Year by year · 20th century

1969

1969 in world history: 21 events, 5 births, 29 deaths, 2 states founded and 5 that came to an end. 239 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 16 January

    Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 make the first crewed docking

    Two Soviet spacecraft docked in orbit and two cosmonauts spacewalked from Soyuz 5 to Soyuz 4. It was the first exchange of crew between spacecraft, a rehearsal for building space stations.

  2. 2 March

    Concorde makes its first flight

    Test pilot André Turcat flew the Anglo-French supersonic airliner prototype from Toulouse. Concorde entered passenger service in 1976 and flew until 2003.

  3. 10 March

    James Earl Ray pleads guilty to killing Martin Luther King Jr.

    Ray was sentenced to 99 years in prison. Days later he recanted his plea and sought a trial for the rest of his life, fuelling persistent claims of a conspiracy.

  4. 28 April

    Charles de Gaulle resigns as President of France

    After voters rejected his referendum on regional and Senate reform, de Gaulle stepped down at noon. He had led the Fifth Republic since its foundation in 1958.

    French EmpireCharles de Gaulle

  5. 26 May

    Apollo 10 splashes down after the Moon landing rehearsal

    Apollo 10 returned safely after its lunar module descended to about 15 km above the Moon. The mission tested every step of a landing except the touchdown itself.

  6. 16 July

    Apollo 11 launches for the Moon

    A Saturn V rocket lifted Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins from Kennedy Space Center. Four days later Armstrong and Aldrin became the first people to land on the Moon.

  7. 20 July

    Apollo 11 lands on the Moon

    Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the lunar module Eagle in the Sea of Tranquillity. Hours later, at 10.56 pm US Eastern time, Armstrong stepped onto the surface, watched by some 600 million people.

  8. 21 July

    Armstrong and Aldrin lift off from the Moon

    After about 21 hours on the lunar surface, Armstrong and Aldrin fired the ascent stage of Eagle to rejoin Michael Collins in lunar orbit. They left a plaque reading 'We came in peace for all mankind'.

  9. 9 August

    Manson Family members murder Sharon Tate and four others

    Followers of Charles Manson killed actress Sharon Tate, who was heavily pregnant, and four others at her Los Angeles home. The murders horrified America and Manson became a byword for evil.

  10. 1 September

    Muammar Gaddafi seizes power in Libya

    Junior army officers led by 27-year-old Muammar Gaddafi overthrew King Idris in a bloodless coup. Gaddafi ruled Libya for 42 years until his overthrow and death in 2011.

    Libya

  11. 14 November

    Apollo 12 launches for the Moon

    Apollo 12 survived two lightning strikes during launch from Cape Kennedy. Five days later Pete Conrad and Alan Bean landed precisely beside the Surveyor 3 probe in the Ocean of Storms.

  12. War

    Football War

    The Football War was a brief war between El Salvador and Honduras in July 1969, also called the Hundred Hours' War.

  13. Event

    Corrective Move

    The Corrective Move was the seizure of power on 22 June 1969 by the left wing of South Yemen's ruling National Liberation Front, which removed President Qahtan al-Shaabi.

  14. Event

    Act of Free Choice

    The Act of Free Choice was the process in July and August 1969 by which Indonesia sought to confirm its sovereignty over West New Guinea under the New York Agreement of 1962.

  15. Event

    Operation Sheepskin

    Operation Sheepskin was the British landing on Anguilla on 19 March 1969 to end the island's self-declared break from the associated state of Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla.

ProfileState234 states with a known seat in 1969Open the atlas at 1969 →

In the profiles

Born in 1969 5

Died in 1969 29

Show all 29

States founded 2

States that came to an end 5

All years → The 20th century →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1969. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1969
MLA
“1969.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1969. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1969.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1969.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1969’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1969 (Accessed: ).