-
Harry Truman
President Truman signed the Economic Recovery Act of 1948. This act became known as the Marshall Plan which provided economic help to restore the weakened economy of Europe after the war. -
Red China
In the month of October of 1949, communist revolutionaries led by Mao Zedong seized absolute control of China. This new communism in China opened up a new Cold War in Asia and caused ridiculous amounts of chaos in the country. -
England's New Queen
After King George VI of Great Britain and Northern Ireland died of illness, Princess Elizabeth, the oldest of the king’s two daughters and next in line to the throne was crowned Queen Elizabeth II at age 27. -
Rosenbergs
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were accused of comprising with the Soviets and passing secret information about the U.S. atomic bombs. Their case remains controversial to this day. -
Panmunjom
Panmunjom is the name that described the meeting place and center of truce between North and South Korea. -
Joseph McCarthy
Senator Joe McCarthy began investigating his idea of Communists infiltrating the U.S. government. -
Roy Campanella
Campanella was a famous American baseball player. He won his second MVP in 1953 while driving in a record of 142 runs as a catcher. -
Rock Around the Clock
On this day Bill Haley and His Comets recorded the song “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around The Clock”. People like to say that if rock and roll was a cultural revolution, then “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around The Clock” was its Declaration of Independence. The song was released in 1955 and was the first rock'n'roll record heard by millions of people worldwide. -
Dien Bien Phu falls
The battle of Dien Bien Phu was a significant turning point in Indochina. The French wanted to reclaim Vietnam as one of their own colonies, while the Vietnamese wanted their independence and rights. The victory at Dien Bien Phu signaled the end of the French influence and cleared the way for Vietnam's freedom. -
Disneyland
Walt Disney's Disneyland opened in 1955. The fee back then for admission was $1 dollar for adults and 50 cents for children. Attraction in the park costs up to 50 cents to ride and experience. -
Alabama
On this day the Montgomery bus boycott began. It was a political and social protest against racial segregation on the public transportation system in Montgomery, Alabama. This event had a huge impact on the civil rights movement in the United States. It lasted until December 20, 1956. -
Trouble in the Suez
The Suez crisis occurred when Israeli forces pushed their way into Egypt using the Suez Canal. Tensions rose and the event marked the first use of a United Nations peacekeeping force. The United Nations Emergency Force was an armed force dispatched to the canal to end hostilities. -
California Baseball
On this day in 1957, the National League Baseball owners voted to allow the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants to move to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Although the teams continued to face each other for many the team's rivalry just wasn’t the same after the move. -
Little Rock
The Little Rock Nine was a group of nine girls who were to be the first African American students to enter Little Rock's Central High School. After attempts to enter the school and being unsuccessful, the girls were able to begin to take regular classes. -
Sputnik
Sputnik was the first artificial Earth satellite launched into low orbit. It was released by the USSR as part of their Soviet space program. -
Hula Hoops
Arthur Melin patented his version of the hula hoop toy. In the first six months, around twenty million hula hoops were sold. -
Space Monkeys
On this day in 1959, the U.S. succeeded in sending primates into space and bringing them home alive and well. This was the first-ever success in sending creatures where no one had been before. Miss Baker, a squirrel monkey, was tucked inside her space capsule and launched alongside Able, an American-born rhesus monkey. They traveled into space on May 28, 1959. Their safe return happened two years before any humans flew into space, and it made them famous. -
U2
In 1960 an incident erupted when the USSR shot down an American U2 spy plane in Soviet air space. They captured the pilot, Francis Gary Powers, and this situation raised tensions between the U.S. and the Soviets during the Cold War. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a serious mission attack on the southwestern coast of Cuba by Cuban exiles who opposed Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution. It lasted from April 17, 1961, to April 19, 1961. Castro was a huge threat but the country failed to knock him out. -
Malcolm X
He was a great public speaker and on this day he made a speech in Washington's Uline Arena at a rally for black Muslims. -
Ole Miss
One this day in 1962, massive riots erupted on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford where locals, students, and segregationists gathered to protest the enrollment of James Meredith. James Meredith was a black Air Force veteran trying to integrate at an all-white school. James spent the night under protection and was allowed to register for his classes in the morning. He became the first black graduate from the university in August 1963. -
Birth Control
In the year 1965, Connecticut went all to the Supreme Court, which ruled in 1965 that birth control was legal for married women. -
Woodstock
The Woodstock Music Festival began on this day. It was a three-day music festival that millions of people came to see. Woodstock was a huge success. Even with lots of complications like weather changes it was a very peaceful celebration of music and earned its place in history. -
Ayatollah in Iran
On this day in 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran after 15 years of exile. Khomeini was the very first religious leader to openly condemn the shah’s program of the westernization. When he called for the overthrow of the shah and the official establishment of an Islamic state in 1963, Mohammad Reza imprisoned him. His imprisonment led to riots and huge amounts of violence until Reza expelled him completely from Iran on November 4, 1964. -
Crack Epidemic
Through the 1980s, the drug crack began increasingly popularized. It was affordable, had an immediate euphoric effect, and had high profitability. It's super addictive and caused an epidemic across the country. -
Sally Ride
Sally Ride was the first American woman to go into space. She flew on the space shuttle Challenger and later made two more shuttle flights. She became a hero and role model for science lovers everywhere for generations. -
China Under Martial Law
In 1989 protest in Tiananmen Square broke out in the center of Beijing. Armed military troops massacred hundreds of people. Protest were mainly student-led for freedom of speech and press who initially marched to honor the death of a leader's death. Martial law was declared when the protest continued to grow violent.