1960 Events Voyeuristic Thriller: Director Alfred Hitchcock scores a box office success with the chilling "Psycho." In the movie's most terrifying scene, a young woman played by Janet Leigh is stabbed to death in a shower by motel keeper Norman Bates, portrayed by Anthony Perkins. The 60-second sequence involves 70 shots. After seeing the movie, taking a shower will never be the same. Lunch Counter Protest (Feb. 1): Four black college students in Greensboro, N.C., make purchases in Woolworth's and then sit at the "whites only" counter and order coffee. Upon being refused service, they remain seated. Their "sit-in" inspires similar actions across the South. Lost Love (March 3): "I Love Lucy" stars and real-life couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez announce their separation and plans for divorce. Apartheid Anger (March 21): In white-ruled South Africa, police open fire on black demonstrators in the Johannesburg suburb of Sharpeville. The fusillade kills 56 demonstrators and wounds 162, including 16 who die later. The Sharpeville Massacre will become a watershed in the black majority's struggle against white-minority rule. Cold-Blooded Killers (March 29): A jury sentences Richard Hickock and Perry Smith to death for the killings of Herbert Clutter, wife Bonnie, daughter Nancy and son Kenyon. The family died from shotgun blasts in their home in Holcomb, Kan., on Nov. 15, 1959. The murders and trial will become the subject of Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood." Soviet Trial (May 1): A Soviet missile brings down a Lockheed U-2 piloted by Francis Gary Powers for the CIA as the spy plane cruises above the Soviet Union. In a trial broadcast worldwide, the Soviets convict Powers of espionage. He is sentenced to 10 years' "deprivation of freedom" but is exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolph Abel in 1962. Nazi Trap (May 11): Israeli secret agents seize Ricardo Clement in Argentina, spirit him to Israel and later identify him as Nazi Gestapo bureaucrat Adolf Eichmann, who coordinated the so-called "Final Solution of the Jewish question." Eichmann will be found guilty and hanged May 31, 1962. His last words: "I was just following orders." Televised Debate (Sept. 26): In the first televised presidential debate, a tired, underprepared Vice President Richard M. Nixon appears wan and combative next to the calm, telegenic Sen. John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Three debates later, the Nov. 8 election is razor-close: Kennedy wins with 49.7 percent of the popular vote to Nixon's 49.6 percent. Banging Away (Oct. 12): While listening to a speech by a Filipino delegate at the United Nations, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev removes one of his shoes and begins to slam it down it on the desk. He had become incensed by the delegate's suggestion that a decolonization resolution proposed by the Soviets should also extend to Eastern Europe. What's Hot The Pill A sexual revolution is about to erupt in this new, tumultuous decade, and science makes it possible. In 1960, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the world's first effective oral contraceptive. The birth-control pill is marketed as Enovid 10 by G.D. Searle & Co. of Skokie, Ill. The contraceptive, which becomes known as "The Pill," costs about $11 per month. The Pill, says Katherine McCormick, a wealthy heiress who helped support research on the contraceptive, gives women mastery over "that ol' devil, the female reproductive system." Births Gregory Louganis, champion diver (Jan. 29) Andrew Albert Christian Edward, prince of Britain (Feb. 19) Marcus Allen, football player (March 26) John Elway, football player (June 28) Cal Ripken Jr., baseball player (Aug. 24) Lyle Lovett, country singer (Nov. 1) Hugh Grant, actor (Sept. 9) Kenneth Branagh, actor (Dec. 10) Deaths Emily Post, etiquette maven (born 1873) Sylvia Pankhurst, suffragette leader (born 1882) Boris Pasternak, Russian writer (born 1891) Oscar Hammerstein II, songwriter (born 1895) Clark Gable, actor (born 1901) Albert Camus, French writer (born 1913)

1961 Events Cutting off Cuba (Jan. 3): Washington breaks diplomatic ties with Cuba, where two years earlier Fidel Castro had staged a revolution that took the nation into the Soviet camp. Kennedy Inaugural (Jan. 20): The newly inaugurated 35th president, John F. Kennedy, outlines for the nation a future fraught with challenge and danger. "In the long history of the world only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it," Kennedy says. Soviet in Space (April 12): Cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, 27, is launched into Earth orbit from a secret Soviet complex in Central Asia. Ill-Fated Invasion (April 17): Seeking to overthrow the Fidel Castro's regime in Cuba, 1,500 armed Cuban exiles land at the Bay of Pigs (Playa Giron). The invasion soon turns into a disaster. The United States, which had trained the force, failed to provide adequate military support. Within 72 hours, more than a third of the force will be dead, and nearly all the survivors will be captured by Cuban forces. Although the plan had been set in motion during the Eisenhower administration, President Kennedy will accept full responsibility for the debacle. Dominican Troubles (May 30): The brutal 31-year reign of Dominican Republic president Rafael Trujillo ends in assassination by rival military officers. Political squabbles over his successor take the Caribbean nation from one crisis to another for the next several years. TV Wasteland (May 9): The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Newton Minow, issues an indictment of TV programming: "You will see a vast wasteland: a procession of game shows, violence, audience participation shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families ... blood and thunder ... mayhem, violence, sadism, murder ... private eyes, more violence, and cartoons .. and, endlessly, commercials ... ." Asylum Seeker (June 17): Rudolf Nureyev, a promising star in Leningrad's Kirov Ballet, requests asylum in the West. His defection is a coup for the West -- and for Nureyev. Within a week, he is one of the highest-paid dancers in Europe. Being Ernest (July 2): Years of heavy drinking and health problems finally catch up with celebrated novelist Ernest Hemingway. In April, he had entered the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., to get treatment for severe depression. Two days after returning home to Ketchum, Idaho, he takes his life with a hunting rifle. Berlin Barrier (Aug. 13): Soldiers string barbed wire across the occupied metropolis of East Berlin, separating the communist east from the capitalist west. Eventually, the barbed wire is replaced by concrete walls, electrified fences and sentry towers and is called the Berlin Wall. Blowing in the Wind (September): Music critics take notice of a young folk singer named Bob Dylan playing in a Greenwich Village coffeehouse. More Games, More Homers (Oct. 1): Roger Maris hits his 61st home run against the Boston Red Sox in the last game of the season at a half-empty Yankee Stadium. The round-tripper catapults Maris into the record books as the first slugger to break Babe Ruth's 1927 record of 60 home runs in a single season. But the baseball commissioner has ruled that, to break Ruth's record, a player must hit 61 home runs in 154 games -- the same number of games in which Ruth hit 60. The American League has added two teams in 1961, forcing the regular season to 162 games. What's Hot Summer of Freedom Two buses loaded with members of the Congress of Racial Equality head south from Washington, D.C. At each stop, the black bus riders try to use segregated facilities. Their aim is to get the Kennedy administration to enforce a Supreme Court ruling that segregation of bus terminals and stations serving interstate travelers is unconstitutional. The trips become known as Freedom Ride Births Wayne Gretzky, hockey player (Jan. 26) Eddie Murphy, comedian (April 3) Michael J. Fox, actor (June 9) Carl Lewis, track and field athlete (July 1) Lady Diana Spencer, British princess (July 1) Wynton Marsalis, musician (Oct. 18) Deaths Anna Mary Moses (Grandma Moses), artist (born 1860) Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist (born 1875) Sam Rayburn, U.S. House Speaker (born 1882) Ty Cobb, baseball player (born 1886) Gary Cooper, actor (born 1901) Dag Hammarskjold, U.N. General Secretary (born 1905) Eero Saarinen, architect (born 1910)

1962 Events Earth Orbiter (Feb. 20): John H. Glenn Jr. rides his Mercury capsule, Friendship 7, into space to become the first American to orbit the Earth. Adieu, Algeria (March): The French government signs a cease-fire agreement with rebels fighting for Algerian independence. The accord ends eight years of bloody fighting and leads to the end of French colonial rule in the North African land. Point Man (March 2): Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors becomes the first basketball player to score 100 points in a game. Smoking & Cancer (March 7): Britain's Royal College of Physicians concludes that cigarette smoking is a cause of lung cancer. Trusted Man (April 16): Walter Cronkite makes his debut as anchorman on the "CBS Evening News." Death of a Goddess (Aug. 5): At age 36, the cinema phenomenon born as Norma Jean Baker and known to the world as Marilyn Monroe is found dead at her Los Angeles home, a bottle of sleeping pills at her side. Police hesitate to call it a suicide, but Monroe's psychoanalyst says she had tried to kill herself twice before. Beginning her rags-to-riches career as a model, Monroe dyed her hair blond for a shampoo commercial and scored her screen breakthrough in "Niagara." Her marriages to New York Yankees star Joe DiMaggio and playwright Arthur Miller both failed. As her personal life slid downward, Monroe became more dependent on drugs. New Network Face (Sept. 10): Mal Goode becomes the first black network TV correspondent, working for ABC. Desegregating Ole' Miss (Sept. 30): Federal marshals flock to the University of Mississippi in Oxford to ensure that James H. Meredith, a black Air Force veteran, gets settled into his dorm. Meredith earlier had tried to enter the school for classes, but Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett blocked his entry and led a white-supremacy rally. Upon the marshals' arrival, a riot ensues. The next day, federal troops are sent to quell the fighting. By the time order is restored, dozens have been injured and two civilians are dead. 13 Days of Fear (Sept. 30): The nuclear genie nearly escapes from the bottle during October's Cuban missile crisis, as the United States and the Soviet Union teeter on the brink of war. Oct. 16: President Kennedy sees photos proving Soviets have installed ballistic missiles in Cuba, only 90 miles from U.S. soil. Oct. 22: Kennedy announces a naval blockade of Cuba will take effect in two days. Oct. 25: Adlai E. Stevenson, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, displays U-2 surveillance photos to members of the U.N. Security Council. Oct. 27: Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev offers to remove the Cuban missile bases, under U.N. supervision, and demands that the United States remove missiles from Turkey. Oct. 28: Khrushchev agrees to withdraw missiles from Cuba. Kennedy agrees to lift the blockade and pledges not to invade Cuba. Late-Night King (Oct. 1): Johnny Carson takes over as host of NBC's "Tonight" show. He late-night reign will last 30 years. Dickering With the Future (Nov. 7): After losing the California governor's race, a sour Richard Nixon vows that he has run his last campaign, and tells the assembled media, "You won't have Dick Nixon to kick around any more ... because this is my last press conference." What's Hot Scottish-born actor Sean Connery plays British secret agent James Bond in the first Bond movie, "Dr. No." Suave, witty and always cool under pressure, the impeccably dressed 007 immediately becomes a sexy Cold War icon. Bond proves popular at the theater box office as well, becoming a major movie franchise. The movie was released on Oct. 5. Births Jim Carrey, actor (Jan. 17) Clint Black, country singer (Feb. 4) Tom Cruise, actor (July 3) Roger Clemens, baseball pitcher (Aug. 4) Evander Holyfield, boxing champion (Oct. 19) k.d. lang, country singer (Nov. 2) Jodi Foster, actress (Nov. 19) Deaths E.E. Cummings, poet (born 1894) William Faulkner, novelist (born 1897) Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady (born 1884) Franz Klein, artist (born 1910)

1963 Events Papal Succession (June 3): Pope John XXIII dies at age 81 and is succeeded by Cardinal Giovanni Batista Montini, 66, who becomes Pope Paul VI. Up, Up and Away (June 16): Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman to rocket into space. She spends about three days aboard Vostok 6. Church vs. State (June 17): The U.S. Supreme Court rules that reading the Lord's Prayer or the Bible in public schools is unconstitutional. 'I Have a Dream' (Aug. 28): Martin Luther King Jr. outlines his dream of a multiracial society while standing before the Lincoln Memorial, where nearly 300,000 people gathered for the March on Washington. Nuclear Link (Aug. 30): An emergency "hot line" between Washington and Moscow goes into service. The link's purpose is to reduce the risk of accidental war. Little Victims (Sept. 15): Four black schoolgirls -- Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Denise McNair -- are killed when a bomb explodes during services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. American Aid (Nov. 1): With tacit U.S. backing, the South Vietnam military stages a successful coup against the country's leader, Ngo Dinh Diem. After Diem's assassination, American economic and military aid increases to the Southeast Asian country. National Tragedy Camelot's Last Day On Nov. 22, President Kennedy is shot about 12:15 Central Time as his black Lincoln convertible swings down a Dallas street in front of the Texas School Book Depository. The ensuing hours and days are filled with shock, confusion and panic. The president is pronounced dead at 1 p.m. By 1:45, police arrest a 24-year-old school book depository employee named Lee Harvey Oswald in a movie theater, where he has fled after the shooting of a police officer. Two days later, as millions watch on TV, Oswald is fatally shot by nightclub owner Jack Ruby. Police had been moving Oswald, a Marine veteran who has spent time in the Soviet Union, to safer quarters. Conspiracy theories will surround the assassination for decades to come. Births Michael Jordan, basketball player (Feb. 17) Mike Myers, comedian (June 25) Anne-Sophie Mutter, German violinist (June 29) Whitney Houston, singer (Aug. 9) Mark McGwire, baseball player (Oct. 1) Brian Boitano, figure skater (Oct. 22) Deaths Robert Frost, poet (born 1874) William Carlos Williams, poet (born 1883) W.E.B. Du Bois, activist, scholar (born 1868) Aldous Huxley, British writer (born 1894) Edith Piaf, French singer (born 1916) Patsy Cline, singer (born 1932)

1964 Events Smoking Gun (January): A report from U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry says that smoking may be hazardous to a person's health and cause lung cancer. Tobacco companies balk at the report's contents. Congress later orders that a warning about the dangers of smoking appear on all domestic cigarette packages. Poetic Champ (Feb. 25): Cassius Marcellus Clay is an 8-1 underdog as he gets in the ring with heavyweight champ Charles "Sonny" Liston. But Clay stays true to his strategy -- "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" -- and hammers Liston in a bout in Miami Beach. Two days later, Clay announces he is a member of the Black Muslims and that his name is Cassius X, later to become Muhammad Ali. Bystanders (March 13): A man attacks Catherine "Kitty" Genovese as she walks to her apartment in Queens, N.Y. Thirty-eight neighbors hear her calls for help, and some watch from their windows, but nobody wants to get involved. The police aren't called until she is dead. Taking Action (July 2): President Lyndon Baines Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. Johnson also declares "war on poverty," wins approval for a tax-cut bill, oversees a settlement in a railroad strike and achieves an agreement with the Soviets on curbing nuclear-arms production. His full-speed-ahead approach helps nurse the nation back to normality after Kennedy's assassination. Tonkin Spark (Aug. 7): Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which allows President Johnson to freely intervene militarily in Vietnam. Congress takes action after U.S. destroyers off the coast of Vietnam allegedly had come under attack by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. The resolution sets in motion a cycle of escalation. Johnson begins to send more U.S. forces to fight for South Vietnam. Non-Violence Honored (Oct. 14): Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. What's Hot British Invasion It's the most raucous British invasion since the War of 1812. But instead of torching the White House, these four Britons plunder the hearts of gaggles of screeching young females in 1964. The invasion begins on a blustery Feb. 7, when about 3,000 teens, mostly girls, converge on New York's Kennedy International Airport to greet the Liverpool pop group called the Beatles. The thick-thatched foursome -- Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison -- become instant celebrities. Their appearance on Ed Sullivan's variety show brings the highest ratings in TV history. They sell 2.5 million albums in less than a month and pack every stadium and concert hall they play. Births David Cone, baseball pitcher (Jan. 2) Bonnie Blair, speedskater (March 18) Juliette Binoche, French actress (April 9) Courteney Cox, actress (June 15) Jose Canseco, baseball player (July 2) Deaths Herbert Hoover, U.S. president (born 1874) Douglas MacArthur, general (born 1880) Cole Porter, composer (born 1893) Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian prime minister (born 1890) Stuart Davis, author (born 1894) Gracie Allen, comedian (born 1905) Peter Lorre, actor (born 1905) Ian Fleming, "James Bond" author (born 1908)

1965 Events Malcom X's Murder (Feb. 21): Black Nationalist founder Malcolm X, 39, is assassinated by rival Black Muslims while addressing a gathering in New York. Two days after his death, Black Muslim headquarters in San Francisco and New York are burned. Freedom Walk (March 7): Black marchers begin a "walk for freedom," a 50-mile journey by foot along U.S. 80 from Selma, a small town in Alabama, to Montgomery. They are attacked along the way by about 200 Alabama state troopers using tear gas, whips and nightsticks. Vietnam Protest (April 15): About 15,000 young people picket outside the White House, demanding withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam. Weightless Walk (June 3): Astronauts James McDivitt and Edward White are blasted into orbit for a four-day flight that features the first spacewalk by an American. Race Riot (Aug. 11): A white police officer in the Watts section of Los Angeles stops a black man suspected of driving while intoxicated. The incident escalates into five days of violence, which leaves at least 34 people dead, hundreds injured, more than 200 businesses destroyed and property damage estimated at up to $200 million. Perfect Pitching (Sept. 9): Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs, only the eighth perfect game in baseball history. Dramatic Entrance (Sept. 15): Bill Cosby becomes the first African-American to star in a weekly TV drama when "I Spy" makes its debut on NBC. Big Blackout (Nov. 9): During the height of the evening rush hour, the lights that illuminate New York City flicker -- and then go black. The blackout affects an 80,000-square-mile area comprising New York, most of New England, parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It lasts as long as 13 hours in some areas. The blackout will be credited with an increase in births in the Northeast nine months later. Buckle Up (November): Consumer advocate Ralph Nader takes on the U.S. auto industry with his book "Unsafe at Any Speed." In it, Nader chronicles how automakers seriously neglect safety concerns when producing cars. Stung by his allegations, General Motors hires a private investigator to dig up dirt on Nader. It's a move that ultimately backfires and forces GM President James Roche to make a public apology. What's Hot Miniskirts A crowd sits in stunned silence as dozens of models parade up and down a fashion show ramp wearing white boots and skirts with hemlines 4 inches above the knee, created by French designer Andre Courreges. With the miniskirt's debut, the sexual revolution prepares to go into overdrive. Births Brooke Shields, actress (May 31) Scottie Pippen, basketball player (Sept. 25) Mario Lemieux, hockey player (Oct. 5) Katarina Witt, German figure skater (Dec. 3) Deaths Winston Churchill, British prime minister (born 1874) W. Somerset Maugham, British writer (born 1874) Albert Schweitzer, humanitarian (born 1875) T.S. Eliot, writer (born 1888) Dorothea Lange, photographer (born 1895) Edward R. Murrow, news broadcaster (born 1908) Nat "King" Cole, singer (born 1919)

1966 Events Bomb Scare (Jan. 17): A U.S. B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 refueling plane over Almeria, Spain. Eight crew members die, and an H-bomb dislodges and falls into the Mediterranean Sea, panicking Spaniards who fear a radiation leak. Finally, on April 7, the Navy locates the H-bomb. Except for a few nicks, the 21-foot, 13-ton bomb is intact. Political Legacy (Jan. 19): Indira Gandhi, daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, who was India's first prime minister after independence, is elected prime minister after the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri. Moon Probe (Feb. 3): The Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft lands on the moon. The first soft landing -- as opposed to a crash landing -- paves the way for manned moon landings. NATO Dissent (March): French President Charles de Gaulle announces that his nation plans to pull out of the NATO military command structure. French troops will no longer take orders from non-French commanders, and all foreign NATO forces stationed in France must leave. NATO headquarters is forced to move from Paris to Brussels. Golf Master (April 11): Jack Nicklaus becomes the first golfer to win consecutive Masters tournaments. From the Sidelines (April 18): Bill Russell becomes the first black coach in professional sports, taking charge of the Boston Celtics. He also will continue to play for the team. Women's Rights (June 30): The National Organization for Women, which will become the largest organization of feminist activists in the United States, is formed by women attending the Third National Conference of the Commission on the Status of Women. Amazing Mays (Aug. 17): Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants belts his 535th career home run, passing Jimmy Foxx for the most home runs by a right-handed hitter. Final Frontier (Sept. 9): A new television program boldly goes where no TV show has ever gone before. "Star Trek" premieres on NBC. The hourlong sci-fi show follows the exploits of Capt. James T. Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise on their five-year mission to seek out strange new worlds. The series will last only three years but creates legions of loyal followers and becomes a cult classic. What's Hot 'You Have the Right ...' In the case of Miranda vs. Arizona, the Supreme Court rules 5-4 that U.S. police officers must warn anyone taken into custody that he or she has the right to counsel, to remain silent, and to court-appointed lawyers for those too poor to pay. Births Cindy Crawford, model (Feb. 20) Cecilia Bartoli, opera singer (June 4) Mike Tyson, boxer (June 30) Deaths Margaret Sanger, activist (born 1883) Elizabeth Arden, fashion retailer (born 1884) Chester Nimitz, admiral (born 1885) Buster Keaton, comedian (born 1895) Walt Disney, filmmaker (born 1901) Alberto Giacometti, Swiss sculptor (born 1901) Evelyn Waugh, British writer (1903)

1967 Events Biafra Nightmare (May): A conflict between Nigerian forces and rebels fighting to establish a Biafran state in eastern Nigeria leads to catastrophe. Nigerian troops blockade the region, and Biafrans soon begin to starve. More than 1 million Biafrans will die of starvation by the time rebels give up their cause in 1970. Upholding Justice (Oct. 2): Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first black justice to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court. Before President Lyndon Johnson made the appointment, Marshall had served as a federal appellate court judge and U.S. solicitor general. Thirteen years earlier, Marshall had successfully argued a landmark case that made segregation in school unconstitutional. Super Sunday (Jan. 15): The Green Bay Packers rout the Kansas City Chiefs in the first Super Bowl. Apollo Tragedy (Jan. 27): Astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Roger Chaffee and Edward White die in a fire while conducting routine tests aboard Apollo 1 as the spacecraft sits at Cape Kennedy, Fla. Heartbreaker (May 1): Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu are married in Las Vegas. Ali's Objections (June 20): Muhammad Ali is sentenced to five years in prison for refusing induction into the Army. He was stripped of his boxing championship in April. Music Mag (Nov. 9): With $7,000 borrowed from an uncle, Jann Wenner, 21, launches Rolling Stone. The debut cover has a portrait of John Lennon wearing a World War II-vintage British helmet. Heart Transplant (Dec. 3): South African heart surgeon Christiaan Barnard and a team of 30 assistants take the heart from brain-dead accident victim Denise Ann Darvall and "transplant" it into the chest of Louis Washansky. The operation is the world's first successful human heart transplant. Six Days of War (June 5): Full-scale war breaks out after months of sporadic conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors. In six days of warfare, Israel breaks the back of Arab air power and captures the West Bank of the Jordan River, the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula and the Old City of Jerusalem. The Six-Day War ends with a cease-fire June 10 and establishes Israel as a power to be reckoned with. What's Hot New Hollywood Heroes Two of the year's biggest hits, "The Graduate" and "Bonnie and Clyde," help take serious filmmaking in new directions. They represent a change in style and substance and show a certain baby-boomer rebelliousness. Young audiences relate to the antimaterialism and emotional turmoil of the bored college grad played by Dustin Hoffman, who also shows that a screen idol doesn't have to look like a Greek god. "Bonnie and Clyde" also turns the image of a hero on its head. The cheerful criminality and extreme violence of the lead characters makes it the most controversial film of its era. Births Kurt Cobain, musician (Feb. 20) Harry Connick Jr., singer (Sept. 11) Julia Roberts, actress (Oct. 28) Boris Becker, tennis player (Nov. 22) Deaths Langston Hughes, poet (born 1862) Konrad Adenauer, German chancellor (born 1876) Carl Sandburg, poet (born 1878) Claude Rains, actor (born 1890) Henry Luce, publisher (born 1898) Rene Magritte, French artist (born 1898) Spencer Tracy, actor (born 1900) J. Robert Oppenheimer, physicist (born 1904) Vivien Leigh, British actress (born 1913) Ernesto "Che" Guevara, Argentine revolutionary (born 1928) Jayne Mansfield, actress (born 1933)

1968 Events Tet Offensive (Jan. 31): North Vietnamese forces launch a fierce offensive against numerous targets in South Vietnam at the start of Vietnamese Tet new year. Caught off guard, South Vietnamese and U.S. forces rally and expel Communist troops from Saigon, Hue and other strategic points. Blood on Their Hands (March 16): At a South Vietnamese hamlet called My Lai, a massacre is carried out by members of Charlie Company, 11th Brigade, Americal Division. The soldiers are accused of killing at least 109 and possibly 567 civilians -- including babies. Bowing Out (March 31): President Johnson stuns Americans by announcing on TV, "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president." Blow to Civil Rights (April 4): Martin Luther King Jr., 39-year-old prophet of non-violence and racial brotherhood, is gunned down in Memphis on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel. The assassination triggers rioting in more than 100 communities, resulting in 46 deaths. Illinois-born James Earl Ray, a white man, is arrested June 8 in London as he is about to fly to Belgium. Another Assassination (June 5): The nation is rocked by the shooting of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles on the night he wins the California primary in his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination. As Kennedy fights for his life, the assailant is identified as Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, 24, a Palestinian-American protesting American support of Israel. Kennedy dies early June 6. Convention Clash (Aug. 27): The Democratic convention in Chicago proves to be the most violent in U.S. history. About 3,000 anti-war demonstrators clash with police and Illinois National Guardsmen outside the hotel where many delegates are staying. A five-block stretch becomes a battle zone, and police use clubs and tear gas against the protesters. They, in turn, hurl rocks and bottles, overturn trash cans and break car windows. Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick (Sept. 24): CBS airs a new television news magazine called "60 Minutes." The Troubles (Oct. 5): Sectarian hatred explodes in Northern Ireland when 400 Catholic demonstrators defy a British ban against marches in Londonderry. Riot police assault the crowd with clubs, leaving scores injured. The encounter sets off a new and deadly round of violence between Catholics and Protestants. Lennon Lewd? (Oct. 13): The release of Apple Records' "Two Virgins," featuring John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono nude on the cover, causes a furor. Jackie O (Oct. 20): Jacqueline Kennedy marries Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. Nixon Wins (Nov. 5): Richard M. Nixon is elected the 37th U.S. president. Also, Shirley Chisholm, a New York Democrat, becomes the first black woman to serve in Congress. What's Hot Age of Aquarius Broadway pays tribute to the hippie generation with the April opening of "Hair," the first major rock musical. The long-haired, scantily clad cast will enjoy a 1,742-show run. Births Cuba Gooding Jr., actor (Jan. 2) L L Cool J (James Todd Smith), rapper (Jan. 14) Gary Coleman, actor (Feb. 8) Celine Dion, singer (March 30) Barry Sanders, football player (July 16) Toni Braxton, singer (Oct. 7) Deaths Upton Sinclair, writer (born 1878) Helen Keller, educator (born 1880) Marcel Duchamps, French artist (born 1887) John Steinbeck, writer (born 1902) Yuri Gagarin, Soviet cosmonaut (born 1934)

1969 Events New York Miracles: New York sports teams enjoy a banner year. First the Jets football team upset the Baltimore Colts in the NFL championship game in January. Later in the year, New York zaps Baltimore again, as the underdog Mets stun the baseball world by beating the heavily favored Orioles in the World Series. End of an Institution (Feb. 8): The Saturday Evening Post, which began in 1821, publishes its last issue. King's Killer (March 10): James Earl Ray pleads guilty to the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. and is sentenced to 99 years in the Tennessee State Prison. Kennedy's Killer (April 27): Sirhan Bishara Sirhan is convicted by a Los Angeles County jury of the 1968 murder of Sen. Robert Kennedy; eight days later, he is sentenced to death in the gas chamber. Chappaquiddick Scandal (July 19): A car driven by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy plunges off a bridge as he and aide Mary Jo Kopechne, 28, are leaving a cookout at Chappaquiddick Island off Martha's Vineyard, Mass. Kennedy pleads guilty to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident and is given a two-month suspended sentence and placed on probation for a year. On July 30, Kennedy, once poised for a presidential campaign, announces that he will remain in the Senate. Rock Extravaganza (August): Counterculture reaches its apex as thousands of music fans attend a landmark concert at a farm in upstate New York. The Woodstock Music Festival attracts some of rock 'n' roll's hottest acts, including Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, The Who, Santana, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Manson Murders (Aug. 9): Police go to a mansion in Benedict Canyon, Calif., and find the bodies of five people, including actress Sharon Tate, the pregnant wife of director Roman Polanski, stabbed and shot. The next day, suburban couple Leno and Rosemary LaBianca are brutally slain. Toward year's end, police link the slayings to Charles Manson, 35, and his band of followers, mostly women. On Dec. 8, a Los Angeles grand jury indicts Manson and five of his followers on murder charges. Peace Protest (Oct. 15): The first of two Vietnam Moratorium Days is marked by millions with prayers, candlelight vigils and black armbands. The second day, on Nov. 14, features an anti-war march in Washington, with a crowd estimated at 250,000. What's Hot A Man on the Moon Throughout the world on a wondrous July Sunday, people gather around radios and TV screens, waiting -- with a sense of awe -- for what is arguably the most significant event of the 20th century: The human species is setting foot on a world beyond its own. At 4:17 p.m. Eastern Time on July 20, the four spindly legs of the lunar module, named Eagle, touch down on the powdery surface of the moon. The words sound tinny and muffled after a journey across the vastness of space, but they are electrifying. "Houston, Tranquility Base here," says Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong. "The Eagle has landed." People on Earth whoop and cheer -- or weep -- filled with pride and wonder. At 10:56, Armstrong puts the first human footprint on the moon. "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Births Steffi Graf, tennis player (June 14) Jennifer Aniston, actress (Feb. 11) Deaths Walter Gropius, architect (born 1883) Ben Shahn, artist (born 1898) Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. president (born 1890) Judy Garland, actress (born 1922) Sonja Henie, Norwegian figure skater (born 1912) Ho Chi Minh, North Vietnam leader (born 1892) Jack Kerouac, writer (born 1922) Rocky Marciano, boxer (born 1924)

Related Links Editor's note: These links will take you to Web sites with content we do not control or endorse. The Century Century Links http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/History/20th_Century/ Links that look at events, wars, politics, economics and people that shaped the 20th century, from Yahoo! 20th Century History http://history1900s.miningco.com/index.htm Variety of topics in 20th century history, from About.com Story of Our Times http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/peoplescentury/ Excerpts from a 26-part television series on the 20th century, from PBS Shrinking World http://www.eurekanet.com/~fesmitha/h2/ Text on 20th century attitudes, from Frank E. Smitha The History Net http://www.thehistorynet.com/ American and world history, from Cowles History Group The History Channel http://www.historychannel.com/ Information, quizzes, speeches, from A&E Television Networks The Decade Flower Power http://www.sixties.net/ People, places, events, music, news, politics, fashion of the '60s, from Sixties Net On the Moon http://www.nasm.edu/APOLLO/AS11/a11.htm Apollo mission facts, from Smithsonian Institution British Invasion http://www.britishinvasion.eb.com/home.html How Brits influenced America, from Encylopaedia Britannica Online Rock 'n' Roll http://www.legacylinks.com/bindex-a.html Index of 1960s rock 'n' roll, from Rock 'n' Roll Legacy Links Pop Quiz http://home3.swipnet.se/~w-33573/res60.htm Test your knowledge of the decade, from Micronova Sources Our Times: An Illustrated History of the 20th Century; Eyewitness to the 20th Century; "The Making of the President," by Theodore H. White; "From Slavery to Freedom," by John Hope Franklin; Chronicle of the Cinema; "Total Television Including Cable," by Alex McNeil; American Decades, 1960-1969; The People's Chronology: A Year-by-Year Record of Human Events from Prehistory to the Present; Chronicle of the 20th Century; What Happened When; "Lend Me Your Ears -- Great Speeches in History," selected and introduced by William Safire; "Day by Day: The Sixties," by Douglas Nelson and Thomas Parker; "A Dictionary of Political Biography," by Dennis Kavanagh; Almanac of Famous People; Akron Beacon Journal/KRT; Fort Worth Star-Telegram/KRT; "The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khruschev 1960-63," by Michael R. Beschloss; Guiness Space Flight: The Records; "Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis," by Robert F. Kennedy; "The Missile Crisis," by Elie Abel; Encyclopedia of Biography; Current Biography Yearbook; "Facts & Dates of American Sports," by Gorton Carruth and Eugene Erlich; "The Official 1964 Baseball Guide," by The Sporting News; "The Series: An Illustrated History of Baseball's Postseason Showcase," by The Sporting News; New York Public Library American History Desk Reference; "Chronology of African-American History," by Alton Hornsby Jr.; "The Night the Lights Went Out," by The New York Times; "The World in 1964: History as We Lived It," compiled by Associated Press; "The World in 1966: History as We Lived It," compiled by Associated Press; "The World in 1967: History as We Lived It," compiled by Associated Press; "The World in 1968: History as We Lived It," compiled by Associated Press; "The World in 1969: History as We Lived It," compiled by Associated Press; The Twentieth Century: An Almanac; "Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties," by Ian MacDonald; The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows; Facts on File Credits Producer: Michelle Buzgon/KRT Designer: Ron Coddington/KRT Research: Chuck Myers/KRT Photography: National Archives; Bob Amaral of San Jose Mercury News/KRT; Hal Stoelzle of The Orange County Register/KRT; Yousef Karsh of John F. Kennedy Library via KRT; HBO via KRT; Tim Broekema of Chicago Tribune/KRT; Tony Spina of Detroit Free Press/KRT; CNN via KRT; Ken Geiger of The Dallas Morning News/KRT; NBC via KRT; Library of Congress; NASA; Andrew Eccles of NBC via KRT; Ron Batzdorf of Paramount Pictures via KRT; Bruce Macaulay of Dimension Films via KRT KRT is a joint venture of Knight Ridder and the Tribune Co. Limitations on use of material in this Web package: This content is owned by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services and contains material that is derived in whole or in part from material supplied by KRT or its contributors. The entire Web package and all material in it are protected by international copyright and trademark laws. You may not copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit or distribute in any way any material from this Web package, including code and software without our permission.