The 20th Century By oliviabeall Period: Jan 1, 1900 to Dec 31, 1909 1900-1909 Jan 22, 1901 Queen Victoria died and is succeeded by her son, Edward VII Sep 14, 1901 President William McKinley shot Jan 1, 1902 First Rose Bowl game played Feb 14, 1903 Department of Commerce and Labor created Sep 29, 1903 Prussia becomes the first country to issue driving licenses Dec 1, 1903 Great Train Robbery movie opens Dec 17, 1903 Wright Brother built and flew biplane The Wright Brothers built the biplane and flew it for 12 seconds over 120 feet Feb 8, 1904 Russo-Japanese War begins Apr 8, 1904 Long Acre Square in Manhattan, New York, was renamed Times Square Mar 4, 1905 President Theodore Roosevelt is inaugurated for his second term Jul 11, 1905 Niagara Falls conference Mar 10, 1906 Underground Fire in France Mar 13, 1906 Susan B. Anthony dies Apr 18, 1906 San Francisco earthquake and three-day fire; more than 500 dead Jun 30, 1906 The Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act is passed Mar 13, 1907 beginning of the Financial Panic and Depression of 1907 Nov 16, 1907 Oklahoma becomes a state Dec 6, 1907 Coal mine explodes in Monongah, West Virginia, killing at least 361. Worst industrial accident in American history Nov 3, 1908 William Howard Taft is elected President Apr 6, 1909 First Men to Reach The North Pole, Explorers Robert E. Peary and Matthew A Period: Jan 1, 1910 to Dec 31, 1930 1910-1930 Jul 24, 1911 The Discovery of Machu Picchu Apr 10, 1912 Sinking of the Titanic Feb 3, 1913 16th Amendment was ratified Jul 28, 1914 Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia May 7, 1915 Lusitania sunk by torpedo May 31, 1916 The Battle of Jutland May 15, 1918 The first flights for the new U.S. airmail service Jan 29, 1919 18th Amendment / Prohibition Jan 10, 1920 The League of Nations is established Sep 17, 1920 The American Professional Football League is formed May 19, 1921 Emergency Quota Act established Sep 7, 1921 The first Miss America pageant is held in Atlantic City Feb 5, 1922 Reader's Digest is founded Apr 4, 1923 Warner Brothers Pictures is incorporated Aug 2, 1923 President Warren G. Harding dies in office Jul 10, 1924 The Scopes Trial or Monkey Trial begins Nov 4, 1924 Calvin Coolidge wins his first election as President May 9, 1926 The first flight to the North Pole and back Sep 7, 1927 First success in the invention of television Jun 17, 1928 Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly over the Atlantic Ocean Period: Jan 1, 1930 to Dec 31, 1950 1930-1950 May 1, 1931 Empire State building opens in NYC Jan 7, 1932 Stimson Doctrine Mar 4, 1933 FDR sworn in as president Jun 18, 1934 Indian Reorganization Act established Aug 15, 1934 The United States pulls its troops from Haiti Aug 14, 1935 Social Security Act is passed May 30, 1936 Gone with the Wind is published by Margaret Mitchell Aug 14, 1937 The Appalachian Trail is completed May 17, 1938 The Naval Expansion Act passes Jun 12, 1939 The Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown, NY Sep 16, 1940 U.S. Congress approves and enacts the first peacetime conscription draft Aug 14, 1941 Atlantic Charter is issued by President Roosevelt and Churchill Jun 20, 1942 The development of the first atomic bomb is signed into agreement Jun 21, 1943 Race riots in Detroit and Harlem Jun 22, 1944 The G.I. Bill of Rights is signed into law Apr 12, 1945 President Roosevelt dies suddenly Aug 1, 1946 The Atomic Energy Commission is established Apr 25, 1947 Theodore Roosevelt National Park is established Apr 1, 1948 The Soviet Union begins its land blockade of the Allied sectors of Berlin Jun 29, 1949 United States withdraws its troops from Korea Period: Jan 1, 1950 to Dec 31, 1969 1950-1969 Mar 29, 1951 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty espionage Feb 14, 1952 The 1952 Winter Olympics open in Helsinki, Finland Dec 30, 1953 The first color televisions go on sale May 17, 1954 Racial segregation in public schools is declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in Brown vs. the Board of Education Dec 1, 1955 Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat Sep 25, 1956 The first transatlantic telephone cable begins operation Jan 20, 1957 President Eisenhower is inaugurated for his second term in office Jan 31, 1958 Explorer I, the first U.S. space satellite, is launched by the Army at Cape Canaveral Jan 3, 1959 Alaska becomes 49th US state Apr 1, 1960 Tiros I, the first weather satellite, is launched by the US Feb 15, 1961 entire US figure skating team is killed in a plane crash near Brussels, Belgium Oct 14, 1962 The Cuban Missile Crises begins Aug 28, 1963 The Civil Rights march on Washington, D.C. culminates with Dr. MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech Feb 25, 1964 Muhammad Ali wins the World Heavyweight Championship in Boxing Apr 22, 1964 The New York World's Fair opens in Queens, New York Aug 6, 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is signed into law Jul 1, 1966 Medicare, the government medical program for citizens over the age of 65, begins Jan 12, 1967 The New York Jets win Super Bowl III over the Baltimore Colts Oct 2, 1967 Thurgood Marshall is sworn into office as first black Supreme Court Justice Apr 4, 1968 Martin Luther King is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee Jul 20, 1969 The Apollo program completes its mission Period: Jan 1, 1970 to Dec 31, 1979 1970-1979 May 1, 1970 US troops invade Cambodia May 3, 1971 Anti-war militants attempt to disrupt government business in Washington Mar 24, 1972 Britain takes over direct rule of Northern Ireland in bid for peace Jun 1, 1973 Greek military junta abolishes monarchy and proclaims republic Feb 5, 1974 Patricia Hearst, 19-year-old daughter of publisher Randolph Hearst, kidnapped by Symbionese Liberation Army Sep 22, 1975 President Ford escapes second assassination attempt Jan 1, 1976 First woman Episcopal priest ordained May 11, 1976 Ford signs Federal Election Campaign Act Sep 28, 1978 new Pope, John Paul I, 65, dies unexpectedly Mar 28, 1979 Nuclear power plant accident at Three Mile Island, Pa., releases radiation
