This is a list of notable events that took place in 1966 in the United States .
January 2 – 1966 New York City transit strike : A wildcat strike by public transportation workers in New York City , led by Mike Quill , begins, designed to coincide with the beginning of Republican John V. Lindsay 's mayoralty. (The strike ends on January 13.)January 3
January 10 – The home of civil rights activist Vernon Dahmer in Hattiesburg, Mississippi , is firebombed. Dahmer's family escapes but he dies the next day from severe burns. (White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard Samuel Bowers will be unsuccessfully tried for this murder on four occasions before being convicted in 1998.)January 11 – The first SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft goes into service at Beale AFB .January 12
January 13 – Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member by being appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development .January 16 – The Chicago Bulls are granted entry to the National Basketball Association .January 17 – 1966 Palomares B-52 crash : A USAF B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Spain, dropping three 70-kiloton hydrogen bombs near the town of Palomares , and one into the sea. Carl Brashear , the first African American United States Navy diver, is involved in an accident during the recovery of the latter which results in the amputation of his leg.January 18 – About 8,000 U.S. soldiers land in South Vietnam ; U.S. troops now total 190,000.January 27 – The British government promises the U.S. that British troops in Malaysia will stay until more peaceful conditions occur in the region.January 29 – The first of 608 performances of Sweet Charity New York City .March 4 – The Beatles : In an interview published in the London Evening Standard John Lennon comments, "We're more popular than Jesus now," sparking a controversy in the United States.March 7 – French president Charles De Gaulle asks U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson for negotiations about the state of NATO equipment in France .March 8 – Vietnam War : U.S. announces it will substantially increase its number of troops in Vietnam .March 12 – Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks sets the National Hockey League single season scoring record against the New York Rangers , with his 51st goal.March 16
March 17 – Palomares incident : Off the Mediterranean coast of Spain, the United States Navy submersible DSV Alvin finds a missing U.S. hydrogen bomb .March 19 – The Texas Western Miners defeat the Kentucky Wildcats with five African American starters, ushering in desegregation in athletic recruiting.March 21 – In a landmark obscenity case, Memoirs v. Massachusetts Supreme Court rules that the hitherto banned 18th-century English novel Fanny Hill Roth Standard for obscenity.March 22 – In Washington, D.C. , General Motors President James M. Roche appears before a Senate subcommittee, and apologizes to consumer advocate Ralph Nader for the company's intimidation and harassment campaign against him.March 24 – Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections poll tax as eligibility to vote in state elections is unconstitutional.[ 1] March 26 – Demonstrations are held across the U.S. against the Vietnam War .March 28 – The Prime Minister of India , Indira Gandhi , visits Washington, D.C. March 29 – The 23rd Communist Party Conference is held in the Soviet Union ; Leonid Brezhnev demands that American troops leave Vietnam, and announces that Chinese-Soviet relations are unsatisfactory. August 1: University of Texas at Austin Main Building tower, where Charles Whitman committed his shooting rampage August 1 – Sniper Charles Whitman kills 13 people and wounds 31 from atop the University of Texas at Austin Main Building tower, after earlier killing his wife and mother.August 5
August 6 – Braniff Airlines Flight 250 crashes in Falls City, Nebraska , killing all 42 on board.August 7 – Race riots occur in Lansing, Michigan .August 10 – Lunar Orbiter 1 , the first U.S. spacecraft to orbit another world, is launched.August 11 – The Beatles hold a press conference in Chicago , during which John Lennon apologizes for his "more popular than Jesus " remark, saying, "I didn't mean it as a lousy anti-religious thing."August 15 – It is announced that the New York Herald Tribune August 16 – Vietnam War : The House Un-American Activities Committee starts investigating Americans who have aided the Viet Cong , with the intent to make these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 are arrested.August 22
August 24 – Rock band The Doors record their self-titled debut LP .August 29 – The Beatles play their very last concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California . Meanwhile, on NBC, Hullabaloo Elvis Presley , which previously aired in April of that year.September 1 – While waiting at a bus stop Ralph Baer , an inventor with Sanders Associates , writes a four-page document that lays out the basic principles for creating a video game to be played on a television: the beginning of a multibillion-dollar industry.September 7 – The ocean liner SS Hanseatic catches fire and burns in New York Harbor.September 8 –10 – State visit to the U.S. by the dictator General Ne Win , Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of the Union of Burma. He is honored by a 21-gun salute and given the key to the city of Washington D.C., "a long-standing American tradition of welcome". He holds talks with President Lyndon Johnson and with the highest ranking U.S. officials at the State Department who reaffirm support for Burmese neutrality. Further talks are held with George Ball , acting Secretary of State, and with Averell Harriman , U.S. Ambassador at Large.[ 6] [ 7] [ 8] U Thant ) and Hawaii.[ 9] September 8 – The classic science fiction series Star Trek NBC with its first episode, titled "The Man Trap ".September 12 – The Monkees NBC .September 16 – The Metropolitan Opera House opens at Lincoln Center in New York City to the world premiere of Samuel Barber 's opera, Antony and Cleopatra September 18
Valerie Percy, the 21-year-old daughter of Illinois Republican senatorial candidate Charles H. Percy , is stabbed and bludgeoned to death in the family mansion on Chicago's North Shore. The crime remains unsolved.
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum opens to the public in California.September 19 – Timothy Leary forms the spiritual group League for Spiritual Discovery (LSD).September 29 – Chevrolet Camaro car is introduced.
January 4 – Deana Carter , singerJanuary 5 – Kate Schellenbach , musicianJanuary 7 – Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy , actress, model and publicist, wife of John F. Kennedy, Jr. (d. 1999 )January 8 – Andrew Wood , musician (d. 1990 )January 11 – Marc Acito , playwright, novelist and humoristJanuary 13 – Patrick Dempsey , screen actor and race car driverJanuary 14 – Dan Schneider , television producer, screenwriter and actor[ 11] January 20 – Rainn Wilson , actorJanuary 29 – Julie Ann Taylor , voice actressJanuary 30 – Deborah Ochs , archer[ 12] February 1 – Michelle Akers , footballerFebruary 10 – Daryl Johnston , American football playerFebruary 13 – Neal McDonough , American actorFebruary 17 – Michael Lepond , bass playerFebruary 20 – Cindy Crawford , model and actressFebruary 22 – Rachel Dratch , actress and comedianFebruary 23 – Michael Arata , actorFebruary 24 – Billy Zane , actorFebruary 25 – Téa Leoni , American actressFebruary 26 – Jennifer Grant , actressMarch 1
March 4
March 5
March 10
March 11 – Alice Stewart , communications director and pundit (d. 2024 )[ 13] March 14
March 16 – Rodney Peete , African American football quarterbackMarch 18 – Jerry Cantrell , guitarist, singer and songwriterMarch 21 – Roy Niederhoffer , hedge fund manager and philanthropist[citation needed March 22 – Martha McSally , politician and military pilotMarch 22
March 25 – Tom Glavine , baseball playerMarch 26 – Michael Imperioli , actorMarch 28
April 1 – Markus Paul , footballer (d. 2020 )April 2 – Bill Romanowski , American football playerApril 4 – Mike Starr , bassist (Alice in Chains ) (d. 2011 )April 8
April 14
April 16 – Jeff Varner , newscaster and reality television personalityApril 18 – Michael Shure , journalistApril 22
April 25 – Tim Easton , songwriterApril 27 – Brian Koppelman , filmmaker, essayist and podcasterApril 28
April 29
May 10 – Wade Dominguez , actor, model, singer and dancer (d. 1998 )May 11 – Bill Ackman , activist investor and hedge fund managerMay 12 – Stephen Baldwin , actorMay 14
May 16
May 20
May 21 – Lisa Edelstein , actress and playwrightMay 24 – Ricky Craven , race car driver and sportscasterMay 25 – Jeff Cross , American football playerMay 28 – Larry Davis , criminal (died 2008 )June 2 – Candace Gingrich , LGBT rights activistJune 10 – Laura Silverman , actress and voice actressJune 14 –
June 16 – Phil Vischer , voice actor, puppeteer, writer, animator, creator of VeggieTales June 21 – Rudi Bakhtiar , journalistJune 30 – Mike Tyson , heavyweight boxerJuly 3 – Sandra Lee , television chef and authorJuly 5 – Claudia Wells , actressJuly 6
July 7 – Jim Gaffigan , comedian and actorJuly 8 – Mike Nawrocki , director, animator, writer, lyricist and voice actorJuly 9
July 10 – Doug TenNapel , animator, cartoonist and comic book artistJuly 11 – Debbe Dunning , actressJuly 13 – Gerald Levert , singer-songwriter (died 2006 )July 14 – Matthew Fox , actor[ 17] July 18
July 19 – Nancy Carell , actressJuly 21 – Doug Chin , attorney and politicianJuly 22 – Tim Brown , American football playerJuly 29 – Richard Steven Horvitz , voice actorJuly 30 – Sean Patrick Maloney , politician; U.S. Representative of New York since 2013August 2 – Tim Wakefield , baseball player (d. 2023 )August 5
August 7 – Jimmy Wales , co-founder of Wikipedia August 10
August 14 – Halle Berry , film actress[ 20] August 15 – Scott Brosius , baseball playerAugust 17
August 25 – Michael Cohen , attorneyAugust 30 – Scott Kannberg , musician (Pavement , Preston School of Industry )September 1 – Ken Levine , video game designerSeptember 2
September 9
September 16 – Sean Frye , child actorSeptember 19 – Soledad O'Brien , television journalist and news anchor[ 23] September 22 – Mike Richter , ice hockey playerSeptember 24 – Michael O. Varhola , author and publisherSeptember 27
October 1 – Scott Innes , voice actor and singerOctober 2 – Yokozuna , pro wrestler (d. 2000 )October 3 – Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane , American-born Israeli rabbi, settler leader and murder victim, died in Ofra , West Bank (d. 2000 in Israel )October 5 – Terri Runnels , wrestling manager and TV hostOctober 6 – Jacqueline Obradors , actressOctober 7 – Sherman Alexie , Native American authorOctober 10 – Carolyn Bertozzi , chemist, Nobel Prize laureate[ 26] October 15 – Bill Charlap , pianist and composerOctober 16 – Mary Elizabeth McGlynn , voice actress and directorOctober 18
October 27 – Matt Drudge , journalistOctober 28
November 2
November 9 – Lori Lively , actressNovember 14 – Curt Schilling , baseball playerNovember 19
November 21 – Troy Aikman , sports commentator, previously pro football playerNovember 22 – Michael K. Williams , actor (d. 2021 )[ 30] November 27 – Andy Merrill , voice actorNovember 28
November 30 – Wil Mara , authorDecember 1 – Katherine LaNasa , actress[ 31] December 4
December 8
December 9
December 10 – Mateo Romero , Native American painterDecember 12 – Greg Long , Christian musicianDecember 13 – Don Roff , writer and filmmakerDecember 14 – Anthony Mason , basketball player (d. 2015 )December 21 – Adam Schefter , journalist and sportscasterDecember 27 – Fabian Núñez , politicianUndated – Victor Vescovo , explorer and investor
January 3
January 14 – Bill Carr , Olympic sprinter (b. 1909 )January 16 – Courtney Hodges , army general (b. 1887 )January 17 – Vincent J. Donehue , stage director (b. 1915 )January 18 – Kathleen Norris , fiction writer (b. 1880 )January 31 – Elizabeth Patterson , actress (b. 1875 )February 1
February 3 – June Walker , actress (b. 1900 )February 9 – Sophie Tucker , singer (b. 1886 in Ukraine)February 10 – Billy Rose , composer and bandleader (b. 1899 )February 12 – Frank Merrill , silent film actor and gymnast (b. 1893 )February 17 – Alfred P. Sloan , businessman (b. 1875 )February 18 – Robert Rossen , film director (b. 1908 )February 20 – Chester W. Nimitz , admiral (b. 1885 )February 28 – Jonathan Hale , Canadian-born actor (b. 1891 )March 1
March 3
March 4 – Joseph Fields , playwright (b. 1895 )March 7
March 20 – Johnny Morrison , baseball player (b. 1895 )March 27 – Helen Menken , stage actress (b. 1901 )April 6 – Julia Faye , film actress (b. 1893 )April 11 – William H. Pitsenbarger , U.S. Air Force Medal of Honour recipient (b. 1944 )April 29 – Eugene O'Brien , stage and silent film actor (b. 1880 )May 26 – Don Castle , film actor (b. 1917 )June 1 – Papa Jack Laine , jazz drummer and bandleader (b. 1873 )June 6 – Ethel Clayton , silent film actress (b. 1882 )June 11 – Wallace Ford , actor (b. 1898 in the United Kingdom )June 19 – Ed Wynn , actor and comedian (b. 1886 )June 20 – Paul Kuhn , German-born operatic tenor (b. 1874 in Germany )July 3 – Deems Taylor , composer (b. 1885 )July 6
July 7 – Carmelita Geraghty , silent film actress and painter (b. 1901 )July 11 – Delmore Schwartz , poet (b. 1913 )July 18 – Bobby Fuller , rock and roll musician (b. 1942 )July 23
July 25 – Frank O'Hara , poet (b. 1926 )August 3 – Lenny Bruce , comedian (b. 1925 )August 6 – Cordwainer Smith , science fiction author (b. 1913 )August 15 – Seena Owen , silent film actress and screenwriter (b. 1894 )August 23 – Francis X. Bushman , film actor (b. 1883 )August 26 – Art Baker , radio and screen actor (b. 1989 )September 6 – Margaret Sanger , birth control advocate (b. 1879 )[ 32] September 8 – Walter Friedländer , art historian (b. 1873 in Germany )September 9 – Nestor Paiva , actor (b. 1905 )September 14 – Gertrude Berg , radio and screen actress and writer (b. 1899 )[ 33] September 26 – Helen Kane , "boop-a-doop" singer (b. 1904 )September 28 – Eric Fleming , television Western actor, died in Peru (b. 1925 )October 1 – Mary Logan Reddick , African American neuroembryologist (born 1914 )October 13 – Clifton Webb , actor, dancer and singer (b. 1889 )October 16 – George O'Hara , silent film actor and screenwriter (b. 1899 )October 18
October 23 – Claire McDowell , silent film actress (b. 1877 )November 1 – Dick Roberts , banjo and guitar player (b. 1897 )November 2 – Mississippi John Hurt , African American singer and guitarist (b. 1893 )November 10 – Evelyn Sears , tennis player (b. 1875 )[ 34] November 12 – Quincy Porter , composer (b. 1897 )[ 35] November 28 – Boris Podolsky , physicist (b. 1896 in Russia )December 6 – Peter H. Odegard , political scientist and academic administrator (b. 1901 )December 11 – Augusta Fox Bronner , psychologist, specialist in juvenile psychology (b. 1881 )December 14
December 15 – Walt Disney , business magnate, animator, producer, director, screenwriter and voice actor (b. 1901 )[ 36] December 22
December 23 – David J. Stewart , actor (b. 1915 )December 30 – Christian Herter , Secretary of State (b. 1895 )
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^ California Births, 1905 – 1995, Michael A. Ines (Birth Date: May 14, 1966, County of Birth: Los Angeles)
^ "Janet Jackson | Biography, Songs, & Facts | Britannica" . www.britannica.com . Retrieved 16 December 2021 .^ "UPI Almanac for Sunday, July 14, 2020" . United Press International . Retrieved May 21, 2021 .^ Dan O'Brien at World Athletics ^ "James Gunn biography and filmography | James Gunn movies" . Tribute . Retrieved 2022-01-30 .^ "Halle Berry | Biography, Movies, & Facts" . Encyclopedia Britannica . Retrieved 16 March 2021 .^ Legendary DJ Mister Cee Has Passed Away ^ "Remembering the man, my father Lance Blanks" . ESPN.com . 2023-05-09. Retrieved 2024-02-02 .^ "Soledad O Obrien – United States Public Records" . FamilySearch ^ Matthew Andrew Wasniewski (2006). Women in Congress, 1917-2006 ISBN 978-0-16-076753-1 ^ Lee Ellis (2004). Who's who of NASA Astronauts ISBN 978-0-9667961-4-8 ^ "Press release: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022" (Press release). The Nobel Prize. 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2022-10-06 .^ Boteach, Shmuel (February 20, 2005). An Intelligent Person's Guide to Judaism ISBN 9780715631904 ^ "Gail Devers" . IOC . Retrieved February 21, 2021 .^ Amy L. Unterburger (1994). Who's who Among Asian Americans, 1994-95 ISBN 978-0-8103-9433-9 ^ Williams, Michael K. Finding Your Roots
^ "Match maddens Hopper's in-law" . Austin American-Statesman . 27 June 1989. Retrieved 12 July 2012 .^ "Margaret Sanger | Biography, Birth Control, & Significance | Britannica" . www.britannica.com . Retrieved 7 March 2022 .^ "Gertrude Berg | American actress, producer, and screenwriter" . Encyclopedia Britannica . Retrieved 25 January 2021 .^ Collins, Bud (2016). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (3rd ed.). New York: New Chapter Press. p. 496. ISBN 978-1-937559-38-0 ^ Quincy Porter ^ Ryan, James Gilbert; Schlup, Leonard C. (26 March 2015). Historical Dictionary of the 1940s ISBN 978-1-317-46865-3
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