1966 (MCMLXVI) was .

Events 
 January 3 – Hullabaloo shows promotional videos of The Beatles songs "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out".
 January 8 – Shindig! airs for the last time on ABC, with musical guests the Kinks and the Who.
 January 12 – Batman debuts on ABC (1966-1968).
 February 23 – Television is first broadcast in Greece when ERT went on the air.
 April 5 – The Money Programme debuts on BBC2 (1966-present).
 June 5 – A taped appearance by The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. The band debuts their music videos for "Rain" and "Paperback Writer".
 June 27 – The first episode of the supernatural soap opera Dark Shadows airs on ABC, introducing Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke) to the viewing audience as she applies for a job at the Collinwood Manor.
 July 1 – First Canadian color television broadcast.
 September – ABC switches to the color standard, meaning that all three US networks are now broadcasting in color regularly.
 September 3 – The last new episode of the television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet airs.
 September 7 – The final episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show airs (the first episode aired on October 3, 1961).
 September 8 – The first episode of Star Trek airs (1966-1969).
 September 12 – The Monkees premieres (1966-1968).
 October 2 – The four-part serial Talking to a Stranger, acclaimed as one of the finest British television dramas of the 1960s, begins transmission in the Theatre 625 strand on BBC2.
 October 27 – It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown airs for the first time on CBS.
 November 16 – Cathy Come Home, possibly the best-known play ever to be broadcast on British television, is transmitted in BBC1's The Wednesday Play anthology strand.

Births 
 February 6 – Rick Astley, British singer
 March 10 – Omer Tarin Pakistani poet, scholar and mystic. 
 April 8 – Robin Wright, American actress
 April 15 – Samantha Fox, British supermodel & singer
 May 3 – Peter Abbay
 May 16 – Janet Jackson, American singer & actress
 June 30 – Mike Tyson professional boxer
 August 3 – Brent Butt, Canadian actor and comedian
 August 7 – Jimmy Wales, American founder of Wikipedia
 September 9 – Adam Sandler, American comedian and actor
 October 2 – Rodney Anoa'i, American professional wrestler (died 2000)
 October 9 — David Cameron, British Prime Minister
 October 11 – Luke Perry, American actor (died 2019)
 December 21 – Kiefer Sutherland, actor

Deaths 
 August 3 – Lenny Bruce
 November 17 – James Jabara, American Air Force pilot

Movies released 
 A Man for All Seasons
 Alfie
 Batman
 The Battle of Algiers Golden Lion winner
 The Birds, the Bees and the Italians Palme d'Or winner
 Blowup
 Chappaqua
 Cul-de-Sac Golden Bear winner
 Follow Me, Boys!
 Frankie and Johnny
 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
 Hawaii
 It Happened Here
 A Man and a Woman Palme d'Or winner
 Morgan!
 Our Man Flint
 Paradise, Hawaiian Style
 The Sand Pebbles
 The Singing Nun
 Spinout
 Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (short subject)
 The Wild Angels

Hit Songs 
"The Sound of Silence" – Simon and Garfunkel
"We Can Work It Out" – The Beatles
"My Love" – Petula Clark
"Lightnin' Strikes" – Lou Christie
"Ballad of the Green Berets" – Sgt. Barry Sadler (the Top Song of 1966, according to Billboard)
"These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" – Nancy Sinatra
"(You're My) Soul and Inspiration'" – Righteous Brothers
"Good Lovin'" – The Young Rascals
"Yellow Submarine" – The Beatles
"Monday Monday" – The Mamas and Papas
"When A Man Loves a Woman" – Percy Sledge
"Paint It Black" – The Rolling Stones
"Paperback Writer" – The Beatles
"Kicks" – Paul Revere & the Raiders
"Gloria" – Shadows of Knight
"Homeward Bound" – Simon and Garfunkel
"I Am a Rock" – Simon and Garfunkel
"Sweet Pea" – Tommy Roe
"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" – Dusty Springfield
"It's a Man's Man's Man's World" – James Brown
"A Groovy Kind of Love" – The Mindbenders
"Along Comes Mary" – The Association
"Red Rubber Ball" – The Cyrkle
"Lil' Red Riding Hood" – Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
"Born Free" – Roger Williams
"Strangers In the Night" – Frank Sinatra
"Wild Thing" – The Troggs
"Summer in the City" – Lovin' Spoonful
"Reach Out I'll Be There" – The Four Tops
"Last Train To Clarksville" – The Monkees
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" – The Supremes
"Summertime" – Billy Stewart
"Winchester Cathedral" – New Vaudeville Band
"Good Vibrations" – The Beach Boys
"Mellow Yellow" – Donovan
"I'm a Believer" – The Monkees
"Snoopy vs. the Red Baron" – The Royal Guardsmen
"That's Life" – Frank Sinatra
"Sugar Town" – Nancy Sinatra
"Tell It Like It Is" – Aaron Neville
"Good Thing" – Paul Revere and the Raiders

New Books 
The Adventurers – Harold Robbins
The Anti-Death League – Kingsley Amis
Capable of Honor – Allen Drury
The Circle Game – Margaret Atwood
The Dartmoor Worker anthology of William Crossing
Der Meteor – Friedrich Dürrenmatt
The Devil's Brigade – Robert H. Adleman
The Double Image – Helen McInnes
The Embezzler – Louis Auchincloss
Expeditions – Margaret Atwood
Fantastic Voyage – Isaac Asimov
The Fixer – Bernard Malamud
In Cold Blood – Truman Capote
Jean de Florette – Marcel Pagnol
Last Picture Show – Larry McMurtry
The Magic Finger – Roald Dahl
Manon des sources – Marcel Pagnol
The Master and Margarita – Mihail Bulgakov
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress – Robert A. Heinlein
Octopussy and The Living Daylights – Ian Fleming
The Soldier's Art – Anthony Powell
The Solid Mandala – Patrick White
Speeches for Doctor Frankenstein – Margaret Atwood
The Sun King – Nancy Mitford
Tai-Pan – James Clavell
Tell No Man – Adela Rogers St. Johns
A Thousand Days – Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
Valley of the Dolls – Jacqueline Susann
Wide Sargasso Sea – Jean Rhys

Nobel Prizes 1966
 The 1966 Nobel Prize in Literature was won by Shmuel Yosef Agnon and Nelly Sachs.
 The 1966 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was won by Peyton Rous and Charles Brenton Huggins.
 The 1966 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was won by Robert S. Mulliken.
 The 1966 Nobel Prize in Physics was won by Alfred Kastler.
 The Nobel Peace Prize was not awarded in 1966.

References