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First Organ Transplant
The first organ transplant was actually a kidney. The participants within this transplant were the Herrick twins. A good reason that this transplant was so successful was because they were twins so Ronald’s kidney matched Richard’s kidney. The only difference was that Richard was dying of a kidney disease. -
DNA Diiscovered
On May 4th, 1953 Francis Crick and James Watson discovered the first strand of DNA and the structure of the DNA. Then in 1962 they shared the prize with Maurice Wilkins. They discovered the strand at Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University. Crick, Watson, and Wilkins used X-Ray diffraction to see the inside of living cells. -
Report released that says cigarettes cause cancer
The research started when tobacco companies began worrying that cigarettes could cause cancer. Companies also conducted their own research to see if cigarettes were a cause of lung cancer. When they found out that cigarettes were a cause of lung cancer they started trying to make cigarettes safer while still telling the public that they wouldn’t cause lung cancer. Then they finally made a requirement that said you must an adequate label stating that cigarettes were a danger to your health. -
Vietnam War begins
The reason that the war started was the belief that communism was going to spread all over South-east Asia. The U.S. was asked by the French (NATO) to keep Communist from taking over French Territory. So we fought alongside the French during the Vietnam War. -
Soviet satellite 'Sputnik' launched
Sputnik was the first satellite launched into space. Sputnik was a polished metal sphere that was around 58 centimeters in diameter which is about the size of a beach ball. It was launched by the Soviet Union. This launch started the U.S. - USSR space race to be the first on the moon. Orbit for Sputnik took about 98 minutes. -
Freedom Riders
They set out to the South to protest against Jim Crow laws and to call for a change. The only problem was that they were met with violence and hatred. One of their busses was attacked and burnt by members of the KKK. -
JFK assassination
They were on a planned two day trip in Texas when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Three shots were fired at the president. The first shot was a miss followed by the second shot which struck him in the throat, and the last shot hit him on the right side of his forehead. They were warned before he even left that there was a possible assassination attempt on the president that day, but the president still wanted to ride in the open car. -
Beatles Arrive to U.S.
The Beatles were the first British band to come to America and enter the American market. The Beatles appeared twice on the Ed Sullivan show and are still ranked as the second and third most watched show today. Then in February of 2004 they were given the President’s Award at the Grammy’s. -
First Man on the Moon
First man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, stepped on the moon with Buzz Aldrin. The pilot of the spacecraft was Michael Collins. It took them four days to finally land on the moon. The entire mission was successful and safe. -
Woodstock
Woodstock is a monumental music festival that has changed our world. Over half a million people attend the festival every year. Woodstock in a brief description was pretty much a lot of sex, drugs, rock n’ roll, and mud. It is based on a hippie counterculture. -
Nixon Resigns
Not only did Nixon resign from his presidency, but he was also the first president in the history of the U.S. to resign from his presidency. Nixon spoke about any “injuries” that he may have caused while in his term before he resigned and apologized for that. He also spoke about how painful it was going to be for him to resign from his position. -
Vietnam war ends
The war had continued even though there was a peace agreement over the war. At the end of the war 58,282 American soldiers lost their lives and another 303,644 Americans were wounded. Even though the U.S. left in 1973 the war carried on for another two years. -
Red Dye No. 2
Red Dye No. 2 was made illegal by the U.S. This dye was not only used in foods, but also in many kinds of cosmetics do to the fact that it only took a little bit of this stuff to make it really red. This product is not made illegal in Canada and Europe. -
Elvis Presley Dies
Elvis was found unconscious on the floor of his bathroom in his mansion on Graceland. He was then rushed to the, but was pronounced dead at the hospital. They say that the cause of his death was of a heart failure. He may not have invented Rock and Roll, but he was a very iconic person in Rock and Roll. -
Nuclear Prolideration treaty
This treaty is about the spread of nuclear weapons, fissile materials, and weapons applicable to nuclear-technology. This treaty is the largest membership of arms control in the world. It is referred to as the cornerstone of nuclear nonproliferation regime. -
Mount Saint Helens Erupts
InMarch of 1980, the scenic Mount Saint Helens began its threats on the local population. A small earthquake triggered a miniture explosion from the volcano. Intrigued scientists gathered and the surrounding area was evacuated. The volcano seemed to calm down for a while, until in April a bulge was noticed on the north side. This bulge grew about 5 feet per day, eventually reaching about a mile in length. On May 18th, 1980, an earthquake struck under the volcano. The ash reached at high as 10 mi -
First recipient of a heart-liver transplant
Stormie Jones was born with a condition called homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, which means that her cholesterol was ten times the normal level. Her liver couldn't keep up with the high levels of cholesterol and her heart and arteries couldn't, either. When she was six years old, she was admitted into a hospital in Pittsburg that performed heart and liver transplants. However, Stormie and her mother were told that it would take approximately two years to find a donor her size. This was -
First hole in the Ozone
In 1985, three scientists (Joseph Farman, Brian Gardiner, and Jonathan Shanklin) were researching the stratosphere over Antarctica and found a very disturbing fact. There was a small hole in the ozone layer over the continent. It has continued to grow ever since, most likely from the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that continue to be released into the air. -
Cold War Ends
In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell and Communism was gradually pushed out of eastern European countries by free elections. In 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved. -
World Wide Web introduced
In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee, a British physics major, came up with the idea for the World Wide Web. The Internet had come into being in 1973 and was already up and running. Emails were becoming popular, but it was still difficult for everyone on the internet to easily access information and contribute information to the internet. Berners-Lee worked on the Web for two years and made it available to the public in 1991. It is still used to this day. -
Gulf War
In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait over oil disputes. Kuwait negotiated with the United States, asking for assistance in driving the Iraqis out of their country. Iraq was repeatedly asked to leave and eventually the UN began building forces in nearby Saudi Arabia. The United States joined in the war to liberate Kuwait. After only 5 weeks of air and missile combat, forces entered Kuwait City and the Iraqis ordered a cease-fire. The Iraqis were forced to leave Kuwait and American troops returned home. I -
Nelson Mandela released
Nelson Mandela played a key role in South Africa's revolution from apartheid. He took part in many protests and even lead a few. He joined several illegal organisations against racial segregation and the South African government arrested him many times. Eventually, in 1964, the government sentenced him and seven others to life in imprisonment. Though both his mother and eldest son, Thembi, died in the late 1960's, he was not allowed to go to their funerals. In 1985, he was visited by the Justice -
Internet becomes available
In 1993, the internet switched from being only used for major companies and businesses to becoming a household name. It became more commonly used for work at home and entertainment purposes at home. This was the first step toward the social networking and blogs we use today. -
Pincess Diana dies
On August 31st, 1998, shortly after midnight, in Paris, paparazzi were pursuing a dark blue Mercedes at a very high speed. As the Mercedes drove through a tunnel under the Seine, it smashed into one of the supports holding the tunnel up, killing one of the passengers, Dodi Fayed (rumored lover of Princess Diana of Wales), and the car's chaffeur. Recently divorced Princess Diana of Wales and her body guard were pulled from the wreckage and taken to the nearest hospital. Princess Di suffered massi -
Clinton Scandal
In September of 1998, Bill Clinton finally admitted to cheating on his wife, Hillary Clinton, with Monika Lewinsky, a former intern at the White House. For months he had denied the claim. Lewinsky admitted to the scandal as well, saying that she and Clinton had an 18-month relationship and talked about covering it up. The Supreme Court tried to impeach Clinton and he became the second president in our nation's history who was faced with the threat. However, he did not resign and the Supreme Cour -
Wikipedia
In January of 2001, Nupedia got an idea for a free, online encyclopedia. They started this idea with a group of volunteers writing nonbiased articles on different subjects. When, at the end of 2001, they found they had 20,000 articles and an increasing number of readers, they decided to continue the idea and eventually grew into one of the most controversial sources for information in the world. Wikipedia has sites in 283 languages and 20 million articles written by volunteers around the world -
9-11
On the morning of September 11, 2001, terrorists from the group al-Qaeda took over four airplanes flying over the United States. Two were crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, one was crashed into the Pentagon building in Washington, D.C., and the passengers of the other plane were able to bring it down near Shanksville, Pennsylvania (costing only the lives of those on board). The death toll between both Washington, D.C., and New York City was over 3,000. Out of those people, ove -
Facebook introduced
In 2004, Mark Zuckerburg opened the doors of the social media site, Facebook, to the pubic. Facebook turned him into one of the world's youngest billionaires, but such popular and intricate sites do not come without a long learning process. As a college sophomore, Zuckerburg and his friends created Facemash, a type of 'hot or not' game for Harvard college students. Unsurprisingly, Harvard executives closed down the site a few days after it opened, as Zuckerburg had hacked into the college's secu -
Hurricane Katarina
On August 29th, 2005, a Category 3 Hurricane struck the Gulf Coast. It wrecked havoc through Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, but the flooding after the storm was even worse and many victims complained that the federal government didn't help them quickly enough. Thousands of homes were flooded or completely washed away. -
Obama sworn in
In 2008, America elected her first African American president. Democrat Barack Obama's mother was from Kansas while his father was from Kenya. He was born in Hawaii, making him a United States citizen and therefor eligible for the presidency. Obama studied law at Harvard and taught constitutional law in Chicago and served on both the Illinois State Senate and the United States Senate.
