WHAT ALL HAPPENED AUGUST TO DECEMBER 1964
Find out what all happened August to December 1964

The British TSR-2 aircraft XR219 makes its maiden flight from Boscombe Down in Wiltshire. (27. September 1964)

Vietnam War: For his heroism in battle earlier in the year, Captain Roger Donlon is awarded the first Medal of Honor of the war. (5. December 1964)

Jean-Paul Sartre is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, but turns down the honor. (22. October 1964)

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

Vietnam War: Gulf of Tonkin incident – North Vietnamese gunboats allegedly fire on the U.S. destroyer USS Maddox. (2. August 1964)

The North American XB-70 Valkyrie, the world's first Mach 3 bomber, makes its maiden flight from Palmdale, California. (21. September 1964)

Japanese Shinkansen ("bullet trains") begin high-speed rail service from Tokyo to Osaka. (1. October 1964)

Vietnam War: U.S. officials deny any involvement in bombing North Vietnam. (28. October 1964)

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

The United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar is renamed the United Republic of Tanzania. (29. October 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)

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

The Soviet Union launches the Voskhod 1 into Earth orbit as the first spacecraft with a multi-person crew and the first flight without space suits (12. October 1964)

Scotland's Forth Road Bridge near Edinburgh officially opens. (4. September 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)

Vietnam War: Operation Pierce Arrow – American aircraft from carriers USS Ticonderoga and USS Constellation bomb North Vietnam in retaliation for strikes against U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. (5. August 1964)

Soviet leaders Leonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin are inaugurated as General Secretary of the CPSU and Premier, respectively and the collective leadership is established. (16. October 1964)

The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge opens to traffic. (At the time it is the world's longest suspension bridge.) (21. November 1964)

North Vietnamese Army begins infiltration of South Vietnam. (18. September 1964)

The South Vietnamese military junta of Nguyen Khanh dissolve the High National Council and arrest some of the members. (19. December 1964)