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Forrest's house acted like a bed-and-breakfast, where many stayed. Elvis was one of them, and it was here that Forrest inadvertently taught Elvis his famous hip dance.
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A few years later, Elvis releases one of his hit songs, "Hound Dog," which Forrest and his mother see on television, with Elvis employing the hip dance Forrest had shown him.
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As a reward for doing so well in college football, Forrest and his team got to meet the President at the time, John F. Kennedy.
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The University of Alabama, the college that Forrest attends, is desegregated by JFK, much to the dismay of Gov. Wallace. Forrest, of course, hasn't a clue of what's really happening.
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Some months after Kennedy met with Forrest, and desegregated UA, Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald.
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Forrest had enrolled in the Army after graduating college, and was sent off to fight in the Vietnam War/Conflict shortly after. Doesn't go well.
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During one of his many searches in the jungles of Vietnam, Forrest's platoon was caught in an ambush, killing and injuring many, save for Forrest, who ran like the wind and saved the members of his team that he could.
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After Forrest saved the members of his platoon, he was mostly confined to one of the main buildings, a recovery room. It was there he discovered that he had an unnatural knack for ping-pong.
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Five years after his brother was assassinated, Bobby Kennedy followed in his brother's footsteps, killing yet another Kennedy.
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Upon returning home from Vietnam, and being honorably discharged from the Army, Forrest, along with a few others, was presented with a Medal of Honor from the next President, Lyndon B. Johnson.
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This was a monumental event, propelling humanity into a new age, and Forrest was right there watching it on television
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Due to Forrest's phenomenal skills at ping-pong, he lands a spot on a team solely for ping-pong. They even faced against the Chinese team in their home country of China.
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After Forrest gets home from Chine, he goes on a talk show with John Lennon, which happens to be his first appearance on this particular talk show.
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Later the same year when Lennon first went on the Dick Cavett Talk Show, he released the song "Imagine," his best-selling song.
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Lieutenant Dan, Forrest's commanding officer in Vietnam, is found by accident by Forrest (or the inverse). Dan later invites Forrest to celebrate New Year's with him at his place, which doesn't end very great for either.
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A few months into a very successful campaign, George Wallace, the Alabama Governor who strongly advocated for segregation, was shot, ending his campaign for good.
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Out of respect for Forrest's "ping-pong diplomacy" during his time playing, Nixon invites Forrest to meet him, marking Forrest's third President meet-up. Nixon has Forrest put into the Watergate Hotel, where he inadvertently causes the scandal by the same title.
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When Hurricane Carmen struck Louisiana, Forrest's shrimping boat was the only one to survive, propelling Forrest into becoming one of the biggest and richest companies: Bubba Gump Shrimp. However, this does not make any sense, as Hurricane Carmen does not hit until months later, so perhaps this is when Forrest buys his first boat, Jenny?
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After the Watergate scandal left Nixon with little to no credibility left, and he knew he would most likely be impeached, Richard Nixon resigned the presidency. Forrest didn't help with that one.
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This is the hurricane that almost completely destroys the shrimping industry of Louisiana, with only one boat remaining: Jenny, Forrest's boat. This is the event that truly starts Bubba Gump, as little sense as it makes.
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While on his shrimping boat, Jenny, Forrest is able to spend some time having a meal with Lt. Dan. While eating, Dan gets a call for Forrest, revealing that his mother is sick. Forrest, of course, rushes to her side.
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According to Forrest, one day he simply felt like running. And run he did, going across the country multiple times, never stopping for long. However, he should have technically started running a year earlier to make sense of the list of events.
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This is around the time that the AIDS epidemic really started to pick up, with the CDC recognizing Ken Home as the first patient of the epidemic. Jenny is alluded to have this.
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This is the earliest possible time that Lt. Dan could have invested Forrest's money in Apple, as this was when they went public. Their investment would be worth probably 30 times as much now as it originally was then.
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When Forrest gets a letter from Jenny, he immediately goes to pursue where she tells him to go. This is the act that causes the entire movie to happen.
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After fighting an illness alluded to be a form of AIDS, Jenny finally gives up the ghost after a happy last few years married to Forrest. She leaves her son to Forrest, who turns out to be a good parent.
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According to Forrest, he had run for "three years, two months, fourteen days, and sixteen hours." If that is taken as fact based off of when he started, he would have stopped running after Jenny died. If Forrest started a year earlier in the timeline, supposedly, everything might make a bit more sense.
