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West Germany granted full sovereignty by its three occupying powers.
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Rosa Parks arrested for not giving up her seat.
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Nikita Khrushchev denounced Joseph Stalin.
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Dr. Albert Sabin discovered oral polio vaccine.
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US Supreme court rules race separation on buses in Alabama unconstitutional.
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First transatlantic telephone cable went into operation from Newfoundland to Oban.
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Federation of Malaya gained independence from Great Britain.
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President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered US troops to support the integration of nine black students at Little Rock Central High School.
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USSR launches Sputnik I.
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USSR launches Sputnik 2 with a dog (Laika).
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US atomic submarine USS Nautilus began 1st transit of North Pole.
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US Supreme Court ordered the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas to integrate.
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Luna 1 became 1st craft to leave Earth's gravity.
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Fidel Castro became the 16th Prime Minister of Cuba after overthrowing Fulgencio Batista.
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Hawaii became the 50th state in the US.
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Luna 2 launched by USSR. It was the 1st spacecraft to impact on the Moon.
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1st guided missile launched from nuclear powered sub.
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US atomic submarine USS Triton completed 1st submerged circumnavigation of the globe.
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Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi-Arabia, and Venezuela form the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
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The Viet Cong formed in South Vietnam.
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Nelson Mandela was acquitted of treason in Pretoria.
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Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit Earth.
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Cuban exiles landed in Bay of Pigs in an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro.
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JFK announced US goal of putting a man on Moon before the end of decade.
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The Cuban missile crisis began.
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US Equal Pay Act signed into law by President John F. Kennedy.
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Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I have a dream" speech.
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Federation of Malaysia formed by Malaya, Singapore, British North Borneo, and Sarawak
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President John F. Kennedy assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas.
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Nelson Mandela sentenced to life in prison in South Africa.
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The Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed.
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President Lyndon B. Johnson signs Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act into law.
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India and Pakistan cease-fire went into effect, ending Indo-Pakistani War.
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US planes bombed Hanoi and Haiphong.
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The Cuban Adjustment Act came into force, which allowed 123,000 Cubans opportunity to apply for permanent residence in the US.
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US and USSR signed a treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons in outer space.
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US and South Vietnamese troops launched Operation Junction City against the Viet Cong.
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Six-day war between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria
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President Lyndon B. Johnson signed 1968 Civil Rights Act.
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The Battle of Khe Sanh began at the Khe Sanh Air Base.
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Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
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In Epperson v. Arkansas, the US Supreme Court declared unconstitutional Arkansas law banning teaching evolution in public schools.
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Neil Armstrong became the first person to step on the Moon.
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Operation Banner began
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The Nigerian Civil War ended.
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California passed 1st "no fault" divorce law.
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Idi Amin appointed himself President of Uganda.
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Richard Nixon installed a secret taping system in the White House.
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Indian troops defeated the Pakistan army.
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US, USSR, and 70 other nations agreed to ban biological weapons.
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US Senate ratified the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
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US Supreme Court legalized most abortions
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US and North Vietnam signed cease-fire
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The (then) world's tallest building opened in New York.
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US President Richard Nixon announced he will resign.
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Gerald Ford swore the oath of office to take his place as the 38th US President.
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Ethiopia abolished its monarchy.
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US ended its involvement in the Vietnam War.