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Mad Men Timeline

A closer look at the historical context of Mad Men: the politics, culture, and history of the early 1960s...



1960

	Mad Men episode		real-world events/ Mad Men events		date
	Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (Season 1, Episode 1)		Peggy Olson gets a job at Sterling Cooper as a secretary.		March 1960
	Ladies Room (Season 1, Episode 2)				Late March or early April, 1960
	Marriage of Figaro (Season 1, Episode 3)		VW's famous "Lemon" ad appears in Life magazine.		April 11, 1960
	New Amsterdam (Season 1, Episode 4)
	5G (Season 1, Episode 5)				Late April or early May, 1960
	Babylon (Season 1, Episode 6)		Rachel Menken mentions that Adolf Eichmann was arrested in Argentina last week.		Week following May 11, 1960
	Red in the Face (Season 1, Episode 7)
	The Hobo Code (Season 1, Episode 8)
	Shoot (Season 1, Episode 9)		The Billy Wilder film The Apartment is released. The Republican and Democratic conventions establish Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy as 1960's contenders for the presidency.		June, 1960 July, 1960
	Long Weekend (Season 1, Episode 10)				September 2-5, 1960 (Labor Day Weekend)
	Indian Summer (Season 1, Episode 11)				early October, 1960
	Nixon vs. Kennedy (Season 1, Episode 12)		John F. Kennedy defeats Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election.		November 8, 1960 (Election Day)
	The Wheel (Season 1, Episode 13)		Peggy is promoted to copywriter, and soon after goes into labor.		November 21-24, 1960 (Thanksgiving Week)



1961



	Mad Men skips ahead 14 months between Season 1 and Season 2, bypassing 1961 altogether... It's during this period that Peggy gives her baby up for adoption and takes an extended leave of absence. Also in 1961: The US severs diplomatic relations with Cuba. John F. Kennedy takes office. The Bay of Pigs invasion ends in failure. Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space. Construction of the Berlin Wall begins. President Kennedy sends the first American military advisors to Vietnam.



1962

	Mad Men episode		Mad Men events		date
	For Those Who Think Young (Season 2, Episode 1)				February 14,1962 (Valentine's Day)
	Flight 1 (Season 2, Episode 2)		John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth. American Airlines flight 1 crashes into Jamaica Bay on takeoff in New York. Pete's father dies on American Airlines flight 1.		February 20, 1962 March 1, 1962
	The Benefactor (Season 2, Episode 3)		The CBS television series The Defenders airs the controversial episode "The Benefactor," which deals with the subject of abortion. Harry urges a client to sponsor this controversial TV program.		April 8, 1962
	Three Sundays (Season 2, Episode 4)		Peggy meets the young priest, Father John Gill. Sterling Cooper loses the American Airlines account.		April 8-22, 1962 (ending on Holy Week)
	The New Girl (Season 2, Episode 5)		Bobby Barrett mentions that Marilyn Monroe will be atKennedy's birthdaythat week.		Around May 19, 1962
	Maidenform (Season 2, Episode 6)				May 29-June 2, 1962 (Memorial Day weekend)
	The Gold Violin (Season 2, Episode 7)				Between June 21 and July 19, 1962
	A Night to Remember (Season 2, Episode 8)				Between July 21 and August 4, 1962
	Six Month Leave (Season 2, Episode 9)		Death of Marilyn Monroe.		August 5, 1962
	The Inheritance (Season 2, Episode 10)				Between September 17-23, 1962
	The Jet Set (Season 2, Episode 11)				Between September 24-October 1, 1962
	The Mountain King (Season 2, Episode 12)				On or after October 11, 1962
	Meditations in an Emergency (Season 2, Episode 13)		America finds itself on the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis.		October 22-28, 1962



1963

	Mad Men episode		Mad Men events		date
	Out of Town (Season 3, Episode 1)		Pete and Ken are both promoted to Head of Accounts at Sterling Cooper.		March, 1963
	Love Among the Ruins (Season 3, Episode 2)		The film Bye Bye Birdie starring Ann-Margret is released.		April 4, 1963
	My Old Kentucky Home (Season 3, Episode 3)		The Sterlings host a "Derby Day" garden party at their club.		May 4, 1963 (The Kentucky Derby)
	The Arrangements (Season 3, Episode 4)		Betty's father dies. A Buddhist monk burns himself to death in protest of the persecution of Buddhists in Vietnam.		June 11, 1963
	The Fog (Season 3, Episode 5)		Civil rights activist Medgar Evers is murdered. Betty gives birth to her second son.		June 12, 1963
	Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency (Season 3, Episode 6)		British execs visit Sterling Cooper (with bloody results). Joan's last day.		July 3, 1963 (Independence Day weekend)
	Seven Twenty Three (Season 3, Episode 7)		A total eclipse of the sun occurs. Under pressure from his bosses, his wife, and Conrad Hilton, Don signs a 3-year contract with Sterling Cooper.		July 20, 1963 July 23, 1963
	Souvenir (Season 3, Episode 8)		Don and Betty take a short trip to Rome together.		August, 1963
	Wee Small Hours (Season 3, Episode 9)		Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.		August 28, 1963
	The Color Blue (Season 3, Episode 10)		Betty discovers Don's secret.		mid-October, 1963
	The Gypsy and the Hobo (Season 3, Episode 11)		Betty confronts Don about his mysterious past.		October 31, 1963 (Halloween)
	The Grown-Ups (Season 3, Episode 12)		President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas. Roger's daughter Margaret gets married the day after the JFK assassination.		November 22, 1963
	Shut the Door. Have a Seat. (Season 3, Episode 13)		Don, Roger, Bert, Lane, and four others create a new ad firm, taking as much business as they can from the doomed Sterling Cooper.		December 13-16, 1963



1964

	Mad Men episode		Mad Men events		date
			PPL is sold to McCann, along with the remains of the old Sterling Cooper.		January 1, 1964
	Public Relations (Season 4, Episode 1)		Betty and the kids spend Thanksgiving with her new husband's family.		November 26, 1964 (Thanksgiving)
	Christmas Comes But Once a Year (Season 4, Episode 2)		SCDP Christmas party.		late December, 1964 (Christmas)
	The Good News (Season 4, Episode 3)				December 31, 1964 (New Year's Eve)
	The Rejected (Season 4, Episode 4)				late February 1965
	The Chrysanthemum and the Sword (Season 4, Episode 5)				mid-March 1965
	Waldorf Stories (Season 4, Episode 6)		*Stan Rizzo is reading the April 1965 issue of Playboy* in the hotel room.**		April 1965
	The Suitcase (Season 4, Episode 7)		Roger attends Ali-Liston II		May 25–26, 1965
	The Summer Man (Season 4, Episode 8)				June 14–20, 1965
	The Beautiful Girls (Season 4, Episode 9)				July 1965
	Hands and Knees (Season 4, Episode 10)		Don gets tickets to see The Beatles' August 15th Shea Stadium concert).		August 9–13, 1965
	Chinese Wall (Season 4, Episode 11)		A consecutive Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.		Late August 1965
	Blowing Smoke (Season 4, Episode 12)		Three weekdays, the last two of which are consecutive		Early September 1965
	Tomorrowland (Season 4, Episode 13)		Don flies to California over the Columbus day weekend. Monday the 11th is mentioned as a holiday, and the "weekend after next" is said to be the 23rd.		October 7-12, 1965

Greg108	Latest page update: made by Greg108 , Mar 23 2012, 12:56 PM EDT (about this update About This Update Edited by Greg108 3 words added view changes - complete history)
	Keyword tags: 1960s history Kennedy timeline trivia More Info: links to this page

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