Do You Know These Famous Events of 1969?

Samuel Beckett, the author of legendary theatrical works such as "Waiting for Godot" (1953) and "Endgame" (1957), took home the Nobel Prize for literature in 1969. Though born in Ireland, Beckett wrote his works primarily in both French and English. Upon receiving the award, the novelist declined a trip to the ceremony in Stockholm in an effort to avoid public speaking.

At the 1969 ceremony, presenter Ingrid Bergman opened the Best Actress envelope and announced that it was a tie, much to the audience’s surprise. She first called Katharine Hepburn’s name, followed by Barbra Streisand’s. Hepburn won the award for her performance in "The Lion in Winter," and Streisand took home the honor for portraying Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl."

Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 1898, Golda Meir set roots in Palestine in 1921 and was a signatory of the Israeli Declaration of Independence. She then served as the new state's labor and foreign minister before becoming its first female prime minister in 1969, earning a reputation as Israel’s "Iron Lady.”

On January 12, 1969, the AFL’s New York Jets and the NFL’s Baltimore Colts faced off in Super Bowl III. After guaranteeing his team would win, Jets quarterback Joe Namath went on to back up his bold claim, leading the Jets to a 16-7 victory over the heavily favored Colts. This marked the first time that an NFL team lost the big game, and it helped shake off the AFL's "little league" reputation.

Though the Concorde wouldn't cross the Atlantic until September 26, 1973, the world's first supersonic passenger-carrying commercial plane made its maiden test flight on March 2, 1969. The Concorde had a maximum speed of Mach 2.04, which is more than twice the speed of sound. Though it significantly reduced travel time between New York and London, the Concorde ceased operations in 2003.

The predecessor to the internet didn't start off smoothly. At 10:30 p.m. on October 29, 1969, programmer Charley Kline tried to log in to Stanford's host from UCLA. He typed in "L" and "O," which were both received on the other end, but when he tried to enter the "G," the system crashed.

Nominated by President Richard Nixon to replace Chief Justice Earl Warren, Warren Burger faced little opposition and was confirmed nearly unanimously. During his 17-year tenure, Burger presided over the historic Roe v. Wade, Miller v. California, and United States v. Nixon decisions. The justice retired in 1986 to help lead 1987’s bicentennial celebrations for the Constitution.

CBS premiered its animated comedy "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" on September 13, 1969. The debut episode featured Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby of Mystery Inc. investigating an archaeologist's disappearance and a live suit of armor. These classic hijinks set the stage for what has now been more than 50 years of mysteries and unmaskings.

The United States Air Force spent 17 years from 1952 to 1969 officially investigating UFOs. A total of 12,618 UFO sightings were reported to Project Blue Book, of which 701 were left "unidentified." Despite that, the Air Force's report stated that no known UFO was a threat to national security and none showed any evidence of being piloted by aliens.

Starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" was the highest-grossing movie of 1969, making more than $100 million at the box office. The Wild West thriller was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four: Best Writing, Best Cinematography, Best Music, Original Score, and Best Music

On June 28, 1969, New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in Greenwich Village. The raid sparked riotous protests in and around the bar for six days, helping serve as a catalyst for the expansion of the gay rights movement. In 2016, President Barack Obama declared the Stonewall Inn and its surrounding area as a national monument to honor the location's history.

In 1969, the Montreal Expos were founded and joined the MLB's National League East division. That year's first Expos home game was also the first MLB game played outside the U.S., and Montreal topped the St. Louis Cardinals 8-7. Unfortunately, the team's success couldn't last forever, and waning attendance ultimately led to the franchise moving stateside and becoming the Washington Nationals.

At 4:17 p.m. ET on July 20, 1969, Apollo 11's lunar command module, the Eagle, touched down on the southwestern edge of the Moon's Sea of Tranquility. Neil Armstrong radioed mission control the famous, world-changing message, "The Eagle has landed." A few hours later, Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the lunar surface, did some experiments, and then headed home as legends in space history.

On January 30, 1969, The Beatles gave their final public performance from the top of the roof of their Apple Corps headquarters in London, England. The band played a 42-minute set before the Metropolitan Police asked them to turn down the volume. Footage from the performance would later appear in the 1970 documentary film "Let It Be," but the Beatles would never perform for a public audience again.

In August 1969, a farm in Bethel, New York held the first Woodstock festival. For three days, more than 400,000 people flocked to the rural region to watch musicians like Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, and Janis Joplin. In posters, the festival was called "An Aquarian Exposition," referring to the Age of Aquarius, the new age, hippie movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s.

The Official Languages Act of 1969 made English and French the official languages of Canada. As such, all governmental rules, laws, and publications have to be released in both languages. The act was one of the cornerstones of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's government and helped boost the federal employment of Canada's Francophone citizens.

In November 1969, leaders from the United States and the Soviet Union met in Helsinki, Finland for formal negotiations in the first of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT). Aimed at reducing the number of missiles at the world's disposal, SALT resulted in a 1972 treaty. That agreement helped slow the mass stockpiling of nuclear weapons and cooled off some of the Cold War's tensions.

Shortly after their wedding on March 20, 1969, Beatles member John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, spent a week in bed at a hotel in Amsterdam to promote world peace. The pair followed it up with yet another bed-in at a hotel in Montreal in May of that year, during which Lennon wrote the song "Give Peace a Chance."

On July 1, 1969, Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son, Charles, was formally declared Prince of Wales in a coronation ceremony at Caernarfon Castle. During the ceremony, Charles — who is now King Charles III — was presented with a symbolic sword, coronet, ring, rod, and mantle. The coronation was broadcast in color, which was still relatively new at the time, and attracted 500 million viewers around the world.

Astronaut Neil Armstrong made history in 1969 when he became the first person to walk on the moon, and he was followed shortly thereafter by astronaut Buzz Aldrin. The pair took off on the Apollo 11 spacecraft on July 16 along with pilot Michael Collins, who remained in the craft while Armstrong and Aldrin conducted their historic moonwalk on July 20.

After being administered the Oath of Office by Chief Justice Earl Warren, Richard Nixon gave his first inaugural address, declaring that as President, he had a "sacred commitment" to peace. He went on to say that "America's role is indispensable in preserving the world's peace" as he attempted to end the Vietnam War, which would take six more years.