About INTERTEL Timeline of the 1960s 0 A summary of the main events of Intertel’s lifetime Senator John F Kennedy announces he will run for President of the USA 2 January 1960 USA break off diplomatic relations with Cuba 3 January 1960 Construction of the Aswan Dam in Egypt begins 9 January 1960 British PM Harold Macmillan makes his first ‘Wind of Change’ speech 10 January 1960 The Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security is signed by Japan and the USA 19 January 1960 Rebellion against French presence in Algeria begins 24 January 1960 Sit-ins begin in segregated lunch counters in the USA 1 February 1960 Harold Macmillan makes his ‘Wind of Change’ speech again, this time to the South African parliament 3 February 1960 France tests an atomic bomb in the Algerian desert 13 February 1960 The photo of Che Guevara, seen since on millions of t-shirts, is taken by Alberto Korda 5 March 1960 3,500 American soldiers to be sent to Vietnam 6 March 1960 The Australian Broadcasting Commission’s television station in Adelaide begins broadcasting 11 March 1960 A ceasefire is declared in Algeria 18 March 1960 Nikita Khrushchev and Charles de Gaulle meet for talks 23 March 1960 Census day in the US. Population is 179,323,175 1 April 1960 April Revolution against President Syngman Rhee of South Korea begins 19 April 1960 Brasilia replaces Rio de Janeiro as capital of Brazil 21 April 1960 The USSR shoots down a US spy plane and captures Gary Powers, its pilot 1 May 1960 The European Free Trade Association is founded 3 May 1960 The Civil Rights Act 1960 becomes law in the US 6 May 1960 The Australian Broadcasting Commission’s television station in Perth begins broadcasting 7 May 1960 The Kenya African National Union is founded 14 May 1960 Military coup in Turkey 27 May 1960 Television begins in New Zealand 1 June 1960 The Australian Broadcasting Commission’s television station in Hobart begins broadcasting 4 June 1960 Ghana becomes a republic 1 July 1960 Cuba nationalises all foreign-owned assets 6 August 1960 Cyprus becomes independent from the UK 16 August 1960 President Adolfo López Mateos of Mexico nationalises the electricity system 21 September 1960 Kennedy and Nixon hold a televised debate 26 September 1960 Jânio Quadros elected president of Brazil 3 October 1960 Whites in South Africa vote to become a republic 5 October 1960 Nigeria joins the United Nations 7 October 1960 ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ is not obscene: UK court 2 November 1960 John F Kennedy elected president of the USA 8 November 1960 Church of England archbishop Geoffrey Fisher holds talks with Pope John XXIII 2 December 1960 Charles de Gaulle visits Algeria; riots break out, killing 127 9 December 1960 Military coup in Ethiopia 13 December 1960 Counter-coup in Ethiopia restores Haile Selassie to the throne 17 December 1960 John F Kennedy becomes 35th president of the USA 20 January 1961 The US Peace Corps are established 1 March 1961 JFK proposes an anti-Communist ‘Alliance for Progress’ with Latin America 13 March 1961 “Two Faces of Japan” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 2 April 1961 Failed coup in Portugal 13 April 1961 Cuban exiles supported by the US invade the Bay of Pigs 17 April 1961 The Bay of Pigs invasion is defeated 20 April 1961 ‘Freedom Riders’ begin to challenge illegal segregation on US interstate buses 4 May 1961 The FCC chairman, Newton Minow, calls US commercial TV ‘a vast wasteland’ 9 May 1961 Military coup in South Korea 16 May 1961 Race riots in Alabama 21 May 1961 JFK promises to put a man on the moon, and bring him home safely, before the decade is out 25 May 1961 South Africa becomes a republic and leaves the Commonwealth 31 May 1961 Huge earthquake in Ethiopia 1 June 1961 JFK and Khrushchev hold talks in Vienna 4 June 1961 “The Quiet War” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 4 June 1961 “The Heartbeat of France” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 16 July 1961 The UK begins talks on membership of the EEC; it will be turned down 10 August 1961 East Germany begins building a wall between East and West Berlin 13 August 1961 The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s affiliate TV station in Pembroke begins broadcasting 19 August 1961 The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s affiliate TV station in Prince George begins broadcasting 20 August 1961 João Goulart becomes president of Brazil 25 August 1961 Eritrea begins armed struggle for independence from Ethiopia 1 September 1961 UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld killed in a plane crash 18 September 1961 “Dawn Over the Mountains” (NHK) airs on NET 25 September 1961 Military coup in Syria, ending the union with Egypt 28 September 1961 The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s television station in Edmonton begins broadcasting 1 October 1961 Riots in Paris over a curfew on Algerians in the city 17 October 1961 Mauritania and Mongolia join the United Nations 27 October 1961 US and USSR tanks face each other across Checkpoint Charlie in divided Berlin 27 October 1961 18,000 US ‘military advisors’ sent to South Vietnam 18 November 1961 “Postscript to Empire” airs on NET 20 November 1961 U Thant becomes Secretary-General of the United Nations 30 November 1961 Telefís Éireann comes on air 31 December 1961 Pope John XXIII excommunicates Cuba’s Fidel Castro 3 January 1962 “Don’t Label Me” (CBC) airs on NET 6 January 1962 The USSR and Cuba sign a trade pact 9 January 1962 Albania switches allegiance from the USSR to the People’s Republic of China 13 January 1962 Cuba is suspended from the Organization of American States 22 January 1962 The USA begins an embargo on Cuba 3 February 1962 Military coup in Burma 2 March 1962 “Forty Million Shoes” (CBC) airs on NET 19 March 1962 Commonwealth Immigration Bill drastically reduces non-white immigration into the UK 18 April 1962 Educational Television Facilities Act begins federal funding for NET 1 May 1962 “Living with a Giant” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 14 May 1962 JFK makes a televised announcement in support of Civil Rights for African-Americans 11 June 1962 Algeria becomes independent of France 5 July 1962 The satellite ‘Telstar’ is launched 10 July 1962 Nelson Mandela arrested in South Africa 5 August 1962 “America Abroad” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 6 August 1962 Singapore referendum supports joining nearby states to form Malaysia 1 September 1962 The USSR and Cuba sign an arms deal 2 September 1962 James Meredith becomes the first African-American to register at the University of Mississippi. He needs a guard of Federal Marshals. 1 October 1962 “The Unfinished Revolution” airs on NET 1 October 1962 Uganda becomes independent from the UK 9 October 1962 Cuba: US spy planes discover USSR nuclear missiles on the island 14 October 1962 A border war begins between India and China 20 October 1962 Cuba: JFK makes a televised address revealing the presence of Soviet missiles on the island 22 October 1962 Cuba: the US Navy confronts a USSR cargo vessel sailing to Cuba. The Soviet ship changes course 24 October 1962 Cuba: the USSR announces it will remove the nuclear missiles from the island 28 October 1962 The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s affiliate TV station in Terrace begins broadcasting 1 November 1962 The United Nations condemns South Africa’s apartheid policy 6 November 1962 Cuba: the USA ends the blockade of the island 20 November 1962 Ceasefire in the the China-India border war 21 November 1962 Senator Mike Mansfield returns to the US after visiting Vietnam. He is pessimistic about US involvement 2 December 1962 Tanganyika becomes independent from the UK 9 December 1962 The Australian Broadcasting Commission’s television station in Canberra begins broadcasting 18 December 1962 North Vietnam wins substantial victory in the Battle of Ap Bac 2 January 1963 Racist George Wallace becomes governor of Alabama 14 January 1963 “Tahiti–Pacific Cocktail” (ABC) airs on NET 21 January 1963 Harvey Ganntt joins Clemson University in South Carolina, the last college to officially desegregate 28 January 1963 Trading with and travelling to Cuba made illegal for US citizens 8 February 1963 Women win the right to vote in Iran 27 February 1963 Sit-ins begin in Birmingham, AL, against segregation 3 April 1963 “The Turkish Question” airs on NET 8 April 1963 Birmingham, AL, police respond to segregation protests with police dogs and fire hoses 2 May 1963 The Catholic government of South Vietnam begins persecuting Buddhists 8 May 1963 Kuwait joins the United Nations 14 May 1963 Government forces spray Buddhist protestors with chloroacetone, to the shock of the US government 3 June 1963 Pope John XXIII dies 3 June 1963 The Equal Pay Act becomes law in the United States 10 June 1963 The “red telephone” (actually a teleprinter) direct line from the White House to the Kremlin is authorised 20 June 1963 Giovanni Battista Montini becomes Pope Paul VI 21 June 1963 “Ich bin ein Berliner” 26 June 1963 “Twelve Flags South” (ABC) airs on NET 22 July 1963 Huge earthquake in Yugoslavia 26 July 1963 US/USSR/UK Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is signed 5 August 1963 James Meredith graduates from the University of Mississippi 18 August 1963 Buddhist sites across South Vietnam smashed by government forces, again to US government shock 21 August 1963 “I Have a Dream” 28 August 1963 The Federation of Malaysia comes into being 16 September 1963 Nigeria becomes a republic 2 October 1963 Military coup in Honduras 3 October 1963 Harold Macmillan resigns as prime minister of the UK 18 October 1963 Sir Alec Douglas-Home becomes prime minister of the UK 19 October 1963 US-backed coup in South Vietnam; president Ngô Đình Diệm murdered 2 November 1963 Coup leader Dương Văn Minh becomes head of state in South Vietnam 6 November 1963 Malcolm X makes his “Message to the Grass Roots” speech in Detroit, MI 10 November 1963 President John F Kennedy murdered in Dallas, TX. Lyndon B Johnson succeeds him 22 November 1963 Alleged assassin of JFK, Lee Harvey Oswald, murdered on live television by Jack Ruby 24 November 1963 Zanzibar becomes independent from the UK 10 December 1963 Kenya becomes independent from the UK 12 December 1963 “Ten Million Strong” (ABC) airs on NET 16 December 1963 Civil war begins between Greek and Turkish Cypriots 21 December 1963 New US president Lyndon B Johnson announces his “War on Poverty” 8 January 1964 Nationalist coup in Zanzibar 12 January 1964 Amendment XXIV to the US constitution bans states from using poll taxes to discriminate against African-American voters 23 January 1964 Military coup in South Vietnam. Nguyễn Khánh becomes the new leader 30 January 1964 African-American and Puerto Rican children begin a schools boycott in New York over de facto segregation 3 February 1964 Cuba cuts supplies of clean water to the US naval base on the island at Guantanamo Bay 6 February 1964 Dương Văn Minh returns as leader of South Vietnam 8 February 1964 Military coup in Brazil 31 March 1964 Associated-Rediffusion becomes Rediffusion Television (trading as Rediffusion, London) 6 April 1964 “A King’s Revolution” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 6 April 1964 Failed military coup in Laos 19 April 1964 Tanzania is formed from the merger of Tanganyika and Zanzibar 26 April 1964 Viet Cong sink the USNS Card in Saigon harbour 2 May 1964 “Algeria: What Price Freedom?” (CBC) airs on NET 4 May 1964 12 men publicly burn their draft cards in New York, the first known such protest against the Vietnam War 12 May 1964 Jawaharlal Nehru, prime minister of India since independence, dies aged 74 27 May 1964 Nelson Mandela sentenced to life imprisonment in South Africa 12 June 1964 “Room Down Under” airs on NET 15 June 1964 Civil Rights Act officially abolishes segregation in the US 2 July 1964 “The New Italian” airs on NET 6 July 1964 Nguyễn Khánh returns as leader of South Vietnam 16 July 1964 Race riots in Harlem, New York 18 July 1964 Race riots in Singapore 21 July 1964 Total number of US military forces in South Vietnam is 21,000 27 July 1964 Congress expands the Vietnam War into North Vietnam 7 August 1964 “Africa: The Hidden Frontiers” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 24 August 1964 Malta becomes independent from the UK 21 September 1964 War of independence against Portugal begins in Mozambique 25 September 1964 Race riots in Philadelphia, PA 28 September 1964 Bullet trains begin operation in Japan, from Tokyo to Osaka 1 October 1964 The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s television station in Newfoundland begins broadcasting 1 October 1964 Opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics 10 October 1964 Martin Luther King awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 14 October 1964 Labour Party wins UK general election; Harold Wilson becomes prime minister 15 October 1964 Party coup in the Kremlin deposes Nikita Khrushchev; Leonid Brezhnev becomes leader 15 October 1964 People’s Republic of China detonates a nuclear bomb, becoming the 5th acknowledged nuclear power in the world 16 October 1964 “Crisis in Canada” airs on NET 18 October 1964 Zambia becomes independent from the UK 24 October 1964 Phan Khắc Sửu becomes head of state in South Vietnam 26 October 1964 Lyndon B Johnson heavily defeats Barry Goldwater in the US presidential election 3 November 1964 Military coup in Bolivia 3 November 1964 “Stronger Since the War” (ABC) airs on NET 18 November 1964 “America: The Dollar Poor” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 23 December 1964 LBJ announces his “Great Society” plans 4 January 1965 “America: the Edge of Abundance” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 20 January 1965 “Three Men” (CBC) airs on NET 17 February 1965 The Gambia becomes independent from the UK 18 February 1965 Malcolm X murdered in New York 21 February 1965 US begins carpet bombing of North Vietnam 2 March 1965 “Early Bird” satellite is launched 6 April 1965 Mass anti-Vietnam War demonstration in Washington DC 17 April 1965 “Every 10th Man: A Study of Homosexuality” (CBC) airs on NET 21 April 1965 “South America: Votes or Violence” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 21 April 1965 Civil war begins in the Dominican Republic 24 April 1965 US deploys troops to the Dominican Republic 28 April 1965 “To Live Till You Die” airs on NET 19 May 1965 Australian troops begin arriving in South Vietnam 2 June 1965 “This Question of Color” airs on NET 16 June 1965 Military coup in Algeria; Ahmed Ben Bella deposed 19 June 1965 “Children of Revolution” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 21 July 1965 The Maldives become independent from the UK 26 July 1965 Medicare and Medicaid created in the US 30 July 1965 Voting Rights Act prohibits prevention of African-Americans from voting 6 August 1965 Singapore expelled from the Federation of Malaysia 9 August 1965 “The Cathode Colours Them Human” (CBC) airs on NET 18 August 1965 Burning of US draft cards now carries a $1,000 penalty and up to 5 years in prison 31 August 1965 India and Pakistan go to war 2 September 1965 Fidel Castro allows Cubans to emigrate to the US 28 September 1965 First draft card burner arrested in New York 15 October 1965 “The House on the Beach” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 20 October 1965 Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the UK by white minority rulers of Rhodesia 11 November 1965 “The Union Man” (ABC) airs on NET 17 November 1965 Military coup in Congo-Kinshasa 24 November 1965 The Pentagon requests troop numbers in South Vietnam to be increased to 400,000 27 November 1965 Charles de Gaulle re-elected president of France 5 December 1965 The Race Relations Act becomes law in Great Britain 8 December 1965 “Men for Others” (CBC) airs on NET 15 December 1965 UK and US oil embargo against Rhodesia begins 17 December 1965 Military coup in the Central African Republic 1 January 1966 Military coup in Upper Volta 4 January 1966 Tashkent Declaration ends India/Pakistan war 10 January 1966 Lal Bahadur Shastri, prime minister of India, dies suddenly 11 January 1966 Robert C Weaver becomes Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the first African-American in the US cabinet 13 January 1966 Military coup in Nigeria 15 January 1966 Second military coup in Nigeria 17 January 1966 There are now 190,000 US troops in South Vietnam 18 January 1966 Food riots in Hungary 20 January 1966 Civil war in Chad 22 January 1966 Indira Gandhi becomes prime minister of India 24 January 1966 Harold Holt becomes prime minister of Australia, replacing Robert Menzies 26 January 1966 All UK trade with Rhodesia ends 31 January 1966 Military coup in Syria 24 February 1966 Military coup in Ghana 24 February 1966 UK government announces plans to decimalise their currency in 1971 1 March 1966 A Buddhist uprising begins in South Vietnam 10 March 1966 “Men in Black” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 23 March 1966 General election in the UK; Harold Wilson’s Labour party returned with a majority increased from 2 to 96 31 March 1966 “The Difference Between Us” airs on NET 20 April 1966 First ever Vatican-USSR meeting as Andrei Gromyko visits Pope Paul VI 27 April 1966 There are now 250,000 US troops in South Vietnam 29 April 1966 The Cultural Revolution begins in the People’s Republic of China 16 May 1966 “Homosexuality in Men and Women” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 19 May 1966 Guyana becomes independent from the UK 26 May 1966 Charles de Gaulle begins a state visit to the USSR 20 June 1966 “Someone Must Govern Us” airs on NET 22 June 1966 Military coup in Argentina 28 June 1966 US bombing is extended to Hanoi, capital of North Vietnam 29 June 1966 Violent anti-Vietnam War demonstration in London 3 July 1966 Malawi becomes a republic 6 July 1966 Race riots in Cleveland, OH 18 July 1966 “The Culture Explosion” (CBC) airs on NET 20 July 1966 “One in Every Hundred” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 20 July 1966 Military coup in Nigeria 29 July 1966 With few colonies left, the UK Colonial Office is folded into the Commonwealth Relations Office 1 August 1966 Work begins on two skyscrapers in New York, to be known as the World Trade Center 5 August 1966 Indonesia and Malaysia announce a formal end to their long-running war 11 August 1966 Huge earthquake in eastern Turkey 19 August 1966 War between South African troops and South West African rebels breaks out 26 August 1966 Prime minister Hendrik Verwoerd of South Africa is murdered 6 September 1966 Botswana becomes independent from the UK 30 September 1966 Lesotho becomes independent from the UK 4 October 1966 Edward Brooke becomes the first African-American to be elected to the US Senate since the civil war 8 November 1966 Barbados becomes independent from the UK 30 November 1966 “The Lion and the Eagle” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 5 December 1966 “After the Miracle” (ABC) airs on NET 20 February 1967 Civil war begins in Cambodia 11 March 1967 “Sense of Captivity” (CBC) airs on NET 13 March 1967 Military coup in Sierra Leone 21 March 1967 “The Mounting Millions” airs on NET 10 April 1967 Massive anti-war demonstrations across the US 15 April 1967 Military coup in Greece 21 April 1967 “Germany and Its Shadow” airs on NET 24 April 1967 Boxer Mohammad Ali is drafted. He refuses to go to Vietnam 28 April 1967 The UK and Ireland apply to join the European Economic Community 11 May 1967 Biafra, a province of Nigeria, declares independence 30 May 1967 Stockport Air Crash kills 72 Arrowsmith Holidays customers and British Midland crew 4 June 1967 The Six-Day War begins in the middle east 5 June 1967 The United Nations mediates a ceasefire to end the Six-Day War in the middle east 10 June 1967 The USSR breaks off diplomatic relations with Israel 10 June 1967 The Supreme Court makes interracial marriage legal throughout the USA 12 June 1967 The Independent Television Authority announces that Rediffusion must merge operations with ABC to keep the London weekdays ITV contract 12 June 1967 “The Banquet of Life” airs on CBC Television 18 June 1967 “Our World”, the largest-ever international television exchange, is broadcast 25 June 1967 The various organisations that make up the EEC merge to form the European Communities (EC) 1 July 1967 Colour television is introduced in the UK on BBC-2 1 July 1967 Race riots in Newark, NJ 12 July 1967 Race riots in Detroit 23 July 1967 “Thailand” (NDR) airs on NET 24 July 1967 The Sexual Offences Act 1967 partially decriminalises male homosexuality in England and Wales 27 July 1967 Race riots in Milwaukee, WI 30 July 1967 Race riots in Washington DC 1 August 1967 Thurgood Marshall becomes a US Supreme Court justice, the first African-American to hold such a position 30 August 1967 Nguyễn Văn Thiệu becomes president of South Vietnam 3 September 1967 “Spring in Ethiopia” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 4 September 1967 “Farewell to Arabia” is pre-empted on NET and does not air 18 September 1967 Che Guevara is killed in Bolivia 9 October 1967 Massive anti-war demonstrations in the US 21 October 1967 Charles de Gaulle vetoes UK application to join the European Communities 27 October 1967 “Report from Cuba” (KQED) airs on NET 30 October 1967 “Russia: The Unfinished Revolution” (WGBH) airs on NET 6 November 1967 The Public Broadcasting Act is signed by LBJ, creating the Corporation for Public Broadcasting 7 November 1967 LBJ states that the US is winning the Vietnam War: “We are inflicting greater losses than we’re taking… We are making progress.” 17 November 1967 The US population is estimated to have reached 200,000,000 20 November 1967 US Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara resigns 29 November 1967 The first heart transplant is carried out; patient Louis Washkansky lives for 18 days 3 December 1967 “The Way it is” airs on NET 4 December 1967 Nicolae Ceaușescu becomes leader of Romania 9 December 1967 Constantine II of Greece flees the country 13 December 1967 Harold Holt, prime minister of Australia, disappears whilst swimming in the sea. His body is never found 17 December 1967 “April is the End of Summer” (ABC) airs on NET 18 December 1967 Alexander Dubček becomes leader of Czechoslovakia 5 January 1968 John Gorton becomes prime minister of Australia 10 January 1968 Huge earthquake in Sicily 15 January 1968 “Inside the Foreign Office” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 29 January 1968 The Tet Offensive, an invasion of South Vietnam by the North, begins 30 January 1968 ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighbourhood’ debuts on NET 19 February 1968 Student riots in Poland 8 March 1968 Mauritius becomes independent of the UK 12 March 1968 My Lai massacre: mass killing of Vietnamese civilians by US troops 16 March 1968 “The Other Side of Paradise” (ABC) airs on NET 25 March 1968 The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is incorporated; it will be the major funder of NET 27 March 1968 President Lyndon B Johnson will not be a candidate in November 31 March 1968 Dr Martin Luther King Jr murdered in Memphis, TN 4 April 1968 Race riots across the US 4 April 1968 Pierre Trudeau becomes prime minister of Canada 20 April 1968 Student riots in Paris 13 May 1968 Robert F Kennedy murdered in Los Angeles, CA 5 June 1968 “The Volunteers” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 24 June 1968 Rediffusion Television’s last day as an ITV contractor 29 July 1968 “Audubon” (CBC) airs on NET 23 December 1968 “American Samoa – Paradise Lost?” airs on NET 3 February 1969 “The Sixth Paul” (Rediffusion) airs on NET 10 February 1969 “A Matter of Time” (CBC, 1967) airs on NET 4 August 1969 MORE What is Intertel?Mission statementThe story of INTERTELFusion: welcome to IntertelFusion: Intertel makes TV historyFusion: Intertel advancesFusion: Intertel – the first five yearsInternational salesVisual journalism throughout the world RELATED Visual journalism throughout the worldFusion: mud huts and sky-scrapersThe story of INTERTELFusion: The Lion and the EagleFusion: Intertel goes East Tags: timeline Continue Reading Next Visual journalism throughout the world More Stories About INTERTEL What is Intertel? 0 About INTERTEL Mission statement 0 About INTERTEL The story of INTERTEL 0 Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. 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