1965 CE

The Vietnam War escalates as the United States begins Operation Rolling Thunder and sends ground troops; the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 breaks out over Kashmir before a UN ceasefire; the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is signed, banning racial discrimination in voting; Malcolm X is assassinated in New York City; the Dominican Civil War prompts U.S. intervention; former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill dies at the age of ninety; cosmonaut Alexei Leonov makes the first spacewalk; the Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66 follow a failed coup, killing hundreds of thousands; and the Selma to Montgomery marches culminate in advancing federal voting protections.

In the 1960s, the 20th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • 2 January – Incumbent Ayub Khan defeats Fatima Jinnah in the 1965 Pakistani presidential election.Pakistansource
  • January 20 – Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term as President of the United States.source
  • February 12 – The African and Malagasy Common Organization (Organization Commune Africaine et Malgache; OCAM) is formed as successor to the Afro-Malagasy Union for Economic Cooperation (Union Africaine et Malgache de Cooperation Economique; UAMCE), formerly the African and Malagasy Union (Union Africaine et Malgache; UAM).source
  • February 18 – The Gambia becomes independent from the United Kingdom.source
  • February 20 – Suat Hayri Ürgüplü forms the new (interim) government of Turkey (29th government).source
  • 2 March – Luxembourg City is agreed to remain one of the seats of the European Union as part of the negotiations over the Merger Treaty.Luxembourgsource
  • March 17 – In response to the events of March 7 and 9 in Selma, Alabama, President Johnson sends a bill to Congress that forms the basis for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It is passed by the Senate on May 26, the House on July 10, and signed into law by President Johnson on August 6.United Statessource
  • March 30 – The second ODECA charter, signed by Central American states on December 12, 1962, becomes effective.source
  • April 9 – The West German parliament extends the statute of limitations on Nazi war crimes.source
  • May 1 – Bob Askin replaces Jack Renshaw as Premier of New South Wales.source
  • June 22 – The Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea is signed in Tokyo.source
  • 14 July – The Israeli left-wing political party Rafi is founded by David Ben-Gurion, who breaks with Mapai, the ruling party, and leads a breakaway group of eight members of the Knesset, including Moshe Dayan, Shimon Peres, Chaim Herzog, and Teddy Kollek, amongst others.Israelsource
  • July 15 – Greek Prime minister Georgios Papandreou and his government are dismissed by King Constantine II.source
  • 18 July - 1965 Laotian parliamentary electionLaossource
  • July 27 – Edward Heath becomes Leader of the British Conservative Party.source
  • August 6 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act into law, outlawing literacy tests and other discriminatory voting practices that have been responsible for widespread disfranchisement of African Americans.source
  • August 7 – Tunku Abdul Rahman, Prime Minister of Malaysia, recommends the expulsion of Singapore from the Federation of Malaysia following a deterioration of PAP–UMNO relations, negotiating its separation with Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore.source
  • August 9 – Proclamation of Singapore: Singapore is expelled from the Federation of Malaysia, which recognises it as a sovereign nation. Lee Kuan Yew announces Singapore's independence and assumes the position of Prime Minister of the new island nation – a position he holds until 1990.source
  • September 9 – U.N. Secretary General U Thant negotiates with Pakistan President Ayub Khan.source
  • September 21 – Gambia, Maldives and Singapore are admitted as members of the United Nations.source
  • 21 September – Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah of Terengganu was elected as the fourth Yang di-Pertuan AgongMalaysiasource
  • October 4 – Prime minister Ian Smith of Rhodesia and Arthur Bottomley of the Commonwealth of Nations begin negotiations in London.source
  • October 13 – Congo President Joseph Kasavubu fires Prime Minister Moise Tshombe and forms a provisional government, with Évariste Kimba in a leading position.source
  • October 27 – Brazilian president Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco removes power from parliament, legal courts and opposition parties.source
  • November 9 – Ferdinand Marcos is elected president during the presidential elections.Philippinessource
  • November 11 – In Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe), the white-minority government of Ian Smith unilaterally declares de facto independence ('UDI').source
  • November 22 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is established as a specialized agency of the United Nations.source
  • November 24 – Congolese lieutenant general Mobutu ousts Joseph Kasavubu and declares himself president.source
  • 26 November - 1964–66 Balkans Cup: Albania defeats Turkey 2–0 at Selman Stërmasi Stadium, TiranaAlbaniasource
  • December 5 – Charles de Gaulle is re-elected as French president with 10,828,421 votes.source
  • December 20 – The World Food Programme is made a permanent agency of the United Nations.source
  • 22 December – Constitutional Amendment Act is passed and Yusof bin Ishak becomes the first President of Singapore.Singaporesource
  • December 31 – Bokassa takes power in the Central African Republic.source

Conflict & Security

  • 24 January – Syria announces that it has captured the Israeli spy Eli Cohen.Israelsource
  • March 2 – Vietnam War: Operation Rolling Thunder – The United States Air Force 2nd Air Division, United States Navy and South Vietnamese air force begin a 31/2-year aerial bombardment campaign against North Vietnam.source
  • March 7 – "Bloody Sunday": Some 200 Alabama State Troopers attack 525 civil rights demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, as they attempt to march to the state capitol of Montgomery.source
  • March 8 – Vietnam War: Some 3,500 United States Marines arrive in Da Nang, South Vietnam, becoming the first American ground combat troops in Vietnam.source
  • March 9 – The "Turnaround Tuesday" march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr., stops at the site of "Bloody Sunday", to hold a prayer service and return to Selma, in obedience to a court restraining order. On the same day, White supremacists attack three white ministers, leaving Unitarian Universalist minister James J. Reeb in a coma.source
  • 19 March – U.N. Security Council Resolution 201 was adopted unanimously. In it, the Council extended the stationing of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus for another 3 months, to end on June 26, 1965.Cyprussource
  • March 20 – The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 begins.source
  • March 24 — Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev accuses the United States of 'pirate raids' against North Vietnam.Soviet Unionsource
  • April 24 – In the Dominican Republic, officers and civilians loyal to deposed President Juan Bosch mutiny against the right-wing junta running the country, setting up a provisional government. Forces loyal to the deposed military-imposed government stage a countercoup the next day, and civil war breaks out, although the new government retains its hold on power.source
  • April 24 – The 1965 Yerevan demonstrations start in Yerevan, demanding recognition of the Armenian genocide.source
  • April 24 - officers and civilians loyal to deposed President Juan Bosch mutiny against the right-wing junta running the country, setting up a provisional government.Dominican Republicsource
  • 26 May - 1964–66 Balkans Cup: Albania is defeated by Bulgaria 1–0 at Yuri Gagarin Stadium, VarnaAlbaniasource
  • June 10 – Vietnam War – Battle of Dong Xoai: About 1,500 Viet Cong mount a mortar attack on Đồng Xoài, overrunning its military headquarters and the adjoining militia compound.source
  • June 19 – Houari Boumediene's Revolutionary Council ousts Ahmed Ben Bella, in a bloodless coup in Algeria.source
  • June 20 – Police in Algiers break up demonstrations by people who have taken to the streets chanting slogans in support of deposed President Ahmed Ben Bella.source
  • July 24 – Vietnam War: Four F-4C Phantoms escorting a bombing raid at Kang Chi are targeted by antiaircraft missiles, in the first such attack against American planes in the war. One is shot down and the other 3 sustain damage.source
  • August 11 – Racial rioting in the Los Angeles, California neighborhood of Watts breaks out after an African American motorist, Marquette Frye, is stopped on suspicion of drunken driving. Six days of unrest are quelled by over 14,000 members of the California National Guard. There are 34 deaths and over $40 million in property damage. It is the largest and costliest urban rebellion of the Civil Rights movement.source
  • August 18 – Vietnam War: Operation Starlite – 5,500 United States Marines destroy a Viet Cong stronghold on the Van Tuong peninsula in Quảng Ngãi Province, in the first major American ground battle of the war. The Marines were tipped off by a Viet Cong deserter who said that there was an attack planned against the U.S. base at Chu Lai.source
  • September 2 – Vietnam War: In a follow-up to August's Operation Starlite, United States Marines and South Vietnamese forces initiate Operation Piranha on the Batangan Peninsula, 23 mi south of the Chu Lai Marine base.source
  • 6 September – Border disputes over Kashmir erupt into full-scale war as Indian forces attack near Lahore.Pakistansource
  • September 19 – Pakistani Forces achieve a decisive victory at the Battle of Chawinda, ultimately halting the Indian advance and successfully stabilizing the Sialkot Front; it is the world's largest tank battle since the Battle of Kursk in the Second World War between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.source
  • September 20 – Vietnam War: An USAF F-104 Starfighter piloted by Captain Philip Eldon Smith is shot down by a Chinese MiG-19 Farmer. The pilot is held until March 15, 1973.source
  • September 22 – Radio Peking announces that Indian troops have dismantled their equipment on the Chinese side of the border.source
  • September 30 – The Indonesian army, led by General Suharto, crushes an alleged communist coup attempt (see Transition to the New Order and 30 September Movement).source
  • October 30 – Vietnam War: Near Da Nang, United States Marines repel an intense attack by Viet Cong forces, killing 56 guerrillas. A sketch of Marine positions is found on the dead body of a 13-year-old Vietnamese boy who sold drinks to the Marines the day before.source
  • November 5 – Martial law is announced in Rhodesia. The United Nations General Assembly accepts British intent to use force against Rhodesia if necessary by a vote of 82–9.source
  • 6 November – Laguna del Desierto incidentChilesource
  • November 8 – Vietnam War – Operation Hump: The United States Army 173rd Airborne is ambushed by over 1,200 Viet Cong.source
  • November 14 – Vietnam War – Battle of Ia Drang: In the Ia Drang Valley of the Central Highlands in Vietnam, the first major engagement of the war between regular United States and North Vietnamese forces begins.source
  • November 23 – Soviet general Mikhail Kazakov assumes command of the Warsaw Pact.source
  • November 27 – Vietnam War: The Pentagon tells U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson that if planned major sweep operations to neutralize Viet Cong forces during the next year are to succeed, the number of American troops in Vietnam will have to be increased from 120,000 to 400,000.source
  • 14–21 December – Singapore took part in the 3rd South East Asian Peninsular Games. It clinched the third place, accumulating a total of 76 medals.Singaporesource
  • Tokyo officially becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from New York City.source
  • 6–22 September – A full-scale Indo-Pakistani war is fought over Kashmir, which ends after a UN Security Council calls for a ceasefire on 20 September.Indiasource

Exploration & Expansion

  • 3 February – Terje Langli, cross-country skier.Norwaysource
  • 18 March – The Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture, Harry West attends a meeting with his Southern counterpart, Charles Haughey, in Dublin.Northern Irelandsource
  • March 19 – The wreck of the SS Georgiana, reputed to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser ever built and owned by the real Rhett Butler, is discovered off the Isle of Palms, South Carolina. It is discovered by teenage diver E. Lee Spence exactly 102 years after she was sunk with a million-dollar cargo while attempting to run past the Union blockade into Charleston.United Statessource
  • 11 April – Qantas launches the first trans-Tasman jet service, between Christchurch and Sydney using Boeing 707 aircraft.New Zealandsource
  • 3-25 July - Tour of President Eduardo Frei Montalva through Europe (Spain, Portugal, France and Italy) and South America (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador).Chilesource
  • 30 August – The Subang Airport near Subang, Selangor was officially opened.Malaysiasource
  • October 10 – The first group of Cuban refugees travels to the U.S.source
  • 26 October – Operación 90: Argentina launches its first ground expedition to the South Pole.Argentinasource
  • 30 October – English model Jean Shrimpton wears a controversially short white shift dress to the Victoria Derby at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia – a pivotal moment of the introduction of the miniskirt to women's fashion.Australiasource
  • December 15 – The Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) is formed.source

Religion & Belief

  • January 30 – The state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill takes place in London with the largest assembly of dignitaries in the world until the 2005 funeral of Pope John Paul II.source
  • 26 February - Fernand Georges is appointed to the Council of State.Luxembourgsource
  • March 7 – Mass in the Catholic Church worldwide is said in local languages (rather than Latin) for the first time.source
  • March 7 – Canadian Roman Catholic churches celebrate mass in the vernacular for the first time due to the reforms of Vatican IICanadasource
  • March 18 – A United States federal judge rules that the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) has the lawful right to march to Montgomery, Alabama to petition for 'redress of grievances'.United Statessource
  • April 18 – Consecration of Saint Clement of Ohrid Macedonian Orthodox Cathedral in Toronto, Canada.source
  • 4 June – Sigmund Mowinckel, theologian (born 1884).Norwaysource
  • 27 August – The National Mosque of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur was officially opened.Malaysiasource
  • September 14 – The fourth and final period of the Second Vatican Council opens.source
  • 23 September – Roma Mitchell is appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the first woman to become a judge in Australia.Australiasource
  • October 4 – Pope Paul VI makes the first papal visit to the United States. He appears for a Mass in Yankee Stadium and makes a speech at the United Nations.source
  • October 8 – The 7 Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent are adopted at the XX International Conference in Vienna, Austria.source
  • Full date unknown – Shlomo Dykman (born 1917), Polish-born Israeli translator and classical scholar.Israelsource
  • Publication of Ten Poems by Michael Longley and Twelve Poems by Derek Mahon.Northern Irelandsource

Economy & Finance

  • January 1 – Trans-Canada Airlines is renamed Air Canada.Canadasource
  • 14 January - Food Corporation of India was founded.Indiasource
  • 21 January – Nationalist leader Eddie McAteer visits Taoiseach Seán Lemass in Dublin.Northern Irelandsource
  • 1 April – TEAL is renamed Air New Zealand.New Zealandsource
  • 26 June – Rune Brynhildsen, businesspersonNorwaysource
  • 9 August – Singapore was expelled from the Federation of Malaysia.Malaysiasource
  • October 17 – The New York World's Fair at Flushing Meadows, closes. Due to financial losses, some of the projected site park improvements fail to materialize.source
  • October 17 – The New York World's Fair at Flushing Meadows, New York, closes. Due to financial losses, some of the projected site park improvements fail to materialize.United Statessource
  • December 8 – Rhodesian prime minister Ian Smith warns that Rhodesia will resist a trade embargo by neighboring countries with force.source
  • Hainzl Industriesysteme GmbH company is founded in Austria.source
  • the White Australia Policy was removed from the Australian Labor Party platform at their national conference. This came after past attempts in 1959 and 1961 failed.Australiasource

Technology & Infrastructure

  • 21 January – The Shalom Meir Tower officially opens, becoming the tallest building in the Middle East (standing at 142 m).Israelsource
  • April 23 – The Pennine Way officially opens.source
  • April 26 – Rede Globo is founded in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.source
  • 17 May – Centenary of the International Telecommunication Union was celebrated.Malaysiasource
  • 1 July - Road Water Electricity General Directorate was founded.Turkeysource
  • July 16 – The Mont Blanc Tunnel, a highway tunnel between France and Italy, is inaugurated by presidents Charles de Gaulle and Giuseppe Saragat.source
  • August 30 – An avalanche buries a dam construction site at Saas-Fee, Switzerland, killing 90 workers.source
  • 2 October – The commissioning of Darkhan Thermal Power Plant in Darkhan City, Selenge Province.Mongoliasource
  • November 13 – British theatre critic Kenneth Tynan says "fuck" during a discussion on BBC satirical programme BBC-3 for what many believed was the first time on British television. The corporation later issues a public apology.source
  • 27 November – Singapore's first underground carpark is officially opened in Raffles Place, with a public garden built on top.Singaporesource
  • November - The Wapi Project begins.Laossource
  • 16 December - The Ministry of Housing and Urbanism (Chile) is created, in charge of the planning, development and construction of houses, in addition to planning the urbanization of cities.Chilesource
  • New Tallinn Bus Station was built.Estoniasource

Science & Discovery

  • February 4 – Trofim Lysenko is removed from his post as director of the Institute of Genetics at the Academy of Sciences in the Soviet Union. Lysenkoist theories are now treated as pseudoscience.source
  • February 15 – The maple leaf is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the Canadian Red Ensign flag.source
  • 27 February - Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1965Germanysource
  • March 18 – Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov leaves his Voskhod 2 spacecraft for 12 minutes, becoming the first person to walk in space.source
  • March 23 – Gemini 3: NASA launches the United States' first 2-person crew (Gus Grissom, John Young) into Earth orbit.source
  • April 3 – The world's first space nuclear power reactor, SNAP-10A, is launched by the United States from Vandenberg AFB, California. The reactor operates for 43 days and remains in low Earth orbit.source
  • April 6 – The Intelsat I ("Early Bird") communications satellite is launched. It becomes operational May 2 and is placed in commercial service in June.source
  • 12 May – The liner SS Michelangelo enters service.Italysource
  • June 3 – Launch of Gemini 4, a 4 day mission during which Ed White performs the first space walk by an American astronaut.source
  • July 14 – U.S. spacecraft Mariner 4 flies by Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to return images from the Red Planet.source
  • August 21 – NASA launches Gemini 5 (Gordon Cooper, Pete Conrad) on the first 1-week space flight, as well as the first test of fuel cells for electrical power on such a mission.source
  • 9 September – Malaysian national birds were recognized in a Malaysian stamp series.Malaysiasource
  • 15 September - Harry Reedman arrives in Lisbon to set up the Rhodesian mission there.Portugalsource
  • September 18 – Comet Ikeya–Seki is first sighted by Japanese astronomers.source
  • September 18 - Comet Ikeya–Seki first sighted by Japanese astronomers.Japansource
  • September 27 – The largest tanker ship at this time, Tokyo Maru, is launched in Yokohama, Japan.source
  • 15 October – Abraham Fraenkel (born 1891), German-born Israeli mathematician.Israelsource
  • October 21 – Comet Ikeya–Seki approaches perihelion, passing 450,000 km from the sun.source
  • October 29 – An 80-kiloton nuclear device is detonated at Amchitka Island, Alaska, as part of the Vela Uniform program, code-named Project Long Shot.source
  • October - Nanda Devi Plutonium Mission by Central Intelligence Agency.Indiasource
  • November 15 – U.S. racer Craig Breedlove sets a new land speed record of 600.601 mph.source
  • November 16 – Venera program: The Soviet Union launches the Venera 3 space probe from Baikonur, Kazakhstan toward Venus (on March 1, 1966, it becomes the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet).source
  • November 26 – At the Hammaguir launch facility in the Sahara Desert, France launches a Diamant A rocket with its first satellite, Astérix-1 on board, becoming the third country to enter outer space.source
  • November 29 – The Canadian satellite Alouette 2 is launched.source
  • December 15 – Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 perform the first controlled rendezvous in Earth orbit.source
  • December 21 – The Soviet Union announces that it has shipped rockets to North Vietnam.source
  • December 21 – The United Nations adopts the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.source

Health & Medicine

  • January 8 – Adam Faith, a British pop singer, cancels his tour of South Africa because the South African government prohibited mixed audiences at concerts.South Africasource
  • 31 March – Merle Thorton and Rosalie Bogner chained their ankles to the front bar of the Regatta Hotel in Brisbane in protest against the Queensland liquor laws that banned women from pubs.Australiasource
  • April 12 – A historic and extremely destructive tornado outbreak struck the Midwest region of the United States, killing 266.source
  • 28 May – Alon Abutbul, Israeli actor.Israelsource
  • 10 July – A by-election was held in Hong Lim after Ong Eng Guan of the United People's Party resigned. After the vote, Lee Khoon Choy from the People's Action Party was elected into Hong Lim constituency, defeating Ong Chang Sam of the Barisan Sosialis.Singaporesource
  • July 30 – War on Poverty: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.source
  • October 18 – The Indonesian government outlaws the Communist Party of Indonesia.source
  • 24 October – Census Population 31351421.Turkeysource
  • 21 December – Pakistan's first nuclear research reactor, Pakistan Atomic Research Reactor-I, donated by the United States, reaches criticality.Pakistansource
  • 30 December – Compulsory national service is reduced to six months.Luxembourgsource
  • Estimated population as of 31 December: 2,663,800.New Zealandsource

Crime & Justice

  • February 21 – Malcolm X is gunned down while giving a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem.source
  • March 2 – Lucien Rivard escapes from a Montreal area jailCanadasource
  • 27 April – Police raid Melbourne's Austral Bookshop and seize copies of The Trial of Lady Chatterley, a banned book which recounts of the British obscenity trial of author D. H. Lawrence.Australiasource
  • 29 May – A man named Pusok Anak Ngaik killed 14 people and wounded four others in Bukit Merah, a village near Sandakan, Sabah.Malaysiasource
  • 4 July – Hans Aasnæs, sport shooter (born 1902).Norwaysource
  • July 14 - Sheikh Abdullah kept at custody in Kodaikanal for two years from July 1965 - June 1967.Indiasource
  • August 19 – At the conclusion of the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials, 66 ex-SS personnel receive life sentences, 15 others shorter ones.source
  • August 31 – U.S. President Johnson signs a law penalizing the burning of draft cards with up to 5 years in prison and a $1,000 fine.source
  • September 9 – Sandy Koufax pitches a perfect game in a baseball match against the Chicago Cubs. The opposing pitcher, Bob Hendley, allows only one run, which is unearned.United Statessource
  • September 18 – In Denmark, Palle Sørensen shoots 4 policemen in pursuit; he is apprehended the same day.source
  • October 6 – Ian Brady, a 27-year-old stock clerk from Hyde in Cheshire, is arrested for allegedly hacking to death (with a hatchet) 17-year-old apprentice electrician Edward Evans at a house on the Hattersley housing estate. He and his girlfriend Myra Hindley are subsequently identified as the perpetrators of the "Moors murders" of four young people aged from 10 to 16.source
  • October 8 – Indonesian mass killings of 1965–1966: The Indonesian army instigates the arrest and execution of communists which last until next March.source
  • October 15 – Vietnam War: The Catholic Worker Movement stages an anti-war protest in Manhattan. One draft card burner is arrested, the first under the new law.source
  • 20 October – Amos Mansdorf, Israeli tennis player.Israelsource
  • The Chatham Cup is won by Eastern Suburbs of Auckland who beat Saint Kilda 4–1 in the final.New Zealandsource

Disasters & Accidents

  • 6 February – LAN Chile Flight 107 crashes in the Andes.Chilesource
  • 11 February – Mt Isa Mines suspends all operations.Australiasource
  • February 14 - An All Nippon Airways Douglas DC-3 aircraft crashes into Mount Nakanoone in Shizuoka Prefecture, killing both occupants of the plane.Japansource
  • February 20 – Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon, after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts.source
  • 10 March – Indonesian saboteurs carry out the MacDonald House bombing, killing 3 people.Singaporesource
  • May 28 – A mining accident in Dhanbad, India, kills 268.source
  • 29 May – 1965 Dhanbad coal mine disaster – A mining accident in Dhanbad, India kills 274.Indiasource
  • June 1 – A coal mine explosion in Fukuoka, Japan, kills 237.source
  • June 7 – Kakanj mine disaster: A mining accident in Kakanj, Bosnia and Herzegovina, results in 128 deaths.source
  • June 25 – A U.S. Air Force Boeing C-135 Stratolifter bound for Okinawa crashes just after takeoff at MCAS El Toro in Orange County, California, killing all 85 on board.source
  • August 9 – An explosion at an Arkansas missile plant kills 53.source
  • August 9 – Indonesian president Sukarno collapses in public.source
  • 11 August - The Hendek bus accident occurred, causing 25 deaths.Turkeysource
  • September 8 – The Pakistan Navy destroys the Indian port of Dwarka. Operation Dwarka (Pakistan celebrates Victory Day annually).source
  • November 1 – A trolleybus plunges into the Nile at Cairo, Egypt, killing 74 passengers.source
  • 7 November – A Fatah cell that infiltrated from Jordan blew up a house in Moshav Givat Yeshayahu, south of Beit Shemesh. The house was destroyed, but the inhabitants were unhurt.Israelsource
  • November 11 – United Airlines Flight 227 crashes short of the runway and catches fire at Salt Lake City International Airport, killing 43 out of 91 passengers and crew.source
  • November 13 – The SS Yarmouth Castle burns and sinks 60 mi off Nassau, Bahamas, with the loss of 90 lives.source
  • Victor Horta's Maison du Peuple in Brussels demolished.Belgiumsource

Climate & Environment

  • January 9 – The Hope Slide, the largest landslide ever recorded in Canada, kills four.Canadasource
  • 20 March - "Sol de inverno", performed by Simone de Oliveira, Portugal's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest held in Naples, finishes twelfth.Portugalsource
  • 28 March – 1965 Valparaíso earthquake and the El Cobre dam failures With a magnitude of 7.4 degrees on the Richter scale, it leaves 280 dead and hundreds injured. The earthquake is perceived from Copiapó to Osorno, from North to South, and to Buenos Aires to the east.Chilesource
  • 18 to 20 July - Snow is recorded as far north as the Clark Range in Queensland, killing drought-weakened livestock. At the same time, extremely heavy rainfall in the North Coast turns drought into flood, with Brisbane having its wettest-ever July day with 193.2 mm.Australiasource
  • September 9 – Hurricane Betsy roars ashore near New Orleans, Louisiana with winds of 145 MPH, causing 76 deaths and $1.42 billion in damage. The storm is the first hurricane to cause $1 billion in unadjusted damages, giving it the nickname "Billion Dollar Betsy". It is the last major hurricane to strike New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina 40 years later.United Statessource
  • September 28 – Taal Volcano in Luzon, Philippines, erupts, killing hundreds.source
  • September 28 – Taal Volcano erupts killing hundreds.Philippinessource
  • 10 December – Lars Christensen, ship-owner and whaling magnate (born 1884).Norwaysource
  • Sultan of Johor: Sultan IsmailMalaysiasource

Culture & Society

  • January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.source
  • January – The International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL) was established.Malaysiasource
  • March 10 – An engagement is announced between Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Pieter van Vollenhoven, who will become the first commoner and the first Dutchman to marry into the Dutch royal family.source
  • March 10 - Rwandan general election, 1965Rwandasource
  • March 20 – "Poupée de cire, poupée de son", sung by France Gall (music and lyrics by Serge Gainsbourg), wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1965 (staged in Naples) for Luxembourg.source
  • 20 March – Representing Luxembourg, France Gall wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1965 with the song Poupée de cire, poupée de son.Luxembourgsource
  • March 23 – The first issue of The Vigilant is published from Khartoum.source
  • March 25 – Martin Luther King Jr. and 25,000 civil rights activists successfully end the 4-day march from Selma, Alabama, to the capitol in Montgomery.source
  • April 5 – At the 37th Academy Awards, My Fair Lady wins 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Rex Harrison wins an Oscar for Best Actor. Mary Poppins takes home 5 Oscars. Julie Andrews wins an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the title role. Sherman Brothers receives 2 Oscars including Best Song, "Chim Chim Cher-ee".source
  • May 9 – Pianist Vladimir Horowitz returns to the stage after a 12-year absence, performing a legendary concert in Carnegie Hall in New York.source
  • May 25 – Muhammad Ali knocks out Sonny Liston in the first round of their championship rematch with the "Phantom Punch" at the Central Maine Civic Center in Lewiston.source
  • May 27 – Internazionale beats Benfica 1–0 at the San Siro, Milan and wins the 1964–65 European Cup in Association football.source
  • May 31 – Scottish racing driver Jim Clark wins the Indianapolis 500, later this year winning the Formula One world driving championship.source
  • 24 July - Miss Thailand Apasra Hongsakula won the crown title of the Miss Universe 1965 held in Miami Beach, Florida, United States.Thailandsource
  • 1 August – The inaugural issue of English-language weekly newspaper Holiday is published in Dacca.Pakistansource
  • September 30 – The classic family sci-fi show Thunderbirds debuts on ITV in the United Kingdom.source
  • October 4 – The University of California, Irvine opens its doors.source
  • 15 October – The Singapore Conference Hall is officially opened.Singaporesource
  • October 30 – English model Jean Shrimpton wears an above-the-knee white shift dress in Orlon to the Victoria Derby at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia, causing a global sensation in women's fashion.source
  • 12 November – The reestablishment of National Palace Museum in Shilin District, Taipei.Taiwansource
  • December 5 – The "Glasnost Meeting" in Moscow becomes the first spontaneous political demonstration, and the first demonstration for civil rights in the Soviet Union.source
  • December 8 – The Race Relations Act becomes the first legislation to address racial discrimination in the UK.source
  • December 9 – A Charlie Brown Christmas, the first Peanuts television special, debuts on CBS in the United States. It becomes a Christmas tradition.source
  • December 21 – A new 1-hour German-American production of the ballet The Nutcracker, with an international cast that includes Edward Villella in the title role, makes its U.S. television debut. It is repeated annually by CBS over the next 3 years but after that is virtually forgotten until issued on DVD in 2009 by Warner Archive.source
  • December 25 – The Yemeni Nasserist Unionist People's Organisation is founded in Ta'izz.source
  • Académica da Praia won the Cape Verdean Football ChampionshipCape Verdesource

Births

Deaths

  • January 4 – T. S. Eliot, American-British poet, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1888)source
  • January 24 – Sir Winston Churchill, British politician and statesman, twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, World War II leader, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature (born 1874)source
  • February 21 – Malcolm X, American civil rights activist (born 1925)source
  • 5 March – Chen Cheng, 67, general and politician, Vice President (1954–1965).Taiwansource
  • March 18 – Farouk of Egypt, deposed king (born 1920)source
  • July 1 – Wally Hammond, English cricketer (born 1903)source
  • July 14 – Adlai Stevenson II, American politician (born 1900)source
  • 15 July – Nicolas Biever, politician and trade unionistLuxembourgsource
  • August 27 – Le Corbusier, Swiss architect (born 1887)source
  • September 4 – Albert Schweitzer, Alsatian physician and missionary, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (born 1875)source
  • 6 September – Sarfaraz Ahmed Rafiqui, military aviator of Pakistan (born 1935)Pakistansource
  • September 27 – Clara Bow, American silent film actress (born 1905)source
  • October 4 – Durban rail accident: At least 150 are killed when a commuter train derails at the outskirts of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.source
  • October 26 – Sylvia Likens, American murder victim (born 1949)source
  • October 28 – Pope Paul VI promulgates Nostra aetate, a "Declaration on the Relation of the (Roman Catholic) Church with Non-Christian Religions" by the Second Vatican Council which includes a statement that Jews are not collectively responsible for the death of Jesus (Jewish deicide).source
  • November 18 – Henry A. Wallace, 33rd Vice President of the United States (born 1888)source
  • 26 November – Hafeezudin Sirajuddin Moonshi, prominent doctor and former municipal commissioner (born 1895).Singaporesource
  • December 24 – William M. Branham, American minister (born 1909)source