1961 - 1962 - 1963 - 1964 - 1965 - 1966 - 1967 - 1968 - 1969

1960 to 1969: Era of Cold War and Hot Revolution various newspaper articles include a 1960-1969: Timeline of events from the Fort Wayne History Stories about time periods in the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

Fort Wayne memories. The '60s / producer, Claudia Johnson ; a production of PBS39 WFWA Fort Wayne, 1999, "Through extensive interviews with many Fort Wayne area residents, old news footage, photographs and home movies, revisit this very significant time in Fort Wayne and American history, marked by new attitudes, technological advances and cultural change." VHS at Allen County Public Library.

1960

1960, April 1 - the first NASA weather satellite images from outer space. RELEASE : 10-072 NASA And NOAA Mark 50 Years Of Weather Watching From Space at nasa.gov. From TIROS-1 to GOES-R Series at l3harris.com which has a Fort Wayne campus.

1960, May 9 - FDA, Food and Drug Administration, approves 1st commercially produced birth-control pill, Enovid-10, a synthetic blend of the female hormones progesterone and estrogen, known as oral contraceptives. See 50th anniversary of the Pill onSmithsonian National Museum of American History blog.

Allen County Community Album photo

1960, September 12 - the Old Fort Well was dedicated in what was the Old Fort Park located on East Main Street at Clay Street along what is now railroad tracks.

1960, September 21 - Remarks of Vice President Nixon, Allen County Court House, Fort Wayne, IN September 21, 1960 at the Allen County Court House at The American Presidency Project. Richard Nixon 37th President of the United States: 1969 ‐ 1974.

1960, September 26 - the first televised presidential debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon.

1961

1961 - RCA commercial for color television programing shown during Walt Disney's The Wonderful World of Color on Sunday evenings during the days of black and white telelvision. The Wonderful World of Color is brought to you by RCA.mp4 uploaded November 27, 2010 by wwodtv.

1961, April 17 - Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba and Fidel Castro.

1961, May 4 - a group of Freedom Riders leave Washington, D.C. for New Orleans to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses. They face challenges of attack and burning of a bus in Alabama. They were met with baseball bats and guns, brutal beatings and firebombs, prison cells and chain gangs. They never made it to New Orleans, but they persisted through the summer, until Attorney General Robert Kennedy petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission for tougher new laws against segregation. Paraphrased from May 4, 2013 Facebook post by The History Centerfrom Today's Writers Almanac. See videos on National Youth Summit - The Freedom Rides February 9, 2011Smithsonian National Museum of American History blog.

1961, May 5 - Alan Shepard became the first American in space when he commanded Freedom 7 on the first Mercury mission.

1961, May 20 - a busload of "Freedom Riders" in Montgomery, Alabama were attacked by a white mob, prompting the federal government to send in United States marshals to restore order.

1961, May 25 - President Kennedy told Congress that the U.S. needed to commit to "landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth" before the end of the decade. The speech inspired one of the most ambitious scientific projects in history. But to land on the moon, you need a map of the moon. Read more about maps & the space race: Maps: The (Bright) Side of the Moon  by Neely Tucker posted September 14, 2021 shared on Facebook May 25, 2022 by The Library of Congress.

1961, July 2 - American author Ernest Hemingway committed suicide.

1961, August 13 - East Germany closed the border between East and West Germany when the Berlin Wall was completed.

1961, September 24 or thereabouts Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color was the first color television show on NBC.

1961, December 11 - 1st U.S. helicopters arrive in South Vietnam. They were used for patrols, supplies, medics: Vietnam Fighting the War An Airmobile War edited from December 11, 2014 Tweet by American History Museum.

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1962

1962 - Construction begins on the first Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne building. Copied from the 1960-1969: Timeline of events from the Fort Wayne History Stories about time periods in the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1962 - Fort Wayne Fired Department first black fireman.

1962, February 10 - a massive fire guts the Wolf & Dessauer store on Washington Boulevard. Copied from the 1960-1969: Timeline of events from the Fort Wayne History Stories about time periods in the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1962, July 31 - baseball legends Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, Carl Erskine and Bob Feller visited Fort Wayne for Progress Day. Today, the youth baseball celebration is called Mr. Mac Day held each year by Wildcat Baseball. Read about Mr Dale McMillen [Mr. MAC] (Wildcat Baseball League Founder) Photo posted August 14, 2014 on Visit Fort Wayneon Facebook. Read more of the story on Fort Wayne’s Jackie Robinson Connection and Wildcat reaches milestone Everybody plays as 50th season begins by Steve Warden published June 13, 2010 in The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1962, July 2 - Walmart opens their first store.

1962, October 5 - the Beatles release their first song “Love Me Do,” forever changing modern music. 

1962, October 14 - the Cuban Missle Crises brings the U.S. and Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear conflict when a U-2 spy plane offered incontrovertible evidence that Soviet-made medium-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads were in Cuba. See video Cuban Missle Crises Newsreel and Stock Footage uploaded March 27, 2011 on Public Domain Footage.com on YouTube. At 8:45 AM on October 16, 1962, National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy alerted President Kennedy that a major international crisis was at hand. From WORLD ON THE BRINK JOHN F. KENNEDY AND THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS THIRTEEN DAYS IN OCTOBER 1962 at the John F.Kennedy Presidential Library. October 22, 1962 President Kennedy announces blockade of Cuba.

1962, November 20 - the Cuban Missile Crisis ends.

1963

1963 - the Indiana General Assembly gave legal sanction to the Indiana State Seal design and provided an official description (IC 1-2-4). Versions of this pioneer scene have been used on Indiana seals since territorial days. They are found on official papers as early as 1801. A seal was provided for in both the 1816 and 1851 state constitutions. The elements are a woodsman, buffalo, sycamore trees, hills and a setting sun; leaves of the state tree are in the border design. See Indiana State Seal by the Indiana Historical Bureau.

1963 - Centlivre Village

1963 - Komets achieved first Turner Cup 50 years ago Local boy grabbed the puck during celebration by Blake Sebring of The News-Sentinel newspaper April 23, 2013.

1963 - Big Snow Storm 1963 2-minute video without sound in the WKJG-TV COLLECTION at the Indiana Historical Society. Posted January 31, 2023 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook. See WKJG.

1963, March 5 - the hula hoop was patented

1963, March 11 - Indiana a poem by Arthur Franklin Mapes of Kendallville, Noble County, was adopted as the Official State Poem by the Indiana General Assembly. Arthur Franklin Mapes, Poet on Facebook. In March 1977 Mapes was recognized by both chambers of the statehouse as Indiana’s Poet Laureate. An offical poet laureate program did not start until 2005. From Arthur Franklin Mapes ~ Indiana Poet Laureate blog. See also Responsibility of the poet on the 50th anniversary March 11, 2013 by Angela Mapes Turner. Poetry Archive at Arthur Franklin Mapes ~ Indiana Poet Laureate blog includes many poems such as “Arcola”.

1963, March 21 - Club Olympia Pool opened. One of only 4 Olympic size pools in Indiana. 1968 Olympic Gold medalist swimmer Sharon Wichman practiced at Club O. The pool was filled in April 28, 2009.

1963, June 5 - Dr. Martin Luther King visited Fort Wayne. On June 4, 2012 the newly rebuilt Clinton Street bridge was re-dedicated as the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge. His visit was recalled in 2013 in the MLK enterprise ’63 50th anniversary including a video with Hana Stith and Jonathan Ray talking about Fort Wayne history by The Journal Gazette newspaper with links to many other articles but is no longer online.

1. Civil Rights in Fort Wayne : A Photographic Retrospective virtual tour with several photos on the The History Centerweb site.
2. MLK nephew Derek King addresses violence, poverty Urges discipline, awareness, equality June 6, 2013 by Frank Gray now on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

3. January 16, 2023 post by the Genealogy Center on Facebook:

   Today marks Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In 1963, he paid a visit to Fort Wayne. In the photo, “Dr. King is being met by Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy and other integrationist leaders at Baer Field. Second from left is Dr. Allen Wilson, President of the Frontiers Club, which sponsored a Freedom Rally. City Councilman John Nuckols is at left and Rev. Clyde Adams is third from left, who served as general chairman of the rally”. Dr. King received a standing ovation when he entered Scottish Rite Auditorium to begin his speech to the crowd. Lesley, Van (1963, June 6). Dr. King Welcomed by Ovation, Pickets). The News-Sentinel, p. 1D.

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

1963, June 11 - Governor George Wallace of Alabama confronted federal troops at the University of Alabama defying an order to allow black students to enroll. His inaugural promise was segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.

1963, June 25 - President John F. Kennedy makes his Ich bin ein Berliner speech in Berlin, Germany. There is an Urban Legend about this statement: JFK: 'I Am a Jelly Donut' ('Ich bin ein Berliner'). Did JFK really tell Berlin he was a jelly doughnut? from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library tumblr.com. German Myth 6 John F. Kennedy’s 1963 Berlin Speech at About.com.

1963, July 1 - U.S. Post Office introduces 5-digit ZIP codes. IN became the official U.S. Post Office two-letter state code replacing Ind. in the new five-digit ZIP codes to keep up with the growing volume of mail. "ZIP" is "Zone Improvement Plan" The first three digits represent a part of the country, and the last two the post office. In 1983, "ZIP + 4," added a hyphen with first two digits a specific group of streets or cluster of large buildings, and the last two specify one side of the block or floor in a large building. ZIP codes start with zero in the Northeast and get bigger as one moves south and west with more than 42,000 ZIP codes. From When did Indiana change their abbreviation from IND on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. A June 18, 1963 newspaper map was shown in a July 6, 2022 post by Newspapers.com on Facebook.

1963, August 28 - I Have a Dream, Martin Luther King Jr. 16 minute audio recording of his speech during the Civil Rights rally on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on Smithsonian.com. March on Washington ‘day that shaped my life’ Manchester president recalls participationJust days before the start of my sophomore year at South Side High School in 1963, I sat on the grass of the National Mall, not far from the Lincoln Memorial, near the row of trees that lined the sidewalks on the north. By Jo Young Switzer published August 28, 2013 in The Journal Gazette newspaper.

1963, September 16 - the Ku Klux Klan killed 4 young girls when they detonated dynamite on Youth Day at the Birmingham 16th Street Baptist Church. September 16, 2017 Internet Archiveon Facebook posted links to several items.

1963 November 22 - about 12:30 p.m. President John F. Kennedy was fatally shot while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. Although other presidents were highly decorated veterans, John F. Kennedy is the only president awarded a Purple Heart for wounds in combat. The Warren Commission published a report concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in shooting the president, a conclusion that less than half of all Americans believe. School children, and everyone older, for the rest of their lives remember where they were when they heard the news. Black and white television or radio were the common methods to hear the latest news at designated times during the day. Day long news coverage 24/7 was still decades away in the future. See John F. Kennedy Assassinated on Today in History - November 22 at The Library of Congress. See November 17, 2013 post of front page of The Journal Gazette newspaper on Facebook. November 22, 2022 post showed the November 22, 1963 front page of The News-Sentinel on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook. Read more in Life and Death in the White House on Smithsonian National Museum of American History blog. November 22, 2022 post by Newspapers.com on Facebook stated: These 4 front pages all come from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on November 22, 1963, capturing the unfolding events of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in nearby Dallas. The president had been in Fort Worth earlier that day. Explore more newspaper coverage of the Kennedy assassination on our Topic Page: Assassination of John F. Kennedy

1963, November 24 - newspapers announced most government agencies including the post office, business establishments and schools would close Monday November 25 in memory of John F. Kennedy. Grocery stores were closed 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM and drug stores 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. From the front page of the November 24, 1963 The Journal Gazette newspaper.

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1964

Urban renewal projects reshape the Fort Wayne landscape. Copied from the 1960-1969: Timeline of events from the Fort Wayne History Stories about time periods in the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1964, February 9 - the Beatles played on the Ed Sullivan show. Listen to a 9 minute audio with a local resident and WOWO's Bob Chase recalling Beatlemania: 50 years since The Beatles landed in the United States Local residents recall the Fab Four reached people like no other band before or since published January 17, 2014 in The News-Sentinel newspaper. Read about their Feburary 11, 1964 concert in Washington D.C. : http://life.time.com/culture/the-beatles-photos-from-the-fab-fours-first-american-concert-1964/#ixzz2WgUcRW6p

1964, March 10 - The highest recorded March snowfall fell at 12.6 inches.

1964, June 18 - The Civil Rights Act is passed by the Senate and outlaws discrimination and segregation in voting, education, and public facilities. Overturning Jim Crow laws. It was first proposed in 1963 by President Kennedy, LBJ - President Lyndon Johnson put forward a more robust version the following year outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and signed it July 2, 1964. See photo LBJ Signs the Civil Rights Act on The National Archives Presidential Libraries tumblr.

1964, July 2 - Civil Rights Act (1964) This act, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964, prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal. It was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. Copied from the Civil Rights Act (1964) at The National Archives.

1964, September 3 - The Beatles played at the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis. See RetroIndy: The Beatles at the 1964 Indiana State Fair published September 3, 2013 on IndyStar.com.

1964, November 12 - the Rolling Stones rock and roll band visited local television host Ann Cologne and her photographer Stephen Perfect took photos. A photo of the newspaper review first published November 12, 1964 in the Amusements section From the archives: Singers Rock Coliseum by Marjorie Barnhart re-published November 7, 2014 in The News-Sentinel newspaper. The 50th anniversary was remembered at a University of Saint Francis exhibit in its Weatherhead, Goldfish and Spotlight galleries in the School of Creative Arts November 8 through December 21, 2014 described in USF Exhibition Spotlighting Contemporary Painting Rolling Stones Fort Wayne Visit Photos September 30, 2014 on the university web site. A Stephen Perfect interview video and Don Chevillet audio are included in 50 years ago, the Rolling Stones rocked Fort Wayne WATCH: Photographer Stephen Perfect talks about historic visit by James Grant published November 7, 2014 in The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1965

Glenbrook Square opens and the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo opens. Copied from the 1960-1969: Timeline of events from the Fort Wayne History Stories about time periods in the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1965, February 9 - the U.S. first sent troops into South Vietnam. From February 9, 2015 Life magazine Tweet.

1965, March 18 - first ever spacewalk by Soviet cosmonaut Alexsei Leonov and three months later American astronaut Edward White. Read more Learning to Spacewalk A cosmonaut remembers the exhilaration-and terror-of his first space mission by Alexei Leonov published January 2005 in Air & Space Magazine.

1965, March 21 - Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and followers begin their march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.

1965, April 11 - Palm Sunday tornadoes. 137 people killed and more than 1,200 injured in Indiana from nearly 50 tornadoes. 50 years ago, Palm Sunday tornadoes devastated swaths of Indiana by Kevin Kilbane published April 10, 2015 in The News-Sentinel newspaper. Over a 12 hour span, 47 tornadoes in 6 states, 4 dozen counties, 1,500 people injured, and 271 lives lost. The Palm Sunday Story April 11, 1965 written by Tom Reaugh, edited by Sam Lashley/Todd Holsten by National Weather Service - Northern Indiana. May 30, 2013 discussion onthe original Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne, Indiana page on Facebook. Photos and discussion April 11, 2017 on Indiana Bicentennial Commission on Facebook.

1965, June 7 - After hearing the case Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court struck down a Connecticut law banning the use of birth control. See A Timeline of Contraception at American Experience PBS.org. Griswold v. Connecticut at Oyez LII Supreme Court Resources Justia Supreme Court Center and Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965) at JUSTIA US Supreme Court. Before the critical 1965 Supreme Court ruling Griswold v. Connecticut, state and federal morality laws prohibited access to contraceptives, even to married couples from The Revolutionary 1965 Supreme Court Decision That Declared Sex a Private Affair A Smithsonian curator of medicine and science looks back to the days when police could arrest couples for using contraception by Alexandra M. Lord posted May 19, 2022 in At the Smithsonian from an October 8, 2022 on Facebook.

1965, July 3 - the Ft. Wayne Children's Zoo opened on 5 1/2 acres in Franke Park. Over 6,000 people came on the first day to see the 18 animal exhibits. From July 3, 2014 post on Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook. Many photos were posted on July 3, 1965: Fort Wayne Children's Zoo opens by Corey McMaken published April 25, 2019 in The Journal Gazette newspaper.

1965, July 30 - President Lyndon Johnson signed the Medicare and Medicaid Act (1965) into law providing access to health care for millions of seniors and those with disabilities. This removed a heavy financial burden from families allowing more people to live longer, healthier more independent lives. On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Medicare and Medicaid Act, also known as the Social Security Amendments of 1965, into law. It established Medicare, a health insurance program for the elderly, and Medicaid, a health insurance program for people with limited income. In 1965, the passage of the Social Security Amendments, popularly known as Medicare and Medicaid, resulted in one basic program of health insurance for persons aged 65 and older, and another program providing health insurance for people with limited income funded by state and federal sources, respectively. It was funded by a tax on the earnings of employees, matched by contributions by employers, and was well received. In the first three years of the program, nearly 20 million beneficiaries enrolled in it. Copied from the Medicare and Medicaid Act (1965) at The National Archives.

1965, August 6 - President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act (1965) that ended the long era of voter discrimination in many Southern states. This act was signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. This “act to enforce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution” was signed into law 95 years after the amendment was ratified. In those years, African Americans in the South faced tremendous obstacles to voting, including poll taxes, literacy tests, and other bureaucratic restrictions to deny them the right to vote. They also risked harassment, intimidation, economic reprisals, and physical violence when they tried to register or vote. As a result, African-American voter registration was limited, along with political power. Copied from the Voting Rights Act (1965) at The National Archives.

1965, October 3 - at the base of the Statue of Liberty, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Immigration Act of 1965 into law. It abolished the quota system of the National Origins Act of 1924 which barred Asian immigrants, limited Latin American immigrants, and established rigid immigration quotas for European countries. See Fifty Year Later: A Brief History of the Immigration Act of 1965 by Jessie Kratz post September 17, 2015 on The National Archives Prologue: Pieces of History blog.

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1966

The Pennsy depot was razed in 1966. In its final years it was owned by Grieger Chevrolet; its lot used to store used cars. From The Pennsy Shops by Kevin Leininger from the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1966, February 3 - Broadway Ave - natural gas explosion .

1966, February 4 - Stockberger Machinery - Bash Building on the Landing fire - Fire Police City County Federal Credit Union calendar.

1966, March 24 - the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Harper v. Virginia Board of Electors, that poll taxes for any level of election were unconstitutional. From Recalling an Era When the Color of Your Skin Meant You Paid to Vote Celebrating the 50th anniversary of a ruling that made the poll tax unconstitutional by Allison Keyes published March 18, 2016 on Smithsonian.com.

1966, April 13 - The Uniform Time Act of 1966 “to promote the observance of a uniform system of time throughout the United States” was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Before 1966, time was essentially anything governments or businesses wanted it to be. The History of Daylight Saving Time at National Geographic News. Uniform Time at Transportation.gov. Uniform Time Act on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Watch one hour CSPAN video on the book Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Savings Time by Michael Downing.

1966, June 13 - Miranda rights established

1966, August 23 - a natural gas explosion occurred at Phelps Dodge Copper Products. at 12:05 PM when a gas explosion destroyed the building on New Haven Avenue. The force of the explosion caused the first and second floors of the center of the building to collapse into the basement. In total 7 (5 employees and 2 rescue workers) lost their lives and 19 employees were injured as a result of the explosion. The casualties would have been higher, except the lunch hour for the employees began at 11:40 AM, leaving most of the building empty at the time of the explosion. Copied from an August 23, 2019 post with photos by The History Centeron Facebook. See 18 photos in the Aug. 23, 1966: Phelps Dodge office explosion by Corey McMakin published January 30, 2020 in the History Journal features and stories of historical interest from the archives of The Journal Gazette.

1966, October 15 - Congress passed the National Historic Preservation Act. That same year, the DNR director became Indiana’s first State Historic Preservation Officer to carry out the Act’s liaison responsibilities. By 1969, Indiana’s first survey of historic sites and structures was conducted and the General Assembly authorized DNR to participate in the National Register Program. This authorization launched what would become the Indiana DNR Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology. In 1973, the Division of Museums and Memorials became the Division of Historic Preservation. In 1981, the General Assembly established the Indiana Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology within the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to carry out the federal-state partnership of the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act. Learn more about the Indiana dhpa at dnr.IN.gov/historic-preservation. Copied from an October 15, 2022 post by Indiana Department of Natural Resources on Facebook. This act lead to the National Register of Historic Places.

1. National Historic Preservation Act National Historic Preservation Act at National Park Service. First two paragraphs: After World War II, the United States seemed poised at the edge of a limitless future, and its vision of progress was characterized by the sleek and the new. Urban renewal was seen as a way to clear out the slums, get rid of "obsolete" buildings, make space for an exploding population, and accommodate the burgeoning car culture. Wide swaths were demolished: entire blocks, neighborhoods, business districts, all razed to make way for the new. By the 1960s, urban renewal had altered the face of the nation's cities. But out of this wholesale erasure of the old grew the most important law governing how we treat those places that define our past: the National Historic Preservation Act. It was the first national policy governing preservation and it would shape the fate of many of our historic and cultural sites over the next half-century. There had been earlier measures to foster preservation—the Antiquities Act of 1906 and the Historic Sites Act of 1935—but none were as sweeping or as influential as the National Historic Preservation Act.
2. National Historic Preservation Act October 15, 1966 at Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has the 52 page: The National Historic Preservation Act As amended through December 16, 2016 and Codified in Title 54 of the United States Code.
3. National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 was passed primarily to acknowledge the importance of protecting our nation’s heritage from rampant federal development. It was the triumph of more than a century of struggle by a grassroots movement of committed preservationists statement at National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO).
4. 49 page The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended at gsa.gov.
5. 5 page: Public Law 89-665-Oct. 15, 1966 at govinfo.gov.

1966, December 26 - Kwanzaa first celebrated. An African-American and Pan-African cultural holiday. The name Kwanzaa comes from a Swahili phrase meaning "first fruits," and the first-fruits celebration is recorded in African history from as far back as ancient Egyptian times. Kwanzaa is now a weeklong celebration of African culture and unity that started during the Black Freedom Movement in the United States. It is also celebrated in Africa, the Caribbean, South America, particularly in Brazil, and in African communities within Europe. Kwanzaa was founded by Dr. Maulana Karenga, who made the holiday cultural rather than religious so that people of all faiths could come together and celebrate.Copied from a December 26, 2012 post by The History Centeron Facebook.

1967

Southtown Mall opens from the 1960-1969: Timeline from the Fort Wayne History archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1967, January, 27 - a flash fire aboard the Apollo 1 test capsule took the lives of Gus Grissom and two other astronauts.

1967, February 10 - ratification of the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The amendment established procedures for the succession of the Presidency in the event of a vacancy in the office of President or Vice President. Copied from The 25th Amendment: Succession of the Presidency by Jessie Kratz published February 10, 2017 on The National Archives Prologue: Pieces of History blog. See arrest warrant posted June 12, 2017 by The National Archiveson Facebook State of Virginia, County of Caroline Commonwealth Warrant of Arrest vs. Mildred Jeter at The National Archives. Indiana Senator Birch Bayh authored the ammendment and served in the Senate from 1963 to 1981. See March 14, 2019 post the day Birch Bayh died by Indiana Historical Society on Facebook. Bayh authored the failed Equal Rights Amendment and was considered the Father of Title IX. Copied from Birch Bayh, former Indiana senator, Title IX author, dies at 91 by John Tuohy, Maureen Groppe, Shari Rudavsky and Vic Ryckaert, published March 14, 2019 in the Indianapolis Star newspaper. IU alumnus Birch Bayh was the author of two constitutional amendments — the only lawmaker to do so since the Founding Fathers. Copied from a March 14, 2019 post by Inside IU on Facebook.

1967, June 12 - a landmark civil rights ruling Loving v. Virginia the U.S. Supreme Court rules interracial marriages are legal, over ruling 16 states which outlawed marriage based on race. Indiana in 1965 became one of 14 states that repealed laws outlawing interracial marriage prior to the ruling. Read more on Marriage Across Racial Lines in Indiana on JSTOR, Wikipediaand photos on NPR.

1967, October 2 - Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice, becoming the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court.

1967, October 21 - nearly 100,000 people gather in D.C. to protest the war effort in Vietnam. October 21, 2014 Tweet by American History Museum on Twitter.

1967, November 24 - on a Friday, the soon-to-be world famous rock band The Who played in Fort Wayne at the Swingin' Gate Teen Country Club, 224 West Berry Street. Listed as November 24, 1967 The Swinging Gate, Fort Wayne, IN, US on the official Who's Previous Gigs - 1967 web page. The address is from a Fort Wayne Sentinel Thursday, May 4, 1967 advertisement posted for the May 7th, 1967 appearance of the Electric Prunes at the Swinging Gate copied from The Electric Prunes Concerts & Performances web site. Before the show of the 24th at The Swinging Gate in Fort Wayne, Indiana The Who go to local booking agent Linda Wren's home for Thanksgiving dinner. Copied from November 1967 on The Who This Month web site. Mentioned in Rock n’ roll stories from Fort Wayne’s past Big names. Big events. Brushes with fame… by Michael Summers published February 6, 2011 on the Fort Wayne Reader. The Boys Decision was the warm-up band. Copied from a Sunday, June 9, 2013 post The Boys Decisions - 1967 Ft. Wayne with a band photo and advertisement for their Swingin' Gate appearance on the Indiana-bands-60s blog. Several Comments were posted to a discussion of this concert on November 24, 2017 on The Who Official Facebook page. The date Fri, 24 November 1967 was posted on The Who Concert Guide, and with the Electric Prunes May concert date is listed on setlist.fm.

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1968

New Allen County Public Library is dedicated. Copied from the 1960-1969: Timeline from the Fort Wayne History archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1968 - Indiana Vocational and Technical College comes to Fort Wayne - was established on March 15, 1963 from Happy 50th, Ivy Tech published March 18, 2013 in The Journal Gazette newspaper Editorials.

1968, February 8 - Jefferson Public School, Fort Wayne, Indiana is where actor Charleton Heston claimed he learned to read and write in the movie Planet of the Apes.

1968, March 1 - U.S. Representative J. Edward Roush from nearby Huntington, Huntington County, who represented our area in Washington D.C., sponsored the federal legislation to establish a nationwide 911 emergency phone system. Various attempts for such a system had been around for some time. He made the first 911 call for AT & T from his hometown. Read A congressional salute for Rep. Roush, 911's driving force published February 17, 2018 in The Journal Gazette newspaper. By 1979, 26% of the U.S. population could dial 911. This increased to 50% by 1987 and 93% by 2000. As of December 2017, 98.9% of the U.S. population has access. See 9-1-1 on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Huntington became the first American city served by the AT&T-owned Bell System to receive 911 discussed in 9-1-1, born in Huntington, turns 50 years old published March 1, 2018 on CBS WANE-TV NewsChannel 15. June 3 2018 copies of a series of newspaper articles beginning with an article in the November 5, 1976 The News-Sentinel newspaperdiscussing 911 coming to Fort Wayne through the 1980 and 1990s were posted in You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Archived group only visible to existing members on Facebook.

1968, April 4 - Civil Rights leader the Reverand Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated  while standing on the balcony outside his second-story Lorraine Motel room in Memphis, Tennessee. Robert F. Kennedy was in Indianapolis and shared the sad news with the crowd from RetroIndy: Bobby Kennedy on the day Martin Luther King died RFK was in Indianapolis and broke the news to crowd; he was dead 2 months later - from IndyStar.com. He won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize - see his biography on Nobelprize.org.

1968, April 7 - Palm Sunday and more than 3,000 people gathered outside Allen County Courthouse after a six-block march from Pilgrim Baptist Church on Gay Street. The Journal Gazette’s story the next morning noted the peaceful procession was a contrast to rioting happening in many major cities such as Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Copied from Local tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. Throwback Thursday published March 29, 2018 with photos in The Journal Gazette newspaper.

1968, April 11 - one week after the assination of Martin Luther King, Jr, the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (protecting civil rights workers, expanding the rights of Native Americans and providing antidiscrimination measures in housing) was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

1968, April 23 - Senator Robert F. Kennedy had a presidental campaign stop in Fort Wayne, one of three times he visited Fort Wayne in 1968. He repeatedly visited Fort Wayne and most of Indiana's other large cities before he won the May 7 Indiana primary election. From A lingering loss 50 years after assassination, what-ifs swirl around RFK Editorial published June 5, 2018 in The Journal Gazette newspaper. On one of his stops in 1968 Kennedy visited Zoli's on Broadway and sent owner Zoltan Herman a note thanking the staff for “the best food I ever ate”. Copied from KEVIN LEININGER: If you like food and history, new look at Fort Wayne’s past gives you something to devour published April 11, 2019 in The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1968, May 6 - Robert F. Kennedy visits Fort Wayne shown in the photo archives posted May 16, 2013 by Visit Fort Wayneon Twitter. More photos and information When Indiana mattered Book examines Robert Kennedy's historic 1968 primary victory published March 30, 2008 in The Journal Gazette newspaper.

1968, June 5 - Senator Robert F. Kennedy is shot and fatally wounded just after claiming victory in California's Democratic presidential primary. Gunman Sirhan Bishara Sirhan is immediately arrested. WhatWasThere.com has map and photo of the hotel. Fort Wayne is mentioned on the Robert Francis Kennedy Attorney General of the United States U.S. Senator - Presidential Candidate page on an Arlington National Cemetery website.

1968, October 24 - Sharon Wichman wins Fort Wayne's first olympic gold medal in the 200 breast stroke. See our Sharon Wichman page.

1968, June 28 - Public Law 90-363 H.R. 15951. Statement by the President Upon Signing the Uniform Holiday Bill. by Lyndon B. Johnson 36th President of the United States: 1963 ‐ 1969 on The American Presidency Project. Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act which made Memorial Day a federal holiday that always landed on the last Monday of May starting in 1971. The act also created or moved three other federal holidays to be on Mondays: Washington’s Birthday (often referred to as Presidents Day), Columbus Day, and Veterans Day. Veterans Day was later returned to its original set date of November 11. The holidays were moved in part to allow workers in the country to enjoy long weekends. In signing the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, President Lyndon B. Johnson hoped to encourage Americans to use the time for leisure. Copied from Why Memorial Day was moved to always be on Monday by Jacque Porter May 30, 2022 in Nexstar Media Wire and CBS WANE-TV NewsChannel 15.

Indiana Historical Bureau photo

1968, November 9 - November 9, 1968, a 5.4 magnitude earthquake struck Indiana and was felt in at least 20 states. The epicenter of the earthquake was just ten miles from the Indiana - Illinois border, near Mt. Vernon. Although there were no injuries reported, structural damage included cracked sidewalks in Terre Haute, damaged chimneys in Princeton, and broken windows in New Harmony. Learn more about the damage caused by the earthquake ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1968 VOL. 90 NO. 311 PAGE 1A QUAKE DAMAGE MINOR; FELT OVER WIDE AREA IN MIDWEST AND EAST. The image is courtesy of the Indianapolis Star. Copied from a November 9, 2018 post: by Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook. Their November 9, 2022 post includes a link to Research Article| June 01, 1970 The south-central Illinois earthquake of November 9, 1968: Macroseismic studies at Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America on GeoScienceWorld.org.

1968, November 30 - Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County: Webster street building, presentation of McMillen globe, 30 November 1968. showing Allan Tremper, library board member at rostrum, and official party: Dale McMillen jr., Mrs Dale McMillen sr., Dale McMillen sr., Harold McMillen. Wildcat League (donors of globe) officials in front row. Photographs at Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library .

1969

Fort Wayne in 1969 published July 19, 1969 by WANE 15 News on YouTube.
WANE 15 took a look back at what Fort Wayne was like in 1969, the year of the Moon Landing

1969, March 11 - Levi-Strauss starts selling bell-bottomed jeans

1969, March 28 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States and World War II hero, dies at age 78.

1969, July 12 - the first Three Rivers Festival begins. At the first Three Rivers Festival in 1969, an estimated 100,000 people enjoyed a grand parade, and 60 events on the Columbia Street Landing. Copied from Three Rivers Festival of Fort Wayne originally submitted by: Mark E. Souder, Representative (4th District) at Local Legacies at The Library of Congress. On the banks of the St. Joseph River, 10,000 people gathered to watch a river parade. Copied from TRF through the years by Corey McMaken published July 13, 2018 with photos in The Journal Gazette newspaper.

1969, July 17 - 36 year old patrolman Kenneth Stiverson died by gunfire during a distrubance call with 11 years service, the second police office killed while serving with the Fort Wayne police department. From Fallen officer added to national memorial by Rod Hissong published May 14, 2013 formerly on CBS WANE-TV NewsChannel 15. On the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

1969, July 19 - Apollo 11 and its astronauts orbit the moon.

Original grainy television broadcast images of Apollo 11 Man on the Moon archival footage by PublicDomainFootageJan 25, 2022 on YouTube

1969, July 20 - July 20, 2022 post by US National Archives  on Facebook states: the “Eagle” landed on the Moon, and American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first humans to set foot there. The American effort to send astronauts to the Moon had its origins in an appeal President Kennedy made to a special joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961: "I believe this nation should commit itself to achieve the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth." The flight plan for Apollo 11 detailed the activities of the mission crew minute by minute. The flight launched on July 16, 1969, touching down on July 20, 1969. It took 102 hours, 47 minutes, and 11 seconds from launch to landing. The astronauts spent 21 hours and 36 minutes on the Moon and returned to Earth on July 24. Learn more about the Apolo 11 flight plan and discover additional resources: National Archives News Anniversary of Apollo 11, Image: Apollo 11 Flight Plan.

The Apollo 11 Moon Landing was televised worldwide and watched by 500-600 million, becoming a major cultural touchstone of the 1960s. See several videos from Today's Document on tumblr from the The National Archives. That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Astronaut Neil Armstrong uttered these now-famous words after descending from the Apollo 11 spacecraft and becoming the first person to walk on the moon! Armstrong went to Purdue University and was born near Wapakoneta, Ohio which honors their hometown hero at an annual Summer Moon Festival. See two minute video Apollo 11 Moonwalk Montage, from Smithsonian.com, when on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. The Women Who Brought Us the Moon by Nathalia Holt on PBS American Experience.

July 20, 2022 post by National Historical Publications and Records Commission on Facebook states: The July issue of Pan American airlines magazine reports that they had received some 14,000 requests for reservations for the first round trip commercial moon flight. Eventually some 93,000 people received one of Pan Am "First Moon Flights" card in hopes for a ticket to ride. You can read more about it at the Smithsonian at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/.../i-was-card-carrying.../ The NHPRC awarded two grants to the University of Miami to process the Pan Am collections. You can visit (the collection, not the moon) at https://atom.library.miami.edu/asm0341 and you can read the July issue of Wing Tips magazine at https://digitalcollections.library.miami.edu/.../rec/25.

1969, September - the Fort Wayne Ministerial Alliance backs a boycott of several city schools. Ensuing negotiations with the school board brings the agreement that later closes Central High School and begins the desegregation process. Copied from the 1960-1969: Timeline of events from the Fort Wayne History Stories about time periods in the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1969, October 29 - the beginning of ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet developed by the Department of Defense was the first connection when bits of data flowed between computers at UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute.

1969, December 1 - during the Vietnam war the U.S. government held the first draft lottery since WWII.

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