1966

March 1966 issue of Birmingham magazine

1966 was the 95th year after the founding of the city of Birmingham.

Events

• November 21: The Brother Bryan statue was relocated to Prayer Point at Vulcan Park.
• UAB was established as a separate university within the University of Alabama System.
• The Birmingham Museum of Art launched its Artmobile program.
• The Alabama Theatre hosted its final Miss Alabama pageant.
• John Beecher began a one year visiting professorship at Miles College.
• Hugo Black authored the majority opinion in Adderley v. Florida and dissented in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections.
• Vestavia Hills merged with the town of Mountain Woods.

Business

• Sneaky Pete's founded by Pete Graphos
• The Birmingham Southern Railroad acquired the Federal Barge Lines Railroad.
• Windham Construction moved out of their 1912 Windham Building.
• Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q opened a Five Points West location.
• Neal Hemphill began the Sound of Birmingham recording studio.
• Dale's Cellar opened in the ground floor of the Essex House.
• The Sloss Real Estate Company was founded.

Media

• WBRC 6 purchased its first color cameras.

Sports

• June 21: Satchel Paige pitched in his last game.
• July 12: Bobby Allison got his first pro-racing victory at the Oxford Plains Speedway on the Grand National circuit.
• The Alabama Crimson Tide went undefeated, beating Nebraska 39-28 in the Orange Bowl.

Works

• Visits Planet Earth, Other Planes of There, and The Magic City by Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra
• A Smell of Honey, a Swallow of Brine, The Notorious Daughter of Fanny Hill, and But Charlie, I Never Played Volleyball! films produced by David F. Friedman
• Theme from Star Trek, sung by Loulie Jean Norman
• "Function at the Junction", by Shorty Long
• "Hey Joe", by the Outer Mongolian Herd
• "Comin' on Back to Me/Why (?)", .45 single by Rites of Spring
• "She Can't Be the One", by the Very-ations
• "Come on and Love Me", by the Vikings
• "Judge and the Jury", by the Judges

Books

• To Live and Die in Dixie & Other Poems, by John Beecher
• The Last Gentleman, novel by Walker Percy
• Jubilee, and The Ballad of the Free, by Margaret Walker
• Psychedelic Prayers & Other Meditations by Timothy Leary

Buildings

• Neely Henry Dam
• Downtown Club
• Trinity Medical Center
• 8 finalists were selected in the architectural competition for the new Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center.
• The City of Birmingham purchased Rickwood Field from Al Belcher.
• Phillips High School renovations
• Eastwood Mall expansion
• R. D. Thompson bought the Florentine Building.
• Bryant-Denny Stadium end zone grandstands

People

• Jay Sebring met Sharon Tate on the set of Roman Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Killer.
• December 7: Bull Connor suffered a stroke.
• Hank Hartsfield became an astronaut.
• Fred Shuttlesworth founded the Greater New Light Baptist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio

Awards

• Richard Arrington, Doctor of Zoology, University of Oklahoma

Births

• February 12: Pat Byington, environmental lobbyist
• February 18: Dan Bynum, Artist, Painter
• April 24: Stan Kimbrough, basketball player
• May 4: Bill Godshalk, accountant and victim of the 9/11 terror attacks
• September 19: Eric Robert Rudolph, terrorist bomber
• September 27: Kevin Kynerd, CEO of Bradford Building Co.
• December 18: Nate Johnston, basketball player
• Scott Vowels, executive director of the South Regions Minority Business Council
• Jeff Key, actor
• Merv and Marvin Torme, grocers

Deaths

• May 19: Little Man Popwell, poker player

See also: List of Birmingham homicides in 1966

Context

In 1966 Indira Gandhi became prime minister of India. Military coups were carried out in the Central African Republic, Upper Volta, Nigeria, Syria, Ghana, Argentina, and Togo. John Lennon speculated that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus." Former members of the IRA destroyed the Nelson Pillar in Dublin. Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie (Ras Tafari) visited Jamaica. Surveyor 1 landed safely on the moon. The Freedom of Information Act was signed by President Johnson. A U2 spy plane disappeared over Cuba. England won the FIFA World Cup at Wembley Stadium. Race riots erupted in Chicago, Illinois and Lansing, Michigan. Mao Tse-Tung launched China's "Cultural Revolution." Turkish earthquakes killed thousands. The Black Panther Party was founded. Ronald Reagan became governor of California. Barbados, Botswana, Guyana, and Lesotho joined the United Nations. Truman Capote threw his famous "Black and White Ball" in New York City. The animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas premiered on CBS. Maulana Karenga celebrated the first Kwanzaa. St Louis' Gateway Arch was completed.

Notable 1966 births include Cindy Crawford, Chris Rock, Greg Maddux, John Daly, Janet Jackson, Helena Bonham Carter, Dikembe Mutombo, John Cusack, Mike Tyson, Halle Berry, Salma Hayek, Adam Sandler, Troy Aikman, Sinéad O'Connor and Kiefer Sutherland. Deaths in 1966 included those of Alberto Giacometti, Buster Keaton, Maxfield Parrish, Evelyn Waugh, Mississippi John Hurt, and Walt Disney.

Top grossing films of 1966 included Thunderball, Dr Zhivago, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. A Man for All Seasons won the Oscar for Best Picture. Katherine Anne Porter won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature for her Collected Stories. Pop music hits included "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel. "Ballad of the Green Berets" by Sgt Barry Sadler, "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge, and "These Boots are Made for Walkin" by Nancy Sinatra. Tom Jones was awarded the Grammy for "Best New Artist". No Peace prize was awarded by the Nobel committee in 1966.

1960s

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