US History B Timeline

By Jesus Moncada

  • The invention of the Model T

    Introduced on October 1 1908 (first production Model T completed and shipped to customers)

  • The WWI Armistice

    Signed and effective on November 11, 1918 (at the 11th hour, making the end of fighting on the Western Front)

  • The Zimmerman Telegram

    Sent on January 16, 1917 (intercepted and decoded shortly after; publicly revealed March 1 1917)

  • The 19 Amendment

    Ratified on August 18 (granting women the right to vote, certified August 26 1920)

  • Charles Lindbergh's Flight

    May 20 - 21, 1927 (first solo nonstop transatlantic flight from New York to Paris in the Spirit of St. Louis).

  • Black Thursday

    October 24 1929 (start of the major stock market panic and crash of 1929 with record trading and sharp decline).

  • Hitler becomes chancellor Germany

    1932 - Nazi Party becomes the largest party in Germany
    January 30 1933 - Hitler appointed Chancellor
    March 1933 - Enabling Act gives him total power

  • The New Deal

    Began in 1933 (President Franklin D. Roosevelt's programs launched starting March 1933 to combat the Great Depression).

  • The Munich Pact

    . September 1938 - Britain and France agree to Hitler's demands over Sudetenland.
    . September 30 1938 - Munich Agreement signed.
    . Result: Germany annexes Sudetenland; policy of appeasement.

  • Hitler Invades Poland

    . August 23 1939 - Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact singed
    . September 1, 1939 - Germany invades Poland
    . September 3 1939 - Britain and France declare war (start of World War II)

  • D - Day

    Allied invasion of Normandy. France.
    - June 6, 1944 - Allied forces land on Normandy beaches, France.
    - Operation: Largest amphibious invasion in history.
    - Impact: Begins the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control.

  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Decided on May 17, 1945 (Supreme Court ruling declaring school segregation unconstitutional).

  • Hiroshima & Nagasaki

    • August 6, 1945 - Hiroshima bombed by U.S. (atomic bomb "Little Boy")
    • August 9, 1945 - Nagasaki bombed by U.S. (atomic bomb "Fat Man")
    • August 15, 1945 - Japan surrenders, ending World War II

  • The formation of the United Nations

    • October 24, 1945 - United Nations officially founded after ratification of the UN Charter.
    • Purpose: Promote peace, security, and international cooperation after World War II
    • First General Assembly: January 10, 1946 in London.

  • The formation of NATO

    April 4, 1949 (North Atlantic Treaty signed).

  • Russians acquire the Atomic Bomb

    August 29, 1949 (first Soviet nuclear test, "RSD-1")

  • The Korean War

    Began June 25, 1950 (North Korean invasion of South Korea).

  • The Vietnam War

    Major U.S. escalation from 1965 onward (though involvement began earlier; often dated broadly 1955 - 1975

  • Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat

    December 1, 1955 (sparking the Montgomery Bus boycott).

  • The Cuban Missile Crisis

    October 1962 ( peak October 16-28,1962).

  • JFK's Assassination

    • Date: November 22, 1963
    • Location; Dallas, Texas - short while riding in a presidential motorcade Aftermath: Lee Harvey Oswald arrested; Lyndon B. Johnson sworn in as President.

  • The Gulf of Ton-kin Resolution

    • August 2-4, 1964 - Alleged attacks on U.S. ships (USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy) in the Gulf of Ton-kin, Vietnam.
    • August 7, 1964 U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Ton-kin Resolution
    • Impact: Gave the President Johnson authority to escalate U.S. military involvement in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war.

  • The Apollo 11 Landing

    • Launch July 16, 1969 - Apollo 11 leaves Earth from Kennedy Space Center
    • Moon Landing: July 20, 1969 - Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on the Moon, Armstrong says, "One small step for man..."
    • Return to Earth: July 24, 1969 - Apollo 11 splashdown in the Pacific Ocean

  • The Watergate Break-ins

    June 17, 1972 - Five men caught breaking int the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex, Washington, D.C.
    Discovery: Linked to President Nixon's re-election campaign (CREEP)
    - Aftermath: Led to investigations, resignations, and eventually Nixon's resignation in 1974

  • Nixon's Resignation

    • Date: August 8, 1974 - Nixon announces his resignation on national television
    • Effective: August 9, 1974 - Vice President Gerald Ford becomes President
    • Reason: Pressure from Watergate scandal and imminent impeachment

  • The Fall of the Berlin Wall

    • Date: November 9, 1989 - East Germany opens the border crossings
    • Event: Berliners begin tearing down the Wall, symbolizing the end of the Cold Ware
    • Aftermath: Germany reunified on October 3, 1990

  • The invention of the Internet

    • Key developments in the 1960's - 1980's (ARPANET first message October 29, 1969; World Wide Web proposed 1989 by Tim Burners-Lee public in 1991).

  • The 9/11 Attacks

    • Date: September 11, 2001 - Four coordinated terrorist attacks by Al-Qaeda in the U.S.
    • Targets: World Trade Center (NYC), Pentagon (VA), and a failed attack that crashed in Pennsylvania
    • Aftermath: Nearly 3,000 killed, major U.S. security changes, and start of the War on Terror

  • COVID-19 Pandemic

    Declared a global pandemic by WHO on March 11, 2020 (first case reported late 2019 in Wuhan, China).

  • Pearl Harbor - December 7, 1941 7:55 am

    • December 7, 1941, 7:55 am- Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
    • Destruction: Over 2,400 Americans killed, battleships and aircraft destroyed.
    • December 8, 1948 - U.S. declares war on Japan entering World War II