- April 6: NASA is founded.
- November 7: Fidel Castro's forces win the Cuban Revolution, overthrowing Fulgencio Batista.
- December 14: The United Nations Security Council passes Resolution 123, calling for the withdrawal of Belgian troops from the Congo.
1960
- January 27: The United States and Mexico sign the Chamizal Treaty, resolving a long-standing border dispute.
- February 13: France detonates its first atomic bomb.
- May 16: The South African government declares a state of emergency in response to the Sharpeville massacre.
- July 20: The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union sign the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
1961
- January 20: John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the 35th president of the United States.
- April 12: The Soviet Union launches Vostok 1, carrying the first human being into space, Yuri Gagarin.
- August 13: The Berlin Wall is built, dividing East and West Germany.
- October 27: Nikita Khrushchev announces that the Soviet Union is developing a new weapon, the hydrogen bomb.
1962
- February 20: John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth.
- October 22: The Cuban Missile Crisis begins.
- November 20: The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
1963
- August 28: Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C.
- November 22: John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
- December 23: The United Nations Security Council passes Resolution 198, condemning Rhodesia's unilateral declaration of independence.
1964
- February 25: Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammad Ali) defeats Sonny Liston to become the world heavyweight boxing champion.
- March 21: The United States launches the first satellite dedicated to weather forecasting.
- July 2: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is signed into law, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
1965
- January 1: The National League and the American League merge to form Major League Baseball.
- March 7: The United States begins bombing North Vietnam.
- August 11: The Watts Riots erupt in Los Angeles.
- December 23: Rhodesia's unilateral declaration of independence is revoked.
1966
- January 24: Indira Gandhi becomes the first female prime minister of India.
- May 16: China detonates its first hydrogen bomb.
- June 21: The Cultural Revolution begins in China.
- December 22: Rhodesia's unilateral declaration of independence is reinstated.
1967
- June 5: The Six-Day War begins between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
- July 20: The Apollo program is launched, with the goal of landing a man on the moon.
- October 2: Che Guevara is executed in Bolivia.
- November 29: The United Nations Security Council passes Resolution 242, calling for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
1968
- January 23: The North Korean navy captures the USS Pueblo, a United States Navy intelligence ship.
- March 31: Lyndon B. Johnson announces that he will not seek re-election as president of the United States.
- April 4: Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
- June 5: Senator Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated in Los Angeles.
- August 20: The Soviet Union invades Czechoslovakia, ending the Prague Spring.
- December 21: The Apollo 8 mission becomes the first human-crewed spacecraft to orbit the moon.
1969
- January 20: Richard Nixon is inaugurated as the 37th president of the United States.
- July 20: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to set foot on the moon.
- August 15: The Woodstock Music and Art Fair is held in Bethel, New York.
- December 10: The United Nations Security Council passes Resolution 275, calling for a ceasefire in the Nigerian Civil War.
1970
- February 28: The United Arab Emirates is formed.
- March 17: The United States military launches Operation Menu, a secret bombing campaign against Cambodia.
- April 22: Earth Day is celebrated for the first time.
- November 3: The United States presidential election is held. Richard Nixon is re-elected, defeating Democratic nominee George McGovern.
- December 15: The United Nations Security Council passes Resolution 300, calling for the United Kingdom to withdraw from Southern Rhodesia.
1971
- January 25: Idi Amin seizes power in Uganda.
- February 21: The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union sign the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I).
- July 15: The United States dollar is devalued by 7.89% against foreign currencies.
- October 24: The United Nations General Assembly passes Resolution 2758, declaring that the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate representative of China in the United Nations.
1972
- January 20: The People's Republic of China and the United States sign the Shanghai Communiqué.
- February 9: The United States Supreme Court rules in Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty is unconstitutional.
- May 26: The United States signs the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) with the Soviet Union.
- September 5: The Munich Massacre occurs at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany.
1973
- January 27: The Paris Peace Accords are signed, ending the Vietnam War.
- March 29: The United States military launches Operation Linebacker II, a massive bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
- October 6: The Yom Kippur War begins between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
- November 16: The United States Congress passes the War Powers Act, limiting the president's ability to wage war without