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We Didn't Start the Fire
"We Didn't Start the Fire" is a song by Billy Joel. Its lyrics include brief, rapid-fire allusions to more than 100 headline events between March 1949 (Joel was born on May 9 of that year) and 1989, when the song was released on his album Storm Front. The song was a No. 1 hit in the US. -
Harry Truman is inaugurated as U.S. president after being elected in 1948
Harry Truman is 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. -
North Korea and South Korea declare war after Northern forces stream south
North Korea and South Korea declare war after Northern forces stream south on June 25. -
The King and I, musical, opens.
The King and I, musical, opens on Broadway. -
George Santayana dies.
Santayana goodbye: George Santayana, philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist, dies. -
Joseph Stalin dies.
Joseph Stalin dies, yielding his position as leader of the Soviet Union. -
"Rock Around the Clock" is a hit single released.
"Rock Around the Clock" is a hit single released by Bill Haley & His Comets in May, spurring worldwide interest in rock and roll music. -
Ernest Hemingway commits suicide.
Ernest Hemingway commits suicide on July 2 after a long battle with depression -
Moonshot: Apollo 11.
MORE INFORMATIONMoonshot: Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing, successfully lands on the moon. -
Punk rock: The Ramones form, with the Sex Pistols.
MORE INFOPunk rock: The Ramones form, with the Sex Pistols following in 1975, bringing in the punk era -
Crack: cocaine use surged.
Crack: cocaine use surged in the mid-to-late 1980s
