This page offers an insight into life in 1964 and includes World news, political leaders, prices, population statistics and information about the popular culture of 1964.
The year 1964 was a leap year and began on a Wednesday.
1964 In The News
12th January – The Zanzibar Revolution began.
4th June – The Beatles began their first World Tour. It made them a global success.
2nd July – The US Civil Rights Act made discrimination by race, religion, sex or skin colour illegal.
24th September – The Warren Commission declared that Lee Harvey Oswald was the only assassin of J F Kennedy.
14th October – Leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev was removed from power and replaced by Leonid Brezhnev.
Life in 1964 – Prices
Average house:
UK – £2,999; USA – $13,050
Petrol per gallon:
UK – £0.24; USA – $0.30
Loaf of Bread:
UK – £0.06; USA – $0.22
Gold per ounce:
UK – $35.10, USA – $35.3
Life in 1964 – Population
World: – 3,280,979,467
Australia: – 11,218,304
Canada: – 19,711,052
China: – 696,064,960
India: – 484,050,048
Soviet Union: 125,521,512
United States: – 191,140,992
United Kingdom: – 53,991,000
Life in 1964 – Music
Best Selling Single:
UK – Can’t Buy Me Love – The Beatles
USA – I Want to Hold Your Hand – The Beatles
AUS – I Saw Her Standing There/ Love Me Do – The Beatles
CAN – I Want to Hold Your Hand – The Beatles
Best Selling Album:
UK – Beatles For Sale – The Beatles
USA – Hello Dolly – Original Soundtrack
AUS – No data – Charts began 1965
CAN – No data – Charts began 1968
Popular Artists:
The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Dave Clark Five, The Drifters, Marvin Gaye, The Rolling Stones, The Searchers, The Supremes
On the Bookshelves
Books Published in 1964:
The Giving Tree – Shel Silverstein
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
A Moveable Feast – Ernest Hemingway
Harriet the Spy – Louise Fitzhugh
Games People Play – Eric Berne
At the Movies
1964 Top Movies (USA box office figures):
1. Mary Poppins – $31 million
2. My Fair Lady – $30 million
3. Goldfinger – $22.5 million
4. The Carpetbaggers – $15.5 million
5. From Russia With Love – $9.2 million
Life in 1964 – World Leaders
Australia Prime Minister – Robert Menzies
Canada Prime Minister – Lester Pearson
China President – Liu Shaoqi
India Prime Minister – Jawaharlal Nehru to 27th May, Lal Bahadur Shastri from 9th June
Soviet Union Leader – Nikita Khruschchev to 14th October, Leonid Brezhnev after 14th October
United States President – Lyndon B Johnson
United Kingdom Prime Minister – Alec Douglas Home to 16th October, Harold Wilson after 16th October
Born in 1964
7th January – Nicholas Cage (Actor)
17th January – Michelle Obama (First Lady)
10th March – Prince Edward (Royal Family)
7th April – Russell Crowe (Actor)
26th May – Lenny Kravitz (Musician)
19th June – Boris Johnson (UK Prime Minister)
1st October – Harry Hill (Comedian)
Died in 1964
6th March – King Paul of Greece (Royal Family)
2nd May – Nancy Astor (Politician)
27th May – Jawaharlal (Prime Minister of India)
27th August – Gracie Allen (Comedian)
28th September – Harpo Marx (Actor)
20th October – Herbert Hoover (President of USA)
11th December – Sam Cooke (Singer)
1964 Sport Highlights
Football – West Ham won the FA Cup
Cycling – Jacques Anquetil (FRA) won the Tour de France for the 4th time
Tennis – Roy Emerson won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open
Golf – British Open won by Tony Lema; US Open won by Bobby Nichols
Baseball – St Louis Cardinals won the World Series
Horse Racing – Arkle won the Cheltenham Gold Cup; Northern Dancer won the Kentucky Derby
Olympics – The Winter Olympics were held in Innsbruck, Austria and won by the Soviet Union.
The Summer Olympics were held in Tokyo, Japan and won by the United States.
Christmas Wishlist
G I Joe Action Figure
Barbie and Ken Dolls
Mousetrap Game
Etch A Sketch
Matchbox Cars
Easy Bake Oven
What Was New?
BASIC computer language invented
Acrylic paint invented
Word Processor invented
Measles vaccine developed
Temazepam sleeping tablet developed
Polaroid camera developed
First published 2020; updated Mar 24 2022 @ 11:14 am – Updated –
