Kosmiczny rok…
January 22 – An assassination attempt is carried out on Leonid Brezhnev by deserter Viktor Ilyin. One person is killed, several are injured. Brezhnev escaped unharmed.
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July 18 – Chappaquiddick incident – Edward M. Kennedy drives off a bridge on his way home from a party on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts. Mary Jo Kopechne, a former campaign aide to his brother, dies in the early morning hours of July 19 in the submerged car.
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July 22 – Spanish dictator and head of state Francisco Franco appoints Prince Juan Carlos his successor.
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August 9 – Followers of Charles Manson murder Sharon Tate, (who was 8 months pregnant), and her friends…
November 15 – Cold War: The Soviet submarine K-19 collides with the American submarine USS Gato in the Barents Sea.
April 28 – Charles de Gaulle steps down as president of France after suffering defeat in a referendum the day before.
July 20 – Apollo program: The lunar module Eagle/Apollo 11 lands on the lunar surface. An estimated 500 million people worldwide watch in awe as Neil Armstrong takes his historic first steps on the Moon at 10:56 pm ET (02:56 UTC July 21), the largest television audience for a live broadcast at that time.
August 13 – Serious border clashes occur between the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China.
September 1 – 1969 Libyan coup d’état: A bloodless coup in Libya ousts King Idris, and brings Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to power.
October 1 – In Sweden, Olof Palme is elected Leader of the Social Democratic Worker’s Party, replacing Tage Erlander as Prime Minister on October 14.
October 21 – Willy Brandt becomes Chancellor of West Germany.