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Harry Truman
On this day, Truman gets elected as the 33rd president of the United States. He wins against Thomas E. Dewey in one of the most greatest upsets in presidential history. -
Red China
Red China is used as the name of China during the time it was controlled by communism in the Chinese Civil War. -
Rosenbergs
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were the first two American citizens to be convicted of espionage. They were believed to be spies for the Soviet Union. -
England's Got a New Queen
Queen Elizabeth II is the current Queen of England, successor to George IV. At age 95, she is the longest reigning British Monarch in history. -
Panmunjom
The site for peace talks during the Civil War. It is located between North and South Korea and serves as a middleground between the North and South Koreans. -
Joe McCarthy
Man who produced many investigations and allegations against alleged communists during the Red Scare period. His actions led to the name of "McCarthyism". -
Campanella
Roy Campanella was one of the best hitting catchers that helped to break the color barrier in Baseball. He was the first African-American catcher in the MLB when he signed with the Dodgers. He also won his second mvp in 1953. -
Dien Bien Fu Falls
The battle of Dien Bien Fu was a battle during the First Indochina War. Between Viet Minh and the French, the French suffer a defeat against the Viet Minh army, who wanted to claim their independence from the French. -
"Rock Around the Clock"
Bill Haley & His Comets sang "Rock Around the Clock", which was the first rock and roll song heard by more than millions of people around the world. -
Disneyland
Disneyland successfully established an entertainment industry and is considered a pioneer in terms of public entertainment parks. Other parks we see today were influenced by Disneyland. -
Alabama
During this time in Alabama, the Montgomery bus boycott was occuring to protest segregation on seating in buses. This was considered the first large-scale U.S. demonstration against segregation. -
Trouble in the Suez
During this time in the Middle East, there was a crisis when Britain along with France and Israel invaded Egypt to recover control of the Suez Canal after the Suez Canal Company lost control. -
Little Rock
Governor Orval Faubus called in the Arkansas National Guard to block the black students' entry into the Central High school. The Little Rock Nine were 9 students who enrolled at this all-white high school to challenge segregation. -
Sputnik
Sputnik was the world's first artificial satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. The launching of this satellite also intensified the arms race and raised tension during the Cold War. -
California baseball
The Los Angeles Dodgers made their debut in their new home city after leaving Brooklyn. They had been playing in Brooklyn since 1884. -
Space monkey
The U.S. recovered two primates alive after a spaceflight. A rhesus monkey named Able and a squirrel monkey named Baker reached an altitude of 300 miles (483 km) aboard a Jupiter rocket and were retrieved unharmed. -
Hula Hoops
Arthur Melin pioneers the hula hoop and applied for a patent for his version of the hula hoop. The plastic version we know today was originated during this time in history. -
U2
An American U-2 spy plane is shot down while spying over the Soviet Union. This incident ruined a summit meeting between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev that was suppose to happen later. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
This was a failed attack launched by the CIA during the Kennedy administration to push Cuban leader Fidel Castro from power. -
Ole Miss
Southern segregationists rioted and fought state and federal forces on the campus of the University of Mississippi to prevent the enrollment of the first African American student, James Meredith, to attend the university. -
Malcolm X
Malcolm gave a speech at the University of California, Berkeley, in which he outlined the philosophy of black nationalism as promoted by the Nation of Islam and declared racial separatism as the best approach to the problems facing black America. -
Birth control
In the court case Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court rules that birth control is legal for married women. Despite this, millions of unmarried women are still denied birth control. -
Woodstock
Woodstock was a music festival held August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York. It brought more than 500,000 people, and helped to provide a musical environment for people to escape the harsh reality during the era of Civil Rights. -
Ayatollah's in Iran
The Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran in triumph after 15 years of exile. Khomeini was arrested and was exiled from Iran for opposing the Shah's actions. -
Sally Ride
Sally Ride became the first American woman in space, aboard the space shuttle Challenger. She helped deploy satellites and worked other projects as a mission specialist. -
crack
The "crack epidemic" in the United States was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across the United States. -
China's under martial law
China declared martial law and mobilized almost 300,000 troops in Beijing. They suppressed public demonstrations and upheld the authority of the Chinese Communist Party.