Ronald Reagan nominated for governor of California

Year
1966
Month Day
June 07

A former actor named Ronald Reagan receives the Republican nomination for governor of California on June 7, 1966. He won the election that November and was sworn in on January 2, 1967. Reagan’s tenure as the Golden State’s governor gave him credibility as a political leader, paving the way for his victory in the 1980 presidential election.

Reagan was born in Illinois and worked as a construction worker, lifeguard and radio announcer before becoming an actor. His first stint at political leadership was as president of the Screen Actors’ Guild from 1947 to 1952. Originally a Democrat, Reagan had grown dissatisfied with New Deal policies and in 1960 switched to the Republican Party. He then started putting his Hollywood fame to work campaigning for Republican candidates. Eventually, Reagan’s charisma and popularity as an actor and a rousing speech he delivered in support of presidential candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964 convinced the California Republican Party to back him for governor in 1966.

Reagan served two terms as governor of California from 1967 to 1975, presiding over the tumultuous Vietnam War protest era of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1969, he called on National Guard troops to quell a protest on the University of California at Berkeley campus, saying, “If it takes a bloodbath, let’s get it over with, no more appeasement.” His first two presidential campaigns, in 1968 and 1976, failed, but his stature as a national player in politics rose with both attempts. In 1980, he successfully challenged embattled Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter for the presidency, and ushered in an era of New Conservatism in American politics.

Reagan was the first actor to be elected president after two centuries dominated by lawyers and soldiers. He was also the only California governor to hold the office. He served as the 40th president for two terms between 1981 and 1989.

READ MORE: Ronald Reagan: His Life and Legacy

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Lyndon Johnson appoints first African American cabinet member


Year
1966
Month Day
January 13

On January 13, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson appoints the first African American cabinet member, making Robert C. Weaver head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the agency that develops and implements national housing policy and enforces fair housing laws. In keeping with his vision for a Great Society, Johnson sought to improve race relations and eliminate urban blight. As many of the country’s African Americans lived in run-down inner-city areas, appointing Weaver was an attempt to show his African American constituency that he meant business on both counts.

Weaver’s expertise in social and economic issues concerning urban African Americans was well-known. Prior to his appointment as HUD secretary, he held key positions in several Democratic administrations. Under Franklin D. Roosevelt in the mid-to-late 1930s, he advised the secretary of the interior and served as a special assistant with the Housing Authority. In 1940, he was appointed to the National Defense Advisory Commission and worked to mobilize black workers during World War II. From 1955 to 1959, Weaver served as rent commissioner for the state of New York, then went on to serve as head of the Housing and Home Finance Agency under President John F. Kennedy.

As HUD’s senior administrator, Weaver expanded affordable housing programs and, in 1968, advocated for the passage of the Fair Housing Act, which prohibited discrimination against any person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection therewith, because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin. Weaver and Johnson shared the goal of revitalizing America’s urban areas through improved housing, the creation of inner-city parks and support for African American-owned businesses.

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John Lennon sparks his first major controversy


Year
1966
Month Day
March 04

In England, no one took much notice of the John Lennon quotation that later set off a media frenzy in America. Chalk it up to a fundamental difference in religious outlook between Britain and America, or to a fundamental difference in sense of humor. Whatever the reason, it was only after the American press got hold of his words some five months later that the John Lennon comment that first appeared in the London Evening Standard on March 4, 1966, erupted into the “Bigger than Jesus” scandal that brought a semi-official end to the giddy phenomenon known as Beatlemania.

In their original context, Lennon’s remarks were clearly meant not as a boast, but as a sardonic commentary on the waning importance of religion. “Christianity will go,” Lennon said. “It will vanish and shrink….We’re more popular than Jesus now.” It was only one comment in an interview that covered such wide-ranging topics as gorilla suits and car phones, but it was this comment alone that made its way into the American teenybopper magazine DATEbook several months later, boiled down to the straightforward line, “We’re more popular than Jesus.”

From there, a handful of Bible Belt disc jockeys took over, declaring Lennon’s remarks blasphemous and vowing an “eternal” ban on all Beatles music, past, present and future. “Our fantastic Beatle boycott is still in effect,” announced two DJs on WACI Birmingham in August 1966: “Don’t forget to take your Beatle records and your Beatle paraphernalia to any one of our 14 pickup points in Birmingham, Alabama, and turn them in this week.” The plan in Birmingham, as in various other cities around the South, was to burn the Beatles records turned in by angry listeners. Though it is unclear how many such events really took place, the story of the burnings definitely reached the Beatles. “When they started burning our records…that was a real shock,” said John Lennon years later. “I couldn’t go away knowing I’d created another little piece of hate in the world. So I apologized.”

The apology Lennon offered was not for the message he was trying to convey, but for conveying it in a way that confused its meaning. At a press conference in Chicago, John explained: “I’m not anti-God, anti-Christ or anti-religion. I was not saying we are greater or better. I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I’m sorry I said it, really. I never meant it to be a lousy anti-religious thing. From what I’ve read, or observed, Christianity just seems to be shrinking, to be losing contact.”

READ MORE: When Beatlemania Swept the United States

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NBC greenlights “The Monkees”


Year
1966
Month Day
January 17

The inspiration came from the Beatles, the financing came from Screen Gems, the music came from Don Kirshner and the stars came from an exhaustive audition process that began with this ad in Daily Variety in September 1965:

Madness!

Auditions

For Acting Roles in New TV Series

Running Parts for 4 Insane Boys, Age 17-21

The ad drew more than 400 young men to the offices of Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider, the young Hollywood producing team that would later make Easy Rider,but who for now were trying to milk the establishment rather than defy it. They spent the next four months shooting, cutting, market-testing, re-cutting and re-market-testing a comedy pilot they hoped would land them a network television deal. They got their green light on January 17, 1966, when the National Broadcasting Corporation ordered 32 episodes of The Monkees for its upcoming fall schedule.

The next eight months were a bit of a whirlwind for Rafelson and Schneider, for the team of songwriters and studio musicians assembled by Don Kirschner and, not least, for the four “insane boys” chosen to become the Monkees. Mickey Dolenz had never played a drum prior to being cast as “Mickey,” and Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith had no acting experience prior to becoming “Peter” and “Mike.” Davy Jones was already a triple-threat in the areas of acting, singing and being cute, but it had never been Rafelson and Schneider’s intention to find such all-around professionals. “We wanted guys who could play themselves,” Schneider explained to the pressahead of the NBC premiere of The Monkees in September 1966. “We didn’t even look at actors, and we didn’t look for experienced rock and roll groups.”

The strategy, and indeed the entire grand scheme behind The Monkees, succeeded beyond all expectations. Not only did the television show find success against formidable competition in its time slot from Gilligans Island, but the group that was a made-for-television knockoff of the Beatles soon had actual records that were outselling the Beatles themselves. Vincent Canby of the New York Times foresaw the commercial success of Rafelson and Schneider’s creation the moment he witnessed the reaction of a crowd of preteen girls during a promotional appearance by the Monkees just three days before their network debut. “The Monkees’ appearance yesterday afternoon at the Broadway,” Canby wrote, “was just part of an elaborate campaign…to capture the teen-age imagination. The thoroughness of the campaign, as shown yesterday, might prompt renewed debate on the age-old question of free will. Do the teen-agers have a chance these days?”

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An ex-Marine goes on a killing spree at the University of Texas

Year
1966
Month Day
August 01

Charles Whitman takes a stockpile of guns and ammunition to the observatory platform atop a 300-foot tower at the University of Texas and proceeds to shoot 46 people, killing 14 people and wounding 31. A fifteenth died years later because of his injuries. Whitman, who had killed both his wife and mother the night before, was eventually shot to death after courageous Austin police officers, including Ramiro Martinez, charged up the stairs of the tower to subdue the attacker.

Whitman, a former Eagle Scout and Marine, began to suffer serious mental problems after his mother left his father in March 1966. On March 29, he told a psychiatrist that he was having uncontrollable fits of anger. He purportedly even told this doctor that he was thinking about going up to the tower with a rifle and shooting people. Unfortunately the doctor didn’t follow up on this red flag.

On July 31, Whitman wrote a note about his violent impulses, saying, “After my death, I wish an autopsy on me be performed to see if there’s any mental disorders.” The note then described his hatred for his family and his intent to kill them. That night, Whitman went to his mother’s home, where he stabbed and shot her. Upon returning to his own home, he then stabbed his wife to death.

The following morning, Whitman headed for the tower with several pistols and a rifle after stopping off at a gun store to buy boxes of ammunition and a carbine. Packing food and other supplies, he proceeded to the observation platform, killing the receptionist and two tourists before unpacking his rifle and telescope and hunting the people below.

An expert marksman, Whitman was able to hit people as far away as 500 yards. For 90 minutes, he continued firing while officers searched for a chance to get a shot at him. By the end of his rampage, 16 people were dead and another 30 were injured.

The University of Texas tower remained closed for 25 years before reopening in 1999.

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A mass murderer leaves eight women dead

Year
1966
Month Day
July 14

On the night of July 14, 1966, eight student nurses are brutally murdered by Richard Speck at their group residence in Chicago, Illinois. Speck threatened the women with both a gun and a knife, tying each of them up while robbing their townhouse. Over the next several hours, Speck stabbed and strangled each of the young women throughout various rooms of the place. One young woman, Corazon Amurao, managed to escape with her life by hiding under a bed; Speck had lost count of his victims.

Richard Speck was an alcoholic and a petty criminal with over 20 arrests on his record by the age of 25. He had “Born to Raise Hell” tattooed on his forearm and periodically worked on cargo boats traveling the Great Lakes. On the night of July 13, after drinking heavily at several Chicago bars, Speck broke into the townhouse for student nurses of the South Chicago Community Hospital.

Speck then used his gun to force three nurses into a bedroom, where he found three more women. Using nautical knots, he then tied the women’s hands and feet with strips torn from bedsheets. By midnight, three more nurses had come home only to be tied up as well. Speck assured the women that he was only going to rob them.

After stealing from the women, he took them into separate rooms, killing them one by one. The remaining women heard only muffled screams from their roommates. Amurao, who was hiding under her bed, waited until 6 a.m. the following day before leaving her hiding place. She then crawled out onto a second-story ledge and screamed for help. Police responding to the cries obtained a detailed description of Speck from Amurao; the sketch was placed on the front page of every local newspaper the next morning. Speck, who was hiding out at a dollar-a-night hotel, slashed his right wrist and left elbow in a suicide attempt on July 16.

Speck was arrested the next day at the Cook County Hospital. With Amurao’s identification and his fingerprints left at the scene, Speck was convicted and sentenced to death. However, in 1972, when the Supreme Court invalidated the death penalty law under which he was sentenced, Speck was re-sentenced to 400 years in prison. He died in prison of a heart attack on December 5, 1991.

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Ford celebrates 1 millionth Mustang


Year
1966
Month Day
March 02

On March 1, 1966, in Dearborn, Michigan, the Ford Motor Company celebrates the production of its 1 millionth Mustang, a white convertible. The sporty, affordable vehicle was officially launched two years earlier, on April 17, 1964, at the World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, New York. That same day, the new car debuted in Ford showrooms across America; almost immediately, buyers snapped up nearly 22,000 of them. More than 400,000 Mustangs were sold within that first year, exceeding sales expectations.

The Mustang was conceived as a “working man’s Thunderbird,” according to Ford. The first models featured a long hood and short rear deck and a chassis based on the compact Ford Falcon. The Mustang was available in a hardtop, coupe or convertible and carried an average price tag of about $2,300. Ford general manager Lee Iacocca, who became president of the company in October 1964 (and later headed up Chrysler, which he was credited with reviving in the 1980s) was involved in the Mustang’s development and marketing. The car’s launch generated great interest: The Mustang was featured on the covers of Newsweek and Time and the night before it went on sale, the Mustang was promoted in commercials that ran simultaneously on the three major television networks. One buyer in Texas reportedly slept at a Ford showroom until his check cleared and he could drive his new Mustang home. The same year it debuted, the Mustang appeared on the silver screen in the James Bond movie “Goldfinger.” A green 1968 Mustang GT was famously featured in the 1968 Steve McQueen action movie “Bullitt.” To date, Mustangs have appeared in hundreds of movies.

Within three years of its debut, approximately 500 Mustang fan clubs had cropped up. In 1999, in honor of the Mustang’s 35th anniversary, the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp commemorating the original model. 

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Auto safety crusader Ralph Nader testifies before Congress


Year
1966
Month Day
February 10

On February 10, 1966, Ralph Nader, a young lawyer and the author of the groundbreaking book “Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile,” testifies before Congress for the first time about unsafe practices in the auto industry.

By the mid-1960s, U.S. automakers were still largely unregulated. Nader’s book, which was published in November 1965, accused car companies of designing vehicles with an emphasis on style and power at the expense of consumer safety. One chapter of “Unsafe at Any Speed” focused on handling problems with the Chevrolet Corvair, a car produced by auto giant General Motors (GM). Shortly after Nader’s congressional testimony, the news media reported that Nader had been followed by detectives. It was later determined that starting in early February 1966, GM sent investigators to spy on Nader and look into his personal life in an effort to discredit him. Nader sued GM for harassment and invasion of privacy and won a settlement. The publicity surrounding GM’s actions helped make “Unsafe at Any Speed” a best-seller and turn Ralph Nader a household name.

Nader was born on February 27, 1934, in Winsted, Connecticut. He graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School, then served in the U.S. Army for six months before becoming a lawyer. The publication of “Unsafe at Any Speed” and Nader’s public advocacy of auto-safety issues, helped lead to the passage of the 1966 National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. This legislation sought to reduce the rising number of injuries and deaths from road accidents by establishing federal safety standards for every American-made vehicle, including safety belts for all passengers. The Corvair, which suffered from slumping sales due in part to the negative publicity from Nader’s book as well as to consumer lawsuits (the car’s suspension system was blamed for rollovers), was discontinued by GM in 1969.

In addition to auto safety, Nader went on to advocate on behalf of a long list of other consumer causes, including food and drug safety. He also made several unsuccessful runs for the U.S. presidency as a third-party candidate. Nader was criticized by some people for siphoning away votes from Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore in the close 2000 election, which Gore ultimately lost to Republican George W. Bush.

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