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Five days after Lee surrencered to Grant at Appotomattox, Lincoln and his wife went to Ford's Theatre. During the third act, John Wilkes Booth crept up behind Lincoln and shot the president in the back of his head. Lincoln never regained consciousness and died a day later.
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Oklahoma is opened for settlement. In less than a day, land-hungry settlers claimed 2 million acres in this massive land rush.
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In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece.
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Hollywood, California, becomes the center of movie production in the United States.
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In September 1929, stock prices peaked and then fell. Confidence in the market started to waver, and some investors quickly sold their stocks and pulled out. On October 24, the market took a plunge.
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Amelia Earhart mysteriously disappears while attempting solo around-the-world flight.
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Jackie Robinson took a brave step when he turned the Brooklyn Dodgers into an integrated baseball team in 1947.
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12 countries, including the US, formed a defensive military alliance to support one another in case any member was attacked.
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The United States and USSR face off in the CUban missile Crisis.
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Astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the moon. Americans swelled with pride and accomplishment as they watched the historic moon landing on their televisions.
