Mao Zedong appeared before roughly a million Red Guards massed in Tiananmen Square, one of several mass rallies that helped ignite the Cultural Revolution's fury.

NBC aired the first episode of Star Trek, launching a franchise that would reshape science fiction and popular culture for generations.

Gemini 11 launched with Pete Conrad and Richard Gordon aboard, achieving a record altitude and a first tethered spacewalk maneuver.

Hendrik Verwoerd, architect of apartheid as South Africa's prime minister, was stabbed to death in parliament by Dimitri Tsafendas, a parliamentary messenger.

NBC aired the first episode of Star Trek, 'The Man Trap,' launching a science-fiction franchise that would influence culture, technology, and space exploration for generations.

NBC aired the first episode of Star Trek, launching a franchise that reshaped science fiction and popular culture for generations.

The Bechuanaland Protectorate becomes the independent Republic of Botswana, with Seretse Khama as its first president.

The mountain kingdom of Lesotho, formerly the British protectorate of Basutoland, achieved full independence with Moshoeshoe II as king.

A powerful earthquake devastated Tashkent, capital of Soviet Uzbekistan, destroying much of the old city but killing relatively few thanks to early morning timing.

The mountain kingdom of Lesotho became fully independent from Britain, emerging as a sovereign constitutional monarchy entirely surrounded by South Africa.

The Soviet Luna 12 probe entered lunar orbit and began photographing the Moon's surface in unprecedented detail, feeding Cold War competition to map landing sites.

Indira Gandhi's Congress government pushed forward major state reorganization efforts in India amid growing political turbulence during her first year as prime minister.

Gemini 12 splashed down safely in the Atlantic, closing out NASA's Gemini program and proving spacewalking techniques essential for the coming Apollo missions.

Barbados becomes a fully independent nation within the Commonwealth, ending over three centuries of British colonial rule in the Caribbean island.

Maulana Karenga and followers held the earliest Kwanzaa gatherings in Los Angeles, launching a week-long African American cultural holiday rooted in seven communal principles.