 | President: Lyndon B Johnson, Vice President: None |
 | The population of the United States is 191,141,000 |
| National Debt is 316.1 Billion (+5.8 billion) |
| Unemployment is 5.7% |
| Life Expectancy: 70.2 years |
| Family median income = $6,600 (up $400. from 1962) |
| Academy Award : Tom Jones (click to buy)  (Best Picture) |
| Grammy Award : Barbara Streisand Album (click to buy) (Best Album); Days of Wine & Roses (click to buy)  (Best Song) |
| Best Book :A Moveable Feast (click to buy)  |
| United States Surgeon General Luther Leonidas Terry reports that smoking may be hazardous to your health |
| President Johnson declares a “War on Poverty” in his first State of the Union Address |
| In the Panama Canal Zone there are armed clashes between United States troops and Panamanian civilians |
| Meet the Beatles!, the first Beatles album in the U.S., is released (read more in the Beatles Section) |
| 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified |
| The Beatles arrive in the U.S. triggering what would become “Beatlemania” |
| Muhammad Ali beats Sonny Liston in Miami Beach, FL, and is crowned the heavyweight champion of the world (click for more on, Sports) |
| The first Ford Mustang rolls off the assembly line at Ford Motor Company (see Ford Cars section of FiftiesWeb) |
| Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor marry (the first time) |
| The game show Jeopardy! debuts on NBC; Art Fleming is its first host |
| Shea Stadium has its grand opening in Flushing, NY |
| The 1964 New York World’s Fair opens |
| President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, abolishing racial segregation in the United States |
| Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. becomes the receives the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent civil rights movement |
| College students in New York and San Francisco hold the first anti-war protest marches |
| The Warren Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy issues their report concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. |
| US Supreme Court rules that Congressional districts should be roughly equal in population which caused major redistricting |
| A Soviet coup d’état October 13 strips Nikita Khrushchev of all power, Leonid Ilych Brezhnev becomes party leader |
| In the Presidential race President Johnson defeats Senator Barry Goldwater in a landside victory |
| The Medicare Act signed by President Johnson starting the first government-operated health insurance program for Americans age 65 and over |
| The Beginner’s All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code (BASIC) a comprehensive computer language is developed |
| New to television were: Bewitched, Gilligan’s Island, The Addams Family, The Munsters and The Man From UNCLE (click show title for more info) |
See also Celebrity Birthdays 1964
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