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Harry Truman was inaugurated as U.S. president after being elected in 1948 to his own term; previously he was sworn in following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He authorized the use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan during World War II, on August 6 and August 9, 1945, respectively
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The King and I, musical, opens on Broadway on March 29
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Richard Nixon is first elected to be presedent of the united states
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Elvis Presley signs with RCA Records on November 21, beginning his pop career
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Buddy Holly dies in a plane crash on February 3 with Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, in a day that had a devastating impact on the country and youth culture. Joel prefaces the lyric with a Holly signature vocal hiccup: "Uh-huh, uh-huh."
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In the early 1960s, oral contraceptives, popularly known as "the pill", first go on the market and are extremely popular
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Space Monkey: Able and Miss Baker return to Earth from space aboard the flight Jupiter AM-18
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Woodstock: Famous rock and roll festival of 1969 that came to be the epitome of the counterculture movement.
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Ayatollah's in Iran: During the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the West-backed and secular Shah is overthrown as the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini gains power after years in exile and forces Islamic law
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China's under martial law: On May 20, China declares martial law, enabling them to use force of arms against protesting students to end the Tiananmen Square protests.
