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The sinking of the RMS Titanic.
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Stock market crash precipitates the Great Depression
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Fair Labor Standards Act is passed, setting the first minimum wage in the U.S. at 25 cents per hour
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U.S. declares war on Japan following the bombing of Pearl Harbor
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U.S. drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan
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North Korean communists invade South Korea
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invasion of Cuba fails
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President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Tex.
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Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated in Memphis, Tenn.
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Landmark Supreme Court decision legalizes abortion in first trimester of pregnancy
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Nixon resigns; he is succeeded in office by his vice president, Gerald Ford
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U.S. leads international coalition in military operation (code named ―Desert Storm‖) to drive Iraqis out of Kuwait
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After 51-day standoff with federal agents, Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Tex., burns to the ground, killing 80 cult members
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Bombing of federal office building in Oklahoma City kills 168 people
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House of Representatives votes to impeach President Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice
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School shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., leaves 14 students (including the 2 shooters) and 1 teacher dead and 23 others wounded