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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. -
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. -
Three Mile Island Meltdown
Three Mile Island 40 years later: A timeline of events as ...
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 -
Mount. St. Helens Eruption
The Mount St. Helens eruption of May 18, 1980, was a devastating volcanic event that resulted in a massive lateral blast, a large landslide, and a significant ash plume. This eruption, which began with a 5.1 magnitude earthquake, caused a landslide that triggered a pyroclastic flow, killing 57 people and causing extensive damage. -
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, Ronald Reagan, the President of the United States, was shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, D.C., as Reagan was returning to his limousine after a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton hotel. -
Iran/ Contra Affair
The Iran-Contra affair, a scandal that erupted during the Reagan administration in the 1980s, involved the secret sale of weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of American hostages held by Iranian-backed terrorists, with profits from these arms sales being diverted to support the Contras in Nicaragua, a policy Congress had banned. This complex affair exposed the abuse of presidential power and a disregard for established legal and policy frameworks. -
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. It is considered one of the worst nuclear disasters in history, and is one of only two nuclear accidents ever rated at the highest level on the International Nuclear Event Scale -
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. -
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 -
Start of the Persian Gulf War
The First Gulf War broke out in 1991, as a result of the 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. Iraq, at the time, was under the control of Saddam Hussein. George H.W. Bush, who was president of the United States at the time, organized a vast international coalition to free Kuwait from Iraqi oppression. -
Rodney King Decision & L.A. Riots
The Rodney King trial acquittal occurred on April 29, 1992, and the Los Angeles riots that followed erupted in the afternoon of the same day, continuing until May 3, 1992. The verdicts in the trial, which found four Los Angeles police officers not guilty in the beating of Rodney King, were a key trigger for the riots -
Original U.S.A. Olympic Basketball Dream Team
The "original" Dream Team, referring to the 1992 U.S. Olympic basketball team, debuted at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Their first game was on July 26, 1992. They played against Angola and won 116-48. This was the first time NBA players were eligible to compete in the Olympics, marking a significant moment in Olympic history. -
Bill Clinton Elected President
Bill Clinton won the 1992 US presidential election on November 3, 1992. He was inaugurated on January 20, 1993, after the electoral vote was certified. He was also re-elected in 1996 and served until January 20, 2001. -
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 Representative
Yes, Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998. The charges were perjury and obstruction of justice. Specifically, the articles of impeachment charged him with perjury to a grand jury and obstruction of justice -
World Trade Center/Pentagon/Shanksville, PA Attacks
The September 11 attacks, involving the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, PA, occurred on September 11, 2001. Four commercial airliners were hijacked and used in suicide attacks against targets in the United States. The hijackers, part of the al-Qaeda group, crashed planes into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.