1964 - Boomer Flashback

The Year was 1964.

President Lyndon B Johnson (D) 1963-1969

The top five positions in the Billboard Top 40 are all being held by the Beatles.

Race riots are going on in the major US cities and burning and pillaging are taking place in places like Chicago and Baltimore MD.

Elizabeth Taylor marries Richard Burton. ( for the first time)

The Boston Strangler claims his final victim. The strangler’s name is Albert Henry DeSalvo.

Inflation in the US was at just 1.28 percent.

A new home would cost you about $12,750 and if you were renting a place the cost was about 115 dollars a month for 2 bedrooms.

Politics

The President –was Lyndon Banes Johnson who was newly elected in a near landslide victory.

Population

The US population was about 186,000,000 and our life expectancy was about 69.6 years.

Crime

The murder rate was just 4.2 murders per 100,000.

Money

The Median Household Income was about $4,658.72 dollars for the average laborer and the average income was about $6,000.

The minimum wage in 1964 was $1.25 per hour, the equivalent of $10.13 in 2018.

The 1964 Ford Mustang, the first in a class of long hooded, short rear-deck sports cars known among enthusiasts as “Pony Cars.”

1964 Cost of Living

The Miniskirt and Minidress from Mary Quant of London. Image – Wikimedia Commons

Bacon was 67 cents a pound and eggs cost 31 cents for a dozen. A gallon of milk cost about 1.05 cents and a loaf of bread was approximately 23 cents. A pound of burger was 60 cents.

Sending a letter across the country would cost you $.05 in postage.

A gallon of gas cost about 30 cents.

The top selling car in the United States was the brand new Ford Mustang and it cost about $2,400 (about 7 months pay) for a 2-door hardtop

Ladies fashion clothes and hairstyles included mini skirts and loud overalls featuring things such as stop signs and bright buckles. Women were wearing classic suits and “pedalpusher” pants as well.

Major News Stories of 1964

Lyndon Johnson achieves a landslide victory. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is signed into law by President Johnson.

The most powerful earthquake in U.S. history at a magnitude of 9.2, strikes South Central Alaska

NASA launches the Mariner 4 Spacecraft.

Albert DeSalvo is captured and confesses to being the Boston Strangler.

Three North Vietnamese torpedo boats attack the US Destroyer Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin and the United States Congress Authorizes war against N Vietnam.