by Chris & Danny
The year 1966 was a continuation to an already action packed decade. This year was one of the busiest times in the 20th century, possibly even the in American history altogether. At this time America is fighting a war in South East Asia, African Americans are as close to ending segregation than ever before, America is involved with the hippy movement, and to top it all off, many new technology advances are taking place such as the ongoing space race with the USSR. America was a bustling place to live and a great one at that.
On January 11, The Indian prime minister Lal Bahandra Shastri dies, and is succeeded by Indira Gandhi on January 19. http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Shastri.html
On January 12- March 14, Batman, a children's series about Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson who have double lives as superheroes fighting crime in Gotham City, appears on U.S. television. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin.
On March 1, Soviet probe Venera 3 (launched November 16, 1965) crash-lands on Venus, the first artificial object to land on another planet.
On March 19, Texas Western defeated The University of Kentucky in the NCAA Basketball National Championship. No one knew about this small university but by March 19, everyone did. They had been victorius over teams such as Kansas to get to the championship. It was truly a Cinderella Story season, spark plugged by Western's amazing and inspiring coach named Don Haskins.
On April 28, the Boston Celtics win their eighth successive U.S. National Basketball Association (NBA) title. Their coach, Red Auerbach, retires to be replaced by Bill Russell (as player/coach), who becomes the first ever black American head coach.
On June 8, the mounting rivalry between the American Football League and the National Football League in the United States is ended when the two bodies agree to merge. The merger will not be fully effective until 1970, but from 1967 a common draft of college players will take place and a Super Bowl game between the champions of each league will be inaugurated.
On August 1, the student Charles Whitman locks himself in a tower on the University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas, and fatally shoots 13 students and wounds 31 others before police snipers kill him.
On August 8, Heart surgeon Michael De Bakey installs the first artificial heart pump, a left ventricle bypass, into a patient at Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. The pump remains in operation for ten days.
On August 31, British Aerospace's Harrier, a vertical take off and landing (VTOL) jet, makes its first test flight.
On September 8, Star-trek premiered on NBC in 1966. It was a dominant science fiction television series.
On September 17, Mission: Impossible an adventure series about an elite U.S. government spy agency, appears on U.S. television. Steven Hill (later Peter Graves), Martin Landau, Peter Lupus, Barbara Bain, and Greg Morris star.
On December 1, Walt Disney, U.S. motion-picture producer and creator of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and other characters and Disney Land, dies in Los Angeles, California
India is hit by the worst famine in 20 years and has to import 8 million tons of wheat from the United States.
39th Annual Academy Awards:
Best Actor: Paul Scofield in A Man for All Seasons
Best Actress: Elizabeth Taylor in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Best Picture: A Man for All Seasons
The Emmy Awards:
Outstanding Dramatic Series: The Fugitive
Outstanding Comedy Series: The Dick Van Dyke Show
9th Grammy Awards Ever:
Record of the Year: “Strangers in the Night,” Frank Sinatra
Album of the Year: Sinatra: A Man And His Music, Frank Sinatra
Song of the Year: “Michelle,” John Lennon & Paul McCartney