Year by year · 20th century

1965

1965 in world history: 18 events, 3 births, 20 deaths, 2 works, 2 states founded and 3 that came to an end. 269 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 24 January

    Sir Winston Churchill dies aged 90

    Britain's wartime Prime Minister died in London, seventy years to the day after his father. He received a state funeral, the first for a politician since Gladstone.

    London

  2. 15 February

    Canada raises its Maple Leaf flag

    The red and white Maple Leaf flag was raised on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, replacing the Canadian Red Ensign. 15 February is now marked as National Flag of Canada Day.

    Canada

  3. 21 February

    Malcolm X assassinated in Harlem

    Malcolm X was shot dead as he began speaking at the Audubon Ballroom in New York. A year after leaving the Nation of Islam, he had been moving towards a broader vision of human rights.

    New York

  4. 7 March

    'Bloody Sunday' on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma

    Alabama state troopers attacked about 600 civil rights marchers with clubs and tear gas. Televised images shocked the nation and helped secure the Voting Rights Act that August.

  5. 18 March

    Alexei Leonov makes the first spacewalk

    The Soviet cosmonaut spent about 12 minutes outside Voskhod 2. His suit ballooned in the vacuum, and he had to let out air to squeeze back into the airlock.

  6. 23 March

    Gemini 3 makes the first crewed Gemini flight

    Gus Grissom and John Young flew three orbits and became the first astronauts to change their spacecraft's orbit. The Gemini programme prepared the techniques for Apollo.

  7. 30 July

    Lyndon Johnson signs Medicare and Medicaid into law

    Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments in Independence, Missouri, with Harry Truman beside him. Medicare and Medicaid brought health insurance to millions of older and poorer Americans.

  8. 11 August

    The Watts riots erupt in Los Angeles

    A traffic stop in the Watts district sparked six days of unrest in which 34 people died. The riots exposed deep anger over poverty and policing in America's segregated cities.

  9. 4 October

    Paul VI becomes the first pope to visit the United States

    Pope Paul VI flew to New York for a one-day visit, the first by a reigning pope to the United States. He appealed for peace at the United Nations General Assembly and celebrated Mass at Yankee Stadium.

    United NationsUnited StatesNew York

  10. 11 November

    Rhodesia declares independence from Britain

    Ian Smith's white minority government issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence to avoid majority rule. Britain and the UN imposed sanctions, and after a long guerrilla war Zimbabwe became independent in 1980.

    Zimbabwe

  11. 26 November

    France launches its first satellite

    A French Diamant rocket launched the satellite Astérix from Hammaguir in Algeria. France became the third country, after the Soviet Union and the United States, to put a satellite into orbit on its own rocket.

    United StatesSoviet UnionAlgeria

  12. Crisis

    Unilateral Declaration of Independence (Rhodesia)

    The Unilateral Declaration of Independence was issued on 11 November 1965 by Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front government of Southern Rhodesia, which refused Britain's demand for progress to majority rule.

  13. War

    Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

    The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was fought between India and Pakistan from August to September 1965.

ProfileState262 states with a known seat in 1965Open the atlas at 1965 →

In the profiles

  • Sheikhdom of SharjahBritain deposes Sheikh Saqr bin Sultan
  • IndonesiaA failed coup is followed by the mass killing of alleged communists
  • MalaysiaSingapore is separated from the federation on 9 August

Wars and longer events

Born in 1965 3

Died in 1965 20

Works 2

States founded 2

States that came to an end 3

All years → The 20th century →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1965. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1965
MLA
“1965.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1965. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1965.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1965.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1965’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1965 (Accessed: ).