1965 in the United States

1965 in the United States
Events from the year 1965 in the United States.
Incumbents
Federal government
President: Lyndon B. Johnson (D-Texas)
Vice President: vacant (until January 20), Hubert Humphrey (D-Minnesota) (starting January 20)
Chief Justice: Earl Warren (California)
Speaker of the House of Representatives: John William McCormack (D-Massachusetts)
Senate Majority Leader: Mike Mansfield (D-Montana)
Congress: 88th (until January 3), 89th (starting January 3)
Events
January
January 1 – The ship S.S. Catala is driven onto the beach in Ocean Shores, Washington, stranding her.
January 4 – President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaims his "Great Society" during his State of the Union Address.
January 19 – The uncrewed Gemini 2 is launched on a suborbital test of various spacecraft systems.
January 20 – President Lyndon B. Johnson begins his full term. Hubert Humphrey is sworn in as Vice President of the United States.
February
February 3 – The 8.7 Rat Islands earthquake affected southwest Alaska with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong), causing a tsunami that was destructive at Amchitka.
February 20 – Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon, after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts.
February 21 – Malcolm X is assassinated in Manhattan.
February 22 – A new, revised, color production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella airs on CBS. Lesley Ann Warren makes her TV debut in the title role. The show becomes an annual tradition.
March
March 2 – The Sound of Music premieres at the Rivoli Theater in New York City.
March 7 – Bloody Sunday: Some 200 Alabama State Troopers clash with 525 civil rights demonstrators in Selma, Alabama. No one was killed in the clash.
March 8 – Vietnam War: Some 3,500 United States Marines arrive in South Vietnam, becoming the first American combat troops in Vietnam.
March 9 – The second attempt to march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr., stops at the bridge that was the site of Bloody Sunday, to hold a prayer service and return to Selma, in obedience to a court restraining order. White supremacists beat up white Unitarian Universalist minister James J. Reeb later that day in Selma.
March 11 – White Unitarian Universalist minister James J. Reeb, beaten by White supremacists in Selma, Alabama on March 9 following the second march from Selma, dies in a hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.
March 15 – President Lyndon B. Johnson makes his "We Shall Overcome" speech.
March 16 – Police clash with 600 marchers from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Montgomery, Alabama.
March 17
In Montgomery, Alabama, 1,600 civil rights marchers demonstrate at the Courthouse.
In response to the events of March 7 and 9 in Selma, Alabama, President Johnson sends a bill to Congress that forms the basis for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It is passed by the Senate on May 26, the House on July 10, and signed into law by President Johnson on August 6.
March 18 – A United States federal judge rules that the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) has the lawful right to march to Montgomery, Alabama to petition for 'redress of grievances'.
March 19 – The wreck of the SS Georgiana, reputed to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser ever built and owned by the real Rhett Butler, is discovered off the Isle of Palms, South Carolina, by teenage diver E. Lee Spence, exactly 102 years after she was sunk with a million-dollar cargo while attempting to run past the Union blockade into Charleston.
March 21
Ranger program: NASA launches Ranger 9, which is the last in a series of uncrewed lunar space probes.
Martin Luther King Jr. leads 3,200 Civil rights activists in the third march from Selma, Alabama, to the capitol in Montgomery.
March 23 – Gemini 3: NASA launches the United States' first 2-person crew (Gus Grissom, John Young) into Earth orbit.
March 25 – Martin Luther King Jr. and 25,000 civil rights activists successfully end the four-day march from Selma, Alabama, to the capitol in Montgomery.
March 30 – Funeral services are held for Detroit homemaker Viola Liuzzo, who was shot dead by four Klansmen as she drove marchers back to Selma at night after the civil rights march.
March
The Negro Family: The Case For National Action government report issued.
First African American Playboy Playmate, model Jennifer Jackson.
April
April 3 – The world's first space nuclear power reactor, SNAP-10A, is launched by the United States from Vandenberg AFB, California. The reactor operated for 43 days and remains in high Earth orbit.
April 5 – At the 37th Academy Awards, George Cukor's My Fair Lady wins 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Cukor. Rex Harrison wins an Oscar for Best Actor. Robert Stevenson's Mary Poppins takes home 5 Oscars out of 13 nominations. Julie Andrews wins an Academy Award for Best Actress, for her portrayal in the lead role. Sherman Brothers receives 2 Oscars including Best Song, "Chim Chim Cher-ee". The ceremony is hosted by Bob Hope at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.
April 9
In Houston, Texas, the Harris County Domed Stadium (more commonly known as the Astrodome) opens.
Charlie Brown and the Peanuts Gang appear on the cover of Time.
The 100th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War is observed.
April 11 – The Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965: An estimated 51 tornadoes (47 confirmed) hit in 6 Midwestern states, killing between 256 and 271 people and injuring some 1,500 more.
April 14 – In Cold Blood killers Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, convicted of murdering 4 members of the Herbert Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas, are executed by hanging at the Kansas State Penitentiary for Men in Lansing, Kansas.
April 17 – The first SDS march against the Vietnam War draws 25,000 protestors to Washington, DC.
April 21 – The New York World's Fair in Flushing Meadows reopens.
April 25 – Sixteen-year-old sniper Michael Clark kills 3 and wounds others, shooting at cars from a hilltop along Highway 101 just south of Orcutt, California. Clark kills himself as police rush the hilltop.
April 28 – U.S. troops are sent to the Dominican Republic by President Lyndon B. Johnson, "for the stated purpose of protecting U.S. citizens and preventing an alleged Communist takeover of the country", thus thwarting the possibility of "another Cuba".
April 29 – 8 The 6.7 Puget Sound earthquake affected western Washington with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), causing seven deaths and $12.5–28 million in financial losses in the Puget Sound region.
May
May 5 – Forty men burn their draft cards at the University of California, Berkeley, and a coffin is marched to the Berkeley Draft Board.
May 6 – A tornado outbreak near the Twin Cities in Minnesota kills 13 and injures 683.
May 7 – The U.S. Steel freighter collides with the SS Topdalsfjord and sinks near the Mackinac Bridge, killing 25 of those on board. Ten are rescued from the Cedarville, the 3rd largest lake ship to sink after its sister the , and the .
May 21 – The largest teach-in to date begins at Berkeley, California, attended by 30,000.
May 22 – The first skateboard championship is held. In addition, several hundred Vietnam War protesters in Berkeley, CA, march to the Draft Board again to burn 19 more cards. Lyndon Johnson is hanged in effigy.
May 31 – Scottish racing driver Jim Clark wins the Indianapolis 500, and later wins the Formula One world driving championship in the same year.
June
June 1 – Florida International University is founded in Miami.
June 3 – Gemini 4: Astronaut Ed White makes the first U.S. space walk.
June 16 – A planned anti-war protest at The Pentagon becomes a teach-in, with demonstrators distributing 50,000 leaflets in and around the building.
June 25 – A U.S. Air Force Boeing C135-A bound for Okinawa crashes just after takeoff at MCAS El Toro in Orange County, California, killing all 85 on board.
June 28 – The DeFeo family moves from Brooklyn, New York, to 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, Long Island, New York. The murder of all but one of the DeFeos nine years later, on November 13, 1974, by the oldest son, Ronald/Ronnie "Butch" DeFeo Jr., and the subsequent claims of a haunting at 112 Ocean Avenue by the Lutz family, would lead to The Amityville Horror franchise of books and movies.
July
July 13
Environmental Science Services Administration created (combining Coast & Geodetic Survey and Weather Bureau)
Weather Bureau part of Environmental Science Services Administration.
July 14 – U.S. spacecraft Mariner 4 flies by Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to return images from the Red Planet.
July 20 – Rock musician Bob Dylan's influential single "Like a Rolling Stone" is released by Columbia Records.
July 25 – Electric Dylan controversy: Bob Dylan elicits controversy among folk purists by "going electric" at the Newport Folk Festival.
July 28 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his order to increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000, and to double the number of men drafted per month from 17,000 to 35,000.
July 30 – War on Poverty: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.
August
August 6 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law, outlawing literacy tests and other discriminatory voting practices that have been responsible for widespread disfranchisement of African Americans.
August 9 – An explosion at an Arkansas missile plant kills 53.
August 11 – The Watts Riots begin in Los Angeles, California.
August 13 – The rock group Jefferson Airplane debuts at the Matrix in San Francisco, California and begins to appear there regularly.
August 15 – The Beatles perform the first stadium concert in the history of rock, playing at Shea Stadium in New York City.
August 18 – Vietnam War – Operation Starlite: 5,500 United States Marines destroy a Viet Cong stronghold on the Van Tuong peninsula in Quang Ngai Province, in the first major American ground battle of the war. The Marines were tipped off by a Viet Cong deserter who said that there was an attack planned against the U.S. base at Chu Lai.
August 20 – Jonathan Myrick Daniels, an Episcopal seminarian from Keene, New Hampshire, is murdered in Hayneville, Alabama while working in the American civil rights movement.
August 21 – Gemini 5 (Gordon Cooper, Pete Conrad) is launched on the first 1-week flight, as well as the first test of fuel cells for electrical power.
August 26 – President Johnson announces an end to the draft deferment for newly married men. Effective at midnight, all men who are not married will remain eligible for the draft regardless of their marital status.
August 28 – The first Subway opens in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
August 30
Rock musician Bob Dylan releases his influential album Highway 61 Revisited, featuring the song "Like a Rolling Stone."
Casey Stengel announces his retirement after 55 years in baseball.
September
September 1 – WTWO begins broadcasting in Terre Haute, Indiana.
September 7 – Vietnam War: In a follow-up to August's Operation Starlite, United States Marines and South Vietnamese forces initiate Operation Piranha on the Batangan Peninsula, 23 miles south of the Chu Lai Marine base.
September 9
Sandy Koufax pitches a perfect game in a baseball match against the Chicago Cubs. The opposing pitcher, Bob Hendley, allows only 1 run, which is unearned.
Hurricane Betsy roars ashore near New Orleans, Louisiana with winds of 145 MPH, causing 76 deaths and $1.42 billion in damage. The storm is the first hurricane to cause $1 billion in unadjusted damages, giving it the nickname "Billion Dollar Betsy". It is the last major hurricane to strike New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina 40 years later.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) begins operation.
September 14 – The infamous "bad sitcom" My Mother The Car premieres on NBC.
September 18 – The first ever Mr. Olympia bodybuilding competition is held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City and is won by Larry Scott.
September 25 – The Tom & Jerry cartoon series makes its world broadcast premiere on CBS.
September 28 – Fidel Castro announces that anyone who wants to can emigrate to the United States.
October
October 3 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs an immigration bill which abolishes quotas based on national origin.
October 4
Pope Paul VI visits the United States. He appears for a Mass in Yankee Stadium and makes a speech at the United Nations.
The University of California, Irvine opens its doors.
October 7 – Seven Japanese fishing boats are sunk off Guam by super typhoon Carmen; 209 are killed.
October 9 – Yale University presents the Vinland map.
October 10 – The first group of Cuban refugees travels to the U.S.
October 14 – The Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Minnesota Twins, 4 games to 3, to win their 4th World Series Title.
October 15 – Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War: The Catholic Worker Movement stages an anti-war protest in Manhattan. One protestor who carries out a draft-card burning, David J. Miller, is arrested, the first under the new amendment to the Military Selective Service Act.
October 16 – Anti-war protests draw 100,000 in 80 U.S. cities and around the world.
October 17 – The New York World's Fair at Flushing Meadows, New York, closes. Due to financial losses, some of the projected site park improvements fail to materialize.
October 26 – Police discover the body of Sylvia Likens in Indianapolis, Indiana.
October 28 – In St. Louis, Missouri, the 630-foot-tall parabolic steel Gateway Arch is completed.
October 29 – An 80-kiloton nuclear device is detonated at Amchitka Island, Alaska as part of the Vela Uniform program, code-named Project Long Shot.
October 30
Vietnam War: Near Da Nang, United States Marines repel an intense attack by Viet Cong forces, killing 56 guerrillas. Among the dead, a sketch of Marine positions is found on the body of a 13-year-old Vietnamese boy who sold drinks to the Marines the day before.
In Washington, D.C., a pro-Vietnam War march draws 25,000.
November
November 2
Quaker Norman Morrison sets himself on fire outside the Pentagon to protest United States involvement in the Vietnam War.
Liberal Republican John Lindsay is elected mayor of New York City.
November 6 – Freedom Flights begin: Cuba and the United States formally agree to start an airlift for Cubans who want to go to the United States (by 1971 250,000 Cubans take advantage of this program).
November 7 – The Pillsbury Company's mascot, the Pillsbury Doughboy, is created.
November 8
Vietnam War: During Operation Hump, medic Lawrence Joel becomes the first African American since the Spanish–American War to receive the United States Medal of Honor.
American Airlines Flight 383 crashes on approach to Cincinnati, killing 58 of 62 people on board.
The soap opera Days of Our Lives debuts on NBC.
November 9
Northeast Blackout of 1965: Several U.S. states (Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and portions of New Jersey) and parts of Canada are hit by a series of blackouts lasting up to 13½ hours.
Vietnam War: In New York City, 22-year-old Catholic Worker Movement member Roger Allen LaPorte sets himself on fire in front of the United Nations building in protest of the war.
November 14 – Vietnam War: Battle of the Ia Drang – In the Ia Drang Valley of the Central Highlands in Vietnam, the first major engagement of the war between regular United States and North Vietnamese forces begins.
November 15 – U.S. racer Craig Breedlove sets a new land speed record of 600.601 mph on Bonneville Salt Flats.
November 22 – Man of La Mancha opens in a Greenwich Village theatre in New York City and eventually becomes one of the greatest musical hits of all time, winning a Tony Award for its star, Richard Kiley.
November 27
Tens of thousands of Vietnam War protesters picket the White House, then march on the Washington Monument.
Vietnam War: The Pentagon tells U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson that if planned major sweep operations to neutralize Viet Cong forces during the next year are to succeed, the number of American troops in Vietnam will have to be increased from 120,000 to 400,000.
November 28 – Vietnam War: In response to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson's call for "more flags" in Vietnam, Philippines President-elect Ferdinand Marcos announces he will send troops to help fight in South Vietnam.
November 30 – Ralph Nader's book Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile is published.
December
December 9 – A Charlie Brown Christmas, the first Peanuts television special, debuts on CBS. It becomes a Christmas tradition.
December 15 – Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 perform the first controlled rendezvous in Earth orbit.
December 17 – The British government begins an oil embargo against Rhodesia; the United States joins the effort.
December 21 – A new, 1-hour German-American production of The Nutcracker, with an international cast that includes Edward Villella in the title role, makes its U.S. TV debut. It is repeated annually by CBS over the next 3 years, but after that, it is virtually forgotten.
Undated
Jenny and Sylvia Likens are left in the care of Indianapolis housewife Gertrude Baniszewski. Sylvia is found dead and mutilated 3 months later.
Tokyo officially becomes the largest city in the world, taking the lead from New York City.
Ongoing
Cold War (1947–1991)
Space Race (1957–1975)
Vietnam War, U.S. involvement (1964–1973)
Births
January 1
Billiam van Roestenberg, political activist, former model, philanthropist, and organic farmer
Terri Sewell, African-American lawyer and politician
John A. Sullivan, real estate agent and politician
Andrew Valmon, runner and coach
January 2
Curt Hagman, Mayor of Chino Hills
Greg Swindell, baseball player and coach
January 3 – Sharrie Williams, blues and gospel singer-songwriter
January 4 – Rick Hearst, actor
January 5 – Ricky Paull Goldin, actor
January 6 – Cynthia Dill, lawyer, Member of the Maine Senate from the 7th District
January 7
Matthew Levatich, businessman, president of Harley-Davidson
John Ondrasik (Five for Fighting), singer-songwriter
January 8 – Maria Pitillo, actress
January 9 – Jamie Callender, politician, member of the Ohio House of Representatives
January 10 – Butch Hartman, animator, writer, producer, director, voice actor, and YouTuber
January 11 – Mark Halperin, journalist
January 13
Rod Rosenstein, officeholder (Deputy Attorney General) and lawyer
Kevin Samuels, Internet personality and image consultant (died 2022)
January 17 – Jim Holt (Arkansas politician), American politician, Arkansas House of Representatives
January 19 – J. B. Pritzker, businessman, philanthropist, politician, and the 43rd governor of Illinois
January 21 – Michele Ruiz, entrepreneur
January 22 – Diane Lane, actress
January 24
Mike Awesome, professional wrestler (d. 2007)
William Derrough, investment banker
January 26 – Kevin McCarthy, 55th Speaker of the House
January 27 – Tim Chambers, college baseball coach (died 2019)
January 28 – Robert von Dassanowsky, academic, writer, poet, film and cultural historian and producer
January 30 – Julie McCullough, actress
January 31
Cindy Ambuehl, actress
John L. Brownlee, attorney
Peter Sagal, NPR host
February 2 – Cady Huffman, actress
February 3
Kathleen Kinmont, actress, producer and screenwriter
Maura Tierney, actress and producer
February 4
Jerome Brown, American football player (died 1992)
Julianne Buescher, actress and voice actress
February 5 – Ken LaCorte, executive at Fox News Channel
February 6
Jim Christian, basketball coach
Dana Eskelson, television actress
February 7 – Chris Rock, African-American comedian and actor
February 9
Michael Brandon, gay pornographic actor and director
Stephin Merritt, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
February 10 – David Aldridge, writer
February 13 – Andy Buckley, actor
February 14 – Donald DeGrood, Roman Catholic bishop
February 19
Clark Hunt, CEO of the Kansas City Chiefs
Jon Fishman, drummer
February 20
Matt Bartle, politician
Ron Eldard, actor
February 21 – Shawn Slocum, American football coach
February 22
Chris Dudley, basketball player and politician
Dean Karr, director and photographer
Pat LaFontaine, ice hockey player
February 23
Kristin Davis, actress
Michael Dell, computer manufacturer
February 24 – Jane Swift, executive, former governor of Massachusetts
February 26 – Tim Armstead, Republican politician and jurist from West Virginia
March 1 – Booker T, pro wrestler
March 2 – Ron Gant, news anchor
March 3 – Tom Brower, politician
March 4 – Stacy Edwards, actress
March 5 – Kathleen Delaney, actress
March 6 – Lora Leigh, novelist
March 7 – E. E. Knight, science fiction writer
March 8 – Kenny Smith, basketball player
March 9 – Benito Santiago, baseball player
March 10
Randy Weiner, playwright, producer and theater and nightclub owner
Rod Woodson, American football player
March 11
Jesse Jackson Jr., African-American politician
Wallace Langham, actor
Andy Sturmer, musician, singer, songwriter, and composer
March 12 – Steve Finley, baseball player
March 13 – Gigi Rice, actress
March 14 – Kevin Brown, baseball player
March 15 – Carl J. Artman, politician
March 16 – Angela Taylor, athlete and collegiate coach
March 17 – George Hinkle, American football player
March 18 – Shannon Grove, politician
March 19
Joseph D. Kucan, video game developer
Jeff Pidgeon, animator and voice actor
March 22 – Rick Harrison, businessman
March 24 – The Undertaker, professional wrestler and actor
March 25
Avery Johnson, basketball player and coach
Sarah Jessica Parker, actress
March 30 – Juliet Landau, actress and producer
March 31
Steve Bing, businessman, philanthropist and film producer (suicide 2020)
William McNamara, film actor
April 1 – Mark Jackson, basketball coach
April 2 – Rodney King, convicted criminal and police brutality victim (died 2012)
April 4 – Robert Downey Jr., actor and producer
April 7 – Bill Bellamy, actor and comedian
April 8 – Erika Cosby, painter
April 12
Tom O'Brien, actor-producer
Jonathan Fahn, voice actor
April 14 – Kirk Windstein, musician
April 16
Jon Cryer, actor, comedian and television director
Martin Lawrence, African-American actor, comedian, and producer
April 17 – William Mapother, actor
April 23 – Tommy DeCarlo, singer and songwriter
April 25 – Eric Avery, musician
April 28 – Karl Logan, musician
May 3 – Mary L. Trump, psychologist and author
May 9 – Lisa Colagrossi, journalist (died 2015)
May 13
Tim Chapman, bounty hunter
Lari White, country singer (died 2018)
May 16 – Krist Novoselic, rock bassist (Nirvana)
May 19 – Maile Flanagan, actress
May 20 – Ted Allen, author and television personality
Billy Donovan, basketball coach
May 27 – Todd Bridges, actor and comedian
May 31 – DJ Casper, musician (died 2023)
June 2 – Jim Knipfel, journalist and author
June 3
Jeff Blumenkrantz, actor and composer
Mike Gordon, rock singer, bass player and director
Mike Shula, American football coach
June 7 – Mick Foley, pro wrestler
June 8
Chris Chavis ("Tatanka"), professional wrestler
Frank Grillo, American actor
Kevin Farley, American actor
Kevin Ritz, American baseball pitcher
June 10 – Scott Graham, sportscaster
June 11 – Pamela Gidley, actress and model (died 2018)
June 16 – Andrea M. Ghez, astronomer, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2020
June 21 – Michael Dolan, theatre and film actor, director and educator
June 22
Just-Ice, rapper
J. J. Cohen, actor
June 23 – Sylvia Mathews Burwell, government
June 24 – Chris Barnes, child actor
June 26 – Randy Hembrey, Road Racing director
June 28 – Sonny Strait, voice actor and director
June 30
Mitch Richmond, basketball player
Bobby Vitale, pornographic actor
July 1 – Tom Hodges, actor and film producer
July 4
Horace Grant, basketball player
Harvey Grant, basketball player
Jay Crawford, sports journalist
July 7
Sam Holbrook, baseball player and umpire
Karen Malina White, actress
July 8
Lee Tergesen, actor
Corey Parker, actor and coach
July 10 – Alec Mapa, actor, comedian and writer
July 15
Scott Livingstone, baseball player
Bobby Gustafson, guitarist
July 16
Billy Mitchell, video game player
Daryl Mitchell, African-American actor
Sherri Stoner, actress, producer, and screenwriter
July 18
Michael Sharrett, actor
Jim Bob Duggar, real estate agent, politician, and television personality
July 19
Clea Lewis, actress and singer
Stuart Scott, sports reporter and ESPN anchor (died 2015)
July 20 – Anthony Shriver, activist
July 21 – Tom Gulager, actor
July 22 – Shawn Michaels, professional wrestler and actor
July 24
Brian Blades, National Football League wide receiver
Kadeem Hardison, actor and director
Doug Liman, director and producer
July 25 – Illeana Douglas, actress and producer
August 11
Viola Davis, African-American actress
Duane Martin, actor
Embeth Davidtz, American actress
August 13 – Deborah Falconer, actress
August 14 – Terry Richardson, fashion photographer
August 15 – Rob Thomas, author, producer, director and screenwriter
August 17 – David McCormick, politician and businessman
August 18 – Bob Harper, personal trainer and author
August 19
Kevin Dillon, actor
Kyra Sedgwick, actress
August 24
Dee Harvey, R&B singer (died 2012)
Reggie Miller, basketball player and commentator
August 26 – Bobby Duncum Jr., American professional wrestler (died 2000)
August 27
Lynn Shelton, filmmaker (died 2020)
Scott Dibble, politician and activist
LeRoy Homer Jr., airline pilot (died 2001)
September 9
Dan Majerle, basketball player
Charles Esten, actor
Constance Marie, actress
September 11 – Paul Heyman, wrestling promoter, ECW<ref"></ref>
September 13 – Jeff Ross, stand-up comedian, writer, and actor
September 18 – Tim Scott, U.S. Senator from South Carolina from 2013
September 28 – Scott Fellows, animator
September 30
Kathleen Madigan, comedian
Daron Norwood, country singer (died 2015)
October 1 – J. Paul Oetken, judge
October 4
John Melendez, television announcer
Micky Ward, boxer
October 6 – Steve Scalise, House majority whip and U.S. Representative of Louisiana's 1st district
October 10 – Chris Penn, actor (died 2006)
October 11
Bobby Wayne Woods, convicted murderer, kidnapper and rapist (died 2009)
Julianne McNamara, artistic gymnast
October 13 – Bill Odenkirk, comedy writer
October 18 – Curtis Stigers, jazz vocalist and saxophonist
October 27 – Chad Larson American-Canadian rock guitarist
November 5 – Atul Gawande, surgeon and writer
November 6 – Greg Graffin, rock singer (Bad Religion)
November 12 – Lex Lang, voice actor and director
November 13 – Kurt Marshall, model and actor (died 1988)
November 20 – Mike D, rapper (Beastie Boys)
November 21 – Bill Oberst Jr., actor
November 22 – Wendy Moten, singer
November 23 – Don Frye, professional wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter
November 25
Tim Armstrong, singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
Cris Carter, American football player
November 30 – Ben Stiller, actor, screenwriter, film director and producer, son of Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, brother of Amy Stiller and spouse of Christine Taylor
December 2 – Dan Gauthier, actor
December 4 – Veronica Taylor, voice actress
December 10 – J Mascis, rock singer, guitarist and drummer
December 12 – Russell Batiste Jr., funk and R&B drummer (died 2023)
December 14
Madeline Amy Sweeney, flight attendant (died 2001)
Craig Biggio, baseball player
Ted Raimi, actor, producer and writer
December 15 –Ted Slampyak, comic strip cartoonist
December 22 – Lee Rogers Berger American-born explorer and paleoanthropologist
December 23 – Martin Kratt, zoologist and educational nature show host
December 30
Heidi Fleiss, madam
Kelli Maroney, actress
December 31
Nicholas Sparks, author
Deaths
January 12 – Lorraine Hansberry, African American playwright and writer (born 1930)
January 14 – Jeanette MacDonald, actress and singer (born 1903)
January 20 – Alan Freed, disc jockey (born 1922)
February 5 – Irving Bacon, actor (born 1893)
February 11 – Loyal Blaine Aldrich, astronomer (born 1884)
February 15 – Nat King Cole, singer and musician (born 1919)
February 19
Forrest Taylor, actor (born 1883)
Tom Wilson, actor (born 1880)
February 21 – Malcolm X, African American Muslim minister and human rights activist (born 1925)
March 14 – Marion Jones Farquhar, tennis player (born 1879)
March 17 – Quentin Reynolds, journalist (born 1902)
March 25 – Wolfgang Klemperer, Austrian American scientist and engineer (born 1893 in Germany)
March 30 – Philip Showalter Hench, physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1950 (born 1896)
June 2 – Nannie Doss, serial killer (born 1905)
July 14 – Adlai Stevenson II, politician (born 1900)
August – Robert P. Braddicks, New York City businessman (born 1882)
August 31 – E. E. "Doc" Smith, science-fiction writer (born 1890)
October 1 – Anton Boisen, founder of the clinical pastoral education movement (born 1876)
October 2 – Nicky Arnstein, professional gambler and con artist, married to Fanny Brice (born 1879)
October 26 – Sylvia Likens, murder victim (born 1949)
November 18 – Henry A. Wallace, 33rd vice president of the United States from 1941 to 1945 (born 1888)
December 5
Mary Dailey, baseball player (born 1928)
Joseph Erlanger, physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1874)
December 9 – Dutch Sterrett, baseball player (born 1889)
December 20 – Allen Easter Ericson Weatherford, university professor of physical education (born 1907)
December 28 – Lynn Thorndike, historian of medieval science and alchemy (born 1882)
See also
List of American films of 1965
Timeline of United States history (1950–1969)
References
External links
1960s in the United States
United States
United States
Years of the 20th century in the United States