April 17, 1969
Gas cost $0.35 a gallon in the spring of 1969, and the Dow Jones stood at 800 — as American troop levels in Vietnam had surpassed 540,000 and Secretary of State William Rogers was telling senators that a U.S. withdrawal depended on reciprocal action by North Vietnamese forces. On the radio, "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)" by The 5th Dimension was the country's top song, while Philip Roth's "Portnoy's Complaint" was flying off bookstore shelves as the number one fiction bestseller. The Boston Celtics closed out the decade by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA championship, and on May 18, NASA launched Apollo 10, sending astronauts Gene Cernan, Tom Stafford, and John Young to within 15 kilometers of the lunar surface in a full dress rehearsal for the Moon landing that would follow that summer.
On the cover
Magazine Covers — April 17, 1969
NY Times Headlines — Week of April 17, 1969
10 Pro-Moscow Czechs Absolved Of 'Treachery'; 10 Pro-Soviet Czechoslovaks Are Absolved Of 'Treachery' In The Invasion
U.S. Battle Let-Up In Vietnam Denied; Military Feels Nixon Heeds Arguments For Offensive -- Combat Deaths Drop
U.S. Warns Soviet On Use Of Force Against Czechs; Soviet Cautioned By U.S. On Force
Peace Prospects Said To Improve; President Attributes Gains To Greater Saigon Stability, But Bars Troop Cut Now Peace Prospects Said To Improve
New Chief Warns Czechs He'Ll Brook No Resistance; New Leader Warns Czechoslovaks He Will Brook No Resistance
World Events — April 1969
Time Person of the Year — 1969
On the radio
Billboard Charts — April 17, 1969
Grammy Awards
On the bookshelf
On the television
Nielsen Top 10 — 1968–69 Season
Emmy Winners — 1969
At the movies
Box Office & Oscar Winners — April 17, 1969
Ebert 4-Star Films — April 17, 1969
On the field
Sports Champions — April 17, 1969
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