-
Harry Truman
Became U.S President after Roosevelt died in 1945, was responsible for dropping atomic bombs on Japan and ending World War II, In second term 1949 defeating Dewey Chicago Tribune newspaper headlining "Dewey Defeats". -
Doris Day
A popular movie star and singer. -
Red China
Communists took control of China after a struggle that started before World War II. -
Johnny Ray
Partially deaf singer, whose song CRY was a number one hit. Ray actually cried in performing the song. -
Southy Pacific
South Pacific was a highly popular Broadway music and hit movie -
Walter Winchell
Was a top gossiper reporter whose newspaper column and radio show could make or brake a celebrity -
Joe DiMaggio
Was a popular NY Yankees baseball player. He was affectionately known as "Joltin' Joe" -
Richard Nixon
He was a member of the house of representatives from California when he became involved in the trial of Alger Hiss, who was a communist and spy. -
Joe McCarthy
Was a senator from Wisconsin. He was known for brutal interrogations of suspects. -
Studebaker
Was a popular car in 1950, the styling consisted of a torpedo front end and read window. People joked that the car looked like it was going backwards. -
Television
Became popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s -
North/South Korea
Korea was split after World War II. -
Marilyn Monroe
Was a popular "Sex Symbol" movie star. She played around with JFK. -
Rosenburgs
Were a husband and wife who were arrested and executed for selling secrets of the atomic bomb to the soviet unoin -
Sugar Ray
Was the Middle-weight boxing champ of the world. -
H-Bomb
The H-Bomb was developed under the guidance of Dr. Edward Teller. -
Panmunjom
Panmunjom, Korea is where negotiations between the United Nations led by the United States and the Communist North Koreans to end the Korean War took place. The separation between North Korea and South Korea was originally the 38th Parallel, but the new truce decided on a boundary between the countries that was more defensible. The countries also exchanged prisoners-of-war as a result of the Panmunjom negotiations -
Brando
Became a top movie actor. He was famous for his brooding and mumbling action style. -
The king and I
A popular Broadway. -
The catcher in the rye
Was a extreme popular book -
Eisenhower
Gen. Dwight D ("Ike") had been supreme commander in the World War II fight against the Nazis. -
Vaccine
The vaccine to the dreaded Polio was discoverd by Jonas Salk and distributed to the world -
Englands got a new queen
On Feb. 6, 1952, Queen II ascended the throne upon the death of her father, King George 6. -
Rocky Marciano
was the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. He retired undefeated. -
Liberace
Liberace was a popular pianist and entertainer, who had his own TV show in the 1950s. -
Santayana good-bye
philosopher George Santayana died in 1952 -
Joseph stalin
was the dictator of the Soviet Union. He was a harsh leader who had millions of his people executed or sent to labor camps in Siberia. -
Georgy Malenkov
Georgy Malenkov was a Soviet politician and Communist Party leader, and a close collaborator of Joseph Stalin -
Nasser
was the second President of Egypt after Muhammad Naguib. He was considered one of the more influential Arab leaders in history. -
Prokofiev
was the most prolific Russian composer, pianist and conductor of the twentieth century. -
Campanella
was the all-star catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team. His career was cut short by a paralyzing car accident. -
Communist bloc
USSR and their satellite countries formed what was called the Communist bloc. -
Rockefeller
In 1953, Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Nelson as chair of the President's Advisory Committee on Government Organization. He served as Governor of New York from 1959 to 1973. He was the 41st Vice President of the United States of America from December 19, 1974 to January 20, 1977. -
Roy Cohn
was the advisor to Senator Joseph McCarthy during the McCarthy Hearings on Communists in the movie industry and government. -
Juan Peron
was a popular leader in Argentina, elected first in 1946 and then again in 1952. Perón pursued social policies aimed at empowering the working class. -
Dacron
wonder-material Dacron hit the market. -
Dien Bien Phu falls
The French lose control over Indo-China—now known as Vietnam with the fall of the city Dien Bien Phu -
Toscanini
as a world-famous conductor, considered to have been one of the greatest classical conductors of all time. -
Rock around the clock
Bill Haley and the Comets came out with what was considered the first rock-and-roll hit song, Rock Around the Clock. It was the theme music for the popular movie Blackboard Jungle. -
James Dean
James Dean was a movie star who became a symbol of young people for his role in the movie Rebel Without a Cause. -
Elvis Presley
Singer Elvis Presley became a national phenomenon with such number-one hit songs as Heartbreak Hotel, Don't Be Cruel and Hound Dog. He was called "Elvis the Pelvis" because of the way he shook his hips while dancing. -
Peter Pan
Peter Pan was a top Broadway play starring Mary Martin, who flew through the air as Peter Pan. -
Einstein
Albert Einstein developed the Theory of Relativity in 1903 and was considered one the world's smartest scientists. He became a popular figure in the later years of his life. He died in 1955. -
Disneyland
Disneyland opened in 1955 in Anaheim, California. It was a theme park, developed by Walt Disney and based around his cartoon characters. It was designated as a place for family entertainment. -
Davy Crockett
Actor Fess Parker starred in the highly popular TV series Davy Crockett. The novelty song The Ballad of Davy Crockett became the number-one song in 1955. Coonskin caps—like Davy Crockett wore—also became popular among young boys. -
Brooklyn's got a winning team
The Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team finally won the World Series over the New York Yankees. They later moved to Los Angeles. -
Bardot
Bardot was a popular "sex-kitten" movie star. -
Peyton Place
The book Peyton Place became the number-1 best-seller. Teens often marked the "good parts" in the book, as they passed it among each other. -
Princess Grace
Actress Grace Kelly left Hollywood to marry Prince Ranier of Monaco. She then attained the title of Princess Grace. -
Alabama
In Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, African-American Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in the "colored section" to a white passenger, after the "white section" was filled, as was the law at that time. -
Budapest
Anti-communist riots took part in Budapest, Hungary. Soviet troops put down the revolt and arrested many Hungarians, especially students. -
Trouble in the Suez
After Britain and the USA withdrew their financial support for the Egyptian Aswan dam project, General Nasser nationalized the important Suez Canal. -
Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev emerged as a leader in the Soviet Union after the death of dictator Josef Stalin. -
Mickey Mantle
was a great baseball player for the New York Yankee team. -
Kerouac
was the author of the best-selling book On the Road. -
Sputnik
was the name of the first orbiting satellite sent into space by the USSR. -
Chou En-Lai
was the Premier and Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China. -
Pasternak
Boris Pasternak was a Russian poet and writer. -
Bridge on the River Kwai
was a 1957 Academy Award winning movie about a World War II Japanese prisoner-of-war camp. -
Little Rock
Nine African-American students enrolled at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. -
Charles de Gaulle
returned to power as the leader of France. -
California baseball
The Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team moved to Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Giants moved to San Francisco -
Starkweather homicide
was a serial killer who made the news 1958 because of his gruesome murders. Starkweather and his girlfriend, Caril Fugate, went on a killing spree of 11 to 15 people over a span of a month and a half. They were captured and he was executed in 1959. -
Lebanon
U.S. President Eisenhower ordered U.S. Marines into Lebanon at the request of Lebanese President Chamoun to help stop riots that were occurring in the country. -
Children of Thalidomide
Thalidomide was a medication intended for pregnant women to combat morning sickness and as an aid to help them sleep. Unfortunately, inadequate tests were performed to assess the drug's safety. Between 1957 and 1962, children of women who took the drug thalidomide during pregnancy were born with severe deformities, including only stubs for arms. Because of this tragedy, the drug was taken off the market in 1962 -
Buddy Holly
was a popular singer and leader of the Crickets rock group -
Ben Hur
was a spectacular movie starring Charlton Heston. It was set around the time of Christ. -
Space Monkey
Starting in 1948. a number of monkeys had been sent into space in various rockets, but unfortunately all died during their flights. It wasn't until 1959 that Able, a rhesus monkey, and Miss Baker, a squirrel monkey, became the first monkeys to successfully travel in space and successfully return to Earth. -
Mafia
Mafia leaders met in upstate New York to get better organized. -
Hula Hoops
became a national fad. Everywhere, you would see children and even adults trying to spin the large plastic hoop around their waist. -
Edsel is a no-go
Ford Motor Company came out with a new car, the Edsel. The car was named after Edsel Ford, who was Henry Ford's son. The car was to fit in between the Ford and Mercury, but it was the wrong car at the wrong time and lasted only a few years until it was discontinued. -
Castro
Fidel Castro had been a wealthy lawyer, advocating social justice and protesting the influence of the United States in Cuba. He became involved in political activism and led the revolution to overthrow Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. He was then sworn in as the Prime Minister of Cuba. Moving toward Communism, he alienated the United States. -
U-2
The United States had been sending the secret U-2 high-flying spy plane over the Soviet Union to take pictures and gather information, when one was shot down by a Russian missile. The pilot Francis Gary Powers was taken prisoner and later released in an exchange for a Soviet spy who had been arrested in the U.S -
Syngman Rhee
was the first President of South Korea, serving from 1948 to 1960. His method of rule became unpopular, and he was forced to resign by a student-led democratic movement. -
Payola
Many disk jockeys were exposed for taking bribes to pay certain songs on the radio, thus biasing the record sales. Top national disk jockey Allen Freed was convicted of payola. American Bandstand TV dance show host Dick Clark was accused of payola but found innocent. -
Kennedy
John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States in 1960. He was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on 22 November 1963. -
Chubby Checker
Singer Chubby Checker came out with the song The Twist, which started a national dance sensation. Soon, not only teens but also adults where doing the twist. The dance was responsible for popularizing "fast dancing" or rock-and-roll among adults. Chubby Checker's name was a spin-off of the name of the popular rock singer Fats Domino. -
Belgians in the Congo
The country of Belgian Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960 to become simply the Congo. For the next several there was civil strife, resulting in 100,000 deaths, as Congolese political parties fought for power. -
Psycho
Psycho was a thriller movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock. A young woman, Marion Crane—played by Janet Leigh—steals some money from work and leaves town, getting a room at the Bates Motel. A shy man, Norman Bates—played by Anthony Perkins—runs the motel with his domineering mother. -
Hemingway
Famous author Ernest Hemingway committed suicide. -
Eichmann
Former Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann was arrested in Argentina and brought to Israel, where he was convicted of war crimes and executed. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
In 1960, the Eisenhower Administration created a plan to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba. In April of 1961, newly-elected President John F. Kennedy allowed the attack on Cuba. Armed Cuban exiles sailed from Florida and landed at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba. Because of poor planning by Kennedy, as well as spies and U.S. government leaks, Castro was ready for the attack. The exiles were all either captured or killed. President Kennedy was greatly criticized for the failure of the mission. -
Dylan
Singer Bob Dylan led the folk music craze. -
Stranger in a Strange Land
Stranger in a Strange Land was an award-winning fictional book by Robert A. Heinlein about Valentine Michael Smith, who was born during the first manned mission to Mars and was the only survivor. -
Berlin
The Soviets erected the Berlin Wall, dividing the city into the Russian-controlled part and the area controlled by the U.S., British and French. -
Liston beats Patterson
Boxer Sonny Liston easily defeated Heavyweight Champion Floyd Patterson to gain the title. -
Lawrence of Arabia
The movie Lawrence of Arabia starring Peter O'Toole won the Academy Awards. -
British Beatle-mania
British rock group the Beatles took over the music scene, with numerous hit records on the Top-40 charts. -
John Glenn
John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. He had previously been a U.S. Marine test pilot, but in 1959 he was assigned to NASA as one of the original group of Mercury astronauts. -
Ole Miss
University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) admitted its first black or African-American student, James Meredith, with U.S. Marshals enforcing the rules to integrate the school. -
Malcolm X
came into the news when he preached separation of the races as part of the Black Muslim teachings. His real name was Malcolm Little, and he was the son of a lay Baptist minister. His family had been harassed by white-supremacists a number of times. Apparently, three of Malcolm's uncles and his father were killed by white men. After his mother was institutionalized as insane, Malcolm grew up in foster homes. -
Pope paul
Pope Paul VI was pope—or leader—of the Catholic Church from 1963 to 1978. He followed Pope John and completed the implementation of the goals of the Second Vatican Council. He became the first pope to visit six continents, but he also known to be an indecisive leader. His views were important to the world's Catholics -
British politician sex
A sex scandal rocked British Parliament. Secretary of State for War John Profumo was highly respected and married, but after it was discovered that he had a several week affair with a showgirl named Christine Keeler, he was forced to resign -
JFK blown away
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963. Kennedy was riding in an open-top automobile in a presidential motorcade when Lee Harvey Oswald shot him through the head with a sniper rifle from a sixth floor window of a nearby building. Oswald was arrested eighty minutes later after killing a Dallas police officer. He was captured hiding in a movie theatre. He claimed he was innocent of killing Kennedy and was being set up as a patsy. -
Birth control
Birth Control became an issue with the advent of the birth control pill. Later, abortion was legalized. -
Richard Nixon back again
After losing the election for President to John F. Kennedy in 1960 and then losing his bid to be Governor of California in 1962, former Vice President Richard Nixon fought back to regain prominence in national politics. One interesting thing he did was to be a guest on the popular television comedy show Laugh-In. Nixon repeated the show's running gag-line, "Sock it to me" a number of times. It gave the impression that he was not such a dour person after all. Nixon was elected President in 1968. -
Ho Chi-Minh
was the leader of the Communist North Vietnamese, who first fought the French and then the Americans. Died in 1969 -
Moon shot
The United States landed the first man on the moon. -
Woodstock
A farmer in the Woodstock area of New York state donated his land for a rock concert. Surprisingly, 600,000 rock fans showed up, making it the biggest rock concert ever held. -
Watergate
Supporters and staff of U.S. President Richard Nixon were accused of breaking into the Democratic headquarters in the Watergate hotel. Nixon tried to cover up the fact and soon he forced to resign from office because of that cover up. Several of his staff members were sent to prison as a result of the affair. -
Punk Rock
Punk rock hits the music scene with such groups as the Sex Pistols, who would spit at the audience. -
Wheel of Fortune
The Wheel of Fortune TV show became a favorite. -
Terror on the airlines
Numerous airline hijackings were in the news. -
Begin
Begin was Prime Minister of Israel. -
Russians in Afghanistan
The Soviet Union entered Afghanistan to "protect" Communist interests in the country. Rebels were supported by the United States, and finally after a long, costly war, the Soviets were forced to withdraw from the country. -
Ayatollah's in Iran
The Shah of Iran—who was supported by the United States—was overthrown and Ayatollah Khomeini took over the country. Hostages were taken at the US embassy in Tehran and finally released 444 days later. -
Ronald Reagan
Former movie actor Ronald Reagan became President of the United States. -
Homeless Vets
Many veterans of the Vietnam conflict became homeless. A major problem with them was drug addiction or alcoholism. -
AIDS
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) disease started to spread throughout the world. -
Crack
A potent form of the highly addictive drug cocaine called "crack" or "rock" had been rapidly spreading in the United States, especially in troubled neighborhoods. -
Sally Ride
Sally Ride became the first American woman in space as a member of the Space Shuttle crew in 1983. Valentina Tereshkova of the Soviet Union was the very first woman in space in 1963, orbiting the Earth 48 times. -
Palestine
Palestinians protested unfair treatment by the Israelis. -
Bernie Goetz
Bernie Goetz was a New Yorker who was concerned about crime in the city. After he got on a subway in the afternoon, four African-American youths approached Goetz and demanded $5 from him. He pulled out a gun and shot all four. Then he shot one of the youths again, as he lay on the floor, severing the spinal cord and paralyzing him. -
Heavy, Metal Suicide
One viewpoint is that Billy Joel had two topics here: Heavy Metal, where heavy metal rock comes on the music scene, and Suicide, where the suicide rate among young people seemed to be rising. -
Foreign Debts
Foreign debts were causing an increase in inflation, as well as a burden on American taxpayers. -
Hypodermics on the shore
News reports showed how hundreds of carelessly discarded hypodermic needles had washed up on the New Jersey shoreline. -
China's Under Martial Law
In June 1989, thousands of protesters marched in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. Many were killed and China went under martial law until order was restored. -
Rock and Roller Cola Wars
Pepsi and Coke battle for supremacy in the marketplace. Each hired musicians to promote their drink. -
Hubble Space Telescope
launched during Space Shuttle Discovery mission. -
Gulf War
The Gulf War is waged in the Middle East, by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from thirty-four nations, led by the U.S. and United Kingdom, against Iraq. -
Cold War ends
Cold War ends as the USSR dissolves. -
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is publicly debuted as an Internet service. -
Bill Clinton defeats
U.S. presidential election, 1992 (Bill Clinton defeats President George H. W. Bush) -
Los Angeles riots
Los Angeles riots result in over 50 deaths and $1 billion in damage, spurred by the acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King -
Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 hurricane, kills 65 people and causes $26 billion in damage to Florida and other areas of the U.S. Gulf Coast, and will be the costliest natural disaster until Hurricane Katrina in 2005. -
Truck Bomb explodes
Truck Bomb explodes in the parking garage, under the World Trade Center in New York City, killing 6 people and injuring thousands. -
Davidians standoff
Branch Davidians standoff and fire near Waco, Texas, resulting in the deaths of 76 people including their leader, David Koresh. -
Storm of the Century
The "Storm of the Century" strikes the Eastern Seaboard, with blizzard conditions and severe weather, killing 300 people and causing $6 billion in damage -
Massive flooding
Massive flooding along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers kill 50 people and devastate the Midwest with $15–$20 billion in damage. -
Don't ask, don't tell
President Clinton signs 'Don't ask, don't tell' into law which prohibits openly gay or bisexual people from serving in the military. -
American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement goes into effect. -
Northridge earthquake
1994 Northridge earthquake kills 72 and injures 9,000 in the Los Angeles area and causes $20 billion in damage -
Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing kills 168 and wounds 800. The bombing is the worst domestic terrorist incident in U.S. history, and the investigation resulted in the arrests of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols -
TWA Flight 800 explodes
TWA Flight 800 explodes off Long Island killing all 230 aboard. -
Sparked by a global economic crisis
Sparked by a global economic crisis scare, the Dow Jones Industrial Average follows world markets and plummets 554.26, or 7.18%, to 7,161.15 -
Clinton of sexual harassment
Former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones accuses President Clinton of sexual harassment -
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 10,000 mark for the first time, at 10,006.78 -
George Walker Bush wins
U.S. presidential election, 2000; incumbent Texas governor George Walker Bush wins by 537 votes in Florida in a highly contested election against the incumbent Vice President Al Gore. He is thus elected 43rd President of the United States. -
George Walker Bush inaugurated
George Walker Bush inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States. -
Homeland Security is created in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
The Department of Homeland Security is created in the wake of the September 11 attacks. -
Republicans retake narrow control of the Senate following 2002 elections.
Republicans retake narrow control of the Senate following 2002 elections. -
Facebook
The social networking website Facebook is launched. -
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina devastates the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama coastlines killing at least 1,836 people and causing $81 billion in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Weeks later, Hurricane Rita causes $10 billion damage along the Louisiana and Texas coastlines. In October, Hurricane Wilma kills 35 and causes $20 billion in damage in Florida -
troop surge which substantially increases the number of U.S. troops in Iraq
George W. Bush orders a troop surge which substantially increases the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and ultimately leads to reductions in casualties and major victories for -
Barack Obama is inaugurated
Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. He is also the first African-American to hold the office. -
The ATF gunwalking scandal
The The ATF gunwalking scandal emerged, wherein thousands of guns were allowed to "walk" through interdiction to Mexico, supposedly to aid in the capture of criminals. emerged, wherein thousands of guns were allowed to "walk" through interdiction to Mexico, supposedly to aid in the capture of criminals. -
Christopher Dorner murders
Christopher Dorner murders three people in Southern California, starting the largest manhunt in Los Angeles history. His spree ends in Big Bear Lake, California where he barricades himself in a cabin, kills a second officer, before committing suicide. -
to or not to charge Officer Darren Wilson
A grand jury decides not to charge Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown inciting protests and riots against racism and police brutality in the St. Louis area. -
Omar Mateen kills 49 people
Omar Mateen kills 49 people and injures 53 at the Pulse gay nightclub, in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history
