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Jimmy Carter Elected President
Carter, a Democrat from Georgia, took office following his narrow victory over Republican incumbent president Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election. His presidency ended following his landslide defeat in the 1980 presidential election to Republican Ronald Reagan, after one term in office. -
Three Mile Island Meltdown
The Three Mile Island incident, a partial nuclear meltdown at Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, occurred on March 28, 1979, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was a major event in U.S. nuclear power history, though it didn't result in widespread health effects or injuries. -
Star Wars Movie Premier
The original "Star Wars" film, now known as "Episode IV: A New Hope," premiered in US theaters on May 25, 1977. The film quickly became a major cultural phenomenon, launching the Star Wars franchise. -
Mount. St. Helens Eruption
The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens was a cataclysmic event that resulted in 57 deaths, over $1 billion in damage, and the destruction of vast areas of forest and infrastructure. The eruption was triggered by a magnitude 5.1 earthquake that caused the largest landslide in recorded history, followed by a massive lateral blast and a towering ash plume. -
Iran Hostages Released
The 52 American hostages held captive at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran were released on January 20, 1981, after 444 days of captivity. This event marked the end of the Iran Hostage Crisis, which had begun on November 4, 1979. The hostages were released minutes after Ronald Reagan took office as the 40th President of the United States. -
Assassination Attempt on President Reagan
On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was the target of an assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr. Hinckley, inspired by his fascination with actress Jodie Foster, fired a series of shots at Reagan, who was emerging from the hotel after delivering a speech. -
Challenger Shuttle Explosion
The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff on January 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. The disaster occurred due to the failure of O-ring seals in one of the solid rocket boosters, which allowed hot exhaust gases to escape and damage the external fuel tank. -
Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
The Chernobyl disaster, which occurred on April 26, 1986, at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Soviet Ukraine (now Ukraine), was a severe nuclear accident resulting from a steam explosion and fire that released a large amount of radioactive material into the environment. -
Iran/ Contra Affair
The Iran-Contra affair was a major scandal during the Reagan administration, involving the secret sale of arms to Iran to secure the release of American hostages, and the diversion of profits from those sales to support the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. This action violated the Boland Amendment, which prohibited government funding of the Contras -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989, marking a pivotal moment in history. East German border guards opened the border, allowing East Berliners to cross into West Berlin and, by extension, to visit West Germany. This symbolized the end of the Cold War and the beginning of German reunification, which was officially completed on October 3, 1990. -
George H.W. Bush Elected President
Bush, a Republican from Texas and the incumbent vice president for two terms under President Ronald Reagan, took office following his landslide victory over Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election. -
Start of the Persian Gulf War
The Gulf War was an armed conflict between Iraq and a 42-country coalition led by the United States. -
Rodney King Decision & L.A. Riots
The Rodney King riots exploded a few hours after the verdicts as both African Americans and Latinos vented their rage at the police, white pedestrians and motorists, and Korean American businesspeople as well as their shops and stores. -
Original U.S.A. Olympic Basketball Dream Team
The "Dream Team," the original U.S. Olympic basketball team, was formed in 1992 and consisted of NBA stars. This team, which included Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird, was the first to feature active NBA players in an Olympic team. They won a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics, defeating their opponents by an average of 44 points. -
Bill Clinton Elected President
Clinton was elected president in the 1992 election, defeating the incumbent Republican Party president George H. W. Bush, and the independent businessman Ross Perot. He became the first president to be born in the Baby Boomer generation and the youngest to serve two full terms. -
Launch of Google
Google officially launched its search engine on September 4, 1998, after being incorporated on that date. The company was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and their initial investment came from Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems. The search engine was initially developed at Stanford University as a project called "BackRub". -
Bill Clinton Impeached by the House of Representatives
Bill Clinton was indeed impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998. The charges were perjury before a grand jury and obstruction of justice. While impeached, he was subsequently acquitted on both charges in a Senate trial, and remained in office. -
World Trade Center/Pentagon/Shanksville, PA Attacks
On September 11, 2001, terrorists linked to the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda—founded by Osama bin Laden—hijacked four commercial passenger airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York City.