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Failed U.S. Rescue Attempt to Save Hostages in Tehran: Operation Eagle Claw
Operation Eagle Claw or Operation Evening Light or Operation Rice Bowl was a United States Armed Forces operation ordered by US President Jimmy Carter to attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis by rescuing 52 diplomats held captive at the embassy of the United States, Tehran on 24 April 1980. -
Mt Saint Helen's Eruption
An earthquake followed by the eruption of Mt St Helen's kills 57 people in Washington. There was over $1 billion in damage and the eruption caused the land to be a wasteland. -
Ronald Reagan was elected as the 40th American President.
The inauguration of Ronald Reagan (R) as the 40th president of the United States occurs in Washington, D.C. He brought national pride back to the country after the hard times of the '60s and '70s. He also survived an assassin's bullet. -
Assassination Attempt on U.S. President Reagan
The attempted assassination of United States President Ronald Reagan occurred on March 30, 1981, 69 days into his presidency. While leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded by John Hinckley, Jr -
First Woman Appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (ret.) was born on this date, March 26th in 1930. She went on to become the first woman to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. -
The highest unemployment rate since 1940.
The highest unemployment rate since 1940 is recorded at 10.4%. By the end of November, over eleven million people would be unemployed. -
Vietnam War Memorial Opened in Washington, DC
Near the end of a weeklong national salute to Americans who served in the Vietnam War, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington after a march to its site by thousands of veterans of the conflict. The long-awaited memorial was a simple V-shaped black-granite wall inscribed with the names of the 57,939 Americans who died in the conflict, arranged in order of death, not rank, as was common in other memorials -
Reagan Announces Defense Plan Called Star Wars
The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), also known as Star Wars, was a program first initiated on March 23, 1983, under President Ronald Reagan. The intent of this program was to develop a sophisticated anti-ballistic missile system in order to prevent missile attacks from other countries, specifically the Soviet Union. -
U.S. Embassy in Beirut Bombed
The suicide bombing of the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon on April 18, 1983, was the deadliest attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission up to that point. The blast killed 63 people, 17 of whom were Americans. The attack is thought of as the beginning of anti-U.S. attacks from Islamist groups. -
Windows operating system
The first version of the Windows operating system for computers is released. -
U.S.S.R. Launches Mir Space Station
The Soviets have opened a new phase in space exploration with the launch of the world's biggest space station, Mir. The successful launch of Mir comes just over three weeks after the American space shuttle Challenger disaster, in which seven astronauts died. -
United States bombing of Libya
The 1986 United States bombing of Libya, code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon, comprised airstrikes by the United States against Libya on Tuesday, 15 April 1986 -
INF treaty First arms-control agreement
The United States and the Soviet Union sign an agreement, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, to dismantle all 1,752 U.S. and 859 Soviet missiles in the 300-3,400 mile range. -
U.S. Shoots Down Iranian Airliner: Iran Air Flight 655
Iran Air Flight 655 was an Iran Air civilian passenger flight from Tehran to Dubai. On 3 July 1988, the aircraft operating this route was shot down by the United States Navy guided-missile cruiser USS Vincennes. The incident took place in Iranian airspace, over Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, and on the flight's usual flight path. -
Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing.
Also known as the Lockerbie bombing. All 270 people on board the aircraft were killed. -
George H. W. Bush is inaugurated as the 41st president.
George H. W. Bush (R) became the 40th president. President Bush ended the Cold War and led the first war with Iraq. -
United States Invades Nicaragua
The moderate UNO Coalition candidate, Violeta Chamorro is elected president of Nicaragua. Chamorro improves diplomatic relations with the U.S. At this time, the FSLN party still holds the majority of popular support in Nicaragua. -
Resolution to liberate Kuwait
U.S. Congress passes a resolution authorizing the use of force to liberate Kuwait. Operation Desert Storm begins four days later with airstrikes against Iraq. Iraq responds by sending eight Scud missiles into Israel -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
On December 25, 1991, the Soviet hammer and sickle flag lowered for the last time over the Kremlin, thereafter replaced by the Russian tricolor. -
27th Amendment is Ratified.
The 27th Amendment to the Constitution is passed two hundred and two years after its initial proposal. It bars the United States Congress from giving itself a midterm or retroactive pay raise. This amendment had been originally proposed by James Madison in 1789, as part of twelve amendments, of which ten would become the original Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791. -
Bill Clinton is elected as the 42nd U.S. President
For the presidency of the United States, Democratic candidate Bill Clinton defeats President George H.W. Bush. President Clinton did many good things like the NAFTA trade agreement but later faced impeachment. -
Cult Compound in Waco, Texas Raided
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms raid the Branch Davidian cult compound in Waco, Texas, prompting a gun battle in which four agents and six cult members are killed. -
Oklahoma City Bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995 -
Million Man March in Washington D.C.
Million Man March, political demonstration in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 16, 1995, to promote African American unity and family values. Estimates of the number of marchers, most of whom were African American men, ranged from 400,000 to nearly 1.1 million, ranking it among the largest gatherings of its kind in American history. -
U.S. President Clinton Impeached
Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on two charges, one of perjury and one of obstruction of justice, on December 19, 1998. Two other impeachment articles, a second perjury charge, and a charge of abuse of power failed in the House. -
Columbine Massacre
Fourth deadliest school shooting in US history. Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, leaves 14 students and 1 teacher dead including 2 shooters and 23 others wounded. -
George W. Bush (R) is inaugurated as the 43rd president of U.S.
Certification of the Electoral College victory of the 2000 United States Presidential election in the U.S. Senate confirms George W. Bush's victory, with Dick Cheney as his Vice-President. He was in the office on September 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked America. -
9/11 Terrorist Attacks
Islamic fundamentalist terrorists hijack four U.S. airliners and crash them into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in New York City. The attack of two planes levels the World Trade Center and the crash of one plane inflicts serious damage to the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, causing more than 3,000 deaths. The plot is attributed to the Al-Qaeda organization led by Osama Bin Laden. -
U.S. and Britain launches air attacks in Afghanistan.
In response to the tragedy of September 11, the United States military, with participation from its ally the United Kingdom, commences the first attack in the War on Terrorism on the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Later on May 2, 2011, the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks, Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is killed by US Special Forces during an early morning (approximately mid-afternoon on May 1 in the United States) raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan.