklyn-born rapper and entrepreneur behind Reasonable Doubt, Roc-A-Fella Reco…
- Yutaka TakeBorn March 15 · turns 57 this year
- Masaharu FukuyamaBorn February 6 · turns 57 this year
- Tōru HashimotoBorn June 29 · turns 57 this year
- SugizoBorn July 8 · turns 57 this year
- Hong Myung-boBorn February 12 · turns 57 this year
- Midori ItoBorn August 13 · turns 57 this year
- Javier BardemBorn March 1 · turns 57 this year
- Simon BakerBorn July 30 · turns 57 this year
- Edward NortonBorn August 18 · turns 57 this year
- Morris ChestnutBorn January 1 · turns 57 this year
- Verne TroyerBorn January 1 · turns 57 this year
- Christy TurlingtonBorn January 2 · turns 57 this year
- Elena GorolováBorn January 2 · turns 57 this year
- István BagyulaBorn January 2 · turns 57 this year
- Róbert ŠvehlaBorn January 2 · turns 57 this year
- Tommy MorrisonBorn January 2 · turns 57 this year
- William Fox-PittBorn January 2 · turns 57 this year
- Gerda WeissensteinerBorn January 3 · turns 57 this year
- James CarterBorn January 3 · turns 57 this year
- Jarmo LehtinenBorn January 3 · turns 57 this year
- Michael SchumacherBorn January 3 · turns 57 this year
- Corie BlountBorn January 4 · turns 57 this year
- Kees van WonderenBorn January 4 · turns 57 this year
- Marilyn MansonBorn January 5 · turns 57 this year
- Paul McGillionBorn January 5 · turns 57 this year
- Shaun MicheelBorn January 5 · turns 57 this year
Events of 1969 (timeline · 111)
Tip: the PC view is best for studying
On a computer, each region has its own vertical line, so you can follow the flow of events and see what was happening in different parts of the world at the same time.
Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes in Fernhill, West Sussex, UK, while on approach to Gatwick Airport, killing 50 people.
Allegheny Airlines Flight 737 crashes in Lafayette Township, McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States, killing 11.
The New York Jets of the American Football League defeat the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League to win Super Bowl III in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
USS Enterprise fire: An accidental explosion aboard the USS Enterprise near Hawaii kills 28 people.
Czech student Jan Palach commits suicide by self-immolation in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in protest against the Soviets' crushing of the Prague Spring the year before.
Space Race: Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 perform the first-ever docking of crewed spacecraft in orbit, the first-ever transfer of crew from one space vehicle to another, and the only time such a transfer was accomplished with a space walk.
Black Panther Party members Bunchy Carter and John Huggins are killed during a meeting in Campbell Hall on the campus of UCLA.
United Airlines Flight 266 crashes into Santa Monica Bay killing all 32 passengers and six crew members.
Student Jan Palach dies after setting himself on fire three days earlier in Prague's Wenceslas Square to protest about the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in 1968. His funeral turns into another major protest.
Brazilian Army captain Carlos Lamarca deserts in order to fight against the military dictatorship, taking with him ten machine guns and 63 rifles.
The Beatles' last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records in London. The impromptu concert is broken up by the police.
American aquanaut Berry L. Cannon dies of carbon dioxide poisoning while attempting to repair a leak in the SEALAB III underwater habitat. The SEALAB project was subsequently abandoned.
In Toulouse, France, the first test flight of the Anglo-French Concorde is conducted.
In Memphis, Tennessee, James Earl Ray pleads guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. He later unsuccessfully attempts to recant.
The United States begins secretly bombing the Sihanouk Trail in Cambodia, used by communist forces to infiltrate South Vietnam.
The 385-metre-tall (1,263 ft) TV-mast at Emley Moor transmitting station, United Kingdom, collapses due to ice build-up.
A United Arab Airlines (now Egyptair) Ilyushin Il-18 crashes at Aswan International Airport, killing 100 people.
Greek poet and Nobel Prize laureate Giorgos Seferis makes a famous statement on the BBC World Service opposing the junta in Greece.
The Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first operational fighter aircraft with Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing capabilities, enters service with the Royal Air Force.
LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165 crashes into the Polica mountain near Zawoja, Poland, killing 53.
Vietnam War: United States Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces that the United States will start to "Vietnamize" the war effort.
The first British-built Concorde 002 makes its maiden flight from Filton to RAF Fairford with Brian Trubshaw as the test pilot.
The EC-121 shootdown incident: North Korea shoots down a United States Navy aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 on board.
The formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) is announced at a mass rally in Calcutta.
British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston wins the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race and completes the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world.
The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.
Carlos Lamarca leads the first urban guerrilla action against the military dictatorship of Brazil in São Paulo, by robbing two banks.
Vietnam War: The Battle of Dong Ap Bia begins with an assault on Hill 937. It will ultimately become known as Hamburger Hill.
In the aftermath of the 1969 Malaysian general election, Sino-Malay sectarian violence erupts in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Venera program: Soviet Venera 6 begins its descent into the atmosphere of Venus, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure.
Civil unrest in Rosario, Argentina, known as Rosariazo, following the death of a 15-year-old student.
Apollo 10's Lunar Module flies within 8.4 nautical miles (16 km) of the Moon's surface.
Apollo program: Apollo 10 returns to Earth after a successful eight-day test of all the components needed for the forthcoming first crewed Moon landing.
Melbourne-Evans collision: Off the coast of South Vietnam, the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne cuts the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half, resulting in 74 deaths.
The Cuyahoga River catches fire in Cleveland, Ohio, drawing national attention to water pollution, and spurring the passing of the Clean Water Act and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
IBM announces that effective January 1970 it will price its software and services separately from hardware thus creating the modern software industry.
Warren E. Burger is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court by retiring Chief Justice Earl Warren.
Stonewall riots begin in New York City, marking the start of the Gay Rights Movement.
The Apollo 11 lunar landing mission is launched from Cape Kennedy in Florida, USA.
Chappaquiddick incident: U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy crashes his car into a tidal pond at Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, killing his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.
A cease fire is announced between Honduras and El Salvador, six days after the beginning of the "Football War".
Apollo program: Apollo 11's crew successfully makes the first human landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later.
Apollo program: At 02:56 UTC, astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the Moon, followed 19 minutes later by Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.
Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon declares the Nixon Doctrine, stating that the United States now expects its Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This is the start of the "Vietnamization" of the war.
Vietnam War: U.S. president Richard Nixon makes an unscheduled visit to South Vietnam and meets with President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and U.S. military commanders.
Vietnam War: At the apartment of French intermediary Jean Sainteny in Paris, American representative Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Xuân Thuỷ begin secret peace negotiations. The negotiations will eventually fail.
The Lonesome Cowboys police raid occurs in Atlanta, Georgia, leading to the creation of the Georgia Gay Liberation Front.
Richard Nixon appoints Luis R. Bruce, a Mohawk-Oglala Sioux and co-founder of the National Congress of American Indians, as the new commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
At a zebra crossing in London, photographer Iain Macmillan takes the iconic photo that becomes the cover image of the Beatles' album Abbey Road.
Tate–LaBianca murders: Followers of Charles Manson murder pregnant actress Sharon Tate (wife of Roman Polanski), coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Polish actor Wojciech Frykowski, men's hairstylist Jay Sebring and recent high-school graduate Steven Parent.
A day after murdering actress Sharon Tate and four others, members of Charles Manson's cult kill Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.
The Apollo 11 astronauts are released from a three-week quarantine following their liftoff from the Moon.
Violence erupts after the Apprentice Boys of Derry march in Derry, Northern Ireland, resulting in a three-day communal riot known as the Battle of the Bogside.
The Apollo 11 astronauts enjoy a ticker-tape parade in New York City. That evening, at a state dinner in Los Angeles, they are awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Richard Nixon.
The Troubles: British troops are deployed in Northern Ireland as political and sectarian violence breaks out, marking the start of the 37-year Operation Banner.
The Woodstock Music & Art Fair opens in Bethel, New York, featuring some of the top rock musicians of the era.
Category 5 Hurricane Camille hits the U.S. Gulf Coast, killing 256 and causing $1.42 billion in damage.
Aeroflot Flight 1770 crashes while landing at Vnukovo International Airport, killing 16.
Mỹ Lai Massacre: U.S. Army Lieutenant William Calley is charged with six specifications of premeditated murder for the death of 109 Vietnamese civilians in My Lai.
In Canada, the Official Languages Act comes into force, making French equal to English throughout the Federal government.
Allegheny Airlines Flight 863 collides in mid-air with a Piper PA-28 Cherokee over Moral Township, Shelby County, Indiana, killing all 83 people on board both aircraft.
Philippine Air Lines Flight 158 crashes in Antipolo, near Manila International Airport in the Philippines, killing 45 people.
Mexicana de Aviación Flight 801, a Boeing 727-100 passenger plane, crashes during a landing attempt in Mexico City, killing 27 of the 118 occupants.
The opening rally of the Days of Rage occurs, organized by the Weather Underground in Chicago.
In Chicago, the National Guard is called in as demonstrations continue over the trial of the "Chicago Eight".
The Caravaggio painting Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence is stolen from the Oratory of Saint Lawrence in Palermo.
The first-ever computer-to-computer link is established on ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet.
Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon addresses the nation on television and radio, asking the "silent majority" to join him in solidarity on the Vietnam War effort and to support his policies.
National Educational Television (the predecessor to the Public Broadcasting Service) in the United States debuts Sesame Street.
Vietnam War: Independent investigative journalist Seymour Hersh breaks the story of the My Lai Massacre.
Vietnam War: Anti-war protesters in Washington, D.C. stage a symbolic March Against Death.
Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 12, the second crewed mission to the surface of the Moon.
Vietnam War: In Washington, D.C., 250,000–500,000 protesters staged a peaceful demonstration against the war, including a symbolic "March Against Death".
Cold War: The Soviet submarine K-19 collides with the American submarine USS Gato in the Barents Sea.
Cold War: Negotiators from the Soviet Union and the United States meet in Helsinki, Finland to begin SALT I negotiations aimed at limiting the number of strategic weapons on both sides.
Apollo program: Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean land at Oceanus Procellarum (the "Ocean of Storms") and become the third and fourth humans to walk on the Moon.
Vietnam War: The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) publishes explicit photographs of dead villagers from the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam.
Occupation of Alcatraz: Native American activists seize control of Alcatraz Island until being ousted by the U.S. Government on June 11, 1971.
U.S. President Richard Nixon and Japanese Premier Eisaku Satō agree on the return of Okinawa to Japanese control in 1972. The U.S. retains rights to bases on the island, but these are to be nuclear-free.
Apollo program: The Apollo 12 command module splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean, ending the second crewed mission to land on the Moon.
Vietnam War: The first draft lottery in the United States is held since World War II.
Black Panther Party members Fred Hampton and Mark Clark are shot and killed during a raid by 14 Chicago police officers.
Altamont Free Concert: At a free concert performed by the Rolling Stones, eighteen-year old Meredith Hunter is stabbed to death by Hells Angels security guards.
Olympic Airways Flight 954 strikes a mountain outside of Keratea, Greece, killing 90 people in the worst crash of a Douglas DC-6 in history.
U.S. Secretary of State William P. Rogers proposes his plan for a ceasefire in the War of Attrition; Egypt and Jordan accept it over the objections of the PLO, which leads to civil war in Jordan in September 1970.
The Piazza Fontana bombing; a bomb explodes at the headquarters of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura (the National Agricultural Bank) in Piazza Fontana in Milan, Italy, killing 17 people and wounding 88. The same afternoon, three more bombs are detonated in Rome and Milan, and another is found unexploded.
Source: Wikipedia date pages ("January 1" … "December 31") / CC BY-SA 4.0. Regions are assigned by the site editors.
FAQ
What year was 1969 in the Japanese calendar?
1969 was Showa 44 in the Japanese era system.
What Chinese zodiac animal is 1969?
1969 is the Year of the Rooster.
How old is someone born in 1969?
They turn 57 on their birthday in 2026.
What happened in 1969?
In 1969, the Tomei Expressway between Tokyo and Nagoya opened in full, and a U.S.–Japan joint statement set Okinawa's return to Japan for 1972. Abroad, Apollo 11 landed on the Moon and humans walked on its surface for the first time.
Dates and events are based on Wikipedia and other references. Summaries and regions are written by the site editors.