Richard Nixon is inaugurated president of the United States and announces the beginning of troop withdrawal from Vietnam. He bans the use of chemical and biological weapons.

Through NASA, the U.S. space program flies higher than anyone before. Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the moon when he exits the lunar capsule Apollo 11 with the famous words ``One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.''

The gay rights movement begins in New York with the Stonewall Inn Riot, in protest of a police raid of a dance club and bar in Greenwich Village.

French President Charles de Gaulle resigns from office after his proposal for regional reform is rejected by voters.

The Woodstock music festival reigns for four days in the Catskill Mountains. Recreational drugs are quite widespread.

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) begin between the United States and the U.S.S.R., as President Nixon tries to control the nuclear arms race and promote a policy of détente.

Somali president Abdi Rashid Ali Shermarke is assassinated and the government is seized by General Muhammad Siad Barre, who dissolves the legislature and establishes himself as a dictator.

Sesame Street, created by the Children's Television Workshop, debuts on public television and begins to change attitudes about children's learning capabilities.

Former French President Charles de Gaulle resigns and dies the next year. President Georges Pompidou continues de Gaulle's policies but ends French opposition to Britain's presence in the Common Market.

From History Channel.com/timeline