WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO DECEMBER 1964
Find out what all happened January to December 1964

The Beatles occupy the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. (4. April 1964)

The first test flight of the SR-71 (Blackbird) took place at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. (22. December 1964)

Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Luther Terry, M.D., publishes the landmark report Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States saying that smoking may be hazardous to health, sparking national and worldwide anti-smoking efforts. (11. January 1964)

A coup d'état in Brazil establishes a military government, under the aegis of general Castello Branco. (31. March 1964)

The Good Friday Earthquake, the most powerful earthquake in U.S. history at a magnitude of 9.2 strikes South Central Alaska, killing 125 people and inflicting massive damage to the city of Anchorage. (27. March 1964)

The opening ceremony of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, is broadcast live in the first Olympic telecast relayed by geostationary communication satellite. (10. October 1964)

Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, is appointed archbishop of Kraków, Poland. (13. January 1964)

South Vietnamese Generals Lam Van Phat and Duong Van Duc fail in a coup attempt against General Nguyen Khanh. (13. September 1964)

First ascent of Shishapangma the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and the lowest of the Eight-thousanders. (2. May 1964)

Greeks and Turks begin fighting in Limassol, Cyprus. (11. February 1964)

The Belgian Congo is renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (1. August 1964)

Martyrs' Day: Several Panamanian youths try to raise the Panamanian flag on the U.S.-controlled Panama Canal Zone, leading to fighting between U.S. military and Panamanian civilians. (9. January 1964)

Ngo Dinh Can, de facto ruler of central Vietnam under his brother President Ngo Dinh Diem before the family's toppling, is executed. (9. May 1964)

Gulf of Tonkin incident: U.S. destroyers USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy report coming under attack in the Gulf of Tonkin. (4. August 1964)

Malawi, Malta and Zambia join the United Nations. (1. December 1964)

Malta becomes independent from the United Kingdom. (21. September 1964)

Anti-Muslim riots break out in Calcutta, resulting in 100 deaths. (13. January 1964)

Second Vatican Council: The third session of the Roman Catholic Church's ecumenical council closes. (21. November 1964)

President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a "War on Poverty" in the United States. (8. January 1964)

North Korean Prime Minister Kim Il-sung calls for the removal of feudalistic land ownership aimed at turning all cooperative farms into state-run ones. (25. February 1964)