1967 Facts That All Historians Should Definitely Be Aware Of

The year 1967 witnessed some remarkable events.The world experienced novelty in terms of fashion as well as grief due to the ongoing Vietnam War and the Israel war. This year also brought the shocking news of the death of three Apollo crew members on January 27 during their launch pad test.Starting off on a bright Sunday, the year 1967 soon encountered numerous noteworthy events. In the first week of January, commercial relations between Spain and Romania tightened with the signing of an agreement in Paris. Lyndon Baines Johnson was the President of the US in 1967. The American politician, Ronald Reagan, who became the 40th President of the United States in 1981, was sworn in as the new Governor of California this year. This week was also bittersweet for the Charlie Chaplin fans, as he launched his last film in the UK, ‘A Countess From Hong Kong’, which captured the heart of millions.The major event of 1967 was the mass protests in support of the American troops against the Vietnam war. Operation Deckhouse Five was launched in the Mekong Delta by the USMC and the ARVN troops on January 6. On January 8, another military strike led by the US forces, the Operation of Cedar Falls, began. The New York Times revealed on January 14 that the US Army was conducting various experiments on secret germ warfare.An interesting event that took place this year was the first cryopreservation of the body of Dr. James Hiram Bedford, who was a psychology professor at the University of California.The first handheld calculator was invented in 1967, which was developed by Texas Instruments and was about 6 in (15.24 cm) tall. Other technological advancements of 1967 included the tiny portable radio launched by Sony with ICR-100.The cost of living in 1967 was much lower than what it is today. For example, a dozen eggs were available at a price point of only $0.49, and gas per gallon was about $0.33.The year 1967 mourned the loss of famous celebrities like Jayne Mansfield. The singer and artist Otis Redding died in the plane crash of 1967, and the only survivor of the crash was Trumpeter Ben Cauley.If you want to learn more facts, keep reading to learn more fascinating facts about 1967.If you liked reading this article, then don’t forget to check out the ’70s facts and 1963 facts, here on Kidadl.1967 Detroit RiotsOne of the bloodiest events to date is the 1967 Detroit Riots or 12th Street rebellion. The rebellion broke as the Detroit Police Department raided an after-hours illicit bar, known as Blind Pig, located on the west bank of Detroit.The riot lasted for five days, with huge-scale destruction in the city. George W Romney, who was the Governor at that time, had to call in the Michigan Army National Guard in order to put an end to the trouble. The United States 101st and 82nd airborne divisions were launched by the President. This resulted in the destruction of more than 400 buildings in the city, along with 43 dead and 1189 injured. More than 7000 arrests were made, which made this riot the worst in the United States. The numbers of this riot surpassed the New York City draft riots of 1863 that took place during the Civil War. Television and news media featured the riot with live broadcasts.Race Relations In ’60s AmericaMore than six million African Americans moved to the west from the southern rural parts of the United States during the time of the Great Migration in the early 20th century. With the sudden surge of these people, urban cities underwent a stark increase in population, leading to a shortage of housing. Strong racial discrimination upsurged in housing in the United States. As a result, most African Americans were barred from buying their own houses in the States. White people kept them out of their neighborhoods.Furthermore, racial tensions grew stronger with the presence of the Ku Klux Klan, which contributed to enormous violence throughout Michigan. Apparently, the Klan was involved in murdering Earl Little, who was the father of the African American Muslim minister, Malcolm X . Several discriminatory practices, like Redlining, were ongoing in the States, which resulted in constant segregation of black Americans, thus provoking them to a great extent.Various measures were taken in the ’60s to curb racial discrimination in the country. Ranking of the houses in Detroit for the Black Community was also carried out by the federal administration in May 1967. The efforts of Detroit Mayor Jerome Cavanagh were praised by the Black community and the head of the Detroit Common Council.However, the law enforcement in the country included more than 93% of the whites, who were hugely partial and constantly discriminated against the black people. Many news regarding the illegal shootings of African Americans by the police force surfaced in the year 1967. One such event was the outbreak of severe race riots in Newark, New Jersey, after the arrest of an African American cab driver, which lasted for about five days with 26 people dead. More such street riots took place in northern Minneapolis on Plymouth Street. The Milwaukee race riots surfaced on July 30, 1967, and continued till August 3. It resulted in the city being completely shut down for 10 days.Israel Six-Day WarThe Arab-Israel conflict took place in the year 1967, from June 5 to June 10. It was the third Arab-Israeli war. The armed conflict was mainly between Israel and its Arab neighbors, including Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and with minor involvement of Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. After the first invasion of Israel by Egypt in 1956, the war became inevitable between them, which eventually led to the Suez crisis or the Second Arab-Israeli War in late 1956. This triggered Egypt to shut down the Straits of Tiran between the Sinai Peninsula and Arabian Peninsula for all Israeli shipping. This, in turn, resulted in the heightened tensions between the two countries, thus igniting the sparks of the famous battle of the six days.On June 5, 1967, a series of airstrikes were launched by the Israeli aircraft on the Egyptian airfields. Although they claimed that the airstrikes were preemptive, the exact origins of this conflict are still under debate, and several controversies have been put forth to explain the cause of these airstrikes. The aircraft of Israel destroyed most of the Egyptian Airforce. Israeli troops also launched a simultaneous attack on the Egyptian-occupied Gaza strip, which resulted in a hefty loss of the Egyptian forces. Even with the combined attacks of the forces of Jordan and Syria, Egypt was no match for the outstanding Israeli forces. The combined forces lost more than 20000 troops that year.Toys From The Year 1967The most popular toys of 1967 were the G.I. Joe action figures, which were introduced to the markets for the first time. Children also loved to play with the Mega Bloks, Lit-Brite, and Newton’s Cradle. ‘Ants in the Pants’ game were widely played along with ‘Uncle Fester’s Mystery Light Bulb’.Notable books of the year were ‘The Gabriel Hounds’ by Mary Stewart, ‘The Chosen’ by Chaim Potok, ‘The Arrangement’ by Elia Kazan, and ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ by Ira Levin. This year was also significant for the first heart transplant surgery conducted by Dr. Christiaan Barnard of South Africa.The annual championship game of the NFL in the year 1967, Superbowl I, became immensely popular as the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League. The infamoO.J. Simpson played as a running back in football in Southern California.1967 Pop Culture HistoryThe pop culture of 1967 was at its peak with the influence of Western entertainment. The top fashion icons of the year were Claudia Cardinale, Julie Christie, Veronica Carlson, Catherine Deneuve, Barbara Eden, Angie Dickinson, Yvonne Craig, and many more. Jim Morrison, Paul Newman, Warren Beatty were the Hollywood superstars of 1967. Dean Martin, the American singer, was probably the most popular personality of that year in America.The last animated film of Walt Disney, ‘The Jungle Book’, was released this year, which became a super hit. ‘To Sir with Love’ was the top song of the year sung by LuLu from the movie with the same name. The Rolling Stones was a massive hit this year, with more than 5000 copies being sold. They were the record-breakers from 1967 until the arrival of the Guns ‘N Roses in 1985.The Rolling Stones released the hit song ‘Ruby Tuesday’ in 1967. Some other Billboard Top 100 songs of this year were ‘Penny Lane’ by The Beatles, ‘Groovin’ by The Young Rascals, and ‘I’m A Believer’ by The Monkees. The very popular American pop song, ‘San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair), sung by Scott McKenzie, was released in May 1967. The well-known shows of this year were ‘The Family Affair’, ‘The Lucy Show’, ‘Gunsmoke’, and ‘The Andy Griffith Show’, all of which were aired on CBS.The pop-culture history of 1967 also included numerous scandals. The American social activist Abbie Hoffman, along with his anti-capitalist group, dropped dollar bills from the balcony to showcase activism. The marriage of the American singer, Elvis Presley with the famous actress and businesswoman Priscilla Ann Presley, took place in Las Vegas in 1967. A lifetime ban was earned by The Doors from the Ed Sullivan show after they decided against censoring the lyrics of their hit song, ‘Light My Fire’.The first Black US Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall, was sworn this year. Internationally, Vice President Jorge Pacheco Areco was elected as the President of Uruguay on December 6, 1967.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 1967 facts then why not take a look at 1978 facts, or 1979 facts.

The year 1967 witnessed some remarkable events.