1969

Events

Dated Events

• Real World: February 4. Yasser Arafat becomes leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

• Real World: March 2. The first Concorde test flight is conducted in Toulouse, France.

• Real World: March 17. Golda Meir becomes Prime Minister of Israel.

• Real World: April 28. Charles de Gaulle steps down as President of France.

• Real World: June 27. The Stonewall Riots occur, recognized as the beginning of the modern gay rights movement.

• Real World: July 16. Apollo 11 is launched.

• Real World: July 20. Apollo 11 lands on Earth's moon, the first time the human race sets foot on another world.

• Transformers (Films): July 20. Sector Seven's top secret Ghost 1 spacecraft is launched under cover of the Apollo 11 launch. Megatron is moved from the Sector Seven High Arctic Base to Hoover Dam. Neither mission goes particularly well. (Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday novel)

• Real World: July 25. Richard Nixon begins "Vietnamizing" the Vietnam War, pushing the South Vietnamese to take over more of the fighting.

• Real World: August 15 - August 18. The Woodstock music festival is held in upstate New York.

• DC (Generations): Early September. Joel Kent disappears in Vietnam and is presumed dead; he was actually shot by his men after leading them to wipe out most of an innocent North Vietnamese village. Joel is found by Mei-Lai and nursed back to health. Batman II dies in a trap set by "Joker Junior," but he is replaced as Batman by Robin II, Bruce Wayne Jr. (Superman & Batman: Generations)

• Real World: September 1. Moammar Qaddafi becomes leader of Libya.

• Real World: September 2. The first ATM (automatic teller machine) in the U.S. is installed in Rockville Centre, New York.

• Real World: November. ARPANET, the predecessor to the Internet, is created.

• Real World: November 12. The My Lai Massacre is revealed to the public by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh.

• Real World: November 17. SALT I negotiations begin between the United States and the Soviet Union in Helsinki.

Undated Events

• Austin Powers: Fat Bastard steals Austin Powers' mojo, rendering Powers of the future helpless. Doctor Evil and Mini-Me then travel back in time from 1999 so that Evil can enact the Alan Parsons Project. The mojo-less Austin, meanwhile, also travels back from 1999 to stop Dr. Evil with the help of Felicity Shagwell. (Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me)

• DC (Generations): Superman likely gives President Richard Nixon a piece of kryptonite as a security measure at this time. (Superman & Batman: Generations)

• Jumanji (Film): Alan Parrish found the game. Later, he and his girlfriend Sarah Whittle began to play. Alan gets sucked into the game, and Sarah was chased away by African bats.

• Jumanji (Film): After winning the game, Alan and Sarah find themselves back to this time. Then, they threw the game into the river.

New Fictional Works

Notable Books

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton, Jirel of Joiry by C.L. Moore, The Godfather by Mario Puzo, The Inheritors by Harold Robbins.

Notable Films

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Colossus: The Forbin Project, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, Gamera versus Guiron, Godzilla's Revenge, The Green Slime, Guns of the Magnificent Seven, Hamlet, The Illustrated Man, Journey to the Far Side of the Sun, Latitude Zero, Marooned, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Son of Godzilla, The Valley of Gwangi, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, Yongary - Monster from the Deep.

Notable Television Series

• Beginning: The Adventures of Batman, The Hardy Boys, Here Comes the Grump, Night Gallery, Sky Hawks, Taro: Giant of the Jungle (U.S.).

• Continuing: The Adventures of Gulliver (Season 2), Dark Shadows (Season 4), Doctor Who (Season 7), Land of the Giants (Season 2).

• Ending: The Avengers, The Batman/Superman Hour, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Voyage, Spider-Man, Star Trek, The Wild Wild West.

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