Information for the Year 1966

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  • France withdraws its forces from NATO. President De Gaulle visits the USSR (June 20).
  • Sukarno leaves office in Indonesia; Suharto assumes power.
  • Botswana, Lesotho, and Guyana become independent states within the British Commonwealth.
  • India suffers the worst famine in 20 years; Lyndon Johnson asks for $1 billion in aid to the country.
  • Population:   3.415 billion
  • Nobel Peace Prize:  The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section
  • Medicare begins (July 1). Stokeley Carmichael elected president of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
  • President:  Lyndon B. Johnson
  • Vice President:   Hubert H. Humphrey
  • Population:  196,560,338
  • Life expectancy:  70.2 years
  • US GDP (1998 dollars):   $787.8 billion
  • Federal spending:   $134.53 billion
  • Federal debt:   $328.5 billion
  • Median Household Income(current dollars):  $7,532
  • Consumer Price Index:   32.4
  • Unemployment:   4.5%
  • Cost of a first-class stamp:  $0.05
  • Super Bowl  The first Super Bowl was not played until the year 1967.
  • World Series of Baseball  Baltimore defeated Los Angeles Dodgers
  • National Basketball Association Championship  Boston defeated Los Angeles Lakers
  • National Hockey League Stanley Cup  Montreal Canadians defeated Detroit Red Wings
  • Women Wimbledon Tennis  Billie Jean King defeated M. Bueno (6-3 3-6 6-1)
  • Men Wimbledon Tennis  Manuel Santana defeated D. Ralston (6-4 11-9 6-4)
  • Kentucky Derby Horse Race Champion   Kauai King
  • National College Athletic Association Basketball Championship  Texas Western defeated Kentucky (SCORE 72-65)
  • National College Athletic Association Football Champions  Notre Dame (RECORD 9-0-1) & Michigan St.(RECORD 9-0-1)
  • World Cup Soccer  England defeated West Germany
  • The first Star Trek episode, "The Man Trap," is broadcast on September 8.
  • The old Metropolitan Opera House is abandoned as the company moves to Lincoln Center.
  • The new Metropolitan Opera opens with Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra.
  • Academy Award, Best Picture:  The Sound of Music
  • Grammy Award - Record of the Year   A Taste of Honey by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
  • Emmy Award - Best Television Comedy  The Dick Van Dyke Show - CBS
  • Miss America:   Deborah Irene Bryant (Kansas)
  • Insulin is first synthesized in China.
  • MIT biochemist Har Khorana finishes deciphering the DNA code.

 

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