The Year 1964 in Review: Fun Facts, Trivia, and Historic Highlights

This quick read is a collection of fun facts, trivia, and historic events from the year 1964. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, sports facts, historic firsts, entertainment trivia, and much more.

1. In 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson was the president of the United States, and Hubert H. Humphrey was the nation’s vice president.
2. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 1964 was "a year of strong expansion in the American economy. It was an unusual year, not simply because it marked the establishment of numerous records—in production and sales, in employee compensation and profits, and in employment and living standards—but also because it was the fourth successive year of an upturn.”
3. Did the 1964 federal income tax cut play a role in the “strong expansion” of the American economy? The BLS remarks that, “Although many factors contributed to the 1964 advance, the exceptional strength of the expansion was attributable in large measure to the cut in Federal income taxes early in the year—the first major reduction in rates in a decade and the largest ever, gauged by the absolute size of the reduction.”
4. The sticker price for a new Ford Mustang was $2,368, and you could also buy a new Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III for $16,655.
5. Consumer products launched in 1964 included 8-track tapes, action figures, Aramis (fragrance), AstroTurf, Brut (cologne), Diet Pepsi, Lucky Charms (cereal), Nutella, Pop-Tarts, Sharpie markers, and Teem (soft drink).
6. January 8: In his first State of the Union address, President Johnson asked Congress to declare an “unconditional war on poverty” and to aim “not only to relieve the symptoms of poverty but to cure it.” NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov reports that “Over the next five years, Congress passed legislation that transformed American schools, launched Medicare and Medicaid, and expanded housing subsidies, urban development programs, employment and training programs, food stamps, Social Security, and welfare benefits.”
7. On January 11, U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry warned Americans that cigarette smoking caused both lung cancer and chronic bronchitis. (In 1964, about 60% of Americans smoked cigarettes.)
8. On January 24, the Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified by the states. The amendment prohibited both federal and state governments from imposing poll taxes on citizens before they could vote in a federal election.
9. On February 9, the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show to a television audience of about 73 million people. They played three songs—All My Loving, Till There Was You, and She Loves You—before taking a break for Ed Sullivan’s other guests, which included character actor Frank Gorshin and Welsh entertainer Tessie O'Shea.
10. On February 16, the Beatles appeared again on The Ed Sullivan Show. They played six songs—She Loves You, This Boy, All My Loving, I Saw Her Standing There, From Me to You, and I Want to Hold Your Hand—for a television audience of about 70 million people who watched from 22,445,000 homes.
11. On March 9, the first Ford Mustang came off the assembly line.
12. On March 14, nightclub owner Jack Ruby was sentenced to death for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. (On November 22, 1963, Oswald assassinated U.S. President John F. Kennedy in Dallas. Two days later, Ruby murdered Oswald, claiming to be grief-stricken “to the point of insanity” over the chain of events.)
13. On March 24, the Kennedy half dollar was released.
14. On April 1, Cleveland recorded the lowest April temperature ever—10°F.
15. On April 13, at the 36th Academy Awards, which honored the best films of 1963, Tom Jones won an Oscar for Best Picture, and Tony Richardson (Tom Jones) won an Oscar for Best Director. Sidney Poitier (Lilies of the Field) won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Patricia Neal (Hud) won an Oscar for Best Actress.
16. On April 17, the Ford Mustang went on sale across the U.S. CBS News reports that on the first day, “22,000 Mustangs were sold, and by the end of 1964, Ford sold 263,434 Mustangs.”
17. On May 22, President Johnson “laid out his agenda for a ‘Great Society’ during a speech at the University of Michigan.” The Great Society, the largest social reform plan in modern history, was “an ambitious series of policy initiatives, legislation, and programs with the main goals of ending poverty, reducing crime, abolishing inequality, and improving the environment.”
18. At the 16th Primetime Emmy Awards on May 25, The Dick Van Dyke Show (CBS) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and The Defenders (CBS) won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. Dick Van Dyke (The Dick Van Dyke Show) won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and Mary Tyler Moore (The Dick Van Dyke Show) won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
19. On June 19, the Senate passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by a vote of 73 to 27. History.com tells us that the legislation, “which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement.”
20. On June 24, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that health warnings must appear on all cigarette packs. Under the terms of the FTC Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, effective January 1, 1966, “all cigarette packages and cartons sold in the United States and its possessions must bear the following statement: ‘Caution: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous to Your Health.’” (The bill applied to imported as well as domestically produced cigarettes.)
21. On July 16, the Republican National Convention nominated Barry Goldwater for president of the United States. Goldwater was a five-term U.S. senator from Arizona and is “the politician most often credited with having sparked the resurgence of the American conservative political movement in the 1960s.”
22. On August 5, the U.S. began bombing North Vietnam.
23. On August 20, President Johnson signed the Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) into law. The EOA established “a variety of social programs aimed at facilitating education, health, employment, and general welfare for impoverished Americans.”
24. On September 3, President Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law. NPS.gov points out that the legislation “established the National Wilderness Preservation System and instructed federal land management agencies, including the National Park Service (NPS), to manage wilderness areas and preserve wilderness character.”
25. On September 27, the Warren Commission revealed that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
26. On October 1, San Francisco’s cable cars were declared a national monument.
27. On November 3, incumbent Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson defeated Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee. Johnson won 61.1% of the popular vote, “the largest share of the popular vote of any candidate since the largely uncontested 1820 election.”
28. On November 3, residents of Washington, DC, were permitted to vote for the first time since 1800.
29. On November 21, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which connects the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island, opened to traffic.
30. On December 10, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
31. On December 10, Dorothy Hodgkin became the first British woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Hodgkin is known for her work with penicillin and vitamin B12.
32. In 1964, Louis Lasagna, dean of the School of Medicine at Tufts University, wrote the modern version of the Hippocratic Oath.
33. The soaps Another World (NBC) and As the World Turns (CBS) both premiered on daytime television.
34. The final episodes of The Danny Thomas Show and The New Phil Silvers Show were broadcast on CBS.
35. Royal Crown Cola introduced the first 12-ounce aluminum can, and the plastic milk container was introduced for commercial use.
36. Look magazine cost 25 cents an issue, and you could buy a one-year subscription to Life magazine (51 issues) for $5.00.
37. Here are some sports facts from 1964: The Cleveland Browns were the NFL champs, the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series, and the Toronto Maple Leafs clinched the Stanley Cup. In addition, in the first football game at New York City’s Shea Stadium on September 12, the Jets defeated Denver 30-6.
38. In 1964 as well, the words "AAA battery," "condo," "crash cart," "endangered," "fentanyl," "garage sale," "gentrification," "gun control," "new math," "off-the-rack," "pantsuit," "pre-cooked," "reverse discrimination," "snowmobiling," "soundscape," and "table sugar" all appeared in print for the first time.
39. Bananas: 15 cents a pound
40. Beef (ground chuck): 59 cents a pound
41. Bread: 33 cents for a 32-ounce loaf
42. Cake mix (Betty Crocker): 35 cents for a 19-ounce box
43. Cereal (Kellogg’s corn flakes): Three eight-ounce boxes for $1.00
44. Cheese (American slices): 51 cents for a 12-ounce package
45. Chicken (fryers): 25 cents a pound
46. Cookies (Nabisco Fig Newtons): 31 cents for a 16-ounce package
47. Ham (Armour): $3.99 for a five-pound can
48. Ice cream (Holland Dutch Treat): 59 cents for a half gallon
49. Jell-O: 88 cents for 10 three-ounce packages
50. Juice (Libby’s, tomato): 39 cents for four 18-ounce cans
51. Mayonnaise (Hellmann’s): 59 cents for a one-quart jar
52. Milk: (nonfat) 95 cents a gallon
53. Onions (Texas): Three pounds for 25 cents
54. Peanut butter: 99 cents for a three-pound jar
55. Pineapples (fresh whole): 39 cents each
56. Potatoes (Maine): 45 cents for a five-pound bag
57. Strawberries: 33 cents for a pint
58. Sugar: 59 cents for a five-pound bag
59. Tea: 84 cents for a 100-count package
60. Tuna (Chicken of the Sea, chunk white): Three 6.5-ounce cans for $1.00

References:

1. https:/ultimateclassicrock.com/beatles-1964-in-review/
2. https://www.348-409.com/1964flash.html
3. https://misterboomer.com/2014/04/boomers-and-the-cost-of-living-in-1964/
4. https://www.in2013dollars.com/inflation-rate-in-1964
5. https://www.mclib.info/Research/Local-History-Genealogy/Historic-Prices
6. https://sodapopcraft.com/what-sodas-were-popular-in-the-60s/#:~:text=Overall%2C%20the%20most%20popular%20soda,Cola%20were%20all%20varyingly%20popular.
7. https://allthatsinteresting.com/1960s-food#1
8. https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/g26899440/50s-60s-nostalgia-foods/
9. https://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1964.htm
10. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-timeline-1961.html
11. https://www.onthisday.com/date/1964
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_in_the_United_States

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor