1969 World Events

January 16: Soyuz 4 piloted by Cosmonaut Shatalov docks with Soyuz 5. It is the first docking between two manned spacecraft. Cosmonauts Yeliseyev and Krunov perform an EVA and transfer from Soyuz 5 to Soyuz 4. Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 are then undocked.

January 17: Spacecraft Soyuz 4 returns to Earth with a crew of Shatalov, Yeliseyev, and Krunov.

January 15: Soyuz 5 spacecraft returns to Earth with Cosmonaut Volynov.

January 20: Richard Milhouse Nixon is inaugurated as the 37th President of the United States.

January 15: The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10, in Super Bowl 1.

February 9: The world's largest airplane the Boeing 747 makes it first commercial flight.

March 3: The United States launches Apollo 9 on the first manned mission to test the Lunar module in space. The crew for Apollo 9 are Command James McDivitt, Command Module Pilot David Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot Russell Schweickart.

March 6: Astronauts Schweickart and Scott perform EVA activities on Apollo 9. Schweickart from the Lunar Module and Scott from the Command Module.

March 13: Apollo 9 Command Module Gumdrop returns to Earth with McDivitt, Scott, and Schweickart.

April 14: The Best Picture Oscar is awarded to "Oliver!" at the Academy Awards. The movie "2001 A Space Odyssey" directed by Stanley Kubrick wins the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.

May 18: The United States launches Apollo 10 on a mission to the Moon as a dress rehearsal for Apollo 11. The crew for Apollo 10 is Commander Thomas Stafford, Command Module Pilot John Young, and Lunar Module Pilot Eugene Cernan.

May 26: Command Module Charlie Brown returns to Earth with Stafford, Young, and Cernan.

May 27: Construction begins on Walt Disney World in Florida.

May 30: Mario Andretti wins the Indianapolis 500.

July 16: The United States launches Apollo 11. It is the first manned mission intended to land on the Moon. Relive the Apollo 11 mission through the eyes of an 11 year old.

July 18: Senator Ted Kennedy drives off of a bridge at Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts. His passenger Mary Jo Kopechne is killed. Kennedy flees the scene of the accident.

July 20: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first men to land on the Moon. Later that evening, Neil Armstrong becomes the first human to walk on the Moon. For my perspective of the landing as it happened follow the Apollo 11 link on this page.

July 24: Command Module Columbia returns to Earth with Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin.

October 11: The Soviet Union launches the Soyuz 6 spacecraft manned by cosmonauts Georgi Shonin and Valeri Kubasov. Cosmonaut Kubasov becomes the first welder in space.

October 12: The Soviet Union launches the Soyuz 7 spacecraft manned by cosmonauts Anatoli Filipchenko, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Gorbatko.

October 13: The Soviet Union launches the Soyuz 8 spacecraft manned by cosmonauts Vladimir Shatalov and Aleksey Yeliseyev.

October 16: Soyuz 6 returns to Earth with cosmonauts Shonin and Kubasov.

October 17: Soyuz 7 returns to Earth with cosmonauts Filipchenko, Volkov, and Gorbatko.

October 18: Soyuz 8 returns to Earth with cosmonauts Shatalov and Yeliseyev.

November 14: The second manned lunar landing mission Apollo 12 is launched towards the Moon. The crew consists of Commander Charles Conrad, Command Module Pilot Richard Gordon, and Lunar Module Pilot Alan Bean.

November 19: Lunar Module Intrepid lands on the Moon at the Ocean of Storms with astronauts Conrad and Bean.

November 24: Command Module Yankee Clipper returns to Earth with Conrad, Gordon, and Bean.

December 1: The US government holds the first military draft lottery since World War II.

December 22: Basketball player "Pistol" Pete Maravich sets an NCAA record by scoring on 30 of 31 foul shots.