January 1
January 1
1st Marine Division advance elements arrive
On this day, advance elements of the 1st Regiment of the Marine 1st Division arrive in Vietnam. The entire division followed by the end of March. The division established its…
A Year In History: 1966
This Year in History:
1966
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
January 11
January 11
Flash flood in Rio
In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, more than 10 inches of rain falls in 12 hours on this day in 1966, causing a flash flood. Four hundred people were killed and…
January 12
January 12
Johnson says U.S. should stay in Vietnam
On this day in 1966, Lyndon Johnson, in his State of the Union address, commits the United States to staying in Vietnam as long as aggression commands us to battle.…
January 13
January 13
Lyndon Johnson appoints first African American cabinet member
On January 13, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson appoints the first African American cabinet member, making Robert C. Weaver head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the…
January 17
January 17
NBC greenlights “The Monkees”
On January 17, 1966, the National Broadcasting Corporation orders 32 episodes of a new TV show, “The Monkees,” for its upcoming fall schedule. Little did producers know that the fake…
January 17
January 17
U.S. accidentally drops hydrogen bombs in Spain
On January 17, 1966, a B‑52 bomber collides with a KC‑135 jet tanker over Spain’s Mediterranean coast, dropping three 70‑kiloton hydrogen bombs near the town of Palomares and one in the…
January 19
January 19
Indira Gandhi becomes Indian prime minister
Following the death of Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi becomes head of the Congress Party and thus prime minister of India. She was India’s first female head…
January 24
January 24
Operation Masher/White Wing/Thang Phong II launched
In the largest search‑and‑destroy operation to date–Operation Masher/White Wing/Thang Phong II–the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), South Vietnamese, and Korean forces ssweep through Binh Dinh Province in the central lowlands…
February 3
February 3
Lunik 9 soft‑lands on lunar surface
On February 3, 1966, the Soviet Union accomplishes the first controlled landing on the moon, when the unmanned spacecraft Lunik 9 touches down on the Ocean of Storms. After its…
February 6
February 6
Johnson meets with South Vietnamese Premier
Accompanied by his leading political and military advisers, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson meets with South Vietnamese Premier Nguyen Cao Ky in Honolulu. The talks concluded with issuance of a…
February 10
February 10
Auto safety crusader Ralph Nader testifies before Congress
On February 10, 1966, Ralph Nader, a young lawyer and the author of the groundbreaking book Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed‑In Dangers of the American Automobile, testifies before Congress…
February 15
February 15
DeGaulle offers to help end Vietnam War
In response to a letter from Ho Chi Minh asking that French President Charles De Gaulle use his influence to “prevent perfidious new maneuvers” by the United States in Southeast…
February 17
February 17
Brian Wilson rolls tape on “Good Vibrations,” take one
From the very beginning, the Beach Boys had a sound that was unmistakably their own, but without resident genius Brian Wilson pushing them into deeper waters with his songwriting and…
February 17
February 17
Taylor testifies on Operation Rolling Thunder
In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Gen. Maxwell Taylor states that a major U.S. objective in Vietnam is to demonstrate that “wars of liberation” are “costly, dangerous and…
February 23
February 23
Desertion up in South Vietnamese army
According to the U.S. military headquarters in Saigon, 90,000 South Vietnamese deserted in 1965. This number was almost 14 percent of total South Vietnamese army strength and was twice the…
March 1
March 1
Soviet probe crashes into Venus
Venera 3, a Soviet probe launched from Kazakhstan on November 15, 1965, collides with Venus, the second planet from the sun. Although Venera 3 failed in its mission to measure…
March 2
March 2
Ford celebrates 1 millionth Mustang
On March 2, 1966, in Dearborn, Michigan, the Ford Motor Company celebrates the production of its 1 millionth Mustang, a white convertible. The sporty, affordable vehicle was officially launched two…
March 4
March 4
John Lennon sparks his first major controversy
On March 4, 1966, an offhand John Lennon comment appears in the London Evening Standard. Months later, it erupted in the “Bigger than Jesus” scandal that brought a semi‑official end…
March 5
March 5
Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler hits #1 with “Ballad of the Green Berets”
Thanks to Hollywood, America’s collective memory of the Vietnam War is now inextricably linked with the popular music of that era. More specifically, it is linked with the music of…
March 5
March 5
Marvin Miller elected first full‑time MLB Players Association executive director
On March 5, 1966, Marvin Miller, the 48‑year‑old assistant to the president of the United Steelworkers of America, is elected the first full‑time executive director of the Major League Baseball…
