History offers
a chance
to truly
understand
how the past
impacts the now.

Follow our
daily timelime
of historical
events to
discover the
role The Beatles
played in changing
the modern world.

1776--The American Declaration of Independence is signed. The United State of America has its independence from Great Britain.

1826--Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the US and author of our Declaration of Independence, dies in Virginia. At the same time, John Adams, the second President of the US, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and Jefferson’s close friend, dies in Massachusetts. Adams last words are: “Jefferson lives!” although Jefferson had already passed away.

1848--The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, is published.

1865--The first edition of "Alice in Wonderland" is published.

1876--The first public exhibition of electric light takes place in San Francisco.

1884--The Statue of Liberty is presented to America by the people of France.

1911--Mitch Miller, star of the popular 1950s TV show, “Sing Along With Mitch,” is born.

1958--All I Have To Do Is Dream / Claudette by The Everly Brothers peaks at #1 on the charts.

1960--America's new 50-star flag, honoring Hawaiian statehood, is unfurled.

1962--The Beatles perform at the Cavern Club at night.

1964--Billboard magazine says Beatles manager, Brian Epstein, has claimed that the group's US tour (August 19-September 20) is a sell-out.

1965--Their two-week tour of France, Italy, and Spain completed, The Beatles return to London from Barcelona, Spain.

1966--The Beatles play two shows at Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, Manila, Luzon, the Philippines. Total attendance is 80,000. The Beatles fail to appear at a palace reception hosted by President Marcos' family, who were not informed that The Beatles had declined their invitation. The Philippine media misrepresent this as a deliberate snub. When Brian Epstein tries to make a televised statement, his comments are disrupted by static. The next day (July 5), as The Beatles make their way to the airport and their plane, they are greeted by angry mobs: the Philippine government was retaliating by refusing police protection for The Beatles. At the airport, The Beatles are harassed, hit, and kicked. The Beatles escape without injury, but Brian Epstein suffers a sprained ankle, Mal Evans is kicked in the ribs, and Alf Bicknell receives serious injuries (a fractured rib and a spinal injury). Philippine officials come up with every possible excuse to delay The Beatles' departure, but the group is eventually allowed to fly from Manilla to New Delhi, India, where they have planned a stopover for a few days in order to investigate the country’s musical and spiritual culture. They are greeted at the airport by hundreds of hysterical fans, a depressing reminder that their fame is worldwide. Minutes after The Beatles' plane leaves the Philippines, President Marcos issues a statement indicating that The Beatles had not intended a slight to Mrs. Marcos or to the people of the Philippines: too late to give The Beatles any relief, but quick enough to issue a disclaimer to the rest of the world. Needless to say, The Beatles' opinions about touring hit rock bottom. Privately, John Lennon and George Harrison vow that the touring has to stop. Years later, Harrison will state that the only thing that would get him to return to Manila would be to drop an atomic bomb on it.

1966--President Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act, which went into effect the following year.

1968--The Beatles in the recording studio (Studio Two, EMI Studios, London). Work continues on Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da. Vocals are overdubbed (Paul McCartney lead vocal, John Lennon and George Harrison backing vocals).

1969--UK release of the John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band single Give Peace a Chance / Remember Love (Apple). 9 weeks on the charts; highest position #2.

1969--The Beatles in the recording studio (Studio Two, EMI Studios, London). Recording overdubs for Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight. The Beatles (Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr) take some time off to listen to the BBC radio broadcast of the ladies' Wimbledon tennis championship. John Lennon has not yet recovered from injuries sustained on July 1 in an auto accident in Scotland.

1969--The Kinks' Ray Davies is in Hollywood mixing The Turtles' final album, Turtle Soup.

1970--George Harrison aborts work on All Things Must Pass and returns home to Liverpool to visit his ailing mother, Louise.

1970--Casey Kasem hosts radio’s first "American Top 40" show.

1971--Legendary R&B saxophonist, King Curtis, adds his overdubs to two of John Lennon’s songs for the Imagine album: It’s So Hard and I Don’t Want To Be A Soldier.

1980--George Harrison’s book, “I Me Mine,” is published, selling for £148, with only 2,000 copies printed worldwide. Later, when John Lennon reads the book, he is upset that he receives only the briefest mention for his role in the development of George’s music. “I was hurt by it,” John tells Playboy magazine. “By glaring omission in the book, my influence on his life is absolutely zilch and nil. Not mentioned. In his book, he remembers every two-bit sax player or guitarist he met in subsequent years, yet I’m not in the book.”

1980--John Lennon’s personal assistant, Fred Seaman, returns to New York from Bermuda, and hears rumors from some within Yoko Ono’s circle that she plans to divorce John.

1980--The Beach Boys give a free concert in Miami, Florida, to celebrate Independence Day, attracting an audience of 500,000.

1981--The #1 single in the US is All Those Years Ago, by George Harrison. It is a lively tribute song to his friend, John Lennon.

1983--US Interior Secretary, James Watt, bans The Beach Boys from playing on Washington, D.C.'s Mall because, he says, “the music attracts a bad element.”

1984--Ringo Starr joins The Beach Boys at their free 4th of July concert in Miami.

1992--John Phillips, of The Mamas and The Papas, is given a liver transplant in Los Angeles.

1997--The Mars Pathfinder spacecraft, launched by NASA from the Earth in December 1996, enters the atmosphere of Mars. The Sojourner rover vehicle searches the surface of Mars for rocks, while millions of Earthlings watch on TV and / or the Internet.

For more day-by-day history go to HistoryUnlimited.net