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Korean War
75,000 North Korean troops went across the 38th parallel and attacked the South. America got involved almost immediately as most government officials saw it not just as a battle against Koreans but against international communism as well. The war ended in 1953, with approximately 5 million total civilian and soldier casualties. -
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Timeline
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Playboy Founded
Although the first issue was launched later in the year in December, The company itself (Playboy) was founded on October 1, 1953. -
Vietnam War begins
Vietnam, like the Korean War, was seen as a direct war on communism. The war began in 1955 when American troops began engaging North Vietnamese troops in firefights. In 1961, the war escalated as more and more American troops were being sent to Vietnam. Over 3 million casualties had occurred by the end of the war, half of which were Vietnamese citizens. -
Sputnik
The Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite, put into orbit by the U.S.S.R.. America had a swift reaction and declared that they would be the first country to put a man on the moon, which lead to the organization of NASA. The Sputnik was a very simple satellite, basically being a metal ball with four radio antennae attached to the outside. -
NASA Founded
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created as a result of the Sputnik crisis. NASA’s job was to put a man on the moon. -
Berlin Wall begins construction
The Berlin Wall was put up by the U.S.S.R. starting in August of 1961, dividing Berlin in half. One side of the wall remained democratic, while the other half adopted communist ideals. In 1989, the wall was taken down by the public; over the years it remained up, 5000 people attempted to cross it, with a death toll of around 600. -
JFK Asassinated
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald. Shortly after, JFK’s body was placed on Air Force One. At the same time, Lyndon B. Johnson took the oath of office and became president. -
Star Trek
Star Trek is a science fiction TV show started in the 1960s that features a crew on the Enterprise, a starship destined for greatness. Through the many episodes, the crew explores the Milky Way and its planets. Star Trek is part of a larger movement in the 60s in literature and culture dealing with science fiction. -
Hurrican Betsy
Hurricane Betsy had already smashed through the lower part of the Florida peninsula, and now was pummeling Grand Isle. Hurricane Betsy was the first hurricane to ever cause more than 1 billion dollars’ worth of damage. Around 75 people died. -
Gay Rights Movement
After WWII, the first “homophile” movements began, but took place primarily in the 1960’s. A significant event marking these movements is the Stonewall Riots. These violent riots formed as a result of a police raid at an Inn in Greenwich Village in New York and were held to show that gays and lesbians should be able to be open about their sexual orientation. -
Floppy Disk Released to The Public
Although they didn’t take foothold commercially until the 80s, floppy disks were invented in the late 60s and became commercially available in 1971. Floppy disks became instrumental in backing up files for home computers, and they played a large part in the advancements for home computers. After their prime in the 80s and early 90s, floppy disks began to decline as better options, such as CD-ROM, took foothold in America’s computers. -
Roe VS Wade
Regardless of whether you see it as a poor decision or a great one, Roe vs. Wade is one of the most influential Supreme Court decisions in the 70s. Jane Roe, on one side, argued that she had the right to have an abortion; whereas Henry Wade, representing the state of Texas, argued that she did not. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Roe. -
Microsoft Founded
Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4th, 1975. Although they had contracts before it, MS-DOS was the product that made Microsoft a dominant force in technology. MS-DOS was a basic operating system designed for personal computers. -
Nuclear Accident at Three Mile Island
On March 28th, 1979, a partial nuclear meltdown occurred at Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant. It is the worst commercial nuclear accident to occur in the United States. The accident was caused by a computer error and by confusion over the status of a stuck valve. -
Iranian Hostage Crisis
The Iranian Hostage Crisis began on November 4th, 1979 when protestors stormed the embassy in Tehran, Iran. 52 hostages were held until 444 days after it began. Although Iranians claimed the hostages were “guests” and were treated well, American hostages recall mock executions, beatings, solitary confinement, and poor conditions. -
Pacman
With a release in 1980, Pacman has quite a few glitches, most notably the 256th “Split-Screen” level that cannot be completed due to a software error in the game. Pacman is now known as one of the most successful video games of all time. -
CNN Founded
The Cable News Network is an extremely popular news source today, and will be 33 years old in just a few days from now! -
John Lennon Assassination
John Lennon, most popularly known as a member of the Beatles, was assassinated right by the entrance of the building in which he lived by Mark David Chapman. -
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
With the series debut in 1977, George Lucas released the second installment in the series, titled as the fifth. This is my personal favourite movie of all time, and it was a complete work of art. -
Personal Computer release by IBM
The PC has come a long way in 30 years. I, personally own a Lenovo PC(Owned by IBM), and let me tell you...IBM knows what they are doing. The build quality is fantastic, as well as the system specs. -
The Gulf War
The gulf War began right at the turn of the decades, otherwise known as Operation Desert Storm was a war waged by a UK Coalition forces. -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
In late December of 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. -
OJ Simpson arrested for double murder
In early 1995 OJ Simpson was arrested for double murder of his ex wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Lyle Goldman. Found innocent in the trial, but it is quite clear that he did commit the crime. -
Dolly the Sheep cloned
In 1996, Dolly the Sheep was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult Somatic Cell. Dolly's taxadermied body still remains. -
Titanic Movie
In 1997, Titanic was released...to later become the best selling movie in history. -
Wikipedia
Wikipedia was launched January 15th, 2001. Wikipedia was launched by Jimmy Wales, but the name was created by Larry Sangers – it is a combination of encyclopedia and wiki. When it was first launched, Wikipedia was completely open – this is why it became so popular. However, because of its open nature, it became known as inaccurate. -
iPod released
While Apple was around long before they came out with the iPod, this is when Apple really started to go down the trail that lead them to their current multi-national position. The first iPod was not popular however; it’s high price and the fact that it was only compatible with Macs made it unpopular with users. One year later, Apple released the second generation iPod, which solved these problems. -
9/11
On September 11th, 2001 terrorists hijacked a plane and flew it into one of the World Trade Center buildings in New York City. In total, approximately 3,000 people died from these attacks. Ultimately, these attacks lead to the invasion of Iraq and the war there that lasted 10 years and resulted in thousands of deaths. The 9/11 attacks were conducted by Al Qaida. -
Euro Enters Circulation
The Euro was established by a treaty in 1992, but didn’t enter circulation until 2002. At this time, the European Union was starting to become more and more influential. Today, the Euro is more valuable than the U.S. dollar. -
USB Drives Replace Floppy Disks
By the 2000s, Floppy Discs were seen as outdated and a replacement came along. USB (Universal Serial Bus) was smaller, faster, and held far larger amounts of data. By 2008, USB’s were the standard for home computers and gaming consoles.
