1. Cuba
   Belgium
2. Porkland

In 1961, President Kennedy authorized a group of CIA-trained exiles to infiltrate Cuba in hopes of overthrowing Fidel Castro. The 1,500-strong uprising was a terrible failure and left a lasting stain on the administration.

1. English
   Cuban
2. Brazilian

In 1962, the Kennedy administration learned that the USSR was deploying missiles to Cuba, far too close to American shores for comfort. The U.S. blockaded Cuba and sparked the Cuban missile crisis, which very nearly escalated to war.

1. influenza
   car accident
2. assassination

Like his older brother John, Robert was assassinated. A Palestinian man named Sirhan Sirhan shot and killed Kennedy, who publicly expressed support for Israel.

1. He was killed in a robbery.
   He was sentenced to prison.
2. He was poisoned.

For his part in fighting apartheid and injustice, Mandela was sentenced to life in prison. He served 27 years before finally being released and is still regarded as a hero of civil rights.

1. He publicly humiliated Robert Kennedy.
   He tried to stop two black students from attending class.
2. He slapped Martin Luther King, Jr. at a debate.

Wallace was a pro-segregation fanatic who personally blocked a door at the University of Alabama to stop two black students from entering the building ... in direct opposition to presidential order. He later stood aside.

1. “Star Trek"
   “The Cosby Show"
2. “Family Ties"

On September 8, 1966, the first episode of "Star Trek" aired on television. The show slowly but surely became one of the most powerful entertainment franchises in Hollywood history.

1. They murdered a Soviet spy in public.
   They sat at a lunch counter.
2. They ate Wheaties for breakfast.

The Greensboro Four were four black college students who, in opposition to social norms, opted to sit at a whites-only lunch counter in North Carolina. Their act of defiance helped fuel the Civil Rights movement of the ‘60s.

1. Beatles
   Aerosmith
2. The Carpenters

In March 1963, the Beatles unveiled "Please Please Me," the group’s first album. In short order, they became a cultural touchstone and one of the most influential bands ever.

1. He was shot.
   He was stabbed.
2. He was strangled.

On Feb. 21, 1965, Malcom X was speaking at a rally when members of the Nation of Islam shot him 21 times. His death was just one of multiple high-profile killings during the ‘60s.

1. Mike Tyson
   Muhammad Ali
2. Sonny Liston

On Feb. 25, 1964, Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) beat Sonny Liston in Miami Beach to claim the heavyweight title. Ali became a powerful sports icon and political force during his legendary career.

1. Abraham Lincoln
   Herbert Hoover
2. John Kennedy

In 1963, as John F. Kennedy’s motorcade traveled through Dallas, he was shot and killed by a sniper. JFK’s murder is often regarded as a flashpoint for many of the major events of the ‘60s.

1. Marilyn Monroe
   Cindy Crawford
2. Lena Horne

On August 5, 1962, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her apartment, apparently due to a sleeping pill overdose. She was just 36 years old, and her untimely passing added to the sense of calamity of the ‘60s.

1. Marshall was part of the Watergate Scandal.
   Marshall was black.
2. Marshall was a convicted felon.

Marshall was the first black person ever appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. His success in the nation’s most powerful court was yet another turning point in the Civil Rights movement.

1. Woodstock music festival
   Democratic National Convention
2. Tet Offensive

In August 1969, a music festival ballooned into a massive cultural turning point with 400,000 attendees. Woodstock was a loud, colorful representation of the ‘60s counterculture.

1. Munich
   Berlin
2. Rome

It was a huge moment in world history when the Berlin Wall was torn down in November 1989. It was also a big moment when construction of the wall began on August 13, 1961. The 12-foot high wall stretched 27 miles between East and West Berlin for close to three decades.

1. a technological breakthrough
   a massacre
2. an election

U.S. troops on a Vietnamese search-and-destroy mission descended on a village called My Lai on March 16. The mission went awry and hundreds of civilians were killed during a massacre ... and virtually no one was punished for the atrocity.

1. Vancouver
   Iceland
2. South Africa

On March 21, 1960, a group of black South Africa citizens marched to protest apartheid, a system of segregation. Police responded by murdering 69 people in what became known as the Sharpeville massacre.

1. penicillin
   Viagra
2. birth control pill

In June 1960, the FDA approved the birth control pill. This drug revolutionized family planning and altered sexual activity all over America and played a major role in the culture wars of the era.

1. Omaha
   Los Angeles
2. Tampa Bay

Racial tensions exploded in August 1965. The Watts riots left parts of Los Angeles in ruins, with $40 million in property damage and 34 people dead.

1. "60 Minutes"
   "The Dean Martin Show"
2. "The Ed Sullivan Show"

The Beatles were already famous in the UK before heading across the pond in 1964. A staggering 73 million Americans tuned in to watch the Fab Four sing five songs on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on February 9, 1964. It would be the first of three appearances for the group on the hugely popular variety show.

1. depressed
   peaceful
2. tumultuous

During the ‘60s, America and much of the Western world was roiled by massive social and cultural upheaval. Some of the most iconic events of the 20th century occurred in the ‘60s.

1. Martin Luther King, Jr.
   Robert Kennedy
2. Fidel Castro

During the August 28 Freedom March in Washington D.C., King delivered his now-iconic "I Have a Dream" speech. His rousing speech is still regarded as one of the decade’s most important moments.

1. Jimmy Carter
   Gerald Ford
2. John Kennedy

Televised presidential debates immediately changed the dynamics of elections. John F. Kennedy’s handsomeness and stage presence were perfect for TV, and he became a political star thanks to his performance against Nixon.

1. Stamp Act
   Sugar Act
2. Voting Rights Act

On August 6, 1965, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, which ended racial discrimination at the polls. Some historians call it the most important federal legislation ever enacted.

1. Dodge Charger
   Honda Civic
2. Ford Mustang

Considered an American classic, the Ford Mustang went on display to the public for the first time at the World's Fair on April 17, 1964. Named for a WWII plane style, the pony car was an instant hit. Priced at $2,300 for the most basic models, Ford sold 400,000 units within a year, according to the History Channel.

1. a motel balcony
   at a speech
2. inside the White House

King was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis when he was shot by a sniper. His family is still convinced that his murder was part of a larger conspiracy to stamp out the Civil Rights movement.

1. “March of Crimes"
   “Mangled March"
2. "Bloody Sunday"

On March 7, 1965, police violently broke up a voting rights act in Selma. It became known as "Bloody Sunday," and civil rights leaders pointed to the event as yet another example of American inequality.

1. Jimmy Carter
   Richard Nixon
2. Lyndon Johnson

American voters headed to the polls to pick a President three times during the '60s. John F. Kennedy won the White House in 1960, followed by Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and Richard Nixon in 1968.

1. Push-button phone
   Electric car
2. Car phone

Rotary dial phones came out in 1891 and remained the standard for reaching out and touching someone for 70 years. That all changed on November 18, 1963, when Bell Telephone introduced the first commercial push-button phones to customers in the Pennsylvania market.

1. Mexico
   Russia
2. China

After causing 30 million to die of starvation under his Great Leap Forward plan, Chinese leader Mao Zedong launched his Cultural Revolution in 1966. By the time it ended in 1969, this plan to perpetuate Communist rule in China had taken as many as 2 million lives.

1. Vietnam War
   CIA experiments
2. first Rolling Stones concert

As the Vietnam War dragged on, President Johnson authorized Operation Rolling Thunder, a major escalation in bombing runs. The operation ended with hundreds of dead pilots and more than 180,000 dead North Vietnamese civilians.

1. Eurasian Trench
   Mariana Trench
2. Bermuda Trench

The Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean in the deepest spot within the world's oceans. On January 23, 1960, two men in a submersible traveled to the very bottom, some 35,800 feet below the surface of the water.

1. laser
   lead-acid battery
2. MP3

In 1960, Maiman built the world’s first laser. Lasers have had a major impact on everything from communications to surgery and a whole lot more, making them one of the 20th century's most important innovations.

1. Kansas City Chiefs
   Pittsburgh Steelers
2. New England Patriots

The first Super Bowl found the Packers facing off against the Chiefs. The Packers won 35-10 and started a run of long success. The Chiefs, on the other hand, never made it back to the big game.

1. True
2. False

It’s true, email started in 1969. The first message was sent from a computer at UCLA to another terminal at Stanford University.

1. John Glenn
   Neil Armstrong
2. Buzz Aldrin
   Michael Collins

In 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Armstrong walked on the surface of the moon. Command Module Pilot Michael Collins was also part of this iconic Apollo 11 mission, but stayed on board the vessel while his colleagues left historic footprints in lunar soil.

1. The economy was booming.
   The economy was at a standstill.
2. A major recession hit the world.

The '50s were a time of slow economic growth. But by the end of the ‘60s, a boom was occurring, as the gross domestic product increased by about 6% annually.

1. Batman
   Spider-Man
2. Hulk

Stan Lee's first Spider-Man comic appeared in issue #15 of the anthology "Amazing Fantasy" in August 1962. The web-slinging hero got his own comic book series the next year, and continues to appear on TV, in films and in print to this day.

1. first space telescope
   first artificial satellite
2. first manned moon landing

On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 put two American astronauts on the moon. It was the first time in history that humans set foot on another celestial object.

1. Patsy Cline
   Jimmy Hendrix
2. Nat King Cole

The world lost a lot of beloved figures during the '60s, including crooners Patsy Cline, Nat King Cole, Otis Reading and Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones. Jimmy Hendrix survived the decade, but tragically died at the age of 27 in September 1970.