Timeline October 1964

Events in October 1964 18

• 1874 – 1964 Herbert Hoover 29th President — the Great Depression Herbert Hoover (Aug 10, 1874 – Oct 20, 1964) was the 31st President 1929-1933. He took office just months before the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and was blamed for the Great Depression. He lived to age 90.
• 1891 – 1964 Cole Porter (1891-1964) Died 15 October 1964, aged 73 Porter was an American composer and songwriter known for witty, sophisticated musicals and standards including "Anything Goes" and "Night and Day". His work remained a staple of American popular song for decades.
• 1892 – 1964 Eddie Cantor (1892-1964) American comedian, singer and actor, a star of Ziegfeld's Follies, early radio and television, and founder of the March of Dimes name.
• 1953 – 1964 Khrushchev in power De-Stalinisation and the Space Race — 1953 to 1964 Khrushchev emerged as Soviet leader after Stalin's death in 1953. He denounced Stalin in his 1956 "Secret Speech", launched Sputnik and Gagarin into space, built the Berlin Wall, and nearly brought the world to nuclear war in the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was deposed in a bloodless coup in October 1964.
• 1964 Declines the Nobel Prize in Literature Refusing institutional honors In October 1964, Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature but declined it, stating that a writer should not allow himself to be transformed into an institution and citing his long-standing refusal of official honors. He remains the only person to have voluntarily declined the prize. The decision was consistent with his broader philosophical rejection of fixed, externally conferred identity.
• 1964 The Kinks release All Day and All of the Night Second riff hit Reaches number two in Britain.
• 1964 Free Speech Movement begins at Berkeley Student protest over campus political activity Students at the University of California, Berkeley began a campaign of protest and civil disobedience after the university banned on-campus political activity. The movement became a template for the student activism that spread across American campuses later in the decade.
• 1964 1964 Summer Olympics XVIII Olympiad - Tokyo First Games held in Asia. Winner: USA.
• 1964 Eddie Cantor dies in Beverly Hills Eddie Cantor dies aged 72.
• 1964 – 1982 Brezhnev in power Era of stagnation — 1964 to 1982 Brezhnev ruled the Soviet Union for 18 years. His doctrine justified Soviet intervention in socialist countries. He oversaw détente with the West, signed SALT arms treaties, hosted the 1980 Moscow Olympics — boycotted by 65 countries — and invaded Afghanistan in 1979.
• 1964 Martin Luther King Jr. awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Recognised for nonviolent civil rights leadership King received the prize for his leadership of the nonviolent campaign against racial segregation in the United States, becoming the youngest laureate at the time. He donated the prize money to the civil rights movement.
• 1964 Nikita Khrushchev removed from power Ousted by the Soviet Politburo Khrushchev was forced to resign as First Secretary of the Communist Party and Premier following a coordinated move by senior colleagues, who cited erratic policymaking and the failures of the Cuban Missile Crisis and agricultural reforms. Leonid Brezhnev succeeded him as party leader.
• 1964 China detonates its first nuclear weapon Test 596 at Lop Nur China became the fifth nation to successfully test a nuclear weapon, joining the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom and France. The test significantly altered the strategic balance in Asia during the Cold War.
• 1964 Simon & Garfunkel release Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. Debut album An acoustic folk album that flops at first.
• 1964 Zambia gains independence from Britain Northern Rhodesia becomes Zambia The former British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia became independent as the Republic of Zambia, with Kenneth Kaunda as its first president. Independence followed a decade of nationalist agitation against colonial rule.
• 1964 Rolling Stones on Ed Sullivan American TV breakthrough — October 25, 1964 The Rolling Stones made their first major appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on October 25, 1964, performing "Around and Around" and "Time Is On My Side". It launched their American career and cemented their status as a genuine threat to the Beatles' dominance.
• 1964 James Brown upstages the Rolling Stones at the T.A.M.I. Show Concert film A legendary performance in the filmed concert.
• 1964 – present Marco van Basten The Swan of Utrecht Three-time Ballon d'Or winner; famous for his spectacular volley in the Euro 1988 final.