Class of 1969 Year In Review Local News and Events September 21, 1968 – 6 people in a family died due to a fire on their farm
At the University of Minnesota
September 24, 1968 – Opposition of Licensing and Registration of Guns September 27, 1968 – City council approves selling liquor on Sunday’s
October 23, 1968 – State flood emergency declared December 5, 1968 – Mayo Medical School in Rochester planned December 11, 1968 – City schools offer free summer classes approved
January 14, 1969 – Protest at Morrill Hall, Afro-American Action Committee (AAAC) protested the treatment of African-Americans on campus, lasted 24 hours, established a Department of Afro-American studies
December 16, 1968 – Minnesota had the lowest dropout rate in the U.S. January 4, 1969 – William O’Brien becomes state auditor February 22, 1969 – Ham Lake land prices rise April 3, 1969 – Nicollet-Lake building catches on fire April 7, 1969 – Tax revolts in suburbs April 10, 1969 – Governor requests flood-disaster aid
Rosemary Freeman led a “sit-in” to negotiate rights for blacks with President Moos.
Students studying in Wilson library in 1968
University of Minnesota 1968 Homecoming Committee
Bike rack in 1968 near Northrop
Class of 1969 Year In Review September 6, 1968 – Swaziland became an independent nation
January 12, 1969 – New York Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts in the Superbowl
September 9, 1968 – The United Federation of Teachers went on strike in New York City October 2, 1968 – Redwood National Park was established in California October 10, 1968 – The Detroit Tigers won the World Series October 11, 1968 – The Apollo 7 mission launched October 12, 1968 – The Summer Olympic Games opened in Mexico City, Mexico October 31, 1968 – U.S. President Lyndon Johnson ordered a complete halt to American bombing of North Vietnam November 5, 1968 – Richard Nixon was elected President of the United States December 21, 1968 – The Apollo 8 mission launched
March 10, 1969 – James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to the murder of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., sentenced to 99 years in prison March 28, 1969 – Dwight D. Eisenhower died April 4, 1969 – Dr. Denton A. Cooley performed the first ever implant of an artificial heart into a human patient April 10, 1969 –Police arrested 197 people as they cleared Harvard’s University Hall of demonstrators
May 18, 1969 – The United States launched Apollo X toward the Moon
What’s turning 50?
Intel Corporation was founded July 18, 1968.
Fla-Vor-Ice made its grocery store debut in 1969.
March 3, 1969 – The Apollo IX mission was launched
May 4, 1969 – The Montreal Canadiens defeated the St. Louis Blues to win the Stanley Cup
In 1968 The Dow Chemical Company launched Ziploc brand plastic bags.
Led Zeppelin’s first studio album made its American debut on January 12, 1969.
March 1, 1969 – East German border guards closed the main autobahn to West Berlin
April 14, 1969 – North Korea shot down an unarmed U.S. Navy EC-121 reconnaissance plane over the Sea of Japan
December 24, 1968 – Frank Borman, James Lovell, Jr., and William Anders became the first men to orbit the Moon
In 1968, Mattel launched Hot Wheels toys down.
January 19, 1969 – 5,000 antiwar protestors marched up Pennsylvania Ave
Duane D. Pearsall invented the first battery-operated smoke detector on February 5, 1969. On February 24, 1969—live at California’s San Quentin State Prison—Johnny Cash debuted “A Boy Named Sue.” Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was originally published in 1969. The supersonic jet The Concorde— a.k.a. Concorde 001—made its maiden voyage on March 2, 1969.
On March 31, 1969, Kurt Vonnegut published Slaughterhouse-Five. April 7, 1969 is the day the first official Request for Comments, or RFC, was published for the internet. On April 22, 1969, doctors at Houston’s Methodist Hospital made history when they performed the first human eye transplant. Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda’s trippy road movie Easy Rider made its premiere on May 12, 1969.
Class of 1968 Year In Review U.S. News and Events October 1967 – J ohn McCain is shot down and captured by North Vietnamese. October 2, 1967 – Sammy Davis Jr., sings along with Diana Ross & The Supremes on the “Hollywood Palace” television show.
At the University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota inaugurates its tenth president, Malcolm Moos.
February 11 – Madison Square Garden in New York City opens. April 3 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech at Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee.
As a result of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, University students founded the Afro-American Action Committee. On April 11 the group held a rally outside of Coffman Memorial Union to present seven demands to the University.
April 4 – Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated. April 11 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968. April 29 – The musical Hair officially opens on Broadway. June 5 – U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California by Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy dies from his injuries the next day.
On April 26, another student rally of an estimated 1,500 people was held at Northrop Plaza to fight against the Vietnam War, racial injustice and the draft.
Class of 1968 Year In Review “Hello, gorgeous.”
“You’re going to get a concept that maybe this really is one world and why the hell can’t we learn to live together like decent people.”
—Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl
A book called “Toward the Year 2018” was published in 1968, featuring essays from experts in different fields, predicting this year: ✘ We can control weather & weaponize hurricanes ✔ We’d inadvertently cause “large-scale climate modification” ✘ We’d fly with anti-gravity belts and cars ✔ Computers work faster than the human brain, and can be carried in one’s pocket ✘ N uclear reactors will move to the fore of U.S. energy production while natural gas fades. ✔ Satellites will enable the use of giant computer complexes that “could be queried at any time.”
“No one really knows why they are alive until they know what they’d die for.” —Martin Luther King Jr.
“Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.” —Robert Kennedy, while announcing the death of King to a crowd of supporters on the night of April 4.
—Astronaut Frank Borman as he and the crew of the Apollo 8 returned from orbiting the moon.
“Take a sad song, and make it better.”
—A verse from the Beatles song, “Hey Jude.”
Then
College name Institute of College of Science Technology and Engineering Purchasing power $703.41 $100 Temperature on April 6 550 F 260 F (and it snowed!) Yearly income $59,039 $7,850
$14,950
$0.34
“Sock it to me.”
—Richard Nixon, Republican candidate for the presidency, “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In.”
Now
$2,822 $1.50 $1.07
New house
$369,900
Gas per gallon New car
$2.75
$36,270
Movie ticket Gallon of milk
$8.97 $3.16
1967 Gopher Yearbook photos
1967 Gopher Yearbook photos
1967 in Review
• The Federal Minimum Wage is increased to $1.40 an hour • Sitting close to the TV will not damage your eyesight. The myth spread after it was discovered that TVs made prior to 1967 emitted excessive radiation. • According to Article VIII of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, you can be arrested for a crime committed anywhere in the known universe! • The first handheld calculator invented. • Major William “Pete” Knight flew a plane at Mach 6.7 or 4,520 mph (7,274 km/h), a speed which remains the fastest anyone has ever flown an aircraft. 1967 most popular TV shows: The Andy Griffith Show, The Lucy Show, Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., Gunsmoke, Family Affair, Bonanza, The Red Skelton Show, The Dean Martin Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, Bewitched
Famous 1967 quotes
“What we have here is a failure to communicate” — Strother Martin in ‘Cool Hand Luke’ “Because I’m worth it” — L’Oréal “They call me MISTER TIBBS” — Sidney Poitier, in ‘In The Heat Of The Night’
1967 Nobel Prizes in Science
• Chemistry: Wreyford Norrish and George Porter for studies of extremely fast chemical reactions
• Physics: Hans Albrecht Bethe for contributions to the theory of nuclear reactions, especially concerning the energy production in stars
How much things cost in 1967 • • • • • • • • • •
Average price of a new house Average income per year Average price of a new car Average monthly rent Gas per gallon Movie Ticket A dozen eggs A gallon of milk A pound of fresh ground hamburger A pound of coffee
$14,250 $7,300 $2,750 $125 $0.33 $1.25 $0.38 $1.15 $0.48 $0.90
1966 Gopher Yearbook photos
1966 Gopher Yearbook photos
1966 in Review
• Westinghouse developed a tiny transistor that could lead to fm radio • Stephanie Kwolek invented Kevlar, pound-forpound, five times stronger than steel. • The 8-track was a new-fangeled option on many Ford cars. • Batman Debuts On ABC-TV • 1st appearances & 1966’s Most Popular Christmas gifts, toys and presents: Spirograph, Twister, Barrel Of Monkeys, Crazy Maze, View-Master* with TV themed reels
1966 most popular TV shows: Bonanza, The Red Skelton Show, The Andy Griffith Show, The Lucy Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, Green Acres How much things cost in 1966
• • 1966 Nobel Prizes in Science • • Chemistry: Robert Sanderson Mulliken (US), for • research on bond holding atoms together in molecule • • Physics: Alfred Kastler (France), for work on energy • levels inside atom •
Average price of a new house Average income per year Average price of a new car Gas per gallon A dozen eggs A gallon of milk A first-class postage stamp
$14,200 $6,900 $2,650 $0.32 $0.60 $0.99 $0.05
Famous 1966 quotes “Beam me up, Scotty”—William Shatner, as Captain James Kirk, in ‘Star Trek’ “Have it your way”—Burger King “Fly the friendly skies”—United Airlines
1965 Gopher Yearbook photos
1965 in Review
• James Russell invented the compact disc in 1965, although the public first got a first taste of this invention in 1980.
• Joseph Licklider’s 1962 idea became a reality with his Integalactic Computer Network in 1965, the first internet.
• The Gemini II unmanned spacecraft launched on January 19, 1965. The Gemini III mission launches in March, 1965 and is the first of the Gemini missions to be manned, carrying astronauts Virgil Grissom and John Young. The Gemini IV mission launches in June, 1965 and carried astronauts Edward White and James McDivitt. The Gemini V spacecraft launched on August 21, 1965 and carried astronauts Charles Conrad and Gordon Cooper into orbit around the Earth. • Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was the first person to ‘walk’ in space.
• Best Film Oscar Winner: “The Sound of Music.”
• Most popular TV shows: Bonanza, Gomer Pyle, The Lucy Show, The Red Skelton Show, Batman. • Billboard #1 Song is “I Feel Fine” by the Beatles • Time Magazine’s Man of the Year was William Westmoreland.
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. leads civil rights march in Alabama from Selma to Montgomery. • Operation Rolling Thunder is launched in Vietnam. • St. Louis, Gateway Arch is completed.
Famous 1965 quotes “Sorry about that, Chief”—Get Smart
• Race riots break out in Watts, California.
“Caution: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous To Your Health”—US Surgeon General
• The latest craze in kids toys was the Super Ball and The Skate Board.
“Turn on, tune in and drop out”—Timothy Leary
• The Mini Skirt appeared in London.
1965 Gopher Yearbook photos
E-DAY 1965
1965 Gopher Yearbook photos
1964 Gopher Yearbook photos
1964 in Review
• 36th U. S. President: Lyndon B. Johnson • Unmanned Apollo 1 Saturn launcher test attains Earth orbit • RCA relays live television over the Pacific • Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of History and Technology opens • New York World’s Fair • Beatles arrive in New York • Best Film Oscar Winner: My Fair Lady • Most popular TV shows: Bonanza, Bewitched, Gomer Pyle, Andy Griffith Show • Minimum wage: $1.25 per hour • Postage stamp: 5¢ • Pay phone (local call): 10¢ • Life magazine: 35¢ per issue
1964 Gopher Yearbook photos
1964 INVENTIONS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Computer mouse Bubble wrap Sony introduces first VCR Plasma display Moog synthesizer 8-track cartridge Carbon dioxide laser, argon laser First Ford Mustang is manufactured Color TV Disney’s Audio-Animatronics Picturephone Acrylic paint Permanent press fabric Buffalo wings Mini skirts IBM announces the System 360 IBM System 360