1955 – 1975

By 6666666
  • Lunar Module

    When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon in 1969, the Lunar Module is what ferried them there. Although 7,000 engineers, technicians, and mechanics built the device, Thomas Kelley of New York directed the team and is credited with inventing the module, which made possible one of human history's most important events.
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    Dwight D. Eisenhower

    President Dwight D. Eisenhower
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    The Vietnam War

    The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, and in Vietnam as the Resistance War Against America or simply the American War, was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975.
  • Civil Rights Act

    Civil Rights Act of 1957
  • Civil Rights Act

    Civil Rights Act of 1960
  • Alan Shepard

    Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space. From Cape Canaveral, Florida, Navy Commander Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. is launched into space aboard the Freedom 7 space capsule, becoming the first American astronaut to travel into space.
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    John F. Kennedy

    President John F. Kennedy. Assassinated in November 1963.
  • Glenn

    He was one of the Mercury Seven, military test pilots selected in 1959 by NASA as the nation's first astronauts. On February 20, 1962, Glenn flew the Friendship 7 mission, becoming the first American to orbit the Earth, and the fifth person and third American in space.
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    Lyndon B. Johnson

    President Lyndon B. Johnson
  • Civil Rights Act

    Civil Rights Act of 1964
  • Voting Rights

    Voting Rights Act of 1965
    Suspended the use of literacy tests and voter disqualification devices for five years. Authorized the use of federal examiners to supervise voter registration in states that used tests or in which less than half the voting-eligible residents registered or voted. Directed the U.S. Attorney General to institute proceedings against use of poll taxes. Provided criminal penalties for individuals who violated the act. Passed by the 89th Congress (1965–1967) as S. 1564.
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    Lyndon B. Johnson

    President Lyndon B. Johnson
  • Battle of Ia Drang

    Battle of Ia Drang 14–18 November – First major encounter between the United States Army and the People's Army of Vietnam in Vietnam. Over the first two days an American battalion repulses continuous Vietnamese assaults; another battalion, sent to reinforce the first, is ambushed on the fourth day when it withdraws, suffering heavy losses.
  • Bilingual Education Act

    Bilingual Education Act (Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Amendments of 1967) Granted federal money to local school districts to develop and provide bilingual education programs and teacher training. Passed by the 90th Congress (1967–1969) as H.R. 7819.
  • Civil Rights Act

    Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act) Prohibited discrimination in the sale or rental of approximately 80 percent of the housing in the United States. Prohibited state governments and Native-American tribal governments from violating the constitutional rights of Native Americans. Passed by the 90th Congress (1967–1969) as H.R. 2516.
  • Battle of Khe Sanh

    Battle of Khe Sanh 21 January – 8 April – Desperate defense by the US Marines to hold strategically important fire base against huge NVA numbers. Vietnamese Communists fail in their bid to turn the siege into an "American Battle of Dien Bien Phu."
  • USS Pueblo

    USS Pueblo (AGER-2) 23 January – North Korea seizes U.S. ship
  • Tet Offensive

    Tet Offensive 30 January – North Vietnam loses militarily but turns the tide of US opinion against the war
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    Richard M. Nixon

    President Richard M. Nixon
  • Moon landing

    July 20, 1969 Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin formed the American crew that landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC
  • Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970

    Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970 Extended the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for five years. Made the act applicable to areas where less than 50 percent of the eligible voting age population was registered as of November 1968. Passed by the 91st Congress (1969–1971) as H.R. 4249.
  • Delegate to the House of Representatives from Guam and Virgin Islands

    Delegate to the House of Representatives from Guam and Virgin Islands (1972) Created Delegate positions in the U.S. House of Representatives for Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands beginning in the 93rd Congress (1973–1975). Passed by the 92nd Congress (1971–1973) as H.R. 8787.
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    Richard M. Nixon

    President Richard M. Nixon
  • Yom Kippur War

    Yom Kippur War aka 6th of October War – Egyptian and Syrian armies attack Israel to regain territory lost in the 1967 Six Day War
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    Gerald R. Ford

    President Gerald R. Ford
  • Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1975

    Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1975 Extended the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for seven years. Established coverage for other minority groups including Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans. Permanently banned literacy tests. Passed by the 94th Congress (1975–1977) as H.R. 6219.
  • Battle of Xuân Lộc

    Battle of Xuân Lộc 9–12 April – Remnants of ARVN make a last stand in the final major battle of the Vietnam War