1980-2020 Timeline

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    AIDS Epidemic

    Number of AIDS victims spiked sharply. Much effort was put into research and finding a cure. Brought attention and controversy to the gay rights movement, as well as to drug abusers.
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    Women's Rights

    Women experienced both great progress and great backlash during Reagan’s presidency. Jobs once denied to women were being attained, but in 1982 the Equal Rights Amendment was defeated.
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    Wealth Gap

    Gap between the rich and poor grew exponentially under Reagan.
    The top fifth of Americans’ income increased by 23% while the bottom fifth rose only 9%. Wages remained stagnant.
  • Pac-Man is Introduced

    Pac-Man is a maze arcade game developed and released by Namco in 1980.
  • CNN is launched

    Cable News Network, the world’s first 24-hour television news network, makes its debut.
  • Presidential Election of 1980

    Republican Ronald Reagan defeated incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter
  • John Lennon’s death

    English musician John Lennon, formerly of the Beatles, was shot dead in the archway of his residence in New York City. He was killed by Mark David Chapman, an American Beatles fan who had travelled from Hawaii, who said he was angered by Lennon's lifestyle and public statements.
  • IBM PC

    The IBM PC was released in 1981 and changed the business world forever. This machine helped standardize the burgeoning computer market and led to a host of third-party manufacturers for the platform.
  • Origins of the Smiley on the Internet

    On September 19, 1982 American computer scientist Scott E. Fahlman suggested on a bulletin board that the emoticons :-) and :- ( be used to express emotion on the Internet.
  • The cellular phone

    The first consumer cell phone, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, hit the market in 1983. Despite its massive cost and low battery life, demand was high and there was a waiting list for people wanting to buy the phone.
  • Presidential Election of 1984

    Incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan defeated former Vice President Walter Mondale.
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    Iran-Contra Affair

    The US provided arms to Iran and sought to fund anti-communist groups in Nicaragua with the earnings.
  • Microsoft Windows

    When it first launched in 1985, Windows was basically an extension of MS-DOS. Although it was slow to gain popularity at first, Windows eventually became one of the most popular operating systems of all time.
  • Martin Luther King Day is Official

    Martin Luther King Day is officially observed for the first time as a federal holiday in the United States.
  • US bombs Libya

    The US bombs terrorist and military targets in Libya in a bombing known by codename Operation El Dorado Canyon.
  • Batson v. Kentucky

    The case gave rise to the term Batson challenge, an objection to a peremptory challenge based on the standard established by the Supreme Court's decision in this case. Subsequent jurisprudence has resulted in the extension of Batson to civil cases and cases where jurors are excluded on the basis of sex.
  • Bowers v. Hardwick

    Georgia law that criminalizes certain acts of private sexual conduct between homosexual persons does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment.
  • Reagan Berlin Wall Speech

    President Reagan urges Gorbachev to tear down the wall that has separated West and East Berlin since 1961.
  • Presidential Election of 1988

    Republican nominee, incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush, defeated the Democratic nominee, Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts.
  • US - Canada Free Trade Agreement

    Agricultural trade between the two countries continues to rise under the CFTA as tariffs decline. The United States is Canada’s largest supplier of agricultural imports in the 90s.
  • Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins

    Discrimination against an employee on the basis of sex stereotyping is in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
  • Nintendo Launches GameBoy in North America

    Game console originally released in Japan comes to America.
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    Women's Movement

    Traditional notions of female roles continued to grow, and the "gender gap" narrowed. The women's movement in the United States made enormous progress in ending discrimination in education, government, employment, and the law.
  • Hubble Space Telescope

    One of the largest telescopes in the world, the Hubble Space Telescope, was launched into orbit.
  • Immigration Act of 1990

    Allowed for increase in number of immigrants and increased number of work visas and visas.
  • Operation Desert Storm

    Iraq inflicted little damage on the American coalition. The damage done by U.S. air attacks was devastating Iraq, leaving destruction upon the enemy during the war.
  • Hurricane Andrew

    One of the costliest hurricanes in history. Killed 14 and left 250,000 people homeless.
  • Presidential Election of 1992

    Democratic Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas defeated incumbent Republican President George H. W. Bush
  • Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

    United States labor law that allows employees to take leave from their job if they are undergoing important family or medical circumstances.
  • World Trade Center Bombing

    Muslim fundamentalists tried to destroy the World Trade Center. This event killed five people and trapping tens of thousands of office workers in the tower.
  • World Wide Web

    Although originally proposed in 1989, the web was first launched and used in the early 1990s.
  • J.E.B. v. Alabama ex rel. T.B.

    Ruling that peremptory challenges based solely on a prospective juror's sex is unconstitutional.
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    OJ Simpson

    Nicole Brown Simpsons and Ronald Goldman were murdered.
    On 17 June, OJ and his friend Al Cowlings took flight from the police in a low speed chase which ended up at his mansion, where he surrendered.
  • Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Peña

    Held that racial classifications, imposed by the federal government, must be analyzed under a standard of "strict scrutiny”.
  • Palm PDAs

    Palm, a line of personal digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile phones, were released.
  • Romer v. Evans

    Ruled that a state constitutional amendment in Colorado preventing protected status based upon homosexuality or bisexuality did not satisfy the Equal Protection Clause.
  • Iraq seizes a city

    Iraq seizes a city inside the Kurdish "safe haven" protected by US-led troops. American fires cruise missiles at Iraqi military targets once more. President Bill Clinton extends the "no-fly zone" to cover parts of Baghdad.
  • Presidential Election of 1996

    Incumbent Democratic President Bill Clinton defeated former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, the Republican nominee, and Ross Perot, the Reform Party nominee.
  • Heavens Gate Massacre

    Mass suicide in which 39 members of "Heaven's Gate Cult" in California killed themselves.
    They were told that they would be sent up to a spaceship behind the passing Hale Bopp comet after taking their lives.
  • Matthew Shepard Murdered

    Found the day following his beating and rushed to the hospital, where he later died.
    Lured from a bar by two heterosexual men, and was taken to an unpopulated region, tied to a fence, and beaten because he was homosexual.
  • Columbine Tragedy

    Two students go on a shooting rampage in Columbine High School. They kill 12 students, 1 teacher and themselves.
  • Blu-ray

    Sony unveils prototypes of Blu-ray discs.
    Sony unveils the creation of a Disc format designed to supersede the use of DVD, capable of storing several hours of HD video.
  • Stenberg v. Carhart

    Laws that ban partial-birth abortion are unconstitutional if they do not make an exception for the woman's health.
  • Presidential Election of 2000

    Republican candidate George W. Bush, the son of the 41st president, George H. W. Bush, won the election, defeating Democratic nominee Al Gore, the incumbent vice president.
  • Balthus Death

    Balthasar Klossowski, the controversial contemporary artist better known as Balthus, dies at 92.
  • R&B star Aaliyah’s Death

    Aaliyah tragically dies in a plane crash at 22 years old.
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    Iraq War

    The government of Saddam Husain is overthrown in a United States-led coalition, with an insurgency appearing to oppose the post-invasion Iraqi government.
  • Presidential Election of 2004

    The incumbent Republican President George W. Bush and his running mate Vice President Dick Cheney were elected to a second term.
  • Fast Food Nation

    An ensemble piece examining the health risks involved in the fast food industry and its environmental and social consequences as well. The movie scars everyone, but prevents nobody from their fast food-eating endeavours.
  • iPhone

    Apple Inc. unveils iPhone
    Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, unveils the first iPhone, with web browsing capabilities, a camera, calling and other features.
  • Montejo v. Louisiana

    Defendant may waive their right to counsel during a police interrogation even if the interrogation begins after the defendant's assertion of their right.
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    Yemeni conflict

    Roughly 80% of the Yemen population, containing over 12 million children, requires humanitarian aid. 7.8 million children have no connection to education as well as minimal avenues for water and sanitation.
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    Red Line Ultimatum

    Obama threatens action if Syria does not discontinue use of chemical weapons, leading to most being disposed of by June of 2014.
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    Black Lives Matter

    Black American citizens protest police brutality and racial discrimination. After a slew of police brutality and unjust black murders, protests began throughout the States to seek justice for the victims and their families.
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    West African Ebola epidemic

    The world’s most widespread Ebola virus disease outbreak happened in West Africa in 2013 and lasted until 2016.
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    Flint Water Contamination

    Flint, Michigan has no access to clean water.
    For 6+ years Flint, Michigan is left without clean water, as well as left without the resources or help to fix it.
  • Modern Self Driving Cars

    Tesla unveils the first rendition of Autopilot.
    Tesla begins work with self-driving technology and works to further create self-driving cars in the modern day.
  • Presidential Election of 2016

    Republican Donald Trump and Mike Pence defeat Democratic Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine.
  • Immigrants in Cages at US Border

    Hundreds of children held at border beyond legal limits.
    Border protection carries out roughly half a million detainments of migrant children at the United States border in inhumane circumstances.
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    COVID-19 outbreak

    A contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
    The first case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It has since spread worldwide, leading to an ongoing pandemic.
  • Hanoi Summit

    Two-day summit meeting between North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump held at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam.
  • Bostock v. Clayton County

    Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees against discrimination due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.
  • Presidential Election of 2020

    Democratic Joe Biden and incumbent U.S. senator from California Kamala Harris defeat Republican Donald Trump and vice president Mike Pence.