Feb 9
The Beatles on Ed Sullivan
73 million Americans watched The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. Crime reportedly dropped to zero during the broadcast. Beatlemania had arrived in America.
🇺🇸United States · 60s
The British Invasion
The Beatles land, the Civil Rights Act passes, and LBJ wins in a landslide.
What happened
5 milestones of 1964
Jul 2
Civil Rights Act of 1964
President Johnson signed the most sweeping civil rights legislation in American history, outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Jim Crow era was legally over.
civil rights
Aug 7
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Congress authorized military force in Southeast Asia after alleged attacks on US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin. It gave LBJ a blank check for Vietnam. The war would consume the decade.
war
Nov 3
LBJ Wins in a Landslide
Lyndon Johnson crushed Barry Goldwater with 61.1% of the vote — the largest popular vote margin since 1820. The Great Society mandate was enormous.
Oct 14
Martin Luther King Jr. Wins Nobel Peace Prize
At 35, Martin Luther King Jr. became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He donated the entire $54,600 prize to the civil rights movement.
What was playing
70% local · 30% international
What was in cinemas
Mary Poppins
Robert Stevenson — Julie Andrews was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Disney's greatest live-action film.
My Fair Lady
George Cukor — Won Best Picture. Audrey Hepburn in Edwardian London.
Goldfinger
Guy Hamilton — 'No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.' The Bond formula perfected.
A Hard Day's Night
Richard Lester — The Beatles on film. A joyful, anarchic masterpiece.
Dr. Strangelove
Stanley Kubrick — Kubrick's nuclear satire. 'Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!'
What was on TV
Gilligan's Island
1964-1967 — A three-hour tour that never ended. Guilty pleasure for millions.
Bewitched
1964-1972 — A witch marries a mortal. Elizabeth Montgomery's nose twitch became iconic.
The Addams Family
1964-1966 — They're creepy, kooky, mysterious, and spooky.
The Munsters
1964-1966 — A monster family in suburbia. Herman Munster was everybody's favorite.
Bonanza
1959-1973 — #1 show on television for the third consecutive year.
How much things cost
Currency: USD
Gallon of milk$1.06
Gallon of gas$0.30
New house (median)$13,050
New car (average)$2,650
Loaf of bread$0.21
Movie ticket$0.93
Inflation: 1.3%
The economy was roaring. GDP grew 5.8%. Johnson's tax cuts fueled consumer spending.
Then vs. Now
Inflation-adjusted values
Gallon of milkBLS
1964 (USD)
$1.06
→
Today's value ($)
--
Gallon of gasEIA
1964 (USD)
$0.30
→
Today's value ($)
--
New house (median)Census Bureau
1964 (USD)
$13,050
→
Today's value ($)
--
New car (average)BLS
1964 (USD)
$2,650
→
Today's value ($)
--
Loaf of breadBLS
1964 (USD)
$0.21
→
Today's value ($)
--
Movie ticketNATO
1964 (USD)
$0.93
→
Today's value ($)
--
Technology
IBM System/360
IBM launched the System/360, the first family of compatible computers. It revolutionized business computing.
Ford Mustang
The Mustang debuted at the World's Fair and sold 400,000 in its first year.
BASIC programming language
Dartmouth professors created BASIC — programming for everyone.
Ranger 7 photographs the Moon
NASA's Ranger 7 sent back the first close-up photos of the lunar surface.
Touch-Tone phone
AT&T introduced push-button phones to replace rotary dials.
Pop Culture
Fashion
Mod fashion from LondonMop-top Beatles haircutsMini skirts emerging
Slang
Groovy— Cool, fashionable
Fab— Fabulous (Beatles-inspired)
Bummer— A disappointment
Behavior
- Beatlemania — teenagers screamed, fainted, and mobbed airports
- The British Invasion transformed American pop culture
- Freedom Summer brought civil rights volunteers to Mississippi
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